How Professional Is Your School?

Posted by Mike Massie on June 29, 2010

The Only Job Security For Martial Art School Owners

Even the youngest students expect a level of professionalism from their instructors. Remember, children will express their views and opinions to their parents, and such conversations often influence parent's buying decisions.

Here’s a question for you…

How professional is your school?

This is an area that is typically ignored or taken for granted in martial arts schools, yet I have observed it to be a pivotal factor in the success of many, many schools.

So, here are some areas where you may consider evaluating and improving the level of professionalism in your school.

Doing so could very well pay off for you in increased enrollments and word-of-mouth referrals.

Facilities

The next time you walk into your school, make a point of looking at it with fresh eyes. Look at it from the perspective of someone who is walking in for the first time evaluating the facility as a potential customer. What would they think?

In my experience, few school owners pay particular attention to the cleanliness and orderliness of their schools. This is a huge mistake. The way your school looks (and smells) is a big part of how people perceive your facility.

In my first school, it was admittedly not in the best location. We had no external doors or windows, it was at the end of a long hallway, and the space was more or less a warehouse facility. Also, I had fixed the place up using a lot of secondhand and bargain basement building materials, which resulted in mismatched floor tiles, and a “DIY” appearance on the fit and finish of the interior.

So, we took great pains to keep the place as clean as possible. I’ll never forget the time when we had a female guest instructor teaching, and she walked out of the restroom with a surprised look on her face. “That’s the cleanest bathroom I have ever seen in a martial arts school,” she stated.

The point here is that, even if you don’t have the best facilities, you can still make a good impression by keeping them as clean as possible. Also, a fresh coat of paint on the walls once or twice a year and replacing old and worn equipment is a must. If it’s dirty, clean it. If it’s old and worn, replace it. Look at everything in your school with fresh eyes at least once a week, make a list of what needs cleaned, repaired, and replaced, and knock it out immediately.

Procedures

Do you answer the phone professionally… every time you answer? Are visitors promptly welcomed as they walk in the door? Do you return phone calls promptly the same day you receive a voice message? Do you even have a list of procedures to follow that outline how to take a new student from their first contact with the school through the entire enrollment process?

Having protocols and procedures in place are what make the difference between amateurs and professionals. Amateurs wing it, while professionals know exactly what to do at every step of the way, because they have a procedure, protocols, and contingency plans in place that they’ve memorized and practiced until they become second nature.

Customers can tell when you’re winging it. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been calling martial arts schools in my area while performing a competitive analysis in certain areas of my city. And, I’m amazed at the fact that 50% of the schools I call don’t answer their phones, while the other 50% do not have any basic phone sales training at all. That’s right – NONE of the schools I have called knew a thing about setting appointments and selling over the phone.

So, imagine what would happen if just one of them put professional protocols and procedures in place. I can assure you, they’d quickly outdistance their competition and increase their market share dramatically.

Be professional. Have professional procedures and protocols in place that cover everything from answering the phones to handling students professionally who are withdrawing from classes. All other things being equal, what separates you from your competitors is how professionally your clients are treated. Over time, this WILL make a huge difference in the volume of your referrals in your community.

Policies

How well do you treat your clients? Do you have posted policies regarding membership agreements, late fees, cancellations, and attendance? Are you of your word when it comes to enforcing those policies equally across the board? Do you treat every student fairly and without bias or preference based on your posted company policies?

Your company’s policies are part of the agreement you make with your customers that says, “I’ll provide ‘x’ service for you, you’ll pay me ‘y’ in return, and if ‘z’ comes up this is how you can expect us to handle it.” Having such policies in place assures the client that you intend to treat them fairly should things go awry, and it also lets them know what they can expect when the unexpected occurs.

Ask yourself, for instance:

• Is it fair to make someone pay the balance on their membership if they move to another town due to a change of employment?
• Would you want to continue paying for martial arts lessons if you were permanently disabled due to illness or injury?
• If you were the student, would you like to have the option to make up classes missed due to illness or vacation by attending extra classes during the weeks following the missed classes?
• Were you the student, would you appreciate having a three-day grace period before late fees were incurred on late tuition payments?
• If you were the student, would you appreciate having the NSF fees waived on the first occurrence of a check or EFT payment being returned or rejected for non-sufficient funds?

Such policies give the student the benefit of the doubt. In addition, having policies such as these posted in your school conveys the message that, while you do have policies in place to prevent unethical customers taking advantage of the school, you also have the customer’s well-being in mind. “Firm but fair” is a good attitude to have when it comes to drafting and implementing your company’s policies.

In Closing

Professionalism is the result of  expertise, experience, competence, caring, and consistency in action.

And while any amateur can hang out a shingle and start a school, the professional instructor is one who emphasizes excellence in every aspect of their school’s operations. Elevating your school to the level of such excellence will take you a long way toward securing your financial future as an instructor.

Be excellent at what you do, because professionalism is job security for martial art school owners.

What Do I Charge?

Posted by Mike Massie on February 2, 2010

“But I Can’t Do That In My School Because Of…”

Your services are likely worth much more than you think they are. So long as you set your prices lower than your value, you will never experience the true potential of your success.

Last week I sent out an email that listed actual enrollment numbers for three members of the Martial Art School Alliance website.

These are three instructors who are kicking tail despite the down economy. And, one of them actually lives in an area where the unemployment level is 15%.

It just goes to show you can succeed in this economy, and that most of the things we think are holding us back from being successful are internal and self-imposed.

Which bring me to today’s topic…

What To Charge, What To Charge

Earlier today, I received the following question from a reader regarding that email:

“Even with their below average facilities, do you recommend them charging $99 a month?”

People quote me on that $99 a month figure all the time (and the 10% of your gross for marketing – it’s a guideline, people, not an unbreakable rule) and I have to remind them that was the absolute lowest I thought a school should charge…

Back in 2003.

Seven years later, your cost of doing business has increased significantly. You need to be charging at least 20 – 30 % more today than you were seven years ago. That is, you should if you want to have something left over after overhead, taxes, inflation, and the sinking value of the dollar are done with your revenues.

They Are Doing What With What?

For the record, two of those guys have nice schools. Jim is the one teaching out of a warehouse facility, and he is doing phenomenal at it due to having the right mindset and being an awesome teacher and coach. (And actually, I kind of like his school… it takes me back to when I first started training. Who needs heat and AC, anyway?)

But here’s the kicker – all three of these guys charge about $150 a month average in tuition.

Now, I know for some of you out there this isn’t a shocker. You’re already charging that much or more.

But for many of you, you’re thinking that’s an impossible figure to charge your students for lessons.

Some of you are outraged, thinking these guys are ripping their students off (baloney – every one of them is worth that and more). Others of you think they must have something you don’t in order to demand those rates. Still others of you are wondering if I’m even telling the truth.

And that’s why you’re always broke.

You Can Lead A Horse To Water…

I’ve argued and argued this point for years. Well, I’m finally sick of arguing and fighting with instructors about how much to charge.

For those of you who are willing to believe your value merits charging a premium for your services, outstanding. You deserve to be successful and well-respected. Just keep adding value to your services and bringing value to your communities and you’ll continue to be rewarded for it.

But for those of you who don’t want to believe you can charge a premium for your services, for whatever reason, that’s fine by me as well. You can stay broke, while instructors who know their value will have nicer schools, better equipment, higher salaries, and a better quality of living.

Not because they have something you don’t.

No, it’s because they have the proper mindset for success.

Until next time,

Michael D. Massie

P.S.: I am inundated with requests for “free” advice these days. I am simply too busy to give away my valuable time and knowledge for free, as it’s a disservice to my paying clients.

Remember, if you are a MASAI member you can almost always get your questions answered at no additional cost in the member forums. However, if you need to correspond with me by phone or email for help with a pressing business issue, please visit the MASAI online store and order phone or email coaching with me.

Thanks for your understanding!