Case Studies of Real Clients
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
I just wanted to follow up on my recent experiences working with your company, Champions Way. This past year I embarked on a massive growth mission for my martial arts school by entering the world of franchising. This obviously included the need for an extensive rebranding of my school; including a new logo and website.
The website project began by Mr. Jon Malach inviting me to a meeting at Champions Way offices in Vancouver. I was completely blown away. Mr. Malach could write a book on customer service! The project, to me, was enormous but I know for a company of Champions Way’s standing it was business as usual. The fact that the Vice-President of the company would take two hours out of his morning to listen to what I needed, including bringing in expert designers for technical input was amazing. I was treated like I already had 100 schools (that’s my goal by the way). I left the meeting with confidence that Champions Way was a technology partner I could count on today and in the future.
Following the meeting I was assigned an account manager to oversee the project. Mr. Travis Ketler took control of the website project and saw it through from start to finish. There were even times when he returned my calls (on his own time) just to keep me informed and provide me with the highest level of customer service. The result, www.shakumartialarts.com I am extremely satisfied with. The website was completed on time, on budget and with the highest level of professional service. It is a website that truly matches up with our vision of being Canada’s leader in family martial arts.
One other note, originally, our logo design had been started by another company. After two full months of frustration and a serious lack of customer service, I moved the logo design project to Champions Way for completion. Once again, within a very short time the logo was completed to my full satisfaction and customer service was exceptional from Mr. Mahan Salimian.
I would not hesitate to recommend Champions Way to other martial arts school owners seeking to raise their level of professionalism in an increasingly competitive industry.
Sincerely,
SHAKU™ Family Martial Arts
Cathal Walsh President
"The scope of their support has met our expectations"
As a client, I want to highlight my experiences with ChampionsWay. Their training is a must to complete and the trainers are very competent and help you get the most out of the program. Everyone should make themselves available for the free training service either via phone or online.
We have used ChampionsWay Billing Direct as our sole billing and payment method because they resolved all of our billing concerns and helped set up our merchant account and everything we needed to get paid more efficiently.
Above all else, the most important service they offer is their technical support. If you have ever tried to get phone customer service from a big company and have been frustrated at the many phone prompts ending only in a recording - have no fear. All you do is touch one button and you get a real live person very quickly on the phone. The scope of their support has met our expectations and I thank everyone that has been on the other end to help us.
Submit! Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
Ehson Shafie
"expertise and excellent customer service everyone at Championsway"
Dear Mr. Dordar,
I joined the Championsway family back in April of 2004. At that time, I had about 300 students. In four short years, my one school has grown to about 600 students. I honestly believe this growth is due in part to the support, expertise and excellent customer service everyone at Championsway offers me. From billing to tech support, they provide my martial arts business the best service in the industry. Even in these challenging economic times, with the help of Championsway, my business is up 20% from a year ago and grossed over 1 million dollars in 2008.
Professor Brannon Beliso
Owner & Head Instructorr
One Martial Arts
"service I'm receiving with Championsway is way above anything I experienced"
I'm extremely satisfied with Championsway and the way you do business. I was a client with EFC prior to you and the level of service I'm receiving with Championsway is way above anything I experienced over there. Everything from the cost, the MAS software, and customer service has been excellent. For as long as my school is running I'm going to be a Championsway client!
Ehson Shafie
Submit! Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Acadmey
"One of the few great companies"
Dear Mr. Dordar,
"ChampionsWay is top of the line"
Rarely have I been so impressed by a company. ChampionsWay is top of the line. I am completely amazed by what ChampionsWay helped us accomplish and in such a short time. At first, the thought of creating a 21st Century system that would generate solid upgrades and new sales was intimidating to us, but your creative and professional staff made it a pleasure, always keeping the process easy to understand.
I found ChampionsWay by an extensive research on the Internet. The prices, support, and service looked great. Imagine my surprise when I dialled the toll-free number and an actual person picked up the phone, not only the first time I called, but every time after that! Someone is always there to answer the phone. Rarely do you call a business to hear an actual person with today's technology.
Any questions I have are answered at the drop of a hat, and if the person I am talking to can not answer my question, they will find someone who can within seconds. The staff is very patient with all of my questions and they take the time to be sure that my question has been fully answered. I've only been a ChampionsWay customer for the past few months, but so far I am extremely pleased with their exceptional customer service.
ChampionsWay continually finds ways to impress myself and staff. Thank you for being one of the few great companies to deal with. Keep up the good work; you have gotten a customer for life because of your friendly prompt service.
Allan Melatti
President & Founderr
ATF Black Belt Academy
"proving the value of this product to me turning a skeptic into a fan"
This is just to say that Walter (my account rep) has done a bang-on job helping me set this thing up. He rose to the challenge of proving the value of this product to me turning a skeptic into a fan. Do whatever you have to to keep this guy on board. I enjoy working with him. He is creative and innovative when i comes to tweaking the system or finding solutions.
Jayne is also to be complimented. She is thorough and concise in her training method.
Tech support is scoring some big points with me as well, although I confess a bit of enjoyment when I find something that stumps even them.
Overall this thing really is taking over my school. I have no papers on my desk. My inventory is accurate and being tracked. Billing is being executed (although it was a bit of a stormy ride to getting the right info on how the process works).
And I am getting rave reviews on the website. Particularily the MyCurriculum video section. That actually made it possible for a couplke of students who have difficulty retaining info to prep for a graduation and blast through it. I just wish people would figure out how to check their emails. I guess I am just fighting the old generation there. I still need to work on getting into the habit of these webinar things and the articles. Lot of areas to go.
But thanks anyways so far. keep up the good work.
Give Walter a raise!
Master Timothy Wakefield,
6th Degree Black Belt
Shaolin Kempo Karate
"web applications are cutting edge and their billing service superior. Their email and web site support is the best "
I have been a client of Champion's Way for just over a year now and i am extremely happy with their service. Their web applications are cutting edge and their billing service superior. Their email and web site support is the best i have had. Most of all, though, I appreciate the outstanding personal support I get from my account manager, Nima Jazbi. He is always responsive and service oriented and consistently provides me what i need. I told him this on the phone today and he asked me to put it in writing. I did so without reservation. Nima and Champion's Way are top notch and i am happy to have them on my team.
Stephen Del Castillo
Master Instructor
Premier Martial Arts & Tampa Krav Maga
"First let start by saying WOW! I have been with championsway since MAS4"
First let start by saying WOW! I have been with championsway since MAS4. I have watched championsway grow and improve the quality of products, service and lead the way in innovation for our industry! Products such as Billing Direct, G4 ect.put the power of success back in the hands of the school owners. To the entire Championsway team i would like to extend a Thank You! As you continue to help school owners around the world to reduce costs, save time , become more profesional and allow us to do what we do best Teach Martial Arts!
Jim Campbell
Harmony Martial Arts Center
MAS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
"Decisions are based on knowledge. MAS does it all. "
Championsway is multi-functional software platform that is a great tool for defensive tactics and martial arts professionals alike. Shockwave Defense has been with Championsway off and on since 2003 and has watched them expand their capabilities to several areas of wellness and development. As a defensive tactics instructor I appreciate a versatile system that allows me a unique and dynamic look for both my student body and our company. I recommend Championsway's tools for any business owner who wishes to be unique, and in step with technological advances, and for the martial artists who wish to beat the typical backyard martial artists mentality. It's time to step to the plate and become a professional, with tools such as Championsway this is an easy and affordable solution for the small business owner.
Regards,
Michael C. Johnson
Chief Instructor Shockwave Defense
MAS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
"Decisions are based on knowledge. MAS does it all. "
I wanted to express my appreciation for all the work and support that I have received from ChampionsWay. Everybody is aware of the stress and complications that arise when setting up a new enterprise. I must say that working with you and the rest of the guys have made a major difference! Everybody I have dealt with is extremely professional, patient, and most of all knowledgeable. Right from the start you impressed me with your follow up and constant flow of relevant information. Saeed’s suggestions and prompt service on the website development gave us a name and identity well before we opened our doors.
The software itself is incredible. I have a detailed analysis of my business at any given time. The billing service is impeccable. The data base on students, leads, prospects, and suppliers is excellent. Basically, all aspects of the program make running a small business much more efficient. Decisions are based on knowledge. MAS does it all.
My final words of praise are saved for Jesse and Ben In technical support. I really could not have been off and running without these two. The countless hours they spent with me went far beyond the call of duty. Their patience and skill level was remarkable. When it comes to technical support they are the BEST!!!
Finally, thank-you ChampionsWay. I can proudly recommend your services to all in the Self Defense business
Regards,
Neal Newman
Academy Self Defense
ORGANIZATION, EFFICIENCY & CONTROL
"ChampionsWay has helped us increase our power and efficiency"
Rhode Island is one of the most competitive markets for the martial arts in the country. With nine schools within a nine square-mile radius, our goal has been to be the best in martial arts education—if anyone can teach a kick or a punch, we want to teach our students to maximize their potential through the excellence in martial arts programming we provide. ChampionsWay software has helped us to maximize our potential so that we can spend more time doing what we do best—teaching the martial arts. Our staff has decades of experience in teaching—what ChampionsWay has given us is the technology to organize the business end and take it to the next level. ChampionsWay has allowed us keep our billing in-house, which provides us with the ability to service our customers ourselves. This lets us give our customers the highest quality of customer service to match our first-rate teaching in the martial arts.
The software is convenient and simple to use, so our entire staff can do things that make our students happy, like keep track of birthdays and special occasions, keep track of our attendance, and run a Pro-shop that has expanded from just a few t-shirts to a full-blown enterprise with just a little tracking and effort on our part—this would not have been possible without the ease of ChampionsWay. The software has given us online tutorials, providing us additional material for staff meetings and get-togethers that generate teaching ideas and continue to make us strong.
The investment we made in the ChampionsWay software has been an investment in our future. Our staff is one of the strongest teams in the region—ChampionsWay has helped us increase our power and efficiency and make our team and our business stronger. This, in turn, continues to leave us more time for our martial arts—the reason we’re here! Thanks!
Yours in the Arts,
Rusty Rowe
President
Nick Cerio’s Kenpo
Johnston, Rhode Island
"Obvious that this was designed by a martial arts school owner for martial arts school owners. "
I just wanted to let you know how happy I am with the MAS software.
It has taken me 15 years to get a software program for my school. I have over 250 students in our main studio and another 150 in recreation classes. It has been difficult to keep good records - up until now. I tried out a few other programs and actually bought another. I was still frustrated with all of these programs so I decided to try MAS. It was exactly what I was looking for.
It is obvious that this was designed by a martial arts school owner for martial arts school owners. I found this program to be loaded with many great features and solved all of my record keeping needs. Monty has been terrific. He has always been patient and available. He has answered every question with a sense of calm that is not seen in tech support or sales. Conrad has also been great. I never felt like anyone was frustrated with the phone calls I made to get the program up and running.
I wanted to say thanks for making my job easier. I would highly recommend this program to all martial arts schools.
Ken Klotz
KIK INC
"Better control over my entire school"
Just wanted to drop a note saying how much I love the program. I don't know how I would run my school without it. We have over 500 active students, and MAS has saved me more then just time and money. It has given me better control over my entire school. Thank you!
Gary R. Meyer
Eastern Freestyle Karate
AMAZING RETENTION
"Excellent products, stellar customer service, and phenomenal business ideas"
Villari's Martial Arts Center of Jupiter teaches the Shaolin Kempo Karate self-defense and fighting system. The population within five miles of our school is approximately 70,000 residents. There are nine other martial arts schools in town in competition with us, and the competition is so stiff that one was recently forced to close its doors. Our studio has the smallest square footage of any of our competitors, yet we are prospering.
My staff and I attribute our success to ChampionsWay MAS and Mr. Marketer programs. Mr. Marketer has an enabled me to have a student retention rate of 96% by allowing me to regularly send birthday cards, motivational letters and e-cards, and a welcome letter to all new students and prospects. MAS has a built-in school store that tracks my inventory and allows me to see with one click what has been sold, ordered, and needs to be replenished.
The school store also creates purchase orders and has the ability to track my students' spending habits. ChampionsWay has always provided me with excellent products, stellar customer service, and phenomenal business ideas. I personally recommend that any martial arts school that wishes to be successful acquire these products immediately. Thanks, ChampionsWay!!!
Master Joseph Pierro
6th degree black belt
BILLING
"Wow, Thanks ChampionsWay ... "
What a difference leaving a major billing company has made. Comparing the fourth quarter of 2007 (billing company year) and 2008 (ChampionsWay year) Revenue was up 11% yet billing expenses we down 30%. That’s a $4,000 savings for the forth quarter. I will see a savings of $16,000 in billing expense during 2009. Thanks Championsway!
What I learned since leaving a Billing Company
1) You should never trust your financial relationship with your customers to an outside company.
2) You should never allow an outside company to control your customer database.
3) Billing companies routinely charge martial arts schools twice the rate they charge other fitness related businesses.
4) ChampionsWay billing makes billing easy. You enter the membership agreement and the system handles the rest.
5) You can put thousands of additional dollars in your pocket by using ChampionsWay billing.
Mario’s Bio: Mario Guerrero is the owner of two Premier Martial Arts schools and a third school, Modern Martial Arts, all in Manhattan NY. The NY schools currently have over 1000 members and revenues in excess of $1.5 million dollars per year. Mr. Guerrero is also a partner in two additional Premier Martial Arts Schools in Knoxville TN.
Mario Guerrero
Premier Martial Arts NYC
"They have thought of everything... "
I have dealt with other billing companies before, but ChampionsWay and their technology is unmatched. They have thought of everything to help a martial arts school grow and become more organized and professional.
Guerrero
Guerrero Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/MMA Academy
201 Bloomfield Avenue, Suite 6
Verona, New Jersey 07044
"company to help take our school to the next level... "
We started with ChampionsWay last summer because we were looking for a company to help take our school to the next level. We compared several martial arts billing companies and ChampionsWay was the only one that satisfied all of our needs. Many companies charge a lot more money for half the service that ChampionsWay provides. They are also constantly updating their technology, so we know we are getting the most advanced services available. They give us so many effective ways to reach our current students and bring in new ones!
Our account representative Nima Jazbi has given us professional service since day one and certainly knows what he’s talking about. No matter the question, Nima always makes sure he will find the answer, or solve the problem. He is extremely knowledgeable about ChampionsWay programs, and he is an incredible resource for creatively reaching current and prospective students.
If you’re just starting out, or have been around for a while and are serious about growing your school to the next level, ChampionsWay is by far the best choice.
-Finnie and Tessa McMahon
McMahon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
WEBSITES
"The official launching of the PATU website was very successful!"
Dear Nima,
The official launching of the PATU website was very successful! I have received many positive responses from all PATU member countries. I sincerely thank you and the Championsway for your assistance in constructing our new website.
Master Ji Ho Choi
President Pan American Taekwondo Union
Executive Council Member,
WTF www.patu.org
"The feedback that I have received from my website has been incredible!!";
Dear Master Dordar
I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know how I feel about the service an employee of yours (Saeed Ashrafinia. Head of Design) has provided me with. Before my website was made, I had little or no experience with computers. Saeed spent countless hours helping me understand how MAS (Martial Arts Standard Software) worked. I currently have over 500 students, and I feel that since I have started working with Saeed, I can reach 700 by 2005. His martial arts attitude is seen in his work. It is very rare that I find someone that strives for excellence in their work. I have noticed this with him and everyone at ChampionsWay.
The feedback that I have received from my website has been incredible!! My students love it. I receive emails from my students every day. The communication has helped my school in every area: sleepovers, enrolment, feedback, retail sales have all gone up. I realize that in the next year my gross sales will increase by 30%.
Just when I thought that I have done everything possible for a Martial Arts Studio, I started talking to him (Saeed Ashrafinia) and I was rejuvenated. His energy, respect, customer appreciation, promptness and great follow up skills are noticeable every time we speak.
I only hope that he remains with MAS (Martial Arts Standard Software) forever, because his skills will be impossible to replace. I have worked with many people in my life, and it is an amazing how we had never met, I feel like we had because of his professionalism and dedication. If there is ever anything I can do for you guys, please do not hesitate to ask. I thank you & the ChampionsWay Staff, and look forward to our quest of excellence!!!
N. Dougherty
Championsway Of Life
"They listened to us and have gone way above our expectations"
I would like to thank ChampionsWay for all of their help in bringing our new website online in such a short time. This site was going to be a challenge for anyone, because the site needed to combine two distinctly different businesses into one site. We own both a video production company, Black and Blue Productions, Inc. and a martial arts school, Karate Arts Academy of Self Defence. Black and Blue Video has the largest library of sport martial arts instructional and tournaments videos in the world and a very large following of sport martial artists from around the world that visit our site on a daily basis. We had a mandate for ChampionsWay to bring both businesses together in an easy to navigate way. When we approached ChampionsWay we discussed how we wanted more of a presence for our school to be included with the production company website. The old site we had was a pieced together site that was way out of date and did not combine both businesses well; this new site is exactly what we wanted. The staff at ChampionsWay have worked very hard to implement all of the things we needed to make both businesses work under one site. In fact they have even developed some new features just for our site which now can help other members of ChampionsWay. They listened to us and have gone way above our expectations in developing this site and the cool thing is this is only a start; we both have some great new ideas on how to improve on the site. I look forward to continuing to work with ChampionsWay and all of their staff for a very long time and with their help we can make our site the best it can be.
Walter Faulkner
President
Black and Blue Productions, Inc.
Business Manager
Karate Arts
Lee Barden
Senior Vice President
Black and Blue Productions, Inc.
Chief Instructor
Karate Arts
Connie Barden
Vice President
Black and Blue Productions, Inc.
Program Director, After School Karate Director Karate Arts
"ChampionsWay provides the best bang for the buck."
(Actual e-mailed response to a potential client who contacted Mr. Wooten enquiring about his experiences with ChampionsWay)
We are VERY pleased with the front-end desktop processing and the web development team is exceptional to work with. They are responsive to our calls for assistance and receptive to working with us on website design. We have looked at many web development and hosting solutions, but chose ChampionsWay because of the investment value, attention to detail, high level of customer service and quality product. Competitors may boast of comparable products and services, but when the dust settles and you weigh the options - ChampionsWay provides the best bang for the buck!!
Sincerely,
Ottis Wooten 6th Dan, Senior Instructor
Come Train with Us!!
"Thank you so much. It's awesome!"
The new changes to the Website look great! Please pass along my sincere appreciation to your artist(s) for taking the time to crop all those students in the flash sequence --not an easy task, I know! . On behalf of Master Pina and everyone at BTKDA, ... "Thank you so much. It's awesome!" Joe
Master Pina, Joe Fuoco
Abington, Massachusetts
Boston Tae Kwon Do
INTERNET MARKETING
"The results of the SEO program have been outstanding! We're #1 on MSN and Yahoo"
I have been a ChampionsWay client for over 2 years and they have helped my business grow in so many ways. This summer I upgraded the Enterprise Package to help market my new facility – Martial Arts and More. The results of the SEO program have been outstanding! Our website went from not being ranked at all to #1 on MSN and Yahoo for customers looking for martial arts in our area. Our site is on the front page of Google and moving up to number #1. Working with ChampionsWay has been a great experience and an important part to our growth at Martial Arts and More. The team at ChampionsWay is dedicated to staying on the cutting edge of martial art technology to help their clients grow. Keep up the great work!
Adam Robinson
Martial Arts and More
Louisville, KY
INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
"My secret weapon for a success"
There were a few steps I took that made this part of my martial art journey an easier one, one of those was the successful introduction of MAS software into my school. After the successful introduction of MAS, the staff &I were freed up; it was like having another member on the team. There are many features of the MAS program that are my favorites, for instance:
The ability to produce all manner of reports to analyze school performance, progress, & trends
The ID cards that the students use to scan in for class improved our relaying of messages and follow up by 100% easily, and those renewals that used to slip through the cracks and unpaid monthly fees are a thing of the past!
We built a system using the attendance reports that we print from MAS and by combining that with a stripe exam procedure, any of our instructors are able to stand in and run any class and they will know what each student needs to work on. This has allowed me to travel extensively overseas with my martial arts during the last 4 years, with the confidence that the school can continue to run well in my absence. We use the MAS POS for our retail Pro-Shop with great success too. But the most impressive thing is that we have up until June 2003 been able to run our school with only 1 full-time employee working with me & no additional part time or casual staff; MAS has undoubtedly saved me a small fortune in wages and helped us to become a long standing No.1 Australian EFC school. I now have added additional staff and am utilizing “Mr Marketer” in the school as we plan to go onto our next growth phase.
Bottom line …getting MAS has been one of the best things I have done for my martial art school.
Now everyone one knows my secret weapon for a successful martial arts school I expect the competition will really heat up in the land Down Under!
I wish everyone a smooth journey to successful school management, and if you have any questions please drop me a line.
Bruce Cairney
Choi Kwang Do Martial Arts
