Finding New Students –
The First Step
Before you
can enroll students, you must find them. How do you
find new students? Go where they go.
-
Is
there a mall near your local middle school? I’ll
bet the kids hang out at that mall.
-
Are
there basketball courts or a skateboarding park nearby?
This is another great place to find potential students.
-
Do you
know of a pool hall or arcade where they hang out?
Go where
they go? Great! (I can hear the collective sigh.)
You’ve all heard that advice before, right? But what
happens when you show up? If you, as an adult,
approach a group of kids and ask them what they think of
martial arts, chances are you won’t make the needed
connection. You don’t speak their lingo; you don’t
“get” them. They can’t “relate”.
Enrolling Students Using Network Marketing Strategies
Your
current student population is your greatest weapon.
They know how great your school really is, AND they know how
to relate to their own age bracket. Ask one of your
senior teenage students to help you bring in new students
and offer them a reward for doing so such as
one free month for every two new students they bring in who
stay longer than 3
months. Make sure that you follow through on any
reward you agree upon without the senior student having to
ask for it. Just as surely as they can spread a good
word about your school, so can they spread a bad one!
Coach your
senior teens on how to show others the benefits of martial
arts.
-
when
talking to kids who skateboard, martial arts will
strengthen their legs, improve their balance, and help
them do more complicated tricks
-
when
talking to kids who play basketball, martial arts will
improve their endurance, and make them jump higher
-
when
talking to girls, martial arts will help them defend
themselves if they are ever attacked
Have the
senior student invite the newbies to a demonstration at your
school with cool stuff that will interest them, like board
breaking and throw-downs. The senior student should
have printed tickets to hand out. Kids hanging out are
NOT going to write down a date and place for a martial arts
demo, even if they are
interested – it just wouldn’t be cool. These kids work
hard at seeming aloof!
When the
kids show up for your demo, BE FUN, BE ENTERTAINING!
-
Have
kids their own age breaking boards to show that they can
do it too!
-
Add a
short but entertaining story about an ancient warrior
and have your students act out the narration with
choreographed fights. I train in Kyokushin, for example,
and the story of Sosai Mas Oyama fighting 52 bulls with
his bare hands would be great if acted out with
costumes!
If the
potential students watch a demonstration that excites them,
they are much more likely to join. Any potential students
who want to sign up right away should get a free first
class.
Make sure
that the first few classes are easier ones. Remember,
teenagers are very concerned with how they are seen by their
peers. If they join a class and cannot keep up, they
are likely to get embarrassed and not come back. You
don’t need to beat them into shape on day one; you’ll have
plenty of time to train them once they are hooked on your
program.
The
Schools are the Goldmines – Secrets to Getting In!
We
all know that the best place to find new students is in the
schools, but they are very protective about who they will
let in. How do you penetrate this elusive market?
Once again, your senior teenage students are your biggest
asset!
As a part
of their black belt training, your senior belts should be
teaching others. Make it a required part of the
curriculum for them to teach one hour per week, and suggest
that they start a club at their school. There are many
benefits for the student:
-
They
develop leadership and teaching skills, which are great
for building a resume
-
They
learn how to teach the martial way, preparing them to be
solid black belts
-
They
connect with their peers and earn greater respect
-
They
are able to share their art with students their own age
School
administrators will be much more open to one of their own
students starting a club than they will be to an outsider
looking to build a martial arts business. It will be
necessary for the student to have an adult advisor, however,
and it only makes sense for you to be that to person.
Because a
school club is a free event, don’t expect to make any money.
This will be volunteer time for you as much as it is for
your student. The benefit for you is the connections
that you make with the club members. As they progress
past a beginner level and get more interested in the martial
way, it will only be natural for them to want to join your
dojo.
Once the
senior student has been running the new club and teaching
for a few months, suggest a demonstration at the dojo where
he or she can show off some advanced skills, like board
breaking. Arrange an excellent demo (as outlined
above), have the senior student invite the entire club and
watch the eager new students line up to enroll!
Marketing Truisms
Referrals are the most powerful form of advertising you can
have. How many times have you tried out a new
restaurant or gone to see a movie, just because your friend
told you how great their experience was? Referrals
should always be part of your marketing strategy.
Rewarding the referral will encourage more referrals.
Besides our basic inborn instincts, most behavior is
learned. The best way to cultivate any behavior is
to reward it.
These
techniques should give you an idea of HOW and WHERE to
capitalize on the return of the school year. If you
make a targeted effort to become part of the student’s
routine in September, you have a fighting chance to remain a
part of that routine.
Happy
marketing!!
To
learn more about how to grow your school with a FREE LIVE TOUR,
simply call:
877-774-5425 (N. America). 00800-242-67-929 (UK).
0011-800-242-67-929 (AUS).
or email tours@ChampionsWay.com!
About the Author
Bronwen Mosher is a Marketing
Specialist, with marketing experience that ranges from software to
entertainment to the health and wellness industries. She
enjoys sharing best practices between industries to increase success
and ROI. In her spare time she is a writer, a musician, and an
inventor, and can be found at www.bronwenmusic.com.
