Posts Tagged ‘Little Bit’

FREE Lessons?

Members can download the Halloween party invitation and this months ads in the members' download area.

Okay, let’s talk about giving away free lessons for a moment…

I’m not a big fan of FREE lessons, except for adult classes (I always offer the first class free – it’s a great no-pressure way to get busy adults into your school). The thing is, if you give something away for free all the time, it cheapens the perceived value in the potential customer’s eyes.

That’s why I limit guest pass distribution to students and staff (think “scarcity”). This is just my own personal preference; however, time and experience have proven this to be a wise approach.

So why is this month’s ad giving away free lessons? Because, every so often I like to advertise “an offer they can’t refuse.” How many moms are sitting on the fence right now about starting their kids in martial arts, that a few weeks of free lessons won’t convince to take the plunge? A bunch, I’m sure.

And, how much do you think your students will want to tell their friends to come in and try classes, if they can tell them, “It’s free until October 31st?” Who doesn’t want to share a good deal with their friends?

Here’s the thing – free offers are good when they are used properly and in small doses. There’s a good reason why top marketers and copywriters say “free” is the most powerful word in marketing. As long as you don’t let “free” become the overall perception of value for your services, a little bit of “free” every now and again is a good thing.

Now, here’s a tip for how to handle people coming in for their free classes during October:
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system

Good Martial Art School Management Systems Lead To Success

When you’re first starting a school, implementing a systems-based process for everything you do will likely be the last thing on your mind. However, if you start off from the beginning documenting every process in your school, writing each one down in a step-by-step manner in the simplest words possible, you’ll be well on your way to having a systems-driven school. Why is this so important? Because systems are what will make your school run smoothly, efficiently, and with as little effort as possible. Standardized and documented systems are what will allow you to train good staff, and use them to replace you when you want to take time away from work. Also, having systems in place will allow you to hone in on areas where your school is under-performing. You can then revise and improve your systems to fine-tune your processes until you have them down to the simplest and most-effective steps… the ones that are necessary for achieving the intended goal. Now, if you’ve purchased my materials (Small Dojo Big Profits, the Phone-to-Enrollment sales system, etc.) you’ll already be well on your way to having systems to follow in your school. However, it’s extremely important that you write your own systems down yourself. Read the rest of this entry »