Posts Tagged ‘Long Haul’

Simple Steps To Increase Retention While Making Your Job More Rewarding

Showing students (and parents) that you care can go a long way toward keeping them around for the long haul.

You may not realize this, but retention is a whole lot easier when you invest time in letting your students know that you care about them, both personally and as martial arts students.

Sure, you care about your students… but do they know it?

Let me be the first to admit that martial arts instructors tend to not be the most sensitive people in the world.

Admit it – you probably don’t often express your feelings toward others, and usually just expect that your feelings are “understood.”

Well, unless you’re teaching jedi knights and X-men (mind-readers, in case you’re not a sci-fi junkie like me), chances are good that no one in your school is quite sure whether or not you really care about them – personally, or otherwise.

And, even if you don’t find it difficult to express that you care about other people, you may not even be communicating it in a way they can understand. Often, people have different ways of showing and interpreting appreciation (as any married couple can attest).

So, finding ways to make certain you get the message across to your students is a prerequisite to having good relationships with your students.

Don’t Sweat It – It’s Easier Than You May Think

Communicating that you care about your students really isn’t all that difficult or complex. All it takes is a little awareness and a few extra minutes invested each day in communicating with your students.

Here are a few simple action steps you can take to make sure your students (and parents) know that you are personally invested in their well-being: Read the rest of this entry »

So, What’s Next?

Knowing what comes after black belt can be a great way of keeping students' interest once they reach 1st dan.

For new school owners, this may not seem like it’s even worth worrying about yet… but I’m here to tell you it’s something you need to consider if you’re past your first year in business.

You might think it’s only important to have a strong program up to black belt, because that’s what most of your students are after, but that’s a dangerous misconception that can hurt your school’s long-term growth.

Now, some martial arts systems already have tons of curriculum in place for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree black belts (Note: Just having a new form to teach them isn’t going to cut it).

And in other systems (like BJJ, for example), the road to black belt is so long, the main challenge you face is keeping students until black belt. However, if you fall into either of these categories, you still should read this article because there are still pitfalls to keeping students long-term you may not be aware of.

So, sit tight and take notes while I tell what works in keeping students through black belt and beyond.

Read the rest of this entry »