Friend,
An instructor contacted me the other day to vent about how he was spending a lot of time on the phone with prospective students, explaining why people should train at his school instead of with his competitors...
...and yet, instead of joining this instructor's dojo, many of those people still ended up enrolling at the school down the street. So, this instructor was griping to me because despite telling people how great he was, they still went to someone who was less qualified for lessons.
I used to be in the exact same boat... now, let me tell you how I solved that problem.
First off, if you're spending a lot of time explaining to your prospects why they should train at your school, and they're ending up at someone else's studio anyway, you need to realize that education is an ineffective sales technique.
I know that's a little vague, so let me make this as clear for you as possible...
People don't care about you; they only care about what you can do for them.
As the old saying goes, most people are tuned into "WIIFM" (what's in it for me?) 24/7/365. You can talk to a prospective student about how great you are and all your qualifications until you're blue in the face...
...but it's all just going to be background noise to them. "Blah, blah, blah, umpteenth degree black belt, blah, blah, blah, champion blah blah, blah blah blah, blah years of experience blah blah."
That's what they hear when you talk about yourself over the phone.
And that's why, as far as selling goes, listening is more effective than talking. Ask a few key questions, then really listen to what the prospect says, and you'll get a whole heck of a lot farther than you will by rattling off your curriculum vitae to them.
Also, there's a definite method to that madness. You need to have a system in place that gets you from Point A (answering the phone) to Point B (setting the appointment) to Point C (enrolling the prospect as a new student).
Doing so is critical to your school's growth. So if you haven't read it yet, and you find yourself in the situation I describe above, I suggest you read my Martial Arts Sales Book (the central component of the Phone-to-Enrollment System).
It will absolutely help you grow your school faster by giving you a simple system to turn leads into students.
You can find out more about it and download it instantly at:
http://martialartssalesbook.com
P.S. - And yes, those "key questions" are in the book. I call them "key questions" because they unlock what you need to know to set the appointment, get that prospect in the door, and turn them into a paying student.
P.S.S. - I'm not going to hard sell you on this. Instead, I'll just share what a few of my customers recently said about the Martial Arts Sales Book in the MAbizU.com group discussion:
"The entire section of that book (on how to enroll students) is really great and has made enrollments MUCH easier from start to finish." ~ Bill Jones, Top Level Martial Arts
"If you haven't read/listened to/watched the Phone to Enrollment material, you need to. It will help you think through not just the philosophy of the fees but how to explain them and how they sound from the customers point of view." ~ Lester Hicks, Chosen Martial Arts
"It's jam packed with wisdom!" ~ Regis Tribbet, Character Martial Arts
If you don't want to buy the whole package, just scroll down the sales page and get the book and resources, It'll be plenty to get you started with my Phone-to-Enrollment Martial Arts Sales System. Here's the link again: http://martialartssalesbook.com | 