Express Your Opinion

SURVIVAL OF THE WILLINGEST

One of the more stringent laws of nature - and business - is "ADAPT OR PERISH."

When market conditions change, those who can't (or simply won't) adjust their attitudes and strategies are automatically on the endangered species list - and a serious threat to the economic health of your business and staff.

If you've been in business long enough, you've seen at least one period in the past when enrolling new students was almost literally like shooting fish in a barrel. In most areas, that situation no longer prevails.

In its place is the traditional process of marketing, from prospecting to qualifying to closing for a commitment.

The economy has changed recently (something RS Mitchell said would happen during last year's convention in San Antonio.) The mortgage meltdown and credit crunch is changing the spending habits of many people. In addition to consistent and aggressive marketing you also need to look at the way you are doing business.

Some things you need to think about.

1. With consumer spending being tighter some schools may want to consider going back to doing 12 months programs and putting these students directly on Black Belt Training. The benefits are that the student is not pressured to upgrade immediately. You still have the opportunity to upgrade to Masters, Premier or Leadership so your potential for additional income is still there. However at the same time students on a tighter budget are not under pressure for an additional down payment and higher payments.

Another upgrade option is a 24 month upgrade vs. the 36 month program. Many homeowners are now getting a little reprieve from rising mortgages. This mornings USA TODAY reported that the countries largest mortgage company, Country Wide is re-writing many mortgages and putting off large payments for a while on below prime mortgages. At the same time a 36 month commitment for a martial arts program might be concern for some students with one of these mortgages.

2. If you are having difficulty with getting large down payments you might want to consider being flexible by reducing the down payment and adjusting the monthly payments slightly higher to reflect the total cost. Your statistics and program director can give you feedback on this as they deal with new students and upgrade conferences daily.

3. If a family is having tight finances parents might be a little more likely to let "little Johnny" quit if he loses interest. Be sure your classes are the best you've ever taught and your school is the most exciting activity each student has in their lives. Carefully monitor your attendance and account receivables to catch a potential problem.

4. Attend the United Professionals event in New Orleans. We have planned this carefully to make sure you have the motivation and tools to hit 2008 off and running.

5. Watch your statistics and numbers. If they begin to change you need to have a plan of action. Be sure to contact myself, Mr. Van Over or Mr. Fiori with questions. I have been in the martial arts industry for 35 years and have seen changes in the economy many times and have had successful years in all kinds of economic situations.

6. It is also true that the smart school owners are going to survive and end up having less competition when all is said and done.

The information we will be sharing in the future will keep you informed on the changing market and the tools to keep you ahead of the curve. UP is going to become more important than ever as will the networking with other school. Owners like Board of Director Doug Bertrand who enrolled 200 students in two schools since August 1st is a valuable source of information.

Right now is a great time to review all the basics business systems to make sure you are getting the best results from marketing to enrollment. You will find all these on the UP web site under SYSTEM DRIVEN.

Shayne Simpson of Bellingham Washington recently collected 548 Names, Addresses and Phone numbers at a local mall and fair. His booth was the talk of both events. At his booth kids could break a board, spin a wheel to win prizes and get their picture taken with a Power Ranger or Ninja Turtle. Shayne was able to get the costumes on E-Bay. Now the real challenge - calling all those prospects and doing intros. That's a problem most would love to have.

Doug Bertrand has enrolled a total of 58 new students in the first 20 days of August. It looks like the slow July is over and back to school is hotter than ever.

On the other side of the country RS Mitchell is motivating his team to win the United Professionals new student contest. Mr. Mitchell told me he will not tolerate losing this contest. He is one motivated man.

UP client Frank Silverman's new MMA school was featured in Mixed Martial Arts Authority Magazine. He told the magazine his MMA school is enrolling as many adults as his traditional martial arts schools. He recently opened his 7th location.

Share you marketing ideas and success stories with other UP clients by adding a comment. Be sure to also click on RSS 2.0 Feed on this page to have messages automatically delivered

Teens

I have had a few questions lately on Teens in the martial arts. This was a huge topic for me when I had my school and I had done a lot of research and gotten a lot of advice. In 1993 I had an average of 100 teens PER class in my Coral Springs, Florida school. I remember the day Paul Stingo Garcia moved and started teaching. Paul at the time was the middle weight fighter for Team Paul Mitchell. Right after class he called his old school and said "You won't believe it - we had 107 in the teen class!!"

Here are some things you should know.

1. Teens can't afford to pay for lessons. However, if they start as kids and turn out to be good teens Mom and Dad will pay the bill.

2. Since many teens are rebelling at home, most parents won't pay for lessons. This means that advertising for teens is not a strong investment.

In 1990 I had a very good and healthy kids program. However, I had few teens and they trained with my adults.

I hired a person to come in and do a round table with my teens. I then took the information and designed a plan to grow my teen program.

What I learned ----

1. Teens don't like to train with adults. They relate it to having to take class with parents.

2. Teens like a social atmosphere.

3. They have limited time due to school, friends, part-time jobs, homework and social life.

4. They have their own taste in music they like to train to.

5. They want a cool, hip and fun instructor. Now mind you I was all three but just 40 years older than they were.

6. They want to be with a cool crowd. The popular teens from school not the chess club members.

7. Teens girls feel uncomfortable doing some traditional martial arts exercises like jumping jacks or stretching with a partner.

8, They love having guests instructors but would rather have someone from the WMAC Mssters than a traditional grandmaster.

9. When asked what the stereotype of my school was they answered a "kids school."

10. When asked how many of their friends studied karate they said "none". They said Karate was for kids and some of their friends studied Kickboxing because that was cool.


Once armed with this information I decided on the following course of action.


1. Instead of advertising for teens I decided to "grow my own". I had lots of 10 - 12 year old students that I just needed to train into super stars and I would then have a cool group of role models.

2. I formed a separate teen class, hired a 22 year old "surfer dude" that was in great shape to take over the class. The guys had a positive role model and the girls were impressed.

3. We added Kickboxing drills to the class and listed the class as Teen Kickboxing on the schedule. I still taught self-defense and forms though.

4. I structured the curriculum so teens could grasp it with their busy schedule and look good for stripe and belt testing.

5. I created partner drills for everything allowing teens to socialize and upgraded my stereo to play current music and sound better. I had teens bring their own CD's to class as long as the lyrics were clean.

6. We developed a SUPER STAR demo team of teens to show the community and tournament circuit we weren't just a kids school. I hired Billy Blanks to come to my school every three months. He was our fighting team coach.


7. I brought in some great guest instructors, Christine Rodrigues Bannon, Jerry Prince, Keith Scott, the Iannuzzo brothers, Larry Lam, Mike Chat, Hein Nyguyn, Jamie Webster, Billy Blanks, just to name a few.

The results were amazing in student quality, teen participation and more importantly staff development.

Please post constructive ideas!

Greg Silva

President United Professionals

What effect do you think the popularity of Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC will have on the martial arts school industry?

It is extrememly important that as a leader and motivator of your team that you learn to motivate yourself. Some people do it trough reading, listening to tapes, church, e-mails, goal setting, networking or a combination of the above. How to you "Motivate the Motivator"?