| Some easy to follow steps that can help | | | | right. |
| market your business, these are lessons he | | | | |
| based on a true experience. | | | | 5. He explained how they can get different |
| | | | colored belts |
| A few weeks ago, I finally got my twin | | | | |
| daughters and myself signed up for Tae Kwon | | | | 6. He refused to let us sign up for less than |
| Do with Master Yu in Calgary. I have been | | | | a year (too easy to quit after a month or two |
| active in martial arts for years - but got | | | | - give it a year and you are hooked) |
| out of it 5 yrs ago when I broke an ankle | | | | |
| (not broken in martial arts - broke it | | | | 7. He charges a big premium over others |
| jumping out of the back of a truck with | | | | |
| sandals on - not smart). | | | | 8. Has a print monthly newsletter |
| | | | |
| Since then, the weight was adding up and I | | | | 9. He caters to his ideal client (the kids) - |
| was really missing my martial arts. | | | | make it comfortable for them and fun - and |
| | | | they are customers for years to come - AND, |
| But I didn't want to go back to the place I | | | | ultimately, he can get their parents in as |
| used to. | | | | well! |
| | | | |
| Why? | | | | And, YES, he did get us all in - and took a |
| | | | sizable donation out of my bank account! |
| - it was too rough for 6 year olds - it was | | | | |
| Kickboxing and Muay Thai which is quite hard | | | | The girls LOVE the class (once they are there |
| for 6 yr olds | | | | anyhow, they give me grief getting there, but |
| | | | once there they have a blast! There are also |
| - their teachers were more ring fighters than | | | | 2 other identical twin girls in the class |
| teachers for kids (Team Canada trained there | | | | about the same age, which definitely helps). |
| - and they won 90% of their battles across | | | | |
| the world as the training was excellent) | | | | And I love it as well! Lost some weight |
| | | | already... that in itself is great for a |
| - they only offered 1 kids-only class per | | | | month. My classes are great - during the |
| week | | | | lunch hours there are only a few people in |
| | | | the classes so I end up getting some |
| So, off I went in search of a new school. | | | | excellent one-on-one training with black |
| | | | belts. |
| This time though, the girls (my daughters) | | | | |
| got to pick. At that age, it is tough to keep | | | | The big lessons I took from his marketing |
| them interested - so I had to make sure the | | | | systems: |
| school and teacher were going to be a good | | | | |
| fit for them. | | | | 1. YOU, the business owner, should be the one |
| | | | setting the rules for your clients - if they |
| The first couple places we went to were awful | | | | want to do business with you; it is on your |
| - nasty teachers with no real concept of | | | | terms, not theirs |
| being a decent human being towards children. | | | | |
| While I understand the need for discipline in | | | | 2. DO NOT make yourself too accessible - make |
| martial arts - there is a point where you | | | | them work to do business with you (Dan |
| draw the line and say enough is enough. | | | | Kennedy preaches this one religiously) |
| | | | |
| Critical, downright nasty statements out of | | | | 3. Give a test run - something free they can |
| the teacher was enough to scare the girls, | | | | try - then they can decide if it is for them |
| and me, away. | | | | |
| | | | 4. Make the decision hard enough on the price |
| Then we found Master Yu. | | | | point, but with ample reasons why a premium |
| | | | price is better |
| He has some excellent marketing techniques in | | | | |
| use here: | | | | 5. Constant communication with students (and, |
| | | | in this case, their parents) |
| 1. By appointment only. No dropping in to | | | | |
| see what they are doing - you must book an | | | | 6. Explain all the different offerings |
| appointment and stick to your appointment | | | | (belts) and what it means to you personally |
| (they called 2 times before to make sure we | | | | |
| would be there) | | | | 7. Definitely NOT competing on price - a |
| | | | no-win battle - the market for upper end |
| 2. Must bring kids and myself - not just me | | | | products and services is THE FASTEST GROWING |
| as he wanted to meet the kids to see if THEY | | | | market segment in North America. |
| would be a good fit - turning the tables on | | | | |
| us, in essence | | | | Overall, I am really enjoying the martial |
| | | | arts - and in watching a master marketer at |
| 3. He let them try some lessons - and made it | | | | work! And of course, I will be finding a way |
| easy and fun | | | | to offer him additional marketing help in |
| | | | trade (got to always be looking for |
| 4. He showed them all the other kids in his | | | | opportunities!) |
| regular classes (kids have 4 classes a week - | | | | |
| plus 3 family classes they could go to as | | | | Find a few ways to make these lessons work |
| well). NOTE: he has (on average) 30-35 kids | | | | for your business... |
| per class - a sign he is doing something | | | | |