That’s ridiculous…no one keeps students for 10 years!!
Posted on | May 22, 2011 | No Comments
That’s what we heard when we brought this up at a meeting of school operators. But as a matter of fact, you can keep students for 10 years. Here are the keys to getting students to train with you for a decade or more:
1) Believe they will train with you for 10 years. This is essential. If you don’t believe it, it won’t happen. Yes, you’ll be “putting the cart before the horse” if you believe this before it actually happens, but this is the first step. And it’s absolutely necessary. So take the leap of faith and imprint this in your belief system.
2) Pay close attention to your internal resistance to this. Say out loud, “Students will train at our school for 10 years or more.” If you’re like most people, a skeptical voice in your head will quickly tell you all the reasons this won’t happen. There can be all kinds of reasons why you may be skeptical of this. Listing to these objections will give you some ideas for things you might want to adjust. For example, one reason may be that they’ll be bored long before then. This may be true now. But if you believe this is true, that’s your signal to put extra effort into making every class fun, interesting, challenging etc. Perhaps a refresher on disguising repetition and maybe some exciting new drills.
Be sure to separate your resistance into things you can’t address and things you can. Obviously, if someone starts your program with they’re 14, there is a strong chance that you’ll lose them four years later when they move away to college. There’s not much you can do about this. But if you focus on students that start at eight or younger, the reasons they might leave within 10 years are more within your control.
3) Get them off to a great start. Here’s the perfect formula for their first several weeks:
- Find out what they’re hoping for and what their concerns are in your intro. Develop a plan to give them more than what they’re hoping for and be sure to address their concerns quickly and thoroughly.
- Orchestrate their first class so that they LOVE the experience and can’t wait to come back.
- By the end of their second week, they should feel completely comfortable with the instructor and the other students in the class.
- They feel that their efforts and accomplishments are acknowledged.
- You find just the right moment to tell them that you can look ahead and see them as an awesome black belt in your program.
- They start sharing that vision and get excited about the prospect of actually earning their black belt.
- They happily make a commitment to earning their black belt.
- Students realize that they love training at your school and parents are thrilled because you gave them exactly what they were hoping for and more. (This didn’t happen by accident. See the first bullet in this set.)
4) Communication in their first several weeks is vital. The only way to know for sure if they’re getting off to a great start is to get feedback. It’s easy to make “course corrections” early, before small concerns become major issues… but only if you know what they’re thinking.
5) Get them over their first obstacle. This can come in many different forms, but it’s going to come so be ready. And after they’ve overcome it, be sure to make them feel great about it. (So the next time they encounter an obstacle, they’ll expect that they’ll persevere through it.)
6) If the student is a child, be sure to invest similar energy in the satisfaction of the parent. Go out of your way to engage with them. Compliment and appreciate their child. Every parent loves this!
7) Make your school a genuine community. Starbucks refers to their stores as being “their third place.” Their home is their first place. Their work or school is their second place. And your martial arts school is their third place. It’s the place they love to be when they’re not at home, school or work. Think about ways to make your school a social hub for your students and parents. Your martial arts program is always the core of what goes on at your school, but your goal is to have your school be your students’ favorite place to be.
8) Never underestimate the power of the personal touch: Take a moment to look a student in the eye and tell them you’re proud of them. Send handwritten “Awesome” cards, birthday cards, etc.
There are lots of variations to all of this, but the underlying theme is this: If they love coming to class, if they can’t wait to come back, if they feel like they’re an integral part of the school, if your school is their favorite place to be, if they feel acknowledged, appreciated and heard, if they have positive relationships with their instructor and their fellow students, they’ll never want to quit. And as long as the person paying feels that what they’re getting is priceless, they’ll do anything to keep the student coming back for more.
Compliments of Mark Seidman, General Manager of Kovar’s Systems
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About Dave Kovar
Mr. Kovar has been teaching Martial Arts professionally since 1978. Dave is a multi-style Black Belt who has been committed to ever-improving his Martial Arts skills. He updates this blog to provide tips and insights to martial arts instructors around the country. To learn more, click here.
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