By Keith Hafner

You know how it works. You are really hot to sign up for tennis lessons. The salesperson is smooth and persuasive. This is something you really want to do. You sign up for the jumbo package of lessons. You head home.

And on the way home, you start to rethink your decision. “Oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into? Maybe I would have been better off waiting until next spring? I’m so busy with other commitments right now.”

We all experience this to a degree. Usually it’s not enough to make us change our minds. But if we get home and the spouse says, “Oh, you signed up there, huh? All the people at work say the other club is better.”

Or maybe an unexpected bill arrives in the next day’s post.

Buyer’s remorse might put the sale of the tennis lessons in jeopardy.

But what if, when you get home, there’s a voice on the voice mail, saying, “Hi, Alexis… it’s Sean from the tennis club. I’m the head teacher. The manager told me you signed up… and I just wanted to say I’m excited about working with you.”

Then, a day or so later, here comes a post card from the club. It’s a note, signed by about a dozen staff members. “Glad to have you on the team!” it says.

Then, a day or two before the first lesson, Alexis finds a package in her mailbox. It’s a can of three bright green tennis balls. A note is taped to the outside, “Alexis, I know you will have a ball in our club.”

Now, Alexis is sold. There is little danger she will be rethinking her decision at this point. Why? Because the sales process (or could we say the “courting” process?) didn’t stop when she paid her money. The tennis club wisely demonstrated that they valued her decision to sign with them.

Dave Kovar

Want great retention? Learn to communicate in a positive and empowering way. As every successful martial arts instructor knows, effective communication consists of so much more than using the appropriate words. It consists of being completely engaged on every level of communication possible. Let’s look at four different aspects of communication.
Here’s a great idea courtesy of Kovars, Inc.

Physiology. This is our body movement and posture. Imagine someone videotaping you teaching class and then watching it with sound muted. What story is your body telling? Would it appear irritable or angry, limp and lazy, or engaged and powerful?

Tip for implementation. Concentrate on keeping your shoulders back, your chin up and your arms moving freely. Avoid the “master stance” (arms crossed, weight on back leg, chin down, etc.)

To read about other transformational communication skills, read the next issue of the Eagle Express.

By John Cokinos, EFC President

One of my teenage daughters is in a ballet class. She complains that the teacher is not simply strict but almost abusive. She actually feels stressed out, and it’s an uphill fight just to get her to go each week.

When she came to me insisting that she quit, I said, “I have nothing to do with it. You must contact the owner.” We know this person, Rachel, on a first name basis. When my daughter went to her, we found out that not only does Rachel have a gift for talking to my daughter but also for talking to her ballet teacher. She reminded my daughter of her progress, re-established her goals, while simultaneously straightening out the teacher.

From a parent’s perspective, I was totally relieved that my daughter can’t come to me but must speak to Rachel. In my case it worked like a charm and got me out of the hot seat as a parent.

Why not implement a similar policy in your school? Indoctrinate the parent from the beginning that this scenario may arise, and they must refer their child to a certain staff member whom you designate. The parents will appreciate not having to deal with this difficult scenario and it will also help you with retention.

By Charles Chapman

Young students need direction and growth and experience of life in general. They are always looking for a good role model. Some of the kids have been bullied at school. They come and talk to us about that. We’ve got to talk to them about it and help them see how the bully operates. Bullies are looking for victims and we must teach them not to look like victims. They must learn to defeat the bully with confidence and the right attitude.

Michael & Kaori Nebgen

Q-Your gross went up to $60,000 in the last one year. What steps did you take that helped improve your gross?
I watch the stats closely and prioritize our daily activities based on our C.I.A.s (critical impact areas) where we want to see improvements so we determine a weekly M.A.P. (massive action plan) for the staff to work on collectively and individually. This allows us to be as effective as possible. So our Monday staff meeting is when we establish that. We also have a brief “productivity meeting” on Tuesday and Thursday after instructor training, to ensure focus on weekly goals.

Q-How did you train your staff for this big change?
Well this “big change” did not happen over night. I remember Master Keith Hafner said years ago, “We don’t hit a lot of home runs at our school, but we try to get base hits every day. “The metaphor made a lot of sense then, and it makes even more now. Signing up a big contract or a big cash amount on occasion is great, but consistently writing gold paper day in and day out is the right way to solidify your contract amount and A/R. We are still learning!
We always attend the EFC Summit, and I regularly attend MAUI. The combination of these keeps us highly motivated and on the cutting edge of the best practices and principles in the industry.
We meet every Monday with our entire staff for an extended lunch meeting that takes two hours. During this time we iron out objectives and challenges, plan the week, watch teaching videos, listen to audio messages, and review procedures.
I also try to hire staff to D.I.E. for! That is my code for hiring dependable/intelligent/enthusiastic people. So we try to start with great people and make them even better!!

Q-What steps did you take in terms of extension and renewal of contracts?
Of late I have spent a lot of time looking at our quit rate. By watching this stat and assessing a value to it, I can emphasize more easily to staff members the high value of retaining students vs. replacing them… this is very motivating. While we certainly do not want to diminish the personal and human aspect of training by “numbering” a student, we must peek at things like quit rate and student value in order to accurately monitor the progress of the business… after all, a prosperous school is in the best interest of everyone, owners, staff, and the student!
We constantly monitor the status of upcoming renewals. (By the way the new EFC online report “accounts to be renewed” really helps—thanks). We facilitate VIP enrollments at every opportunity.

Q-What actions did you take to keep your retention high?
Over the last couple of years we have:
- Implemented an Elite STORM Team. This has provided a high level goal for many young students to aim for after Black   Belt. We have seen some better retention from post-graduates as a result.
- Implemented a rotating curriculum that allows better skill retention on the mat, resulting in higher student   satisfaction.
- Eliminated some non-productive or time-wasting activities.

Q-What is your recommendation for school owners who want to see a similar improvement in their monthly grosses?
- Train, train, train.
- Keep you eyes on your stats—be a stats master. I know it sounds dull but there is no easier way to see what to fix.   Stats give you the big picture. And only you as the owner, have the power to make changes.
- Be a marketing master—get good at it, then keep at it!
- Network—you are among the best and brightest, what more could you ask for!
- Stand guard at the door of your mind—think, act and be around the positive!
- Monitor where you spend time—you might be surprised were you could be more efficient!

Buzz Durkin

Every business should have the following five things:

1. A friendly greeting. Be happy and thankful when someone comes in through the door to do business. We have a “stand up” rule in our school. If someone speaks to you, you stand up.
2. A personal interest in the customer/student is necessary.
3. Make the customer/student feel special. Each student should feel as if s/he has been taught a private lesson.
4. Every school should have not just a “no problem” attitude, but a “my pleasure” attitude.
5. Schools must think about staying in business for the long-term by being forward-thinking. Instead of thinking about the achievements of the last year, you must think about the goals of the next five years.

All this adds more value to the student experience, preventing them from thinking about leaving.

Dave Kovar has just released a new blog filled with great tips and valuable
insights on a variety of topics of interest to all school owners and instructors.

At Mr. Kovar’s blog you’ll find:

·        Mat Management tips

·        Inspirational thoughts

·        Business and Marketing Tip

·        Videos of Mr. Kovar’s renowned character development cirriculum
·        And much more

Mr. Kovar’s blog can be found at: http://kovarsblog.kovarsystems.com