Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Page 209

The Three Foot Rule
Once you’ve set an appointment for an
intro, its important that you confirm the
appointment 24-hours in advance.
Confirming appointments greatly
increases the likelihood of your potential
students showing up for their classes
prepared for action. In your phone call you
mention that you'll be following up with a
courtesy call (either the day of their lesson
or the day before).
The call isn't to ask them if “they're still
going to make it," or some other negative
statement, but to make sure they know
exactly where the school is located. It’s
meant to be a friendly reminder.
And, if there's time, the rapport-building
process should be continued during the
confirmation, regardless whether a secretary
or the instructor makes the call. The information
sheet for a scheduled introductory should have the
essential information for the caller, such as: Parent(s) name, child's name,
age and any other notes taken during the course of the call (For example:
"Johnny's been getting bullied at school.").

Adding Friends and Family
During the initial phone call and then again on the confirmation call, it’s a
good practice to ask a prospective student if they would like to invite
friends or family members to participate along with them in their first
lessons.

The Greeting
Anyone coming through the front door of your school should, at
the very least, be acknowledged before they can take their fourth
step into your reception area. No matter how many introductory
lessons you might schedule in a single evening, it is important
to treat each lesson as if it were your only one of the night, or
the month, or the year.
You should know their name(s), and so should your entire
staff. It's best to have a welcoming board at your front desk
where the names of your next lessons are written for all to see.
They're VIP's, and having a front desk person say, "Hi, are you
the next intro?" is a universe away from, "Good evening Mr. &
Mrs. Johnson…and you must be Johnny? We've been looking
forward to teaching you!"

The Three-Foot Rule
Make sure train your staff to greet everyone within the first three steps
into the school and to come out from behind the counter to greet intros and
their families.
It's also during the greeting that the potential student fills out a school
application/questionnaire and release form.
In a perfect world, your front desk person is a master of
entertaining everyone who walks through the doors —
incoming and outgoing students, parents and potential
students. And anyone in your school who comes in contact
with an instructor or other staff member should get the
same kind of consistent courtesy and goodwill.
John Graden is the Executive Director of the Martial
Arts Teachers’ Association and the author of the
bestselling books on how to run a successful martial
arts school without selling out.
www.MartialArtsSchoolOwners.com