Add an additional $21,456 of pure profit to your martial arts school
May 5, 2009 by Ryan Wheaton
Filed under Marketing Concepts
How would you like to add an additional $21,456 of bottom line profit to your martial arts school?
What if I told you you could actually do this if you implemented just one idea from this site?
Well, it’s simple really.
Just work to get one referral a month every month for an entire year.
Getting one referral a month isn’t too hard, especially if you put a system in place to help make it happen.
Referrals Are The Best Source of New Students
As we all know, referrals are usually the cheapest marketing vehicle there is. It can cost you little to nothing and can help fill up your martial arts classes, fast.
It is also the most persuasive marketing there is because people listen to their friends and family members and value what they say. It comes down to trust and people trust their friends and family (well, in most cases!).
How many things have you purchased just because a friend told you they loved it?
I have TiVo because a friend of mine wouldn’t shut up about it. He got me excited enough to pay $150 for the box and $15 a month for the service. I’ve had it for 5 years now and can’t live without it.
In fact, I know of many martial arts schools that almost exclusively market their martial arts school through referrals.
How cool would that be for your business? Not only that, how much more profitable would your martial arts school be?
If you got one referral a month every month for a year, that can add up fast.
Here’s the quick math if you are charging $149 a month for lessons:
- $149/month x 12 months = $1,788
- $1,788/yr x 12 referrals/yr = $21,456
Remember, that doesn’t include down payments, belt tests, proshop sales or anything else. That’s $21,456 just off of lessons (assuming they each stayed on for a full year). Then when you factor in the lifetime value of each student, this number really starts to skyrocket!
Simply substitute your monthly number to see how much you could add from this idea. Hopefully this little exercise motivates you to create a referral system for your martial arts school.
I know when I ran the numbers, it put a BIG fire under my butt to get moving!
Don’t Wait For Referrals
Most people think referrals just happen and that you don’t have to work for them.
If you’re doing this, slap yourself in the face. Hard.
You can’t rely on referrals just happening on their own to grow your business. Sure, they can happen on their own. But, probably not enough to sustain your business.
You have to make them happen.
If you don’t have a referral system in place, its time to create one.
Even if you are already getting a lot of referrals each month, imagine how many more you could be getting if you had a referral system in place that did all the work for you!
In my next post, I will share three referral marketing systems that can help you get more students from referrals.
So, how many referrals a month do you get?
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I'm Ryan Wheaton and I work with martial arts school owners to help them attract more students. Many martial arts school owners are confused at how to best market their business and feel awkward in selling situations. I help them overcome those challenges to become confident and competent in marketing and selling their services - helping them become more profitable so they can live the lifestyle they want to live.
Okay, I’m WAITING for the referral marketing tips!!!! Hurry!
Great advice Ryan! I’ve actually RE-created a NEW referral program at The Dojo of Karate. I’ve been announcing it almost EVERY class to drill it in our students head too. Basically, for each person the student refers to our school & tries out a lesson, they get a free movie pass. If that student signs up in our Beginners Program than the student will also get a $25 gift card, as well as the chance to help them in their 1st class.
I would prefer to spend money on my students instead of Direct Mail pieces which are hit/miss… Plus, this empowers my students to take pride in their school and say “I helped grow our Karate school”.
I also told them that our goal is to reach 100 students by the end of the year. We are currently at about 60 students… I’m sure we can get there, but I told them I need their help to make it… Should be a fun ride!
But, I am looking forward to some of your tips!
Javier
The Dojo of Karate
Leslie, you crack me up! Don’t worry, those referral marketing tips are coming soon!