"My eyes are up here."

John Whitman speaking at the Unite To Ignite event in San Antonio, December, 2023

It's so easy to be an armchair critic these days.  It's much easier to criticize and put those around you down then to elevate your own standard.  Those that continue to learn continue to grow. 

Engage your students, promote your school and support a worthy cause all with Facebook Check Ins.  There are several ways you can approach this.  Several schools and gyms have offered free water when you check in with Facebook.  We have decided to donate to a local cause when a student checks in.  It is a Win-Win fro everyone.  The student feels good that they supported a cause, the school gets the publicity on Facebook and the local cause gets a charitable donation.

In order for marketing to work you have to do a lot of it and in several areas.  There isn't one idea that will solve all of your marketing problems.  Those that succeed are using multiple marketing pillars to generate leads and build up their school.  Master Garcia reviews for you the 10 best marketing pillars and how to get them to generate new students.

It is no surprise to hear that the internet is having effects on our industry just like any other. The school owners I talk to every day complain that there is an increasing amount of competition when it comes to martial arts merchandise found on the web.

There are a couple of ways you can handle the situation when a student shows up in your location with equipment or merchandise they purchased on the web. However, I want you to understand that these are reactive strategies. Specifically these are just ideas of how to solve the symptoms of the problem, not the actual problem.  To truly tackle this problem you have to focus your efforts on how the customer sees you and the services you provide for them. The goal is to set the table properly at the beginning so that the student doesn’t have any reason to turn to the internet without speaking with you first.

The most crucial thing to understand is that your customers must see you as the expert. The customer must feel like they shouldn’t actually purchase anything with out your expert opinion. You can do this by mentioning it to your customer the very first time they train at your facility, but most specifically in the sales process when you sign them up for the very first time. Also you can remind them frequently over time as they train at your facility. Remember this: how can a student know what product to purchase for your curriculum, when you picked/developed the curriculum used in the school? The products that are used should be the ones you have decided are needed for the particular curriculum you teach.

Here is an example of the same situation but in a different activity. Assume you sign up for golf lessons with the local golf pro at your nearest golf course. Let’s assume that after a month your golf expert recommends that you buy some clubs. Because they are the expert and have taught you everything you know, you take them very seriously.

At this juncture the golf pro can do two things:

• They can make a suggestion on what to buy and leave you to figure out where to get it;
• OR he/she can make a strong recommendation on what to buy, and then walk you into the pro shop, introduce you to the salesperson, and MAKE SURE you buy the correct golf clubs that fit your body type, your swing, and your golf game.

If the golf pro actually takes the time to walk you into the pro shop and goes over each of the items I just mentioned above, the customer will buy that product right then and there the majority of the time.

This situation is no different from your martial arts school. Your students should look to you for advice on what to buy and where to get it. You should be walking your students into your pro shop and explaining to them why the product YOU have is the ONLY product they will need. And if they decide that there is something that they must have that you don’t carry, then they need to understand that you will do everything in your power to get it for them. You owe that to them anyway if you want to provide them with the best customer service you can provide.

I don’t really believe that your customers have the time to do research on the internet when you carry the products they need. Your customers have to go to work, the dry cleaners, the supermarket, get their kids to school, martial arts class, and piano lessons. Don’t you think they would appreciate it if you actually SAVED them time by making it easy to get them the products they need?

In the eventuality that your customer found the same equipment on the web that you are selling at a price lower than yours, simply respond this way. Tell them that as their instructor you would feel more comfortable using the equipment you are providing them. Offer to sell them the equipment at the exact same price they paid, if they go ahead and return the product to where they purchased it. Here is the most important point: use this time to instill in your customer that you want to be the number one source for all of their equipment and merchandise needs. Make sure you tell your customer that if there is anything else they need or want, you will bend over backwards to get it for them. You want your customer to understand that you are going to save them time and effort by helping them get what they want as quickly as possible.

Paul Reavlin is the president of Revgear.com in Van Nuys, California. He teaches over 50 strategies to dramatically increase pro shop revenues for martial arts school owners. Revgear.com supplies martial arts equipment and products to over 3,000 schools across the U.S.  Paul is a CPA and has a black belt in Krav Maga. He can be contacted with questions or comments at paulr@revgear.com or 800-767-8288.

February's Krav Maga Technique of the Month is the Level 1 Self-Defense technique, "Choke from Behind with a Push." Watch Krav Maga Alliance's Founder (and 5th Degree Krav Maga Black Belt) lead you through the technique of what to do when someone is choking you and driving/pushing you forward...

The Martial Arts Buzz has offered up a few marketing tips for our Krav Maga Alliance affiliates on how to help your gym get more social media followers, and get more new members into your gyms. Read their tips below, give them a shot, and let us know how they worked for you!

Social Media Fan Pages:

Start getting in the habit of taking pictures during classes. Goal is to get at LEAST 5 pictures per day. Adults and kids - in action - in the lobby etc.

Using your schools Facebook groups.

• Post a relevant recipe into your groups. Ie kids healthy fun veggie sanck - adults low fat dessert or high protein time saving meal. Ask who is going to try this recipe this week?
• Tell FB groups to follow you on Facebook (post this on a different day)

Marketing Yourself

Join at least 5 of the following types of social media networking groups (under your personal account) -

1. Networking - other business owners supporting each other -
   search key terms in top bar of Facebook including your towns name or county name or any nicknames your community has. combine it with terms like networking, vendors, business etc.
2. Yard Sale groups - any Facebook groups dedicated to sales - check the rules of these prior to joining some say clearly no businesses
3. Community groups - any town that your members come from.
   1. Look for town names, PTO,PTA, school names, college names
   2. Request to join
   3. After approved introduce yourself,
      1. Networking groups - “Hi I am xxxxx. I own XXXX We specialize inxxxxxxxxx.” feel free to check out our website www.xxx.com
      2. Yard sale group Hi I am xxxxx from xxxxx - check out this great deal we have for new students (insert a groupon link - or website someone can take advantage of deal)
      3. Community “HI I am xxxx I ownXXXX - we do a lot for the community in events etc. From Woman’s self defense seminars to FREE Bully safe workshops for kids - If I can help you out in any of these area feel free to private message me.” (modify based on what community events you do).

Want more? Be sure to check out The Martial Arts Buzz' website: www.TheMartialArtsBuzz.com for 15 FREE Tips to Growing Your School Using Facebook.

January 2016's Business Tip of the Month for our Krav Maga Alliance affiliates is written by KMA President and Founder, John Whitman...Gym owners, sales people, and instructors...enjoy!

In sales, money is often cited as one of the main objections the salesperson must overcome.  This isn’t true. Money is not an objection.

If a member truly cannot afford your membership, that is an unfortunate circumstance, and that person is not a viable prospect. But that person probably never walked into your gym in the first place.

I already know that I want to own my own private island, I just can’t afford one (yet).  That’s a circumstance. And it’s the reason that I don’t visit the “Private Island For Sale” shop around the corner.

But the odds are that every single person who tours your gym or tries your class has enough money to pay for a membership. They are just trying to decide whether or not to spend their money on you, or on something else.

So stop thinking of money as an objection.  Instead, approach the presentation of price with a few simple, straightforward tactics:

• Build Value First — this should already be part of your strategy. People ask for price, but what they need to understand is value.  Don’t disclose pricing until you’ve built value through a tour, introductory class, and explanation of benefits.  If your prospective member insists on pricing, give a range and use that statement to lead right into the value.  For example:  “Our memberships run from $99 a month up to $200 a month, depending on your interest.  For instance, a lot of our members choose Option A because you get all the benefits of…”
• Explain Savings.  Assuming you have a discount to offer upfront (either a special you are running or a standard discount if the prospect signs up now or pays in full), explain it immediately after you’ve stated the price.  The flow of information should be                   Value——>Price——>Savings
• Have Confidence (But Don’t Be A Jerk).  Many sales people, especially newer sales people, are nervous to state prices because it sounds expensive to them personally.  Put that aside. The membership is worth the price, so state your pricing clearly and confidently. Look the prospective member in the eye.  In a bar, pick up lines don’t work. Confidence works. State your case with confidence. At the same, don’t be too challenging or arrogant. In that singles bar scenario, the confident guy gets the girl. The douche bag doesn’t.
• Create Urgency. You need to establish some reason why the member should sign up now. The urgency can be monetary, such as a special rate or a discount on the enrollment fee. Or the urgency can be their own internal drive, especially right after taking class: “I’m glad you liked the class; let’s get started so you can get back in there…”

Remember, money is a circumstance, not an objection.  The prospective member talking to you can afford your membership, so money isn’t the issue.  The real “selling” is done when you build value through your tour and introductory presentations.

Keep at it. Build value. Close deals. I will keep working on it, too. Then we can both buy our own private islands.

February 5-8, 2015 @ 8am to 5pm | $999