Martial Arts Lessons-Do you hate selling them?

Selling your Martial Arts Lessons is NOTHING like selling a used car – do you and your staff understand this?

Hey! If I say “salesman”, please ask yourself what thoughts you associate with that title… I bet the first three are negative. Keeping it real, the general public has a poor perception of salesmen. At best they are thought to be fast talking, performers of well engineered pitches – at worst, they are considered thieves, con artists, etc.

So when your career involves the need to sell your lessons to people – how do you deal with that task? What’s your mentality behind it? What about your staff’s?

I’ve listened to countless peers provide their thoughts and feelings towards these questions, and I’ve tried to internalize my answers towards these questions for years. In general, none of us really enjoy the feeling of realizing in order for us to earn income; we need to ask someone we don’t know very well to part with their hard earned money. We have to though, right? If we don’t successfully “sell” our martial arts lessons, we can’t keep our schools open, and we can’t continue to do what we love – spread the art and improve the lives of others.

I am happy to say I have good news for all of you that don’t like “selling” – there’s a serious movement right now, finally…

What’s happened is through a combination of tougher competition, economical pressures, etc. the only people still selling lessons are instructors who are for the most part offering quality services or products. No one can afford crappy lessons, and everyone is talking about those who provide them (social media > add me on Facebook BTW), so basically the market has changed and while it may be primal to put it this way – only the strong have survived.

n other words - if you are still selling Martial Arts lessons today, it is because your lessons are worth buying. Really, there is no need anymore to feel like a used car salesman when you pull out your binder of program options to that potential student. It’s time to shift the way you view “selling” altogether, here’s why:

Being a salesperson no longer entails what it used to, it's not about talking fast anymore, it’s not about well orchestrated sales pitches either. The New School approach to sales is all about solving problems for people, or taking the time to recognize the abilities of someone you don't know very well and assisting them to enhance them even further. It’s also about connecting with people, not pitching them.

In short, selling your lessons to someone can and should be viewed as an enjoyable activity, not one you fear or detest doing.

So why is it most of us still hate asking for money? What I’ve observed in speaking to 60+ instructors per/day is that we're all still too busy trying to make it happen day in and day out to stop and think about it. I respect all of you in that position, but I urge you to please take one moment to identify:

1. How do your lessons impact those that buy them? - They improve their lives whether professionally, personally, or both.

2. Would they be better off with or without taking your lessons? - They are better taking them, that’s why you have your current students, so just introduce what you do and let the sales process happen naturally.

3. Do people like you? - Yes! Recognize that you are a good friend and family member, and there happens to be no crime in building relationships with your customers too. So, since you're good at it - do it!

Welcome to the new school, if you are reading this it means you are still in business, and it's time to feel good about selling and teaching others to sell with or for you. Your customers benefit the moment after the transaction, so help them get there as soon as you know them well enough to recognize they are ready to buy from you.

If you catch yourself feeling “those” thoughts again next time you are about to go over your lesson prices with someone, review the 3 points above again because they are true and need to be embedded in your mentality. Good luck!

Jon Malach