Have you ever had this conversation with someone and/or even a dialog with your own self? It goes something like this, “Well they were just not serious,” or “they never took their training seriously,” Or “I knew it from the start that they did not take Martial Arts seriously,” or that they “never connected,” or that they “never knew what was going on.”
You know the emotion that I am referring to. Usually it was about the student or their parents. Well in some cases this could not be far from the truth. But in most cases, this is not at all the reality. It is what we want to assume or even our own excuse to justify losing a student.
You see, when we lose a student, we have a natural tendency to, most of the time, put the blame on the student and simply shuck it to as they were not being serious or connected. We have to justify it, in order to keep our sanity, and not to let this stress us out, like it does most of the time.
Well, today I have a totally different take on this. Ask yourself this question. If in the first place they were not serious or that they really did not wanted to start or take this activity seriously.
Then why in the world did they enrolled in the first place? Why in the world did they took time out of their busy schedule to investigate about our activity and search for our business and made an effort of going through the process of finding, trying, and then starting an activity which if in the first place they already knew that they would quit? Why in the world they would spend their hard earned money to spend it on something that they knew that they would quit? Just think about it for a moment! It just doesn't make sense does it?
Now here we can argue that they made an impulsive decision and that they later on changed their mind. Ok, I can agree with this. But if all your customers are making an impulsive decision then something is really wrong with this picture. No, not everyone makes impulsive buying decisions, no matter how savvy your selling process is. No, not everyone.
We know statistically that on an annual basis, Martial Art schools lose 80% or even more members every year. If it was not true then almost all the schools would have a couple of thousand students in 5 to 10 years. But this is not the case is it ? We loose more than what we keep. And that's the honest truth.
As far as loosing students, 3 to 5 % loss is normal and can be justified, I can understand that. Due to life circumstances and changes in people's lives we surely loose students. But majority of the time things don't change in a fast and drastic Manner. Yes at times it does happen but not often.
Then why do we lose so many students all the time? Think about it! Could it be that we might be the ones at fault? And to be blamed? For Most of the losses? Think about it with an open mind. Without ego or pride. Let's look at it from their prospective for a minute.
A recent epiphany came to me while sitting in on one of my son’s gymnastics class. The class was fun and active. You see I have been to several of his classes and this one was no different, the same usual energy. The same usual methods of teaching and communication. Very impersonal. Very structured and active but not demanding at all.
More play then detailed instructions. (Acceptable). High performance not encouraged, or pushed to improve performance. Yes, the instructors did show the moves but that was it. No demand for excellence. Hardly any corrections. At that moment I realized that if I was a parent who wanted more for their child, then what I just saw and experienced would be not enough, Unacceptable and Unsatisfactory. My son now has been in the same school for a year and a half.
At this point upon this realization, as a serious parent who wanted more for their child, I would seek out a more serious and demanding institution. I would then take my child somewhere else. Maybe to another gym where I thought was for the more serious student. Now majority of the parents are not this serious and most don't analyze things like I do. At that moment several thoughts went through my Mind both as a parent and also as a business owner whose business was very much like the Gymnastic gym business. What might be the expectations of these parents? How they might be viewing our programs. And also how we should be thinking?
This was the big moment of truth for me. That it's not what they expect it's what we should expect first from ourselves and then from our students.
1) If the parent who demands more does not get more then they will quit and re-enroll somewhere else.
2) Most parents don't know the difference.
3) They accept most training the way that it is. Simply trusting the institution.
4) After a period of time they slowly start observing or realizing that there is hardly any significant progress been made.
5) They and their child loses interest.
6) They don't feel connected or engaged.
7) They really don't know what to ask and what really to expect. Seriousness from the Parents and the Students comes from how serious is the institution and instructors are about their students.
We must first connect and engage before we expect them to make the connection. We have been looking at this phenomenon totally wrong. We expect them to take us seriously. Whereas we should be the ones taking them seriously first. We should have a success plan, a higher standard and higher expectations. We should successfully communicate the above to them and expect them to comply.
A private elite school mentality. Expect excellence don't settle for mediocrity Demand more to get more. Engage more to be engaged. Communicate more to be understood better. Educate more to be understood better. Appreciate more to be appreciated. Parents with high standards and expectations take their children to institutions of higher excellence. They don't mind paying more. They don't mind sacrificing more. But they expect results and a higher quality of performance.
So let us make our mindset such and let's make our institutions such. Expect more to get more. Higher standards to attract a higher quality of customer. One who is willing to do more and pay more in return of quality education.
So my dear fellow Martial Art Executives, my moment of realization and the epiphany was really nothing new. It just happened that it happened to me in a different setting in a different role, first as a parent then as a customer and then I connected it to being a business owner and an instructor. I was outside my normal element. Not that I didn't know this in the very first phase but that day I realized it from a different role.
We all know these important facts about keeping good retention. We all have learned and even taught them to our staff. But it is always good to see things once again to be reminded and to view them from a different angle.
For you, the ultimate takeaway from this writing should be: The 5 Major Truth of student Retention.
1) First of all, to grow our Students we must first get to know our students. Make a connection. Be curious, be inquisitive, and be sincere.
2) Understand them before you expect them to understand you. They don't really care about how much you know but they will know how much you care. Take good care of them.
3) To be appreciated you must first appreciate. Show your gratitude and appreciation every chance that you get.
4) Be serious about their progress and improvement first, if you want them to be serious about what you do, show genuine concern about their learning, progress and the quality of their skill.
5) Clear and timely Communication is your responsibility. The more you communicate the better relationships you develop. Great communication is one of the most important aspect of your service.
In conclusion, all that what I have expressed is probably nothing new for any good business owner and any great Martial Arts teacher.
To expect seriousness from our students and to get commitment from our students, we must first approach with seriousness and commitment ourselves. Remember, it’s a give and take paradigm and not a take and give paradigm. You must give first, before you expect to receive. What you give out, you will take in. The more serious you are, most likely, they will also be serious about you. The more committed you are, most likely they will be committed too.
You see, you set the mindset expectations and conditioning in your school, in your life, and in your business. Don’t expect any rewards without first earning the right to be rewarded.
Let’s get serious.