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I lost money when i tried to get new students. Here's why...

10/24/2020

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When you need more money, where do you look? 
If you're like most of us, your mind automatically goes to getting new students. 

You shift your time and resources to achieving that one goal. 
Before I launched my own studio, I was teaching under the umbrella of two different churches and my own home. 

I was easily able to retain 80 - 90% of my students each semester. 

When I launched my own studio, 98% of my students who had been taking with me between the churches and my home followed! 

But after the first year of being in the new studio, I noticed retention had dropped to 60%. 
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I will be upfront and tell you there were a few things that contributed to this drop...
  • Shauna and I adopted our son, Josiah with just one week notice. 
  • I hired 4 or 5 new teachers and moved about half of my personal students to them. 

But by FAR the biggest problem I had was this: 

I shifted my focus to getting NEW students and stopped investing in my current students. 
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My studio actually ended our first year of lessons with MORE students than when we started! 

But it didn't matter.
​
Shauna and I were focused on making more money, so naturally, we focused on learning how to advertise and persuade MORE new students to sign up for lessons. 

We achieved the goal, but ironically, it cost us more. 

Here are 3 reasons why...

1. Our current students were our biggest fans until we put them on auto pilot. 

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I had spent YEARS nurturing and investing in these students! I was always thinking about how to improve their lessons. As a result, they trusted me and were all in. 

When I shifted my focus to getting new students, I didn't have my systems in place enough to put teaching on autopilot. 
I didn't have a clear path of where I was taking each student, but I also had stopped thinking about it.

​They caught on. 


Most of them didn't even leave disgruntled.
​Most of them gave valid reasons for moving on!


​The underlying problem was this: 

Because I stopped focusing on making the lesson experience better, they lost interest. ​

2. If I had kept my current students happy, they would have stayed and brought MORE referrals my way. 

​I didn't have a clear plan for my students.
​
It was fine when I spent all of my time worrying about making them happy, but when I needed to shift my focus toward getting new students in the door, it was a MAJOR problem. 

Students became bored! Some even assumed they had mastered their instrument since I wasn't challenging them anymore. 
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I think parents were still happy to refer others to my studio if they were specifically looking for lessons... but when their kids were LOVING lessons, parents would actually START UP conversations with others about how much Billy loved guitar and how Stickandstrum was amazing. ​

3. I wasn't able to keep the NEW students walking in my studio!

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​Again, I was SO focused on getting new students in the door and filling up the schedule I had stopped worrying about the student and lesson experience. 

I had to focus on getting new students in the door! I had new teachers' schedules I had to fill. I had a new son I had to provide for! 

BUT I didn't have the systems in place to make sure the lesson experience and the student path were clear. 
I had also hired a lot of teachers who were brand new to teaching.
Though I don't regret hiring beginner teachers, I do regret not training them well enough to teach.

A lot of our teachers were flailing.

​Most of them overwhelmed or underwhelmed their students.


Kids left our studio either bored, or thinking they weren't good enough to play since they were over-challenged. 

Trying to fill our teachers' schedules was like trying to fill a styrofoam cup with a hole in the bottom. 

We were working our BUTTS off advertising, but all of it was wasted because we weren't able to keep them!
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At The Studio Challenge, we talk aggressively about getting new students... 


We all want a full schedule of happy students!

We don't want to worry about money.

Our dream is to sustain ourselves and make a living doing what we LOVE! 

NONE of it matters if we can't keep our current students invested!

I learned how to improve my student retention, but it took a few years to figure it out HOW to grow and keep students engaged without having to consume my time worrying about them! 

As studio owners, we have MANY things we have to worry about.

Let's get the necessary systems in place to improve retention and the lesson experience so we can keep students happy and keep growing... 
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Join us for November's Challenge: 

Improve Your Lesson Experience! 


Join TSC's Silver Membership and let's FOCUS in November on keeping your students happy while being able to get new students in the door. 



Let's make sure your studio is set up to both ATTRACT and KEEP students in your door so you don't end up over-working like I was...

We're going to talk and work through 4 things next month: 
  1. Identify the characteristics of your ideal students and attract MORE of them. 
  2. Put a Student Path plan in place to keep your students engaged and interested in staying longer. 
  3. Improve Student Retention. 
  4. Make your Onboarding process seamless and the first lesson experience amazing. 

We'll focus on one of these areas each week. A workbook and lesson videos are included. 
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how to create an amazing first lesson

10/13/2020

1 Comment

 
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We all know first impressions matter.
It's a one time shot and there are no do overs. 



So, what is the first impression that your students and families get for you? 

It should start BEFORE their first lesson.

Here are some simple things you can do that make a HUGE impression on students and parents after they've signed up for lessons... 

Send them a Greeting

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Email, Phone Call, Text, Postcard...Video?

Before students begin their first lesson, you have the chance to really make a great impression on them.

Chances are that you've been talking to the parent this whole time. 



​Not a lot of 9 year olds sign themselves up for lessons, ya know?

Now is your chance to make an impression with the student. 

While an email, phone call, or text would be a great way to reach out we want to take it up a notch. 

A postcard is a solid option.
​NO ONE gets anything good in the mail anymore. But kids never get mail.

How awesome would it be for mom to head to the mailbox and for your student to hear,

"Hey Jonah! You've got some mail!"


What? That has likely never happened before. I mean, maybe a card from grandma but even she is just sending a birthday text these days. 

He runs over to the mailbox to see a postcard with a handwritten greeting from you introducing yourself and saying that you can't wait to meet him and start lessons next week. Awesome! 

But, how about we take it a step further? 

What if you sent a personalized video to him? 

Take a quick video in your studio introducing yourself, calling him by name, and saying how excited you are to meet him and get started. 

How cool is that? 

LessonMate is a great and simple option for this. You can quickly record a video DIRECTLY into your browser and send a link over to his parent's email. No awkward download/upload process. No waiting. No having the parents sign up for some confusing new software that they'll never understand. Just a quick way for you to send a video and put a smile on a kid's face. 

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Walking in for their First Lesson...

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Make sure that you, the teacher, or the desk staff is there to meet the student and family at the front door and greet them BY NAME as soon as they open the door.

​Their first moment is everything.
​
They are in a new and unsure location and looking for a sense of belonging. Give it to them. 


One of our members, Emily, has a GREAT way to do this. She has a board welcoming in new members. She calls it her VIP Board, or something like that. Basically, it's a board welcoming in new students and they can see their names and feel like rock stars as soon as they walk through the front door. 

But it doesn't stop there. Expand on it with a full VIP package. Give them a backstage pass to wear with their name on it. Give them a Swag Bag filled with studio merch like a t-shirt, stickers, pencils, headphones, and anything else you can think of or get your brand on. 

The idea here is to completely overwhelm them with awesomeness from the first time they step in the door.
​

This is going to help to boost confidence and help them feel like they are part of the community from their first step into the door. 

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The Actual Lesson

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No matter the instrument, the first lesson can be a little intense.

We have to go over posture, music reading, how to hold the instrument, and a hundred other insanely boring tasks that zap the enthusiasm out of your young and eager student. 

So, how can we improve this experience?

There are too many instruments in here for me to get into specifics but here are a few suggestions. I also tread lightly here because you're here for business advice, not pedagogical advice. 

This first lesson should be experiential, more than educational.

Do NOT overwhelm with information.

Overwhelm with the power of music and let them experience it! 

For drum students, that means we're playing We Will Rock You at the first lesson. I don't go overboard on stick grip or proper posture, though I mention it. I just want them to get in and have an awesome time. I want to inspire them so that they can't wait to come back for more. 

Take time to get to know the student. It's easy for us to just switch into full on teacher mode.

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After the First Lesson

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​Typically this is where it ends, right?
​
"Well, start practicing and I'll see you next week! "


But that's not where you end. 

​
First, make sure you have time to go and talk to the parents even if you have to cut the lesson short by a minute or two.

Go over what you learned, but don't overwhelm.

This is a chance to talk about how awesome their kid is.

Find something that you connected over and brag about their kid! 


When they Get Home

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Within 24 hours you need to follow up.

Like before, this can be call/text/email or you could also send another video.

Just depends on your style.

​But it's important to follow up after the lesson is over to help them to realize that they are getting more than just a 30 minute lesson every week. 


It also helps to remind and reinforce what they should be working on in between the lessons:
"Hey! Enjoyed our first lesson today.

​"You did great! Remember to work on blah blah blah and I look forward to seeing you again next week!"


A postcard or email later in the week before their next lesson will also go a LONG way towards making them feel like they are already an important part of your studio. 

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​What are some ways you make new students feel welcome at your studio? 


Let us know in the Facebook group! 


Join us for November's Challenge:

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Starting next month, Studio Challenge Members are going to work on improving the lesson experience at their studios! 

When you are done with this month's challenge:
  • Your students will WANT to stick with lessons long term. 
  • Your students' FRIENDS will want to take lessons and your studio will gain popularity. 
  • You'll attract MORE of the students you WANT and get less of those you don't click with. 

Join TSC's Silver Membership NOW to take part in November's challenge. 
(You can cancel anytime.)
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A quick and easy way to get new students Now

10/7/2020

1 Comment

 
Growing your studio takes time, but sometimes you cannot focus on the long term growth.
If rent is due next week and you need money ASAP, here's a quick way you can get some new students in the door this week...
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Nothing will EVER beat word of mouth in our business.

If you have a studio full of happy and engaged students, you have a network of people ready to help you.

Your students have:
  • Parents
  • Siblings
  • Friends
  • People they go to school or church with
  • People they play sports with
  • Moms that talk to other moms about their kids’ activities
 

So, it’s time to use this!

On the simplest level you can just send an email letting them know that you are looking to grow your studio and wanted to see if they knew of anyone interested in lessons. Make it easy by extending an offer or flyer for them to give to friends.

Emails to Current Students Quick Tips: 
  1. Individual emails work better than group emails, even if they are a little more work. Just copy/paste most of the email and add in some personal details.
  2. Do this a few times each year. And also follow up in person. People just need to be reminded. They want to help.
  3. Create an offer or referral program. We just dug out some old referral cards: Free registration for new students ($50 value) and a gift card for the student that refers them.
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Which one grabs you more...

"Come take lessons with me! I am open every day, and you can sign up whenever." 
🧐

OR...

"I only have 4 spots left for guitar lessons on Monday! If you enroll today, you can begin next week!" 
😯

Using scarcity marketing not only prompts people to sign up for lessons, but it also gives them comfort in knowing:

1. You have students taking who trust you, and

2. You run a legit business and your time is valuable.

When you flaunt being open all the time for anyone to take, well, you look sketchy like this guy.

That's why Shauna create ads for YOU that are designed attract students to sign up, and do it NOW. 

Subscribe today, and get your first scarcity marketing template immediately.👇
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