As a quick re-cap:

The essential keys to “lock the back door” for long-term student retention are:

1. Over-delivering on the expectations of customer at every turn.

2. Clearly communicating the benefits of ongoing training at your school, not only to the student, but also the entire family unit.

3. Creating a positive community in your school.

4. Exciting, valuable and productive classes. (Classes that the client perceives to be valuable.)

#4 -Social Engineering to Reinforce Student Longevity: Creating an Experience for your Students and Families

Consumers always have internal, unspoken pains, wants, needs, goals and reasons for “why they buy.” They are often embarrassed, protective, uncertain and/or unclear about these reasons; and, in many, cases we (as humans) don’t understand them. Since these needs are, for the most part, unarticulated, we have to understand them and fulfill them, if we want to provide a truly AMAZING experience for our students!

I live just outside Orlando and have the opportunity to visit the Disney Parks quite often. Consider the average experience at a Disney theme park. The rides are OK, the food is expensive, it’s usually quite crowded, very often brutally HOT, and it’s a 100% guarantee that you’ll see at least 220 three-year-olds throw fits! Does Disney have the cheapest admission or the best rides?

You’ll also notice that the Disney staff and cast are IMPECCABLE. The park is immaculate; in fact, after hours they actually vacuum the grass! Why does Disney put so much emphasis on its looks? Why does Disney consider it so important that EVERY cast member displays the “Disney Smile” and that each dramatic set is SPOTLESSLY clean?

It’s so important because the actual product or service is only one component of creating an outstanding experience for its customers, which also applies to you.

Just like Disney, vacuum the grass.

We must consider the full spectrum of the needs of our clients. Our classes, of course, must be exciting and productive for students and valuable to their families; but, in addition, they MUST address our students and families’ other unspoken needs. Your product or service must be impeccable just like the Disney property, but just as important is creating the right environment for your customers, so they experience the full effect.

For example, human are very social creatures. What are you doing in your school or what can you do in your school to create a social environment for your students and parents?

Obviously, a rich and deep event schedule, including family, buddy and martial arts skills activities activities, go a long way to create an environment that maximizes your student retention.

Consider this short list of natural human needs.

Acceptance
Acknowledgement
Admiration
Appreciation
Approval
Believable
Capable
Challenged
Clear-minded
Competent
Confident
Forgiven
Forgiving
Free
Fulfilled
Heard
Helped
helpful
Importance
In control
Included
Listened
Loved
Needed
Noticed
Private
Productive/Useful
Reassurance
Recognition
Respected
Safe/Secure
Supported
Treated fairly
Trusted
Understanding
Understood
Valued
Worthy

For example, humans need to feel helpful; so how can you structure a system in your school to ask for your students, parents or families’ help to maintain the classroom and reward students who are demonstrating the lesson of the day? We can also them to help us with referrals, to plan event and give us feedback on the results of our event.

Since humans like to be helpful, it is very important for us to systematically ask for their help. Simply by asking your students for help, they are naturally drawn to you, and become more anchored to you and your school.

Humans also need to feel important, listened and included. There are many techniques that we can use in a school to facilitate this need. One of which is having your students and their families participate in the growth of your school: asking their opinions about your facilities, their favorite instructors and their experiences and accomplishments as students - and by extension, stimulating their need to be accepted by their social group and by her peers.

Obviously, in our martial arts schools, we have a tremendous opportunity to recognize our students for their accomplishments and overcoming obstacles, but what about their families and the people watching from the lobby? Recognize families. What can we do to recognize those people who are valuable to our school and support what we do?

I would highly recommend that you refer to the list of human needs above, and very deliberately, attempt to structure the experience of the average student with systems to fulfill as many of those needs as humanly possible.

You’ll then be helping to fulfill the actual needs of your students and not just their spoken needs!

Next time, we’ll conclude with building HIGH perception of value in your classes.

Jonathan Metcalf discovered what you must discover: that success starts with you making the decision to be successful.

Toby Milroy: Jonathan Metcalf is one of NAPMA’s Inner Circle members, from Enfield, Connecticut, where he runs a highly successful martial arts school. You can learn much from him about how he has reached his current level of success and his goals for the future and how he will achieve them.

Let’s start with a little bit of your background, style and school and its location.

Jonathan: I started working in the Enfield, Connecticut area through United Studios of Self-Defense, a franchise martial arts organization, and then I opened an independent school in 2000. I started martial arts in high school, which is much later than most students, but I was very serious about training during college when I started doing Kempo, which has been my style since then.

My current school uses a rotating curriculum, with a traditional Kempo base; but we’ve broadened that base with additions to the curriculum and character development programs.

I took a year to study in Asia-Taiwan, China and Nepal-because Buddhism is what turned me on to martial arts. I lived with Tibetan refugees in Nepal. The Tibetan people are very interesting, in terms of their discipline and meditation, and I learned just about every high level martial arts system they follow.

It makes you really appreciate the martial arts we have in America because what I was experiencing in Nepal, in particular, but also in Taiwan, was that the number of martial arts masters and quality teachers we have in the United States is at least as good as anywhere else in the world.

After about seven months in Nepal, I decided I wanted to expand my learning opportunities, so I went to live in Taiwan and stay with my Kung Fu teacher; that was an incredible experience. That school was intense and the instructor was very talented and skilled and didn’t really hold any degrees in anything or teach a particular style.

Toby: Your school is very much like the current trend in the industry, which are smaller schools. I think it is instructive for our readers to know that you don’t necessarily need a 10,000- or 15,000-square-foot warehouse to be very profitable and successful. In fact, you can be distracted by the expenses of a 15,000-square-foot facility, which tend to increase as profitability decreases. How many students do you have and what is the composition of your student body?

Jonathan: It’s rather diverse; I have a large variety of programs and just a bit more than 300 students. My enrollment has been fairly stable during the last few years and the growth has been in the expansion of programming, price increase aside. I have fairly typical programming, in terms of the split between adults and children. Seventy of my 300 students are adults.

We have separate programs for 3- and 4-years-olds, 4-and 5-year-olds, 6-to 10-year-olds, teens and adults. In addition, we also offer Chanbara, XMA, Tai Chi and leadership programs that expand on the basic martial arts program.

Toby: I want to talk about your interesting marketing approaches and your community involvement.

You’re running a very profitable school, and, obviously, as a NAPMA Inner Circle member, you’re looking to be even more profitable and grow your revenues and student quality at a more substantial rate. What have been your big breakthroughs during the last two years to grow your school to 300 plus students with your diverse curriculum. What have been the one or two keys elements that have driven your success?

Jonathan: It’s usually not one thing, but half a dozen small things that make a difference. My retention rate is better. During the last year, it was just over 96% on a monthly basis and that helps. That was about a percent better than it was the previous year. An improving retention rate makes a significant difference in growth, especially in large schools. One percent of my total student count is 3 students a month, or 36 students a year, so if I can make that much of a difference in a year, then that really helps. That was accomplished through better communication with the students and better customer service, and tweaking the curriculum to make it more accessible, more comprehensible to our young students.

 ”That specific knowledge [use of Internet marketing] has been so helpful and is above and beyond the general information that you find inother martial arts professional memberships.”

We redesigned our 4- and 5-year-olds curriculum to be more effective for that age group, rather than trying to teach them the same things we were teaching the 6- to 10-year-olds. Another thing that may be different about my school is that approximately 6 years ago, I hired a part-time employee whose primary purpose is to market the school. That employee now works 30 hours a week and 10 of those hours are spent as an assistant instructor, but the other 20 are focused on marketing. Janice is actively engaged in setting up community demonstrations and parks and recreation programs, so we’re the designated parks and recreation martial arts program in Enfield and the towns to our north, west, east and south.

Those kids come to our program, every spring, winter, fall and summer, and some remain. We host demonstrations at the local mall, distribute flyers to the local schools and hold free seminars every month at the school that we advertise in parents’ magazines. Next week is National Poison Prevention Week [March 2008], so we’ll have a free seminar on poison prevention; and we’re trying to convince some pediatricians to promote that to their patients as well.

Toby: That’s a brilliant idea that all readers should note. Time and time again, we see chief instructors or school owners with marketing issues; they aren’t generating enough leads and student appointments, not converting enough enrollment, and sit on their hands, not knowing what to do.

An idea like poison prevention training is so simple. How difficult would it be for you to join with three to five family practitioners in your area to host a National Poison Prevention Month activity at your school? That’s a real easy sell and attractive to family practitioners and/or pediatricians. They should be ecstatic to mail flyers to their patients that announce a National Poison Prevention Safety Seminar, giving them something of value that doesn’t cost physicians anything.

Jonathan: I suggest that your readers go online, where they can find other health-related opportunities. Every season, we have a CPR First Aid training course on weekends, when it doesn’t interfere with classes. We have abduction prevention training and bully prevention training; and, February was Dental Health Month, so we had a special offer that we gave dentists to distribute to their patients. We plan a promotion like that every month. We’re in the Relay for Life for cancer. We try to do community outreach because (a) its fun and (b) its good marketing.

Toby: We always try to focus our members’ thinking on four primary components for school growth: enrollments, renewals, retention and higher student quality. Most likely, a poison prevention class or similar events won’t help with your student quality that much, although, those events or special classes will result in better educated students. Such events do help with the other three: enrollments, renewals and retention.

Your students are involved in the community; therefore, they’re visible to other potential students, so that’s your enrollment factor. Number two is renewals. Now, you have a story to tell about leadership that’s very applicable and congruent with your message in the school.

I know your leadership team, much like ours at Mile High Karate, is very focused on teaching significant leadership skills to students. Your events provide them with opportunities to lead other people, to serve them. These community activities are teaching your leadership students the lesson of service, and putting people’s needs above the students. The fourth component is retention; and the more your students are engaged in such activities, the more likely they are to remain students longer. It’s a tried and true fact.

Jonathan: There’s one other factor that really makes a big difference for my school. After listening to Master Oliver and other experts saying that I should raise my tuition, it wasn’t long ago before I went from $99 to $157 a month, with the intention to increase it again in August.

When you’re teaching punching and kicking as your primary focus, even if your marketing other benefits, such as respect, discipline, self-control, etc., which are common in martial arts school marketing, and the parents recognize what you’re doing, they’ll be hard pressed to pay much more than another sport or activity. When they start to view what you’re doing as character education, then that has a much higher price tag than sports. Parents understand that concept, so it’s really helpful to educate parents on the benefits of martial arts beyond what looks like just punching and kicking.

Toby: Absolutely right. You mentioned a point that can’t be over-emphasized. It’s not lip service. I’ve seen it happen in the industry a few times with some major organizations. They introduce this new concept, Black Belt Club or Master Club, and, all of the sudden, students are attracted to it, and it becomes anecdotal. Instead of the instructor or school owner, who’s implementing this program, really understanding its components and goals that must be in place to be of high value to the customer, the school owner hears the words “Master Club” or “Leadership Program,” and thinks, “Oh, great, I can charge more money and my students will be happy; great, let’s do it.”

You said it must be about more than just punching and kicking, not just in the words, not just telling the story once in class. This is about actually learning these skills. I think that’s a huge misstep that schools can take that can be disastrous for them.

Aside from your community involvement activities, what are your other major lead-generating activities during the last couple of years that have helped you reach the 300-student level?

Jonathan: We generate leads through two programs, both involving the local academic schools. We’ve developed such a reputation that schools are allowed to partner with us, with minimal objection from the attorneys and accountants at the schools, who sometime balk at the fact we’re a business.

Now, we can distribute flyers throughout the school system, which was incredibly effective, and run after-school programs at the schools. Our most successful is at an elementary school with 400 kids, and 140 of them registered for the program, which resulted in 35 becoming students at our school. We were running seven or eight after-school programs a year with results in that same ballpark.

Remember, it’s not one or two promotions; it’s ten of them. For example, I recently spent an hour and a half with someone who’s tweaking my Web site to try and capture more of the traffic that’s coming to it. What I discovered is that I had plenty of traffic on the Web site, but it wasn’t converting enough of that traffic into solid leads and enrollments, so if I can increase that ratio from 2 to 4 a month to 4 to 8 a month, that’s 50 a year, more or less, of additional students.

Toby: Effective use of the Internet has been a topic that we discuss in the Inner Circle group. Members of that group are pinpointing their Internet objectives and how to attract customers. The two primary keys are capturing data and converting that data into enrollments. The Internet is certainly an underutilized media in the industry that deserves much more time and attention.

Jonathan: I want to return to something you said about the value of the Inner Circle group. When I met with this Internet professional to tweak my site, I discovered that I could present him with ideas and resources with which he wasn’t familiar because I had learned so much from you, Jason Yi and other Inner Circle members. That specific knowledge has been so helpful and is above and beyond the general information that you find in other martial arts professional memberships.

The other significant value of being a member of the NAPMA Inner Circle group is the masterminding. I’ve been writing so much and I am so enthusiastic about developing new programming. One of the exciting things for me is that, at this stage, I’m the most successful school in the area, so it’s great to talk to school owners of similar size and success as well as those who are ahead of me.

Now, when I create something new, I’m not creating it from thin air; I can actually model it on another member who has a similar program in place that’s working better than what I’m doing at my school. The result is that my school is on track for a really big month, and I think much of that has to do with being a member of NAPMA’s Inner Circle group.

Toby: You identified both of the components very articulately. Number one is expanding your circle of influence. Tony Robbins presents this idea throughout his materials. His major contribution has been the power of modeling and association, so his circle of friends is obviously much different than the average person’s circle of friends.

Your circle of friends greatly determines your outcomes. As Peter Tucker states in one of his books: If you hang out with nine broke people, then you’re likely to be the tenth. I think a more eloquent way to say that is you’ll become the average of the sum of the five people with whom you surround yourself.

As entrepreneurs, business owners and martial arts school owners, in particular, unfortunately, we don’t tend to surround ourselves with people who will challenge us intellectually or from a business perspective very often. Most of our days are consumed with elementary schools, daycare centers and police and fire departments and community organizers, which are all phenomenal and fantastic people. How often, however, do you find yourself in a room with other school owner entrepreneurs who know what it’s like to work 70 hours a week? How often do you have the opportunity to learn from people like that and be motivated by their enthusiasm and success?

Your second point was mastering specific skill sets, such as the Internet. That is where I was three or four years ago: I had a fascination with the Internet, but I didn’t know what made it tick and how Web sites worked. I went and learned from some of the best Internet marketers in the country, and discovered it doesn’t take long to be way ahead of the masses on the uses of the Internet for business.

Both of your points, expanding your circle of influence and mastering specific skills, are phenomenally applicable to all MAPro readers.

As you so eloquently stated, it’s not the one big promotion or home run that grows your school, holding your breath and hoping something happens; it’s the 20 little steps you take that generate those 20 to 30 enrollments a month. What does your school’s monthly calendar look like? I think it would be very instructive for our readers if you would share the number and type of activities you schedule during any month.

Jonathan: I’ll use March 2008, since that is when we are recording this discussion. On the first Saturday, March 1^st, we have a community CPR and first aid course and a Relay for Life meeting. There’s a parent forum on the 3^rd, which it’s an opportunity for me to present any new programs at the school and discuss them with parents. The next day, we have a meeting with a local health club to discuss programming, and we do a demo on the 5^th.

Saturday the 8^th is an in-house tournament for 3- to 5-year-olds and then another in-house tournament on the 9^th for the rest of our age groups. We’ve scheduled a park and recreation program for the next three Mondays and Wednesdays, which include the first-aid module. On the 14^th, we had a St. Patrick’s Day party, which was a buddy event. We also had a nutrition seminar because March is National Nutrition Month. I hired a nutritionist to give a lecture, which was only $100. We ran some ads and attracted people from the community. We’ve also scheduled an adult competition seminar and we’re involved in an annual tournament that’s approaching.

I have a women’s self-defense program tomorrow night, with approximately 20 women. It’s a fundraiser for a cooperative preschool in a nearby town. Wednesday will be the largest belt event in my studio’s history. I have four tests running that night and one of them has 60 people in it. The schools are closed early on the 20^th and 21^st for Good Friday and an in-service day for local academic teachers, so when local schools close I open a camp. This camp will have a tournament training theme; and we also open that to the public, so kids, whose parents don’t have after-school care, can come, learn some martial arts and have a great time and a fun experience at our school.

Toby: Those are phenomenal activities. You also have a birthday activity for one of the instructors.

Jonathan: Yes, Phil’s birthday party is scheduled soon. We host birthday parties for all the instructors; it’s just an opportunity for the kids to give the instructors cards, which light up the instructors and help forge that bond between instructors and students, which is critical to retention.

Toby: Your list of monthly activities can be the solution for those readers who are frustrated about their enrollment levels, retention rates, upgrades, etc. It’s not one big event or marketing campaign that will produce results. It’s 20 events, promotions, etc.

Those members who are trying to grow from a $10K or $15K school to a $50K school should immediately fill their calendars with 20 events, campaigns, etc. that they can do this month to generate enrollments. Some will produce a big goose egg and some will be gangbusters. Those activities that are brutally unproductive can be scratched from your list. You don’t repeat those very often, but those that are productive, you can continue to implement, until they aren’t productive anymore and you replace them with others. The key is very simple: you must do enough of them. It doesn’t take much effort or creativity to list 20 events, promotions, etc. on your calendar because so many schools have already used so many that are productive that you only have to follow their lead.

Your calendar, Jonathan, is extremely robust and that’s one of the primary reasons you have such a strong retention rate and good financial numbers.

Jonathan: Another point I’d like to make is if you had shown me a calendar with 20 events in a month a few years ago, then I would have responded that it looks like too much work. I won’t say my calendar doesn’t take some work because that would be a lie, but I would also say that only two of those events were scheduled during other than regular business hours: one on a Sunday and another on a Friday night.

I have a slot on Wednesday nights for “event” seminars, without affecting my schedule at all, and many of them are integrated into our regular business schedule. It doesn’t take extra time, but it does creates a shift in what I’m doing, so rather than teaching a class, I might be working with 20 students I’ve never met before to teach them about an important safety topic and try to enroll them into my school. That’s a good hour spent.

Toby: That is a good point that too many school owners have a hard time conceptualizing. You have classes from 4 pm to 9 pm, and don’t think you have time to schedule the types of events we’ve been discussing. Wouldn’t your adult students, who normally work out from 8 pm to 9 pm anyway, be more motivated and happy, if they had the opportunity to participate in a new activity on a given night? I think the answer is yes; that would probably stimulate them.

Schedule a special event or seminar, such as a nutrition and headlock seminar. It’s not disruptive or has a negative affect if this and similar events occur during class once a month or one Tuesday night. School owners sometimes think they must cancel classes to accommodate these kinds of events, but you don’t. I think it is a positive to welcome 10 new adults students for a special event, who work out with your regular adult students, but they are all learn something new.

At my school, we always have a Mother’s Day promotion in May, a Father’s Day in June and then a family month during July. During one of those adult sessions, we merge a couple of adult classes together and add new prospects, many of which are parents of our students, and conduct a knife-defense seminar or a women’s street self-defense seminar. Knife defense is probably not a part of your regular adult curriculum, so this special event benefits them as well. They won’t mind having some non-students in their class, working together on new techniques that your regular adults students have never learned before.

In fact, the correct way to pre-frame it is to address your adult class the week before the event, “We will have some new people in our next class for a special knife-defense seminar. I need you to help me teach them some of those techniques, which we’ll preview during tonight’s class, so you can help them next week. I’ll show you some advanced techniques the following week.”

Your regular adult students will be extremely ecstatic to participate and help you. That’s a paradigm that you just have to shift in your thinking and, trust me, your adult students would be more than happy to welcome the one-time-only students and assist you. It’s not an impact on your school, other than improving your enrollment numbers.

Your point about the birthday party is well taken. I think that’s a big issue. What can you do in your school every month or at every possible opportunity, so your students can build strong and lasting rapport with your staff or your school? The birthday party is a great example. During instructors’ birthday parties at my school, we make it a buddy event. Any student who brings a buddy is allowed to throw a water balloon at the instructor. It’s very funny, but it’s also a great anchoring opportunity.

I don’t think we’ve had this discussion yet in the Inner Circle group, but if you think back to your career as students, before you became an instructor and school owner, then you probably don’t remember the 150 push-ups or the 65^th time we did form #3. It’s likely you do remember when your instructor took the time to help you with a specific technique.

I remember when I was 7, 8 or 9 years old, and I was learning spinning hook kicks. I worked on spinning hook kicks at home for hours and, then, a few weeks later, I demonstrated real slowly the spinning hook kick. I remember the instructor’s wife, who was one of the 4^th-Degrees at the school say, “Wow, that was really good, it’s very hard to do a hook kick very slow. That’s very good hip control.” I still remember that until this day, and it’s 20 plus years later.

Students also remember when they were allowed to throw a water balloon at an instructor on his birthday or the holiday party where everyone had bad fish. It’s not the everyday kicks and punches they remember for 30 years, but the activities and special occasions when they developed a relationship with another student or an instructor.

Jonathan: Let me add to what you said: It’s your relationships with your students that really drive them, and that’s also true for instructors. It really is rejuvenating as instructors to experience those moments when we have personal contact with students and we can sense and feel their appreciation for what we do.

One thing that’s made a big difference for me has been receiving those occasional notes from students, “Dear Sensei Jonathan, thank you so much for your training.” I think all instructors receive those kinds of notes from time to time. Someone suggested, “If you like receiving them so much, then why don’t you ask your students to write those compliments in a note.” Boy, that made such a big difference for me. Now, I receive one every week, and I ask them to write it.

As successful school owners, I’m sure many Maximum Impact members receive similar compliments, regularly, so I suggest that you start to ask your students to write them in a note. You’ll then have a large collection of notes you can share in your marketing pieces and with your staff, or you can bring them home to read when you’ve had a long day and you must return to work tomorrow and you want to make sure you’re psyched up.

Toby: Those compliments can be very valuable, but, as you said, you must collect them in written form. In too many cases, school owners collect them, but don’t realize how to use them.

Share them with your other students and prospects. Include those compliments in the email or mail sequences, flyers, letters or other printed materials that you’re sending to your students. Compliments are also great content for your Web site. It’s virtually impossible to overuse social proof in your marketing program. Almost everyone sees the world through everyone else’s eyes, but his or her own. People question their own decisions. They don’t feel comfortable making decisions for themselves, in many cases. If 500 other people just like me have made a decision to attend a special event or enroll as students, and have a great experience, then that will help me make my decision about participating.

Let me move to another topic. Many schools have demonstration and competition teams, and their conception, in many cases is, that those teams usually perform and compete external to the school, at tournaments and community events. I know that you also use your teams, internally, inside your school. Please tell us about the value of using demo and competition teams in the school.

Jonathan: First, these teams are valuable as role models, not because they are attractive like cheerleaders, but because they perform good-looking martial arts. I view them just like the Leadership Team, which we also put in front of our other students because they’re great role models. For Suzie, the Orange Belt, these are advanced students to emulate, “Oh, wow, I want to be on the demo team someday.” She knows, however, that you must be a Black Belt and be in the Leadership program to be on the demo team. That’s really helpful.

Even an external appearance of the demo team has an internal value. For example, we did a demo at a University of Connecticut basketball game, with 10,000 people in the audience. Now, in terms of a marketing event, it’s nice to say you did it, but, with a bunch of college kids in the audience at a university that’s 40 minutes from the school, I didn’t expect to enroll any of those 10,000 people. The internal value is that the members of my demo team are so excited and our parents are so proud that their children and our school performed during the half-time show. They’ll tell their friends that the school’s demo team just did a demonstration at the UCON basketball game. Sometimes, an external demo team appearance is not a direct marketing promotion and doesn’t generate much revenue, but it does say something positive about your school.

I didn’t expect any enrollments from the big, all-night demonstration we did at The Relay For Life, the cancer fundraiser event, but it will definitely create a deeper connection among the students who spent the whole night together for this important cause.

I had my leadership team members talking at a big belt advancement event about the benefits of martial arts training, rather than me speaking, and sounding like a salesperson. I want my students to tell everyone how their training has benefited them. They can speak sincerely because these kids really appreciate what they’ve accomplished and we’ve discussed it during class, so they know how to express the benefits. That will really drive home the message about the value of what we do to parents, who maybe aren’t clear on why martial arts is such a great choice for their children.

Toby: Having your demo team perform during halftime at the University of Connecticut basketball game certainly has a direct effect on your retention. It may or may not generate enrollments, but it’s a worthwhile event if it helps you to facilitate the four primary goals of any school: enrollments, renewals, retention ratio and student quality.

The biggest motivators in the multilevel marketing (MLM) industry, Amway, Avon, Mary Kay, etc., is pride of affiliation, pride of association. One of the primary retention tools in MLM is to offer incentives to salespeople, early in their careers, to win prizes and earn recognition, based solely on participation. The salesperson takes pride in being the rep for a specific geographic area and part of the larger organization.

Jonathan, you’ve created that same pride of affiliation with your demonstration team at the basketball game and other events. Students can say they are part of the team, while parents and friends and your staff and other students can say I’m part of that school. Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, that’s a very powerful retention factor for students and parents because they will think this is such a great school.

Jonathan: I often think, if I wanted a parent to brag about my school, then what could he or she say that would be completely different than the parents across the table whose kid goes to the school down the street? What could that parent say that would sound really impressive, about an activity that’s not available at another school or non-martial arts organization?

Toby: This is the second or third time you referred to school culture, without using the word. When I talked with Charles Dudley, another member of our Inner Circle group and a very traditional martial artist, he explained that he is very focused on honoring his instructors and maintaining the integrity of his culture.

Charles is also great example to counter the major misnomer in the industry that highly successful schools, financially, have very low student quality. The truth is that it is almost always the opposite, almost, not always, but almost always the opposite. School owners, such as you, Steve LaVallee, Stephen Oliver and myself, are very financially successful and maintain extremely high standards of quality for their students.

I can tie these thoughts together because Charles and you both revealed, without stating explicitly, that you made some decisions about what you wanted your business to be and how you wanted to be perceived in the community.

When a local elementary school principal, the mayor, city council members or other local leaders think about my school and me (or Mile High Karate), I want him or her to know that I’ve given away thousands of free child identification kits and all the other activities that allows my students and I to give back to the community.

Charles is very deliberate about how he integrates that culture with his students; he puts these elements in his environment and maintains the high standards that he requires for his students, physically, because of the culture. Obviously, you’re very involved in many activities and want to have deep roots in your community. Tell us how you systemically make the students understand how that works and how parents and students understand your motives and the culture of your school.

Jonathan: That’s exactly the point I’m developing in my school; and it’s not just providing value, but the perception of value. The name of my school is Integrity, and integrity is the way I’ve defined it. It’s when what you say you do and what you do align. I often find that I’m not the best judge about whether what I say I do and what I do is the same. If I think I’m really nice and everyone around me says, “Oh, you know, Jonathan is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” then I have integrity. On the other hand, if I say I’m really nice and half the people who know me think I’m a jerk, then probably my integrity is out of whack.

It’s really important, in terms of personal integrity, to make sure that your self-perception, self-commitments and what you’re contributing in the real world, to your community and within the walls of your dojo match. That takes plenty of sincerity, open communication and education of the people with whom you work, so they really understand your commitments. You must be sincere and as frequently and as directly as you can.

Toby: A final point I’ll add to what you’ve said is that you can never underestimate how little someone is paying attention. As a school owner, you and I and many other professionals, choose to be very involved in our schools.

That’s great, you need to be involved and your integrity in yourself will reveal itself to everyone who is paying attention; but remember, there are some people that aren’t paying attention, but we need their attention too. Don’t think your community involvement is shameless self-promotion when you communicate your involvement with everyone at your school.

People are very engaged in their lives and overcoming day-to day-obstacles, so, in most cases, they aren’t paying too much attention to anything else. A great example is the hundreds of school programs my school does and the thousands of child I.D. kits we distribute throughout the community. My students would never know about that program outside the school. They’re not usually at those activities where we distribute the free child I.D. kits. Our students received those kits and 10 or less of my students work in the program outside the school, but the other 200 students are not aware of the program.

Again, it’s being congruent with what you say and what you do and your goals and values, and you must communicate that with your students and parents. Let them know that these are your values, let them know that these are your goals because it has huge dividends in retention and financial results; but, more importantly, it has to do with the culture of your school, what you’re all about and what parents and students in your community perceive you’re all about.

Every school owner that reads this MAPro feature story should be able to implement five or six ideas that we discussed and generate 10 more enrollments this month. It’s not three big promotions or events, but 15 or 20 smaller efforts that will make the difference as it has for Jonathan Metcalf, NAPMA Inner Circle member.

When Carlos Machado, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master, first came to the United States with his brothers in 1990, his entire approach to martial arts was shaped by his experience in Brazil. The only school environment he knew had very little structure, with no belt testing or ranks, and Black Belts were awarded only when instructors thought they were deserved, which could take 10 years.

Carlos and his brothers were fortunate to have Chuck Norris as an early friend, who trained with them and helped them open their first schools. Until recently, Carlos was so respectful of his BJJ tradition that he was afraid to make changes at his school, although he was stuck at approximately 100 students and generated only modest revenues.

It was only until he discussed the many ideas that one of his students had learned at NAPMA seminars and other industry events that he “saw the light.” He stopped fearing change and, during 2007, implemented more modern martial arts business practices that have resulted in dramatic growth at his school. Today, he has 250 to 300 students and averages $40,000 a month in revenues.

During this interview, you’ll learn how he made the transition from a traditional-only approach to a modern, business-oriented approach integrated with the best of his BJJ traditions. With a change of mindset, he has been able to create a better learning environment for his students and a better life for he and his family - goals that almost all school owners want to learn how to achieve.

INTERVIEW

Toby Milroy: Carlos Machado, legendary jiu jitsu artist and a Mile High Karate franchisee, is the guest of this month’s NAPMA Success Story.

Mr. Machado, I really appreciate, and I’m sure MAPro readers do too, that you’re taking the time to share your perspective with MMA, Brazilian jiu jitsu and all martial arts schools and help them improve their enrollments and revenues. I know they want to learn about the systems you use to be successful and the innovations you’ve brought to your style.

Let’s start with your background and how Brazilian jiu jitsu has evolved during the last few years.

Carlos Machado: I was born into Brazilian jiu jitsu and started training when I was 4 years old, and even took part in a tournament a few months later. My brothers and I have been involved in Brazilian jiu jitsu our entire lives and had the opportunities to compete and win several state and national titles in Brazil.When we arrived in the United States in 1990, we didn’t anticipate that it would be a lifetime decision. At that time, we had contacts with Chuck Norris. Our first gym was in a garage, and Mr. Norris was so passionate about martial arts that he didn’t care, and he trained with us.

To this day, Chuck Norris is one of the best friends we’ve ever had, a very special human being. Through his friendship and initiative, we were able to open our first school in a shopping center in Los Angeles that he and Mr. Bob Wall owned. Shortly thereafter, we opened a second location in Redondo Beach.

When Mr. Norris came to Texas to film his TV show, Walker Texas Ranger, he was still a BJJ enthusiast, but he wasn’t happy that the Machado schools, where he liked to train, were in California. After talking on several occasions, we finally decided to open a Machado’s Jiu Jitsu Academy in Texas. Even then, our first Texas training space was in Mr. Norris’ TV studio.

When we were first teaching in the United States, our goal was to train fighters to be world champions like us. We trained several celebrities and nice students, but we didn’t concentrate on developing the various systems, such as teaching methodology, that are crucial for any school owner who wants to succeed today.

It was 12 years before we developed more of a professional sense of how to serve students better. We had to learn how to teach students, so they could first do the moves and then become very good students in a short amount of time and long-term martial artists.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is such an intricate system that one of the biggest challenges for beginning students, during our early teaching years, was how long it took to become a Black Belt. I’ve had past students who trained for 10 years, before earning their Black Belts. That happened because we never had the proper structure for the operation of our schools.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is now a major element in MMA competitions. As a matter of fact, Quinton Jackson, the current light heavyweight champion, is very much into BJJ, and when he defended his title against Danny Henderson, Jackson said the difference in his game was the addition of more jiu jitsu.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is a great activity for the general public because they don’t have to be MMA fighters or athletes. BJJ is very adaptable to anyone’s shape and background. One of the reasons is that Brazilian jiu jitsu causes much less physical trauma. Students strike in a limited way for self-defense purposes, but most of their training concentrates on leverages, submissions, techniques and positioning. BJJ is good exercise and will make you very fit, but your body isn’t bruised as if you were doing full-scale sparring.

“I still know that there’s much more to learn to sharpen my skills, so I take every opportunity to talk to NAPMA members with successful track records.”

I’ve discovered a new market recently that I never had an opportunity to evaluate before, and that is the middle-aged male, 45 to 55. This is a major market because of this group’s higher income when compared to the 18 to 35 males that have been our typical students.

Most of my students have Black Belts or higher ranks in different styles. That’s the beauty of Brazilian jiu jitsu; it never contradicts other styles, but complements them.

That has been the Machado approach or philosophy: we never confront or challenge other styles or current trends in the martial arts. We never state that our style is more or less than others. We believe we have a good product and we’re willing to share how we do it successfully. I’m always open-minded and fortunate to have learned many ideas from my students that have added to my martial arts knowledge.

I was talking with Stephen Oliver recently. I admire his intelligence and marketing expertise. His idea is to start children in a Karate program and then transition them into a Jiu Jitsu program.

Karate is a much more established teaching and operational system and has been very successful with children. The public is also more familiar with the benefits of Karate, and needs more education about the benefits of Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Toby Milroy: You’ve brilliantly introduced a number of ideas and thoughts that we can use to expand our conversation. First, please describe how your schools in California and Texas are organized.

Carlos: I can’t say much about my brothers’ schools because they operate them independently, but my understanding is that they have very big followings. For many years, despite my name and reputation, I was stuck on a bit more than 100 students. I felt like I was in a slump; I couldn’t move beyond a certain point. It didn’t matter how much I did, how much I taught, it was always the same. I just relied on my teaching skills and my goodwill; and students came and went as they pleased.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is a relatively new style, and we learned a different business sense in Brazil. We thought we had to operate a school in a certain way. For instance, we never envisioned doing belt testing; we thought that the student would earn a belt whenever the instructor decided it was time. We didn’t bow before and after class because we thought that was a tradition for Asian schools, and not applicable to the Brazilian form or way.

I had an epiphany last year when I was in Australia. One of my students had attended several NAPMA seminars and similar events, and we probably spent a month talking about martial arts business and what he had learned. When I was confronted with that knowledge, I slowly started to take counsel on some of those ideas that were working for him, and began to implement them at my school.

I learned about upgrade programs, cash-out options and other concepts, and I then started to play with those ideas. We introduced different levels of memberships, including a basic level and a higher-level of training. Of course, our new upgrade program was an opportunity to increase our revenues.

I also started to do more direct marketing and introduced referral programs. Those actions have tripled my revenues. Right now, we have 250 to 300 students and I’ve been consistently in the $40,000 monthly revenue range.

This was a big change at my school because, before I had different streams of income, my school wouldn’t do as well, so I had to do some extra seminars to bring in enough money to fill the gap. Now, I travel and teach seminars when I want, not because I need the money to support my school.

I still know that there’s much more to learn to sharpen my skills, so I take every opportunity to talk to NAPMA members with successful track records.

Toby Milroy: Your average monthly revenue of $40,000 is certainly well above the industry average. Being a member of the Mile High Karate circle has obviously helped you and others to experience fantastic financial and student results for many years. Many of the ideas and concepts that you mentioned are the important components that have made that happen.

If our MAPro readers haven’t realized it already, you’re a very progressive thinker. Too many school owners are not quite as progressive and try to operate with a very similar mindset that you described earlier.

They rely on being a great teacher, and think that’s all they need to operate a successful business. Granted, teaching is a very important skill set, but it’s only one of four skills you need. You must also be highly competent in marketing, motivation and sales and persuasion skills.

Obviously, you were trying to operate your school with old-school style thinking compared to a modern or professional business approach, which is why so many school owners today are suffering.

Tell us about the challenges and struggles you had to overcome to modify your mindset and the way you operated your schools. What was the change like for you?

Carlos: On the personal level, it was my insecurity. I felt like I was in unknown territory; these were ideas I’d never used in my school, so I was concerned. I was almost afraid. I would have to tell my students that suddenly they had to pay for belt testing. They never bowed to me before; it was almost like they didn’t respect me. They never called me, sir, or by my last name. Despite those changes, I had one thing in mind: I saw results.

I was able to overcome those challenges because I saw other school owners’ results. Mr. Clay Pittman, one of my students, helped to direct me toward that conclusion. He had the same challenges as I did. He was scared to death. He didn’t even tell his students about the changes; he told his brother, who was working with him at the time, just to make those changes.

Too many of us have told ourselves that our students will disagree with these changes and leave, but that is not the case. Those that will give you trouble are usually senior students because they have been following the old methods so long that they might resist change.

When I made those changes at my school, I explained to everyone that the changes were for the common good. We started with bowing and I explained that we were creating an atmosphere of respect, and respect brings harmony, which leads to success. I told them that would now be our common goal, so we had to respect each other and the instructors and really show it.

When I implemented belt testing, I created a syllabus, which structured the training in a way to segment the techniques. It takes approximately three months for 24 lessons and then we test our students, four times a year. They advance through five belt ranks in Jiu Jitsu: white, blue, purple, brown and black. The students started to like the system almost as soon as it was introduced.

On testing day, we had 40 students testing at the same time, divided into different groups. Lo and behold, our students brought their friends and parents; our adult students brought their spouses and children. It was win-win for everyone. Who doesn’t like to be acknowledged? That was an opportunity for me to let family members and friends know that our students were doing well. What better way to do it then to have an event, where other people could share the students’ advancement with them?

Toby Milroy: There were two points you made that are very important and I don’t want our readers to miss them. First, you have a very systemized process to help students advance from point A to point B and, second, they have a reasonable expectation that if they do X, Y and Z, then they will reach their goals. It’s not subjective; it’s very measurable, which is a very important for martial arts school owners to understand.

You also described that you’re students are developing an attitude and learning how to set a goal and overcome the obstacles to accomplish their goals. It’s extremely important in the children’s market to focus on those students’ Black Belt outcomes. The technical skills are very important, but parents want to their children learn how to set and accomplish a goal, be respectful and overcome obstacles.

When you integrated the teaching of long-term goal setting, segmented into short-term intermediate goals, into your very traditional jiu jitsu curriculum, how did your students and their parents and families respond?

Carlos: I do have a kid’s program, but my main clientele is adults, 17 and older. Without exception, every one of them accepted it very well. Even those, who initially said that they didn’t care about belts or ranks, were the first to arrive at the belt testing, and fully participated. It’s kind of funny because they said they didn’t care about rank, belts and colors, but that’s OK.

I learned that this structure gives students the means to grow. If they don’t have a prospect of where they’re going, then the incentive to become long-term members is diminished with time. During classes, I take the opportunity to talk about how to set goals and accomplishing them. It’s a process.

In any group or class, there are some students that are more gifted and more athletic. They have different abilities, so they might learn faster, but the advancement timeframe is usually the same. I don’t want to hold back the gifted students, but, often, in Jiu Jitsu, if the instructor doesn’t watch the gifted student carefully, then he will become the one who has the pleasure of showing all the other students that he is superior.

I set up an elite group just for those gifted students, so once they start to show the wrong “signs” in the regular class, I can move them to this elite group that is also my competition team. When they return to the regular class, they’re either assistant instructors or, even if they are not formally assistant instructors, their objective is to train and help the other students and not just train and show everyone why they’re the best. This strategy reduces or eliminates any sense of inferiority that the other students might feel.

Regular students realize they have an ally, whenever a gifted student returns as an assistant instructor. Student results are enhanced, instead of diminished because they view the assistant as someone who will improve their level of competency. It also brings more cohesion and harmony to your classes. This situation also benefits gifted students because, as all instructors know, when you start teaching you become a better martial artist, as you continue to review and reinforce your knowledge.

I also use specific rules to enhance the students’ training experience. Brazilian jiu jitsu is often based on submission; the goal is to control and eventually put a submission hold on your opponent. If a student in my class applies a submission hold to another student, then the first student must teach the student in the hold what he did to achieve the hold. This allows me to teach the counter.

This rule pushes the level of competency even higher because, instead of the student in the hold becoming frustrated or upset because he was “defeated,” he or she is excited and happy that the first student will show the move. It’s much easier, from an instructor’s point of view, to teach a counter to a submission hold that a student already understands. My “rule” has become a psychological and technical training tool that has produced plenty of positive results.

This is just one example of the techniques I try to use to make sure that classes are fun and enjoyable, so no students feel like they’re in a win or lose situation, which is not the case. I want everyone to win. That’s the ultimate goal.

Toby Milroy: Let’s expand on your comments about the two qualities, competence and confidence, that students want to experience. When a student feels competent, he or she knows how to perform a specific move or form. The worst example for a prospective student who visits a jiu jitsu school is two high-level Black Belts grappling on the mat. The prospect won’t understand how he or she can ever develop the competence to duplicate the skills of those Black Belts. A much better example for a prospective student is to observe students that are the same size, age and body type doing beginners’ techniques. That makes it real for the prospect.

A student must also learn to feel confident, and early in his or her training. If your curriculum is systemized, A + B = C, then it’s much easier for the student to understand that if he or she learns X and Y, he or she will accomplish Z. That system can work in any style, either traditional or eclectic.

Carlos, what do you do initially to help new students feel competent? What do you do during the first few lessons to make them feel confident with what they’re learning?

Carlos Machado: The first opportunity to instill competency is during the intro class, which either one of my senior instructors or I lead. We make it an easy class, at an easy pace. We simply want to break the ice and explain some concepts. We talk about sequence; we have three different formulas when we teach the intro class.

Most of the time, all new students attend an intro class, whether he or she is totally inexperienced, has some Brazilian jiu jitsu experience or is a high ranking student, but new to my school. It was a challenge at first to include everyone in an intro class, but I developed a system that works for me.

Let’s assume I have a 7:00 pm intro class, with one to 10 new students, representing the entire range of experience: the middle-aged person who knows nothing about martial arts and is out of shape to a Purple Belt, which is a high rank in Brazilian jiu jitsu. How can I teach all of them in a way that results in a smooth class, where everyone feels he or she understands the why’s and why not’s of jiu jitsu?

I want the high-ranking student in my intro class because he doesn’t know what to expect from the training at my school. I want to show the totally inexperienced student that, despite his background and lack of experience and fitness, he will be able to learn and perform with the whole group.

The only difference is that I keep it simple for the beginner and I introduce some complexity for the experienced, but new, student. I teach the beginner an easy, three- to four-move sequence, a simple self-defense technique, with a takedown and a follow-up on the ground where you control, position and eventually do a submission. That’s all I do, very short and sweet.

For the Purple Belt student, who already knows many of the techniques, I’ll increase the complexity. If I teaching a mount/escape, then the Purple Belt will learn that sequence with a little detail here and there that will be satisfactory to his level, without holding back anyone and delaying a normal, 30-minute intro class.

I will then explain the formalities of bowing, how you address each other, how you address the attitude in the class. If a regular class is in session, then I tell the intro class which of those students is a lawyer, a dentist or a construction worker. I want the new students to understand that there are people of all walks of life, of many professions, training at my school, not just young guys at a rat gym.

When an intro student is a professional, and many of them are, I want him or her to know that there are other professionals training at my school. I don’t want those professional people to feel out of place in the class. I always give my intro students a tour of the school. I show them the rules board, with our 10 rules for hygiene, attendance, how to address each other, etc. I show them our entire facility, so they are informed and ready go to the office and make a commitment. Our goal, if we can, is to enroll them the same day as their intro class.

Toby Milroy: Anyone reading this interview can no longer make the excuse that his or her system, style or school is different. The primary responsibility of any instructor from the first intro class is to walk every new student through the process, by the hand, one step at a time. You want to explain your expectations and show how the process works. Every school owners’ goal is to help new students become Black Belts and be long-term students, hopefully forever. I think you described that very eloquently in your system.

Let’s talk a little bit more about your target audience because you have a different mindset and a different approach than many schools in your niche. Many mixed martial arts schools are focused on attracting 17- to 25-year-old males and teach them to be fighters.

While those students are a huge component of your program, you’ve also appealed to a much broader market spectrum. How did you come to think that way and how have you made that transition? What has it done for your school and your business?

Carlos Machado: My goal is to change lives; and I think martial arts is the tool. I want to change my students’ lives for the better. I want them to be more focused, happier.

What I discovered, however, after carefully reviewing my student files, is that the more you pay, the longer you stay as a student. I came to this conclusion by first asking, of the students I had, which ones are still students? Who left and why?

I learned that students, who start at a lower membership level and who can’t afford your higher priced programs, tend to stay there and quit more often than those students who pay for a higher priced program at the beginning. That was very interesting.

So. I came to the conclusion that if you pay more, then you’ll stay longer, but I was not convinced, yet. I researched further and noticed that the higher priced programs are full, and with more committed students. I then tried to determine why.

Of course, I hate it when a student wants to train, but does not have the means to pay for the class. He or she will choose the membership he or she can afford. The students that commit to a higher-priced program from the beginning are more likely to have better paying jobs, so they can afford it. Those students are also likely to have that same job in the future, so they will continue to have the income to pay for the more expensive program. The more you pay, the longer you stay.

Toby Milroy: In the language of martial arts business, in almost all cases, although there are some exceptions, price determines perception of value.

You identified a couple of the demographic constraints that make that true, but let’s put it in these terms as well: Do you have differing perceptions of the value of a Yugo compared to the 500 E Class Mercedes? Of course, you do. Is the Mercedes 10 times better than a Yugo? Not really because both consists of an engine, tires, a rear end and all the other common body parts. Both cars transport you from point A to point B, although the Mercedes will be smoother, quieter and have many more features.

The reason you perceive the Mercedes as being much more valuable is, in some measure, due to price. Because it costs more, I have to think about it more. I have to save more money to afford it. I have to write a bigger check when I buy it; therefore I place it in a higher category of value.

If I’m a student at XYZ Karate, paying $30 per month, then my perception of the value of the school’s service is $30 a month. If I’m a student at your school and I pay $230 per month, my perception of the value of your training is almost eight times higher. When I’m paying for more perceived value, then I make sure I don’t miss a class. If I’m a parent paying that $230 a month, then I do what is necessary to make sure my child attends every class.

If you undercharge, then you’ll discover the same negative results in your files, as Mr. Machado did. You’ve hamstrung your retention rate. You’ve also severely handicapped long-term success for your students because, frankly, if they don’t perceive your program to be valuable, then it’s okay that they don’t go and don’t progress to the next level. If they don’t perceive it’s high value, then they don’t really care if they’re learning. That is an extremely important concept for all MAPro readers to understand. In many cases, price determines perception of value and you must keep that door open for long-term training for your students.

The other important point you made is that you can’t limit your market to the “all-stars” because if you only teach the all-stars and focus all your energy on them, then you’re limiting your marketing approach and market penetration.

Remember, regardless of whether you teach martial arts, dance, gymnastics or high school basketball, approximately 20% of the students are twice as efficient as the other 80%, while only approximately 5% will be all-stars.

Carlos, I’d love to hear a little bit more about what you do at your school to facilitate the growth of the top students who are the most athletic, the quick learners, who are easy to teach, compared to the students that are more challenging?

Carlos Machado: I put our top students in the “propaganda department.” They are the members of our competition team and the faces that the public sees at tournaments. I want my top guns to show the other students that we provide a training environment in which they will push themselves to their limits.

My other students become excited because they are proud that those top guns belong to our team, it’s a team environment. They’re also happy that they have such excellent students on their side because, when it comes to a regular class, those competition team members are either assisting me in the class or, even if they’re participating in the class, they’re helping more than trying to overcome the other students with their skills.

If you will, my top guns become the animals in competition training, but not regular class training, which was developed for those adults with professional careers. I want them to think they are able to advance, but don’t feel misplaced because a star is next to them.

Another point I want to make that refers again to the value of having adult students who are professionals: attorneys, physicians, etc. is that they can reduce the effects of a down economy. There’s no better way to ensure that your martial arts school will thrive than if you have a student base predominantly of people in professional categories. Even if there’s a recession, it will take much longer to affect students in that income bracket than those with lower incomes, who are either struggling or are likely to be the first to lose their jobs.

I know the value of perception and commitment; it’s a socio-economic thing. If I have more money, (and I’m not saying that money is everything), then I can move to the next level of success in my business. If you don’t make the money that you’re capable of making, then you’re cutting yourself short.

If you want to cater just to the young men that want to be MMA fighters, then I think that’s a great career and a great market. You’ll probably make more money as their manager, earning a cut of their purses and becoming involved with MMA organizations. If your target audience is those adult professionals, then you can’t base your class on the stars - those that could become MMA champions.

Toby Milroy: One of our major challenges at NAPMA is convincing and educating our members to communicate the benefits of martial arts instead of the features in their marketing and intros.

In almost every case, when a member asks us for solutions to his or her marketing problems, it’s because his or her ad, flyer and/or telephone script focuses on features and not the benefits. School owners and instructors are telling parents how their children will love martial arts because they have the opportunity to kick and punch, break boards, swing a stick or a long staff and maybe be on the demonstration team. Too many school owners forget that parents really don’t care.

Parents and the buyer of every product and service want to know the benefits, not the features. If you’re in the power tool business, then you shouldn’t sell a drill because the customer wants a hole, not a drill. He wants the drill because of what it will do for him.

You have a really unique approach in Brazilian jiu jitsu to communicate benefits to your students. Would you explain it to our readers? What has your students responded and how has your approach benefited your school?

Carlos Machado: Most of the people that call my academy already know what they want. I very seldom have a phone call from a prospective student asking about martial arts in a general way. Every contact I make and every lead I receive are already predetermined to go a step further. My responsibility is to facilitate how fast that can happen.

My internal referral program is a major tool for attracting and enrolling new students. We try to implement more joint activities within the group of students, so, for example, we schedule a UFC party at a restaurant, and the rule is each student must bring a friend. The friends come and participate in that event and experience that friendly and enticing group environment. We give each friend a pass for a free class.

Obtaining a name and phone number from a current student and inviting that referred prospect to the school is successful to a certain extent, but I’ve tried to take our referral program one step further. I ask my current student to bring his friend (the referral) to a friends’ day because it breaks the barriers. I know those prospective students will have many questions and be very hesitant because they might think my school and program is for tough guys, so most of the time they’re insecure.

If they have no martial arts experience, then I have a strong reason to believe they probably have some physical insecurities. They think they are entering the lion’s den and will be eaten alive; but, of course, that’s not the case. We want those referrals and the local community to recognize, before they come to our academy, that the image of our school is of a place for people to meet and socialize in a nice way, to use martial arts to help each other. We don’t want the adults in our community to struggle and miss the opportunity to participate in activity that will change their lives. I believe we’re in the business of changing lives.

I know that if one of my adult students learns to focus his effort and dedication to pass a martial arts test, then that will serve him well in his profession, whenever he is facing a business challenge. He will have developed the focus to succeed. If a student is experiencing undue stress in his profession and/or life, then, after a vigorous class, he’ll leave a new man. He’ll go home and hug his wife and kiss his kid and be a happy man that day because he had that martial arts experience to close the deal.

It’s not uncommon for students from different professions to be unhappy with their jobs because of the stress of business, deadlines and the demands of the boss. Some have confided in me that they had a terrible day and sometimes just watched the clock, waiting for the time to go by; but, once they became students, their anxiousness for the end of the business day was a positive thing because they can’t wait to come to my jiu jitsu practice. What else can you ask?

Can you imagine if those adult students didn’t have a jiu jitsu class in their lives how much more they would be missing and not experiencing? That’s the benefit I try to make sure my prospective students understand.

School owners, and specifically BJJ schools, must market to a broader audience than just those already familiar with the martial arts. We want to attract everyone who is not in the martial arts because they have no clue how much more quality they can add to their lives if they incorporate the martial arts.

Toby Milroy: Carlos, it’s obvious to me that you’ve learned some ideas and methods to grow your school and expand your life; and it shows in your passion. I can tell that you’ve tried not to fall into that rut or routine that many of us do in our professions, jobs and lives. Anthony Robbins says when you’re green you grow and when you’re ripe you rot.

It’s another lesson for our readers: Whenever you stop seeking and learning new ideas and information, especially what you don’t know well, and then implement those ideas, you stop growing and you rot.

I want our MAPro readers to know that you are helping to provide our members with some of those new ideas and information. We’ll be featuring video segments from you on the NAPMA Innovations DVD that members receive every month, and you’ll be at the 2008 NAPMA Extreme Success Academy. I think that your passion for teaching and creating great students and changing their lives will be a big benefit for all of our members.

You are also working with Master Oliver and me and our corporate team at Mile High Karate to add a Brazilian jiu jitsu component to our martial arts system. Your BJJ curriculum will be very robust and provide Black Belt students with an opportunity to expand their learning and experience beyond a standard or traditional style. What are your goals for our Black Belts, what do you want to accomplish with them during the next 24 months?

Carlos Machado: Our initial goal is for every Mile High Karate Black Belt student to earn an equivalent Blue Belt in jiu jitsu. The Blue Belt is a major steppingstone in Brazilian jiu jitsu because once a student becomes a Blue Belt his or her path to Black Belt is already set. A student can advance faster and more effectively because he or she will learn all the details.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is exciting because it blends with everything. BJJ never contradicts other styles; it makes the curriculum even more appealing and makes students even more enthusiastic because BJJ can be taught in sequences, A, B, C, D, which is how I teach it. You don’t learn an isolated move here and an isolated move there that you cannot put together. It’s connecting the dots. Students will know very quickly how good they can become, not just in the karate system, but also in BJJ.

Since Mile High Karate students already have a martial arts background, the correct mindset, the addition of BJJ will make them formidable students. I’m working with the cream of the crop. I think this will be an experiment that will prove to the martial arts world that we can have the best of both: A sound martial arts business with a wonderful martial arts program.

I think Mile High Karate is showing to the world that it can teach you how to market, how to sell and also how to be the best martial artist. By combining karate and jiu jitsu, Mile High Karate has broken all the barriers. I think this is history in the making.

Toby Milroy: We’re all very excited about your involvement. Providing students and instructors with new curriculum material has always been a key component to long-term student retention beyond Black Belt. There must be something new and exciting for students to learn and for instructors to teach, something that will continue to build core competencies past Black Belt.

Let’s turn to the last topic of this discussion. What we’ve learned during the years at NAPMA and Mile High Karate is that the people with whom you surround yourself is an essential key component to any type of long-term business success, martial arts success and life success.

NAPMA has been doing its best to focus members’ attention on that concept with its two mastermind groups: the Inner Circle program has 15-20 of the top owners in the industry and the Peak Performers group numbers 40-50 owners working towards higher levels of success. Both groups have regular in-person and electronic meetings where a wonderful synergy is created, so they can share ideas and grow together.

How significant has the mastermind experience been for you? How valuable has it been for you to be able to learn from and grow with a group of like-minded school owners, pushing and pulling you to the next level?

Carlos Machado: In my case, the value or influence of the mastermind concept was very limited in the past, but has now become a much more valuable in terms of marketing and business. As a martial artist, trying to improve, I’ve always believed that you leave your ego at the door. I’m there to grow. I want to grow. Whatever it takes to grow, I’ll pay the price. To go on the mat, roll with an opponent and be tapped out a number of times is a learning experience. I ask him what did you do and how do I be like you? My mindset with a superior opponent is not that guy is so much better than me; I feel terrible. No, I try to have a positive mindset: How can I be like you? Help me be like you?

You need that same approach in business. If I meet or know a school owner that has been more successful than me, then I ask him to help me succeed like he did. I open my arms, my mind, my soul and my heart because I have nothing to hide. I want to be better at what I’m doing with what he knows. If you approach another school owner with that kind of open, positive attitude, then he or she gladly try to give you his or her insight in small bites that you can digest and implement easily.

If you’re not ready for that knowledge, then the amount of it can be overwhelming. That’s why being in a mastermind group is so valuable because there is more than one member who can help you focus on what’s really important. Don’t be afraid to admit you are a White Belt in business and then let those other group members teach you, just like your instructor taught you martial arts, what you need to know to become a Blue Belt, Purple and eventually a Black Belt in business. I told Mr. Oliver that he had to make me a Black Belt in business. I’ll make you a Black Belt in BJJ.

The fascinating thing about a mastermind group is that there are no egos; there is no room for walls; everything is open. You can nurture each other because the whole objective is for everybody to grow. One person doesn’t grow at the expense of the others. Everyone is winning all the time. I think this concept is extremely important because there are so many people who experience difficulties in their lives, not because they don’t know, but because they don’t have a support system of people that have been there already, know better and will help them reach the next level.

Mr. Clay Pittman is one of my first Black Belt students; and he is a supportive member of my team, helping me in my business. I like to listen to people in my immediate group as well as successful people in other types of businesses. I’ve learned that many of the concepts that have made them successful can be applied to my business and produce great results.

I wish I had more time for my self-education, which is why I’ve set aside time in my calendar this year for college. Some days, I can invest all of my time to pursue knowledge about a topic I need to know. Other days are filled with opportunities, such as being interviewed for Martial Arts Professional magazine and other publications, appearing on TV shows and receiving awards.

I don’t want that recognition for my ego; I want it, so I can pull people under my influence and show them the martial arts, which I believe will help them in their lives.

At the end of your life, people won’t ask how much money you made, but how much good you made. How many people you loved. How much you transformed the world. I think those things are eternal.

The essential keys to “lock the back door” for long-term student retention are:

1. Over-delivering on customers’ expectations of customer.
2. Clearly communicating the benefits of ongoing training at your school, to students and their families.
3. Creating a positive community in your school.
4. Exciting and productive classes that clients perceive to be valuable.

#3 – Creating a Positive Community in Your School, Part 2, (Social Engineering to Reinforce Student Longevity)

What do you remember about your martial arts training: the 75th repetition of your Green Belt form, the 396th front kick, or when you went to the movies with your Brown Belt classmates?

Most of us tend to remember the atypical events that made us feel like we were part of something great.

As professional martial arts school owners, we must understand what motivates our students, and what anchors them into the “culture” of our schools. The day-to-day training of our students is only one of the essential components to accomplish this goal.

Students must utilize repetition to perfect technical skills, but it’s just as important that they have an “experience” in your school that inspires them to come back the next day, week, month, year and beyond.

As school owners, we must create this culture, intentionally. We must think about what our students will remember from their training, just as you remember your training.

I remember several events in my early martial arts training that had profound impacts.

• My first tournament as a competitor.
• The time I snapped my hamstring during a belt exam.
• When the master instructor told me that my spinning hook kick looked “amazing.”
• The first time I was asked to help teach another student.
• Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the school.
• Celebrating the instructors’ 6th-Degree promotion.

One of the rules at Mile High Karate is that EVERY month we schedule one Karate-related and one non-Karate-related event. These are expanded opportunities for students to participate in a technical experience: a special weapons class, an advanced kicking class, a board-breaking clinic, etc.

It’s also important that students have a social experience at your school, such as pizza parties, graduation celebrations, anti-abduction classes and “mom and me” class.

If your school focuses on the adult market, then it’s just as easy to create activities that they find engaging. I once took a bunch of my adult students to a Zig Ziglar, Colin Powell and Suze Ormond event; and my students still talk about it. Other examples for adult students might be renting a big-screen TV and watching the latest UFC event or promoting a women’s self defense class at the local hospital or bank, and have your high-ranking adult student assist. Some of the most powerful opportunities are NOT every-day training at your school.

Some of the real magic in these types of social experiences is that you include families. They come to your event and support each other through the training process and the challenges that come with it. Obviously, that is a tremendous anchor for long-term student commitment.

I think it’s also important that these special events are free to students, although some schools like to use them as revenue generators. It’s better to over-deliver your services than risk being perceived as a school that “nickels and dimes” students. You should always be looking for opportunities to provide un-promised extras and bonuses to students.

What we did 5 or 10 years ago to be super successful in today’s market isn’t good enough anymore. Just being a great teacher or a good guy isn’t good enough. You MUST learn why students stay or quit, and then create systems to encourage the former, and reduce the latter!

Key Number 3: Creating a positive community in your school to reinforce student longevity. Your goal is to move martial arts training in your school beyond just an activity, and become a lifestyle or a hub of the family.

I have the amazing opportunity to speak with school owners throughout the world. I’m impressed by how much they are involved in their students’ lives and their communities.In almost all of these cases, the school owner’s heart is in the right place, but in many cases, there is a significant disconnect. These school owners usually know the details of their students’ lives. They know that Johnny’s parents are divorced. They know that Suzie is having trouble with her focus at academic school, which most likely stems from her low self-esteem and self-worth. Furthermore, these school owners person-ally know many nearby business owners and the local mayor, school officials and Chamber of Commerce members. In general, these school owners are very altruistic and responsible members of their communities.

In almost all of these cases, the school owner’s heart is in the right place, but in many cases, there is a significant disconnect.

These school owners usually know the details of their students’ lives. They know that Johnny’s parents are divorced. They know that Suzie is having trouble with her focus at academic school, which most likely stems from her low self-esteem and self-worth.

Furthermore, these school owners personally know many nearby business owners and the local mayor, school officials and Chamber of Commerce members. In general, these school owners are very altruistic and responsible members of their communities.

This relates to the retention rate in their martial arts schools in two very important ways

1. In general, school owners want to be involved in their students’ lives; they really want to make a huge, positive impact on their students; and they genuinely care about their surrounding communities.
2. Unfortunately, despite this desire to create a strong, positive sense of community in their schools, these school owners seem to do almost nothing to systematize and communicate this to their students and their families.

As a result, there are many opportunities to reinforce and garner long-term student commitment that are lost in the gap. Of course, my perspective is to think like a marketer (and, frankly, as a school owner, your perspective should be the same). Communication is everything!

In essence, we want to educate our students and their families as to the tremendous benefits of training in our schools on a long-term basis; and we need to educate them with as many means as we have at our disposal. (Keep in mind, people are typically wrapped up in their own lives, and need repeated “touches” of a message to actually hear and understand it.)

For example, when one of our students earns the “Terrific Kid” award in his elementary school, we have a tremendous opportunity to highlight him in a positive light at our school. We should bring him to the front of the class and ask everyone to give him a big “You Rock!” We should write and send a quick e-mail, explaining his accomplishment to all our members. We could ask his mother to write a letter, explaining how his martial arts training helped him accomplish this great award.

Again, unfortunately, too many owners with whom I speak don’t make this effort. They expect that, since they are doing such a great teaching job, everyone knows the benefits of the training. This is almost always false.

So, not only is it important to do a great job, inspire your students, build their confidence, increase their self-esteem and fulfill all your promises to them, but also we must constantly re-sell the benefits of their training!

I recently attended a conference where Gene Simmons was one of the guest speakers. Gene is one of the few rock stars who has managed to maintain and substantially grow his wealth, long after the peak of his career. Gene has licensed more than 4,000 products, and has created a billion-dollar business from KISS. In his presentation, he made one of his trademark statements:

“I’m in the “ME” business! My job is to pro-mote “ME!” If I don’t blow my own horn, then who will? The world doesn’t owe me anything, and it won’t provide me with anything, unless I’m willing to take it myself!”

Although he puts on a great show of bravado, he understands his job. If he doesn’t blow his own horn, then who will? If you aren’t telling your students how important it is to continue their training (and giving them specific examples of people just like them, and the AMAZING things they’ve accomplished), then who will.

In my next column, I’ll share how to use internal events, activities and social engineering to build your community!

Interview by Toby Milroy, NAPMA Vice-President of Sales and Marketing

Joe Borucki is a successful school owner who really understands the unnecessary condition of many martial arts schools because he’s been there. He had erected a number of obstacles (which existed only in his mind) that blocked the growth of his school. He learned how to re-frame his thinking and open his mind to the ideas made available to him as a member of the NAPMA Maximum Impact Program and the Millionaire Wealth Group, and as a Stephen Oliver Coaching client.Now, during this interview, Joe Borucki reveals how he removed himself as an obstacle to his success, the decisions he was no longer afraid to make and the nothing-short-of-amazing responses from parents. He found it quite easy to raise his basic tuition, double his preschool program tuition and boost his upgrades - and it all started with a change of mindset.

Toby Milroy: This month’s NAPMA Success Story is a discussion with Joe Borucki who operates Global Martial Arts in Hampstead, Maryland. He is a NAPMA Maximum Impact member and, during the last year, experienced record enrollment traffic after he moved his school to a busier location and implemented several new marketing strategies, including stronger referral programs.

Joe, let’s start with your martial arts background.

Joe Borucki: I started Hapkido training in early 1985 and am now a Fifth-Degree Black Belt. Prior to that I did, how shall I say it, a little bit of recreational counseling, but my real training started in ‘85, and I have been training steady ever since. I have also trained in Tae Kwon Do, Yudo (Judo), Aikido and various other martial arts styles and a variety of weapons. My current instructor is Grand Master J. R. West who runs the United States Korean Martial Arts Federation. Dr. He-Young Kim, who is quite well known in Korean martial arts, backs Grand Master West. I train with him at least four times a year because he’s in Mississippi and I’m in Maryland.

Toby: Give our readers a brief description of your school.

Joe: I opened my school in Hampstead in 1991. We recently moved to a bigger location a couple of miles up the road. The school is 3,000 square feet, where we train 250 active students.

Toby: The difference between analysis and implementation is one of the most important topics for this interview. I know Master Oliver and the members of the Millionaire Wealth group, of which you’re a charter member, have discussed this topic too.

During the last 36 months, what are the major breakthroughs that you’ve made at your school and the major obstacles that you’ve overcome that would serve as excellent social proof for MAPro readers?

Joe: Implementation of new ideas has been the biggest challenge to overcome. It’s great to have an idea, but if you don’t implement it what good is it? I learned that I had to work on that challenge steadily because new ideas are coming my way all of the time. Master Oliver has helped me with the everyday challenge of enrolling new students.

Toby: The challenge you’ve experienced, Joe, is exactly what business author Peter Drucker has written: a bad idea brilliantly executed is better than a perfect idea that sits on a shelf. Too many NAPMA members suffer from the same challenge. They receive at least one NAPMA package every month (Maximum Impact members receive two!), which is filled with many ideas and methods to generate more enrollments, improve retention and increase upgrades and student quality, but too many of those packages literally sit on shelves, never opened and their potential never realized.

What was your marketing homerun during the last 12 months? What specific idea did you implement that has made a difference at your school?

Joe: It has to be the after-school program, which we call our ASE program, After-School Enrichment. It has been a big boost. We are in every elementary school in the area, which are now five or six schools. The program has brought new students directly, but we also receive second and third referrals, which, in most cases, are through the mothers’ grapevine, word-of-mouth.

Mothers call me and say, “Little Billy’s mom told me about the after-school program and I was very interested in having my son come to your school.” That’s one of the best kinds of free advertising!

I think this kind of community outreach program, which my after-school program really is, is a good idea for smaller schools, without big marketing budgets because it’s very low cost. You still must implement, but you should be able to create a win-win relationship with local daycare centers, elementary schools, recreation centers or private schools. There are many choices.

“Implementation of new ideas has been the biggest challenge to overcome. I had to work on that challenge steadily because new ideas are coming my way all of the time.”

Toby: What paid advertising method has been the biggest hit for you during the last 12 months?

Joe: Direct mail, using Getmembers.com and similar type programs, but your response to this or your response to that is way over the newspaper or any type of mailing. I do the money mailer-type advertising on a consistent basis. To me, that’s name recognition-type of advertising. To generate responses, direct mail is the best way to go.

It’s a little bit more pricey, but if I enroll five or six new students from one mailer, then that more than pays for the price of the mailer.

To put it in dollars and cents, if, for example, I mailed 3,000 direct mail postcards that cost $2,000 and pulled in five enrollments, each with a $400 down payment, then the upfront payments have covered the cost of the marketing.

Toby: Exactly. That’s what called a self-liquidating, regeneration activity. What that means is the upfront fees from the customers pay for the marketing activity and all the back-end continuity revenue that students spend at your schools is all profit from that single marketing activity.

Joe, you said a couple of things earlier that I’d like you to explain in more detail for our readers. You said that you were doing postcard mailings to a cold list, using Getnumbers.com or similar services. They rent you the list and drop your postcard to that list directly. I imagine you’ve picked a household-with-kids list to receive your postcard. Are you doing just a one-time mailing of X number of pieces? Are you separating your mailings into smaller chunks and hitting the list sequentially? What’s been your strategy?

Joe Borucki: The mailing I mentioned earlier was special because it announced the grand opening of our new and larger school. We schedule a series of mail drops to a list of 5,000, if I remember correctly. The response was overwhelming.

I think the fundamental mistake that school owners make, when they use direct mail, is to think one mailing to a list is enough. You must plan a direct mail campaign from the perspective or mindset of the recipient, your prospective customer.

They’re not waiting by the mailbox in breathless anticipation of the marketing and advertising materials and message they may receive. In most cases, your postcard is just one of many pieces in the mail that they quickly sort, looking for mail they deem important. Maybe mom looks at your one-time-only postcard and says to herself, “Oh, karate, we might want to do that.” Even though your message broke through, she could easily put your postcard somewhere and forget it or lose it.

It may take two, three or more mailings to any individual household before the decision maker or the person who could solve a problem, with what you are offering, sees your postcard. Those first two or three could even be thrown in the trash, and it might take a fourth one before mom finally receives your message, realizes how your school will benefit her child and calls you.

The more times you hit that same list, the higher your response rates will be; it’s almost universal. You know the old saying: the squeaky wheel gets the grease; so you need both a good list and multiple mailings to generate a good response rate.

Toby: Did you say the theme or message on the postcard was a grand opening?

Joe: Yes. Since the grand opening was in the spring and then leading into the summer, we had a two-fold message. One was the grand opening of our new location, growing from 2,200 square feet to 3,000 square feet. It was a big jump for us, but it’s a much better location. Second, we incorporated our summer special.

Toby: Typically, when you move to a new location, you experience high-volume traffic initially because people that come to that retail area or drive by it regularly see something new, and it draws their attention.

Next, Joe, please walk us through one or two of the ideas you’ve been considering and the obstacles you perceived and then their reality.

Joe: My first idea was to eliminate the Black Belt Club and implement a Master Club, as my first upgrade. Previously, we were running an orientation or a level-one class and then upgraded students to Black Belt Club at some point in their training. Now, that we’ve eliminated Black Belt Club, we enroll those students straight into either Master Club or Leadership Program early in their training, approximately three to five months.

I struggled with that change because my school had had a Black Belt Club since it opened; however, recently I just did it. I was amazed at the response. I sat with parents to review their kids’ memberships and many of the parents responded to the new Master Club, “Oh, that sounds great!” They upgraded at the drop of a hat. Now I can see that I was an obstacle to my success, again.

I struggled with the implementation of a leadership program, too, until I decided to go for it. The response has been equally amazing.

Another idea that I recently implemented was changing the schedule for our Little Dragon program from once to twice a week, and more than doubling the tuition. The response to that has been just as overwhelming. Our Little Dragon program has steadily grown because I finally decided to face down those obstacles, which were mostly in my head anyway.

Toby: Your experience is exactly what we want to discuss because so many school owners wrestle with the same type of internal struggles constantly. After all, we’re all humans. Members of the Master Oliver’s Coaching group have discovered that the principles are universal. The structure of how things work is universal. The difference is in the school owner’s mindset. The way he or she thinks is either an obstacle or enables him or her to accomplish his or her goals.

Joe: Another one of those obstacles that I’ve learned to overcome is thinking of a student’s advancement or upgrades through their training as linear.

Many schools have a beginner class or trial program, which is a couple of weeks. During that trial period, they enroll those beginners into a basic program of six to 12 months. After they complete the basic program, the instructor or program director will try to enroll those students in either a Black Belt Club or some other type of program. After Black Belt, they’re upgraded to Master Club.

What I’ve learned from Master Oliver is that when your training and upgrade structure is linear, a student’s success rate decreases. The number of students in any one program from which you want to upgrade also decreases because you’re fishing in a much shallower pool.

You only have x number of students, who have earned their Black Belts and you can upgrade to Master Club because of all the attrition. The smart strategy is to upgrade them right away, within 30 to 180 days of their original enrollment in the school. If you upgrade your beginner students right away into either a Master Club or Leadership Program, then, first, their outcomes are better because they’re more committed, mentally, and, second, the attrition rate falls. The retention rate increases dramatically because their expectation is not “I will be in karate in 12 months,” but “I will be a Black Belt” or “a Second-Degree Black Belt.”

The idea is to create a different mindset in your students and their parents that martial arts is part of their life, very similar to a person’s long-term commitment to major athletics: football, baseball and basketball, even tennis and golf, from elementary through high school and even college. Why can’t we train them in martial arts the same way? That type of mentality totally changes the way students will train to make martial arts a part of their lives, as it enhances their lives.

Toby: You hit upon an important detail, Joe, and that is shaping the parent’s mindset too. Expand on your comments about that part of the strategy.

Joe: You must approach the parents from the point-of-view that you are not trying to sell them a program they don’t want for their child. Instead, you want to create excitement and an expectation of the long-term benefits of martial arts, not just the six months of a beginner course. If you tell a student that he or she is in a six-month course and that you’ll discuss the next step after six months, then you are likely setting up that student to fail because you’ve helped him or her to perceive the training as being only six months.

Instead, you want to talk with the student and his or her parents about their goals, and how martial arts can help them realize those goals. You want to create an expectation for the achievement of Black Belt some day. If that student has a motivation issue or tells mom that he or she doesn’t want to go to karate today, then mom has been pre-framed to have the right mindset. She understands that the family has committed to martial arts and working toward a Black Belt. She is more apt to work with you to solve the child’s problem, rather than having the out, “We only have a month left on the six-month program, so we just won’t go.”

It’s a whole different way to think about the advancement of your students, while improving your retention and bottom line. If you can articulate that structure or mindset to the parents early, then they appreciate what you are doing for their child and them because you’re not trying to be deceptive. You’re telling them, “Listen, martial arts is a lifelong activity with lifelong benefits. Enrolling in our Black Belt Club is a four-year commitment, so is that the goal you want for Johnny? Do you think he will benefit from the experience?”

You want to avoid, in fact, discard, the old mentality when you told parents, “We will train your son or daughter to earn a Black Belt.” That is the mindset of martial arts, as just an activity the child does, not one that is enhancing his or her life.

Moving a student to Master Club and a Leadership Program helps to develop a better academic student and a better martial arts student. The child achieves more in other activities and, most importantly, starts the process of becoming a leader. That’s powerful! If you can train a child to be a leader, then there’s no telling what he or she can achieve.

Those are the kind of messages that generate positive responses from parents, instead of, “We’ll make your child a Black Belt.” Parents don’t understand what that means, anyway.

Change the parents’ mindset and the excitement level really rises. It depends on the child, but if everyone adopts the benefits mentality, then parents will back the idea and understand that the training is to benefit the child in a whole gamut of ways: emotional, intellectual and, of course, physical, and not just becoming a Black Belt.

Toby: There was another point that you made earlier that I think our readers would appreciate understanding further; and that is the mental hesitation of many school owners when it comes to having a similar program for the youngest students and charging, appropriately. I think that is a struggle for many school owners. They have a pre-school program or a younger junior’s program, for three- to six-year-olds. Tell us about your old thinking and your new implementation, and the difference you’ve experienced.

Joe: I created, as have many school owners, a false scenario in my head that parents would say no to a higher tuition, before I even asked. That was my old thinking. I was afraid to ask for the tuition, to charge what I deserved, because of that barrier. Finally, I just stepped out of my way and implemented a new tuition structure.

I approached the parents of the students in my preschool program and told them, “Here are the benefits of this program; now I will double them. The classes will be twice a week, so I can add more to the program because we have more time.” They were very excited about the expanded program. The increased tuition was a non-issue. I think one parent gave me a hard time and she still registered her child, anyway. We had 100% of the students jumped onboard with what we did.

Toby: Let me clarify a couple of points for our readers. First, you were masterful in creating a new program for them, into which you could upgrade them. You didn’t say - and this is quite important for our readers -, “Hi, Johnny! You’ve been training for two years at the school and, by the way, tomorrow your tuition is doubled.”

That approach doesn’t work very well. It does works very well, if you create an entirely new structure, a new program, to integrate into your school. Parents have “the option to upgrade their children into your new program.” Of course, since you made it such an overwhelmingly no-brainer decision, everyone upgraded. That’s exactly the right way, a brilliant way, to implement your new preschool program because, like you said, you had almost no push back. The parents’ response was only positive excitement.

I think your key point is that your initial belief system about a preschool program was that parents just wouldn’t pay full tuition for a complete program; when, in reality, you discovered quite the opposite: If you offered them a complete program at the full tuition, then they were more than happy to upgrade. In fact, that’s probably what they wanted initially, right?

Joe: That’s exactly ri