I believe that most schools today offer some type of Trial Program. A Trail program is a short-term course that allows a prospect to take a few classes risk-free. They can be any number of classes and length of time. If you do not offer a Trial Program, then get one started immediately.
The Number 1 Mistake
Most people today go to your website first before making any decisions about classes or even calling or visiting your school. Why? Because this is a safe and easy way for them to learn more about you and your school in a risk-free environment. They don’t have to talk with anyone or answer questions.
The mistake that most MA websites make is that they do not have a listing for their trial program or have an opt-in box to ask for more information. Most times they must look for the opt-in to ask a question. Then when they get there, they feel intimidated because you ask for too much information. That can be intimidating. You must understand the 5-steps of buyers and what they think when they visit your website. They are at step 2 in the buying process, and your site must cater to that and move them to step 3.
So, to move them to step 3, you must offer an easy way for them to learn more with a free offer. For example, I offer the 16 Steps on How to Choose a Martial Arts School. You can provide anything. A free book for self-defense or a free video. Anything that they will give you their email address.
The Trial Course
Once you get that, they learn about the Trial Program, where they can now opt-in for that or maybe ask for more information. This process is called a funnel and is used by most professional companies. Your website should be generating at least 60 prospects a month. If not, then you have to look at the funnel that you are using.
I recommend that you offer at least 3 Trial Classes and that they pay for them. In the ’90s, we used to provide free trial classes. That doesn’t work anymore because too many people are afraid they’re going to get harassed when they came in and pressured into signing an agreement that they do not want. This perception, I think, grew from the Health Club industry. That and the fear of long-term contracts that they could not cancel. Still, some schools offer free. The other problem with free is that it might bring in more prospects, but you get a lot of unqualified prospects. This wastes valuable time that could be used for qualified prospects.
The cost for a trial course varies according to what you want to offer. It should be something simple that people can easily understand. For example, if I use 2 classes at 25, it makes it difficult for a client to do the math. 3 classes at 19.99 (a popular one), is also challenging for people to do the math. We use 3 at 29.99. That for us works the best. First, I’m using the 99 at the end. Second, it’s easy to do the math. Round up to 30 and divide by 3. Ten bucks a class makes sense to the prospect.
If you have other ideas, let me know.
