The secret to getting more students to sign up at your eikawa English school
The Bulletin (Issue 47)
I wrote previously (in The Bulletin, Issue 44) about a great insight from marketer Daniel Priestley, but there was another statement he made that I think applies very well to running your own English school.
In this video interview (watch the whole thing if you have a couple of hours spare), he said something along the lines of:
People respond best when you exhibit with or without you energy -- hey I’m doing this thing, you are welcome to come along but I’m going to do this thing anyway, whether you come along or not. This works, apparently on some deep psychological level, far better than: “Hey, I need you desperately or else the whole thing will fall through!”
I’ve been considering these words for a week or two and I think the reason our mom-n-pop, formerly rinky-dink English school has been a modest success (where success = has kept going and fed a family of five for getting on for 17 years) was that we (unknowingly) have exhibited with or without you energy right from the get-go.
How do you harness the power of with or without you energy? Here are a few suggestions, but I’m sure you could come up with your own ideas, once you get the concept:
Don’t have a policy of only opening a class if you get x number of students signing up first. Instead, say something like “This class is the Year 2 class. You can join if you are interested.” Sure, you can be flexible about this (if you really are desperate, open up a class even if there is only one student), but you want to exude the feeling that your teaching and your school continues whether the prospective student joins or not.
Don’t hard sell prospective students. Let them come for a free trial of course, but at the end of the lesson give them your sign-up details, school policy and meishi, but don’t seek a hard yes or no at that moment, be cool about it and say: “Contact us if you are interested. Think about it and get in touch, but of course it is first come, first served, we can’t hold a place for you because we have interest from new students all the time.” Or say: “We can put you on the waiting list,” even though there isn’t a waiting list. Then contact them within a day or two offering a place. I personally wouldn’t do that as it’s too much trouble being Machiavellian about it all. Maybe I’m just a natural at the take-it-or-leave-it approach. My wife calls this being lazy.
Don’t have nickel and dime discounts. I hate those “get 10 percent off if you bring a friend, get a further 5 percent off if you introduce grandma and the first month free if you promise to sign up for a year” deals and I realise why I hate them. They exude we are desperate for cash vibes, not with or without you energy.
In fact, don’t bother with any discounts. Set a reasonable fee and stick to it. With or without you, baby, with or without you.
What do you think? Do you exude with or without you energy? How could you make it work for you? Leave a comment for your fellow Freetalkers to read. If you want, don’t bother if you’re not intereted, you know “w.o.w. you” energy?
See you on Friday for the Podcast when I talk about how you have to say ‘no’ to prospective students sometimes. With or without you, right?