It’s that time again- After a long summer you’re beginning to gear up for the back to school rush!  Many people will say this is one of the most active times of a schools enrollment.  If you follow my philosophy in consulting, you know that I think that every month is a good month as long as you prepare for it.  For those of you that read my posts, articles and blogs, you may see there is a trend.  I like to watch and incorporate reality T.V. and movies within my lessons.  I realize that throughout my life, my training has taught me to look for the lesson in everything I do.  I believe no matter what you see or hear, if you look close enough you can learn something from it.  

My newest reality show addiction is “The colony.”  You may be asking so what does this have to do with running a business and a martial art school.  For those who have not seen or know anything about the show, let me give you a quick synopsis.   

They take a group of individuals and put them in a dooms day scenario.  They then helicopter them to an abandoned town with a limited amount of food, medicine and supplies.  Once they are their they are put through a series of tests such as intruders, mob mentality, robbery, injury etc.  They either learn how to prepare and organize or they perish.  Doesn’t sound too far from running a business does it.  My motto is prepare today to succeed another day.  

Back To School is a lucrative and positive time for every school owner. Vacations are over, and back to school programming is an immediate need for many parents. Daylight hours become shorter making indoor activities a must. There are many ways to capitalize on this time of year, and putting systems into place to not only maximize on your opportunities is imperative to your bottom line!

Here are some quick tips to get started on the right foot towards a money-making Back To School season.

Systemize Your Referrals- If your school and programming are professional and run well, then many of your students do, or should come from referrals. The simple fact is that referrals remain to be one of the best sources for new students, but in order to utilize this to the fullest you need to have reliable systems in place to manage, maintain and optimize. Do not wait - Put your referral program together now.

You should have the following systems and activities ready to launch immediately:

1) A direct mail and or email campaign to existing students to encourage referrals

2)  A referral script to use at the time of intro and enrollment, including verbiage about how referrals are encouraged, appreciated and rewarded will allow you to begin to incorporate this script naturally into your intro process

3) Create a reward system to accompany your referral program, perhaps a discount off of their next upgrade, a free gift from your pro-shop or a discount on special events. Set up a display area in your school that showcases some of your referral prizes.

4) Ask for referrals regularly. This is something that your entire staff should be well versed and comfortable with. Referrals do not often come without encouragement and management by you and your staff.  Remember there is an extreme difference in asking and telling.  Actually call or in person ask for a name.  

5)  Start Your Back To School Advertising Yesterday - If you have not begun your back to school advertising, this is something that needs to be taken care of immediately. Create flyers and run ads based on your back to school specials. Highlight how the Martial Arts can assist students in getting better grades, etc.

6)  Contact Your Local PTA – Parent Teacher Association.  Offer to assist in yearly fundraising events, and offer your services for special programs. A P.T.A. connection can offer you a gold mine of access to potential new members!

7)  Buddy Weeks- Run an entire week of buddy days for both kids and adults every 5 weeks. Encourage them to bring a friend to class, and be sure to emphasize the rewards they can receive for their referrals!  Remind them you want to help them achieve.

8)  Purchase Back To School Supplies With Your Logo-Pencils, pens, notepads and back packs will be flying off the shelves for the Back To School rush. Creating items with your school name and logo will grant you exposure in the exact place where you want it!

For even more Back To School ideas and tips, visit www.takingittothenextlevel.com today. If you have questions about this post or would like to make a suggestion for a future email, please contact us at Kyoshi@lininja.com.