Picture this: You get a lead from your website.

They’ve signed up for your trial and want to come in for their first class.

You call them or shoot them a text. They book a time to come in to try your school out.

The day comes and you’re at the academy, ready for a potential new student to walk through the door as scheduled.

Class starts and they’re still not there. Same when you get to the end of class.

They no-show their first class. You may or may not see them ever walk through your academy’s doors.

How often does this happen to you? What percentage of new leads book their first class and then never show up.

If you don’t know, that’s one of your problems.

Let’s just say you know the percentage, is it over 50%? 60%? Higher?

If not, there are a few things you need to start doing today.

One common reason people fail to show up for their appointments comes back to insufficient communication and follow-up.

You talk to them and help book their first class, and then you don’t touch base again.

It’s time to establish effective communication channels with leads, like phone calls, emails and text messages to remind and confirm their appointments

Left to their own devices, a lot of people won’t show up to do something for the first time– especially if it’s a free trial class.

You and your team need to be proactive about appointments to make sure those leads don't silently opt out before they start.

To start, set up a reminder and confirmation system, and have your staff reach out the day before to confirm each appointment.

For those who don’t reply, reach out again the following morning, the day of the appointment.

This approach makes it extra important to always obtain the contact information from every lead that walks through the doors or contacts you.
You can’t reach out if you have nowhere to reach them.

A good rule of thumb includes always grabbing these three things: first and last name, number, and email address.

We always take two forms of contact just in case one of them doesn’t work.

Some people may schedule appointments weeks or more in advance and forget entirely. They’ll be grateful for the reminder!

Putting the cart before the horse

One of the biggest mistakes martial arts schools make comes back to discussing membership costs before the student even comes in.

For many, the cost/reward ratio of something they’ve never tried is relative.

They don’t yet know the value of martial arts, but a concrete amount of money does evoke a preconceived value.

Without truly knowing what they may miss out on, they may decide it’s not worth the cost before even trying.

That said, you can’t lie, dodge questions, or create a frustrating experience for potential members.

If you’ve already deflected the price question a couple of times and they won’t let it go, it will serve you best to share your prices.

However, do so with great intention.

Let them know the program cost, or cost of your trial month, but make sure you also show the value within your membership options.

For example, if you offer an unlimited membership for $200 a month, phrase it so they understand that even if they only attend three times a week, it costs less per class than most academies’ drop-in rates (often between $20-$35.)

If you have to have this conversation before they come in, focus on the benefits.

Perhaps you have a suspension policy that ensures they’ll never lose any money or training time if they have to pause their memberships.

Be honest, but sweeten the deal by mentioning perks and what sets you apart.

Clearly communicate the unique value and benefits of your martial arts academy throughout the nurturing process.

Along with communicating value, make sure to set expectations about the first class.

Provide detail on what the leads will learn, experience and achieve during their visit.

If leads are unsure about what they can gain from attending an appointment or have unrealistic expectations, they may lose interest or feel hesitant to come in.

Poor timing or inconvenient scheduling

If your academy’s available classes don’t align with the lead’s preferences or scheduling is too complicated, it will discourage students from committing.

While you can’t please everyone, if your leads consistently fail to show up or have trouble scheduling classes, it may serve you to conduct some market research.

Gain a better understanding of your market audience and optimize your schedule to offer flexibility and convenience.

You may find leads start booking appointments (and showing up) with ease.

Always keep the pressure minimal

Nothing scares leads away faster than an over-eager and pushy salesperson.

Be genuinely happy for them even if they just try the class. You don’t need to sell them, the experience should speak for itself.

Remember to keep the human element front of mind when implementing tweaks to your system.

It can feel good to just automate the entire process for booking leads, but often these folks will have questions and concerns that need to be addressed to get them into your academy.

You can significantly improve your trial class attendance rates through:

1. creating a follow up system to connect and remind new leads about their classes
2. updating your schedule to include premium times in your market
3. Being more skillful in how you talk about your programs and pricing on the phone.

Check out our free Follow-Up Guide and get your leads in class today!