Martial Arts Management

Part 5: The Anatomy of an Ad: Body Copy What Is your Sales Story? Many of the marketing pieces of martial arts school owners start with egocentric descriptions of their businesses and credentials, instead of the information that prospective students and their families need to solve their problems. This is a common copywriting error that ...

I was speaking to a school owner from a pretty typical suburb the other day, it was really entertaining, and I thought you might find it interesting as well (which he gave me permission to share with you). So, this gentleman, a nice, sharp guy, has been running his school for 14 years, and has been “stuck” at about $26,000 a month gross for the last seven years.

In defining what is the most important element to success, in any endeavor, you would be hard pressed to find anything more important than attitude. In Japanese, the word for attitude is shisei, which is made up of two kanji meaning shape and forces. In other words, it is the attitude that shapes the forces ...

In a recent column, I introduced an important concept that deserves additional thought. If you operate your school in a very competitive market, then you must develop a unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP describes what you offer your customers above and beyond your competitors, and will enhance prospects’ experience. How does that concept apply ...

Why is it important to have a crystal-clear vision of where a person wants to go in life? Brian Tracy answers… This is one of the most important things I’ve ever learned: Successful people tend to be future-oriented. Unsuccessful people tend to be present- or past-oriented. You can tell if a person will be successful ...

Maybe I was just born under a lucky star - but when it comes to running a professional martial arts school I was born with the proverbial “Silver Spoon.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be motivated to achieve by such a lofty goal as benevolence? I must confess, however, that in the early years of my struggle to succeed, my motivation was much more down-to-earth. My reason for succeeding was more basic. In fact, it fell into the category of what I like to ...

How important is truth in today’s world? As a salesperson, one of the biggest misconceptions of our profession is that we will say anything to make a sale. To the public, and sometimes to ourselves, it appears that the end objective is more important than telling the truth. That is just not true for the Conscious Salesperson. Our job is to find the benefits and value of our product or service for our prospects and tell them the truth. When it comes to making a sale, what are your...

In your view, how much time and effort should instructors invest in generating leads for new students?  Tom Hopkins answers… A school owner’s most important investment of time and effort is to sell memberships. A major part of that effort is to become known as an expert, an advisor in physical fitness and marital arts, ...

Stephen Oliver: You’re one of the highest ranked Parker Kenpo black belts in the world, give us a little bit of background of your training and how you got started with your school in Fresno California