Powerful Ways to Recruit More Martial Arts Students

Hosting events at your school will bring more prospects in the door. Once they are there, all you have to do is impress them with your programs and services. To take advantage of this great opportunity, try to host an event each month. Here are some different event ideas to keep things fresh:

• Introductory classes and workshops
• Charity fundraisers
• Skills or weapons workshops
• Belt promotion ceremonies and parties
• Parents Night Out evenings
• In-house tournaments
• Adult skills workshops

Motiving your team to recruit new students helps you get more benefit out of all the ideas we’ve given you so far. Motivated team members serve as your eyes and ears, looking out for interested prospects and then getting them in the door. Motivated team members also give prospects the special care they need so prospects feel welcome and become students.

Get your copy of our free Insider’s Guide to Student Recruitment!

But if team members aren’t motivated to recruit or don’t take new student acquisition seriously, they miss important opportunities and leads. Unmotivated team members also tend to be less enthusiastic and accommodating when talking to prospects. That’s why the time and resources it takes to train and motivate your team are well worth it.

If your team is engaged in acquisition, empower them to:

• Get to know your students and their parents
• Ask students to bring their friends or siblings to your monthly events
• Pass out “free class” passes to prospects
• Encourage families with multiple children to enroll everyone with a multi-child or family discount

Hiring an intern to help with marketing just might be the most important idea in this blog. That’s because most of the ideas in this blog aren’t new, but they only work if you actually implement them. The problem is that even though school owners know they need to do these things, few of them have the time. And you’re no different. You’re busy, and we get that. So why not bring on an intern to help you implement these ideas?

You probably have high school or college age students at your dojo. If you do, then it’s likely you have a student who’s interested in business or marketing and willing to trade work for classes. If not, then contact a department head in the Recreation Services, Physical Health and Wellness or Business department of your local college and ask them to help you recruit a student. Something a simple as a flyer in the on campus rec center or an announcement in a student newsletter should bring you talented interns willing to do a work trade.

Recruiting more students is something all school owners think about, whether it’s to increase revenue or simply replace your members lost through normal attrition. Fortunately, there are some pretty easy things you can do to bring in new faces. By incorporating these common sense principles and strategic programs, your martial arts school will be able to enjoy a steady stream of excited new students.

Looking for additional ways to get more students? Get your copy of our free Insider’s Guide to Student Recruitment.