  Benefit #1: Seal Your Back Door Up Tight (Plug The Leak In
Your Boat).
You know it takes a ton of time, money and energy to get a new student. And that’s true
whether you are VIP’ing, doing direct mail, sending out postcards or hosting birthday parties.
That stuff is a LOT of work. The last thing you want is to lose that student out the back door a
few months later!
That’s why the easiest way to grow is by sealing your backdoor up tight. You’ve got to plug
the leak in the boat. Here’s how your Through The Ranks newsletter helps
retention for you.
First, communicating with your students and parents creates a feeling of connection and
loyalty. A true family feeling. You keep everybody in the loop and ensure nobody slips
through the cracks. That makes parents and students feel appreciated. Announcements are also simple. This is especially true if you
have 100+ students. Students can quickly feel disconnected at that point.
Creates A Feeling Of Connection
Second, when you hand out your Through The Ranks newsletter out each month, it does
something else that is very important:
It re-sells your existing student and parent base on the benefits of your school!
Yes, as I learned (and finally accepted) even current students (and parents) need to be
reminded why they should keep doing business with you! You can never stop selling. This is
the money hidden in your school you haven’t yet tapped into (but you will, soon).
When your students and parents read - month after month - all about the benefits they
receive by being enrolled in ATA Taekwondo, it locks them in tighter than ever. It takes people
"on the fence" and turns them into...
Hard-Core, Sold-Out True Believers!
Evangelists for your school. And that’s what you WANT. Can you imagine if everybody in
your school was like that? Can you imagine the massive referrals you’d have? Can you imagine
how easy sign-ups would be? Can you imagine what it would be like to have an ARMY of
unpaid salespeople marching out and spreading the word about you each month? As a
Through The Ranks member, you will have it!
What’s more, Through The Ranks does this FOR you. You don’t have to hype your school in
person. Instead, it’s done in a subtle, professional way (almost subliminally) through the
newsletter each month. YOU don’t have to utter one word if you don’t want to. If you hate
selling, you’ll love this part!
And that’s another thing that makes Through The Ranks so different: it’s not just "information"
or "announcements" for your parents. No, instead, it’s a highly effective "hidden" selling tool
to keep your back door sealed up tight...and get new enrollments. Which brings me to the next point...
Benefit #2: Boost Your Closing Ratio
An iron-clad rule of selling is never let them leave empty-handed. If you have somebody walk in
and you only give them a business card or a schedule of classes, that’s NOT enough.
People need to be educated before they enroll. That’s why your Through The Ranks newsletter is a perfect
closing tool for prospects. And it’s also the perfect "handout" for drive-by’s and walk-ins.
So instead of leaving with just a flyer or business card (at most), now your prospects will
leave with solid reasons why they should choose YOUR ATA school instead of the guy
around the corner. Then when they get home, they look through the newsletter and "sell
themselves"!
All while you teach classes, hang out or sleep.
Ever since I’ve started handing out my newsletter to walk-ins and prospects, I’ve seen my
closing ratio jump dramatically! Before, I’d close about 3 out of 10 prospects. Now that I’m
using Through The Ranks as a closing tool, I’m closing 8 out of 10 people.
This Is An Increase Of 266%
In My Closing Ratio!
With parents, I hand them the newsletter and they read it while their kid is in their “free
demo class”. And since that parent is a “captive audience”, they always read it cover to cover
while they sit and watch their kid’s class. I don’t have any other reading material available (I
know, I’m sneaky). But people who are interested crave information. The more, the better.
Benefit #3: Captures Names and Addresses Like Crazy!
When somebody calls and inquires, you should always capture their name, address and other contact info
so you can follow up with them later. If you don’t get their info, you are at
their mercy. And you know most will never call again.
But how? This is another area where your Through The Ranks newsletter is going to help
you. Because now all you have to say is...
"Who am I speaking with? Spell your last name for me, please. Great, Kathy, I’m going to mail our
monthly newsletter to you. It has more information about our school. What is your street address? Etc."
It’s that easy. People are very open to giving their name and address for a newsletter. Why?
Because it is non-threatening. Bottom line: all those people who, in the past, squirmed
off the hook are now going to become solid leads for you!
Benefit #4: Stimulates Massive Referrals!
Everybody knows students tend to believe what their friends say and do. That’s why referrals
are the cheapest, most profitable and easiest way to generate new students. And it’s also
why Headquarters pushes the Buddy and Referral Rewards Programs.
Makes sense. BUT - the problem is...how do you get the word out? If you don’t have a solid
method for PROACTIVELY stimulating referrals, they just don’t happen. That's because your
students need HELP selling their friends. They’re not experts like you and me. They need
help.
Through The Ranks is your answer. Now all your students have to do is hand a friend your newsletter.
Remember: Through The Ranks is a selling tool. It "sells" your school better than anything I’ve ever seen...
and it doesn’t take time away from your busy schedule to do it,
either!
Once you’ve been using Through The Ranks, you’ll start to achieve what Chris calls "Critical
Mass". That’s when your existing base of students and parents start driving referrals so fast and
heavy, you’ll never know what hit you! And, of course, since all these new people were attracted
via referral, they’ll also naturally start referring others. It’s a "money snowball".
So that’s another benefit of using Through The Ranks: all the added referrals you’ll get.
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