Hear how this process works at https://youtu.be/vQOAP9EPGFo
Greeters can make a huge difference in your closing rate. I know that most of you have some type of greeting process for prospects but it needs to be refined. A greeting done correctly will close the majority of prospects before they even set foot on your floor. Granted you show them a fun and exciting class.
I stumbled on this beneficial technique kind of by accident. A father and son finished my introductory class and it was time for me to close them to more of a long term program. I was sure that they would sign up because they were super enthusiastic about the training. I brought the father into my office and I starting my sales presentation. I was so sure that he would sign up that I cut my presentation short. The father told me he would love to signup but money was tight. He asked if there was anything I could do. While I was thinking he jumped in with a proposal of his own. He said that if I was ok with him signing up and letting his son train for free he could bring me a bunch of new members. I wasn’t too enthused about this. I have heard this story before and no one really brought me enough members to make it worth it. Even though I had my doubts, I granted his son a free membership anyways. I really liked the father and the son was really polite. Both were the kind of people that would make my program look good within the community.
Believe or not he started bringing me new members. By the time these people came in they were practically closes already. The father really hyped me up. This was working out great! I was very happy with the deal. I knew I couldn’t make this deal with everyone. The father worked out because he was a special person. How do I wish I could teach the sales skills this guy had.
The father bringing me new students helped me at that location but I couldn’t duplicate it for my other schools. Getting new members was great but the biggest benefit came from something I observed. This was a gold mine and it was something I could duplicate at all my locations.
I noticed that after I greeted a new prospect, the father would greet as well. He greeted every new person even if he didn’t bring them in. It was more than just saying hello, there is the locker room and we will get class started soon. He would take the prospect around and introduce them to everyone in the class. He really made them feel welcome. The father would immediately come up to the prospect at the end of class. He would ask them how they liked it and if they had any questions or needed any help with what they have just learned. A new spirit took over my school. Soon it was just a normal process for all the students to make the new person feel welcome. The current students would go out of their way to help and make the prospects welcome.
I refined the greeting process and made sure that all my schools were simulating the technique. I found out that children greeting the children prospects benefited the prospect and the student greeter. The prospect was made to feel welcome while the student was proud to be given the important position of greeter. Being trained to be a greeter made many kids come out of their shells. We all know that if a student feels important and needed they are far less likely to quit. The parents of the greeter student loved to see their child stepping up into this roll. They saw their child as a leader. This benefitted everyone.
I would also take the parent of the prospect child over to the gallery and introduced them to all the current parents watching class. This created an environment of camaraderie amongst the parents. It also made me bond to parents sooner because it got me out to mingle amongst the parents during these introductions. This also increased the number of parents that stayed to watch class. You need parents to hear your message. They can’t hear it if they drop their child off and leave.
My closing rate soared. Hardly anyone left the school without signup to one of my programs. The greeting process was implanted in all my schools to great results. We signed more students while making them more comfortable while having more fun for all.
Good Luck to your School
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