Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 23 | Issue 3
The #1 Business Resource for the Martial Arts Industry
The #1 Business Resource for the Martial Arts Industry
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TEAMWORK<br />
Good Business Habits:<br />
Be Friendly On Purpose<br />
by Hanshi Dave Kovar<br />
One of the best things you can do to gain and retain new martial arts students is to<br />
make people feel welcome when they enter your martial arts school. To do that, we<br />
follow the mantra: “Be Friendly on Purpose.”<br />
Have you ever walked into an establishment and<br />
felt like the person who was supposed to be helping<br />
you didn’t care about you or your business? They<br />
may not have been mean or surly, but they certainly<br />
didn’t make you feel like they were<br />
glad to see you or happy to serve<br />
you. This can happen within a<br />
business too, and when we<br />
deal with our fellow martial<br />
arts instructors and others in<br />
our schools (our internal customers).<br />
These are the people<br />
we are supposed to support<br />
and serve within our organization.<br />
It’s important to keep<br />
that in mind and put that<br />
mindset into practice.<br />
Here are the<br />
three habits of<br />
“friendly on<br />
purpose” that we want you<br />
to keep in mind:<br />
1. Be the first to say<br />
“Hello” or “Good Morning.”<br />
If you can’t help<br />
someone right away, let<br />
them know that you’ll be<br />
right with them.<br />
2. Smile, even when<br />
you’re on the phone: people<br />
can hear the smile in your voice!<br />
3. Be sincerely interested in them. Make eye contact. Shake<br />
hands if appropriate. Let your customers know you are very glad<br />
to see them.<br />
Remember that your students have choices about where to<br />
spend their time and money–and who to hire as a martial arts<br />
instructor. Being friendly shows respect to those with whom you<br />
deal. People will continue to do business where they feel respected.<br />
Make the effort to put your best face forward when dealing<br />
with everyone. Be friendly on purpose!<br />
HANSHI DAVE KOVAR is an 8th degree black belt and recognized as the “Trainer of Trainers.” Hanshi<br />
Dave Kovar is an internationally acclaimed instructor with black belt degrees in ten different martial arts styles. His<br />
systems have been implemented in hundreds of schools around the US.<br />
58 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME <strong>23</strong> | ISSUE 3
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