Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 23 | Issue 3

MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE
Give Prospects An Online
Response Option
by Grandmaster Kirk Pelt
It’s great when you have connections with influential people,
like the mother who heads up the PTA for one of your children’s
programs. When this type of person pushes your after school or
summer camp, you’re bound to get significant numbers of prospects
to follow. Word of mouth is very powerful, but every one will
not respond the same way, so you have to have options for greater
success.
For example, another parent hears how great one of your
programs is through the enthusiastic PTA member and she
tells them to call the school. My experience has shown me that
half may call, but the other half do not want to pick up
the phone and talk with someone to express their
interest. So they’re intrigued, but they don’t want
to call.
For these kind of prospects you must be
sure that you’ve got an alternate response
mechanism for them. They would much rather
make a more convenient and impersonal response
online. So you need to have a website
set up with the appropriate functionality to get
the lead into what might be called a funnel.
Another way to say it is that you drive them
to a website with a lead capture tool. The
lead capture is a form on the website
that enables the prospect to give
pertinent information to show
their interest and take up an offer.
Sometimes this is referred
to as an opt-in form. It needs
to be well crafted and thought
out so you get the information
you actually need to
capture the lead.
Next with the information
about the prospect
demonstrating their
interest in your offers or one of your programs, you have to connect
back. This is where what is called a lead funnel mechanism
comes into play because you’re not just sitting around waiting
to send a personalized email to a prospect or at least you
shouldn’t be. The funnel needs to be equipped with email follow
up sequences to reel the prospect into the doors of your school.
The funneled email sequence must be automated and appropriate
in response. That means, timely and with the right
content, so it actually addresses the prospect and what they
are looking for. Basically, a well crafted lead funnel will draw
the person further and further in the direction that you wish for
them to go which is into your school.
With this option as a response mechanism, you won’t lose
the other fifty percent that doesn’t wish to make a phone call or
talk to someone. The momentum you gain from the influential
word of mouth of the PTA mom will lead to pings on your phone
of one, two, three people who’ve opted-in for your offer or program
because you gave them an alternative option to respond.
You’ll have a waiting list in no time, just like I did.
GRANDMASTER KIRK PELT is an 8th degree black belt and is the President of a multimillion
dollar, multi-school organization, has a 30-year track record of success, and is currently on
the leading edge of martial arts curriculum and business innovation.
98 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 3