By Louisa Turchet, Customer Services Manager
Last week, a very astute Instructor asked me “what are the traits of your top Clients”. At first I thought this was a strange question as everyone is different and all Clients run their businesses in different ways. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that there are in fact distinct behavioural patterns between our most successful Clients and likewise, common characteristics of those that struggle.
So I thought I’d put together NEST’s festive collection of “Success” characteristics. So if you’re not already, you can make sure you’re on the Nice list next year!!
THE NAUGHTY LIST
Basically the opposite of everything on the Nice List!!
1) They are Easily Distracted
Instead of business performance they tend to focus on training methods, facebook, competitions etc.
2) They Don’t Know their Business
They tend not to know what their conversion rates are, annual gross value, attrition rates etc. They have no basis to set targets.
3) They Have Vague Targets or Non at All
They don’t know where they want to go so business success is often left to chance.
4) They Don’t Follow Processes
This means they can’t monitor any potential failure points in the business.
5) They Don’t Track Attendance
This makes it easy for students to drop off from training and not get noticed. There is also massive potential for Indemnity Claims….students claiming months worth of fees back!
6) They Let Other’s Do the Planning
People who, for the most part, are not as passionate about the business.
7) They Suffer in Silence
When they find themselves in difficult positions they tend not to ask to for help or advice
8) They Don’t Know how to Market
Ask us!!.
9) They Make Excuses for Not Doing Stuff!
Make Time…it’s crucial to your business.
THE NICE LIST
Our most successful Clients do the following
1) They Focus
They don’t allow themselves to get side tracked on tasks that won’t enhance their core business.
2) Know their Business Inside Out
Whenever we speak to these clients they are fully aware on a daily basis of exactly how many active students they have and how many have cancelled. They know their pricing structure, attrition rate, conversion rates. This provides the base foundation for all their business activity.
3) They Have Targets
They don’t just have a vague figure in mind, they have a month by month target number that they work towards and they know every month whether they’ve hit that target or not. And because they know their figures from the previous year, they can predict realistic targets for the following year.
4) They Follow Processes
They trial and develop processes for all aspects of their business i.e. sales calls, intro lessons, missed you in class communications, and then stick to these proven successful processes. These processes are then fed through to all staff so everyone practises the same successful processes ensuring success in the business.
5) They Track Attendance
Their retention rate is good because they know who attends and who doesn’t and act accordingly. They then gain knowledge on why people don’t attend and which lessons are more popular than others.
6) They Don’t Leave The Planning To Others
Martial Arts is their business, not their hobby and they understand that with the right planning and execution, they can make a very good living from it and provide jobs in the community. As a consequence, all the major decisions, developments and changes are made by themselves.
7) They Seek Out, Recognise and Implement Good Advice From Others
They take advice from professional advisors, accountants, solicitors and NEST’s team of experts.
8) They Market Consistently
They recognise that there is no magic solution in getting more students, marketing is very much about trial and error and finding what works for their business in their area. They realise that consistent marketing is key to growing their business.
9) They Just Do It!
They don’t talk about doing it and they don’t make excuses for not doing it, they just do what’s needed.
