Flying High!

I am writing this weeks blog while flying above the clouds about 30,000 feet in the air. It is amazing what the human mind can accomplish when it decides Winning is the only option. As I look out the window and see the world above the clouds it occurs to me how many of us feel like we are flying high sometimes when we are still on the ground. The trouble with this is that just visualizing success is where many people stop, unable to actually realize their goals and instead living vicariously through the vison of what could be and not the reality of where they are. It also is clear to me as we hit just a little turbulance how scary it can be to really dedicate ourselves to a specific plan and the worries that can go with that all out commitment.

We need to challenge ourselves to let go and move in a leap of faith towards our goal. The fear of failing paralyzes so many of us, the familar , the expected keeps our feet planted firmly on the ground, safe and predictable.The problem is that unless we can muster up the courage and buckle up for the ride we go eactly nowhere, that is not the way to be more, to become greater to build an exciting future. The "leave it all on the field" mentality we've discussed in the past requires us to give ourselves 100% in all we do. The Dojo is no place for the timid, it is a place for the strong and capable acheiver.

If we are going to become all that we can become in the Martial Art's we must be willing to look at where we are and what we are actually doing each day in reality accepting that maybe we are not Flying as High as we think we are, maybe we haven't even left the ground. The measure you might use is how far you have been traveling in reaching your own personal success goals. The only differrence between watching the Plane fly over head and watching the world under your feet is the decision to fully commit.

How do we commit to this full on ? We evaluate the goal, Is it worthy? What will change for us and in us as we get closer to it's accomplishment? If we then decide it is a goal worth the work ahead, we must then determine that the option to not reach this goal is non-existent. The next thing we must do is devolop a plan, the best way to do that is to asked others who have reached this goal before. Once we have our Plan we need to schedule a time for getting there, attaining the accomplishment. Third get a travel guide, Yep you need someone to help navigate you through the rough patches. Finally you must not look back at where you have been, instead keep your eyes steadfast on the prize and do all that is required to acheive it.

I know this doesn't sound easy, but the alternative is to always be watching others fly by and wish you had the courage to be sitting next to them enjoying the view. But I know that you will continue to push towards and eventually reach your destination, I know this because YOU ARE STRONG, YOU ARE CAPABLE, YOU ARE Z-ULTIMATE!!!

Selling is a Process

The idea behind sales training is to give us the communication tools that will help us to better communicate with and  understand others, to discover their specific needs, and to provide solutions to overcome  their unique obstacles and objectives to better lead them in the buying process.

The training time we invest can greatly increase our sales closing ratios, however these new skills can only be utilized if we have enough  prospective students to share our product benefits with. The effort and focus to get out and go get new leads is still a crucial part of our daily efforts.

When we look at the most successful studios we have it is always certain that we see a series of processes in place that are performed ritually every day. These activities insure a consistent lead source and opportunities to enroll new students. If we are to eat we must hunt, the man or woman who sits in a cabin, even if he has a quality rifle will go hungry if he doesn't leave that comfort and go search out and engage their potential bounty.If we are to succeed as Martial Art's professionals. We must search out and implement the day to day activities that produce theses results. There are alot of specific tasks and duties we can adopt to bring in a predictable amount of new prospective students, My challenge to you is to call around to the Top producing studios this week and ask what "a day in the life" of that studio looks like and be specific. The actual time spent prospecting or doing events, cold calls, following up with non-active students and sidewalk time will amaze some of you.

The benefits to your studio will be in direct proportion to your commitment to discover the Processes that make these studios great along with your follow through in scheduling and doing them consistently. Sometimes the best sales technique we can learn is to get out and get selling in the first place!

Personal Brand

So I’m sitting there explaining to the guy about how to become more successful in his dojo and then out of nowhere he looks strait at me and says” but I don’t want to be a salesman!” He was quiet after that, just making a deep sigh and waiting on me to come back at him with the importance of becoming a salesman. I sat still just staring back at him until he felt he had to break the uncomfortable silence and explain what he meant in more detail. “Sir, it’s just that I love teaching the Martial Arts and I love what it represents and the culture of our company and the way we help others and the awesome dojos we have and all of the Masters and the great workouts and not to mention being a karate guy is just cool anyway and….He went on like that for about a minute and a half before I said” tell me than what it is about being a salesman you don’t like?

“ Well, I don’t like having to talk people into doing something, I figure if they want to enroll they will and I don’t want to feel like I am pressuring someone in to it.”I agree” I said. Then he just sat there even quieter.  This time it was my turn to explain.

There is new term that is becoming more and more popular called PERSONAL BRANDING. It is the idea that we are always selling something to ourselves or someone else. That we have a clear choice to make when it comes to the way we are perceived by others, we can take an active role in this or we can just let others see what they see and hear what they hear about us. The problem is that if we don’t take personal ownership of the way we put ourselves out there than we may be perceived differently than we are or of less value. If we decide to take control over what we allow others to see and hear about us than we are creating our PERSONAL BRAND rather than accepting our personal brand for whatever it is.There are a lot of very large, very well established companies out there that spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars to help create and define their own personal brands. Companies like Rolex, Mercedes, Apple, Hilton, and BMW are just a few that we all know to represent quality and opulence at its best. Even universities like Harvard, Mit and Yale work very hard to enhance and protect their personal brand image. The fact is that a lot of other universities offer equal educations to these schools but have not been branded as successfully. Honda has branded itself to be the reliable car and Volvo the safe car, While Ford is built tough!

All of these examples are of companies selling a perception, and when we look at the example of the instructor who didn’t want to be a salesman above and then listen to his passionate explanation of what he does and what he believes is great about our company we quickly realize that it is just his perception of what a sales person is supposed to do that is the problem. It appears Sales has a Personal Brand problem…lol

The fact is that we can enhance our own personal brand and make selling a much easier process. If we understand that selling is simply taking the time to discover someone’s wants and needs and help to provide a solution then we can stop trying to convince others to buy, and focus on building and protecting our Personal Brand and increasing our student bases in the process. The prospective student will base a large part of their buying decision on how they perceive you, The Personal Brand of you that is. Everything from the way we communicate to the way we listen to teaching to how we keep our dojo clean or not, to whether or not we start the lessons on time or run them over all have an impact on our personal brand. The Great news is that we can re-shape the Perception and re-brand ourselves and the way people see us. Look at Jack in the box and others that have decided to take control and re-shape their image. You can too!

Remember, I agree, I don’t want to pressure someone in to joining either, But I would love to share a great product with them that will change their life, That product is quality and will definitely live up to its growing reputation, I know they will love it, because that brand is awesome and I know it personally, that Brand is ME!

Hello?.... Is anybody there?

What is the purpose of a phone call? How do we determine what to do? Or what to say? The phone is a funny thing. It allows us to reach around the world and talk to anyone. It is present in our car at home at work and even on vacation. The phone is such a big part of our everyday life it stands to reason we should know how to use it to our best advantage, agreed? Let’s get started: The question I am asked the most regarding the phone in our field is? “How can I get the person on the other end to set an appointment and then show up and if they do enroll?” Well, that’s a good question, best answered case specific. However, I’ll try to give a general purpose of the Phone presentation.

The message that you must convey in a brief conversation is that you are available, interested, capable and willing to provide an affordable method that can meet their specific needs.

The phone has limitations that can interfere with our ability to convey that message. On the phone we cannot see the person so we miss out on their body language and that alone can be a big obstacle in determining the caller’s true motive. We cannot see things like facial expression or gestures that if we could see would help us determine the true reaction of a given statement or suggestion. If we listen carefully however, with practice we can gain an extra sense that will enable us to hear the projected meaning through the specific tones and pauses. That’s right we can learn a lot about someone through the speed, pitch, volume, clarity, or even the silence that may be in between their words. There are a lot of messages sent in silence. The best way for us to tackle the complex nuances of the phone is to examine specific situations and then dissect the calls as they happen.

Example of a typical call we might receive:

Ring, ring….

         Hello Z-Ultimate Self Defense Studios, How may I help you?

Hi, I was calling to get some info about lessons?

         Great! Will these lessons be for yourself or someone else?

They are for my son.

         Super, how old is he?

10, how much do you charge?

         Well that depends on the type of training you are involved in, we have a lot of good programs here so that won’t be a problem. What’s your son’s name?

Joey, can you just give me an idea of what the lessons cost?

         Sure, we are open seven days a week and we specialize in personalized training, so we can customize a training schedule and budget just for you. I’m actually in the middle of a lesson right now, the best thing for you to do is to schedule an appointment to come down to the studio and I can show you around and introduce you to a few of our instructors and we can go over all of the lesson schedules and different programs at that time, when we would be a good time for you to come in, would this afternoon or evening work best for you?

Probably this evening.

         Great, I have an opening around 6:30 and also one about 8pm, which would work best for you?

6:30 would be better.

         Ok and your phone number in case we need to reschedule?

714-555-5555

Do you know where we are located? We are on the corner of Euclid and Orangewood here in Anaheim next to  Maggies Diner. Do you know where that is?

Yes, I get my tailoring done next door with Mrs.Lee

         Awesome, by the way my name is Jon, what’s yours?

Bob

         Alright Bob I have you down for tonight at 6:30. When you come in remember to ask me about the special we have for people who enroll on their first visit.

Ok thanks, see you tonight

         You too Bob I look forward to meeting you , bye

Bye

There are a lot of Skills that can be developed to improve your phone call success but, if we keep in mind as we are working to get better the main purpose of the phone call, as described above and have a genuine interest in helping others through this incredible tool we will see great results ahead!

Please leave your comment below…… Thanks, Jon Dunlap

Watch Out For The Enemy

 I get up and look in the mirror usually pleased to some degree with what I see. The guy looking back at me has a nice smile and seems pretty reasonable most of the time. But, every now and then I could swear he is winking at me just as I turn away. What’s that about I ask? He just looks back at me with the same confused look I am giving him, so I walk away and continue my day.

I arrive at my studio prepared to slay the dragons that await. I am confident that I will be triumphant in all my daily endeavors. Things are pretty slow so I opt to leave just for a bit and go shop for my new brief case I’ve been wanting. I then make a quick stop at the store to develop some film and swing by my favorite restaurant to grab a quick taco and a coke.

When I arrive back at the studio I find a note: it says “I stopped by to get some information about lessons for my son but, you were not here, I’ll stop by again next week if I can” No name no phone number, what’s a matter with this person? Don’t they realize how important that info was to me? Oh,well.. I am blown away with the lack of focus some people have.

Stop! What am I thinking? Was it the fault of the potential student’s parent for not leaving contact info? No, it is my fault for leaving in the middle of the day to run errands, if I had planned my time better I could have accomplished all I needed to get done before work and been at the studio when that prospect came by. I am my enemy….. I must learn to protect me from me.

What kind of obstacles do I create each day that keeps me from succeeding at the level I want to? How many other things am I doing that interfere with my own success? Do I spend too much time on the phone or on the computer? Do I hang out in the dojo even when there are no students to teach? Do I spend too much time talking to students after lessons about non-business related issues? Do I avoid sales training and then complain that I can’t get people to make a buying decision? What things about my own personality do I need to watch out for that can keep from winning?

Sometimes our biggest enemy is ourselves. We must examine our actions each day to see if we let the enemy distract us at all that day. The very best traits and strengths we have as individuals are often the very worst things about us as well. If we can set up barriers to keep us from doing the things that sabotage us we can beat the enemy. Example: If we struggle with forgetting our GI every morning than we can set a habit of leaving our car keys on the folded uniform each night before bed. If we struggle with over eating we should bring a skinny friend to the market when we grocery shop to keep us accountable. Too much idle time in our office? Then schedule time to stand outside and promote with an assistant between each class. The idea is that if we know we are weak in a certain area than we can plan against it! That’s how we beat our biggest enemy of success, OURSELVES!

Creating Value

What is something worth?  When considering this there are a lot of ways to measure value. Is the item an object or person or feeling?  Do we believe we need it?  Are we sure it works?  Can it solve an important area of concern?  Does what we are trying to value have a monetary value?  How will others view us once we have it? What’s its history or quality? Will it bring us joy?  Can we see it?

The obvious answer is that everyone assigns value differently. Every decision we make is made from our desire to trade something for something else. If we are hungry we must eat so we trade money or time or travel to get that need met. For instance if we are hungry we may feel like Chinese food, that little place across town is so good. Now we must determine its value. How much will it cost us? Money? Time? Travel? Is the 15.00 and the time it will take us to travel to the restaurant and the wait for a to-go order worth the getting of the Chinese food? Today based on my finances and my time available and my energy level, the answer is  no, but I reason that on Friday ill have more time and I’ll get paid that day and my energy will be up since the weekends are always so much fun. Sounds pretty logical huh? But wait… What if the Chinese place had delivered? What if I had a coupon? What if I was really really hungry? What if I had just been in an argument with someone and really needed it to relax? What if I had just received really good news and wanted to celebrate with that delicious Chinese entrée? Would any or all of these factors have made a difference in the Chinese restaurant having had another sale? ABSOLUTLY YES!!!

So what does this mean to us as Z-Ultimate Self Defense Studios  instructors  trying to enroll as many students as we can to better serve our community and our company? Everyone is not the same. We are not the same. We must study ourselves and our prospective students to determine how to present value so they will trade their time, travel and money to join our team.

How???

Believe…ask questions…Listen…Care…believe…ask questions…answer questions…believe…demonstrate…lead…

Now for some examples:

Prospective student:  “well we have to think about it, the cost is more than we thought, so we need to think it over.”

Z-Ultimate  Instructor:  “That makes sense to me, What kind of things will you be considering?”

Prospective student:  “well the price is higher than the tae kwon do place we looked at down the street. As a matter of fact it’s higher than everyone else in the area.”

Z-Ultimate  Instructor:  “ That is true our tuition rates are a little higher than some of the other  karate studios in the area, but let me explain why. As I’m sure you have noticed or will as you look around the area our schools are in great  locations that are safe and easy to get in and out of, we have invested in our studios to make sure our locations are cosmetically attractive and have all of the necessary equipment needed for your training, In addition All our instructors are certified and must graduate from our exclusive Z-University of Martial Arts Professionals, where all of our instructors are trained not only in the latest martial arts techniques and  workout exercises, but also are equipped with  the latest teaching styles  and coaching methods. Every one of our studios have these Qualified Black Belt instructors that lead all of the studio training programs. In addition to our Z-University of Martial Arts Professionals , all of our instructors are required to attend continuous weekly classes of their own to make sure they are increasing their martial arts ability and knowledge. Additionally, when a student enrolls in one of our locations he or she becomes a member in all of our locations, so unlike the local studios in the area, if you should have to transfer in your career or relocate for any reason, maybe your just on a vacation, with ZUSDS wherever there is a location close by you can continue your training. We are the Largest martial Arts Company in the United States and we are continually growing all of the time.

 There are a lot of reasons that make our studios the right choice for you. We know that for every reason you want to study the martial arts with us there are at least a dozen more benefits that you will discover while training with us. There is something kind of magical about the martial arts and I know that the investment you make in your training will ULTIMATELY pale in comparison with the many incredible things you will get out of it. Give us a try, we will not let you down!