The Martial Arts Enrollment Process

In the 1980s, Educational Funding Company (EFC) was the first to have success creating systems to support an agreement-based school. Our industry owes a debt of gratitude to Nick Cokinos and his ability to teach, motivate, and inspire some of the most successful school owners today. Guys like Dave Kovar, Steve Lavallee, and Keith Hafner all learned the business from being clients of Nick Cokinos.

Mr. Cokinos was an early partner with Jhoon Rhee, and together they created many of the business elements we take for granted today. From the Black Belt Club to musical forms and safety equipment, the ideas that came out of the powerful combination of Jhoon Rhees drive to make a difference and Nick Cokinos business savvy created probably the most successful family tree of martial arts school owners. Jeff Smith, Stephen Oliver, John and Pat Worley, and Regina and Angel Gonzalez may not all have been EFC clients, but they cut their teeth as students and then instructors under Jhoon Rhee while Nick was running the businesses.

EFC emphasized having systems for every aspect of your school and building your receivables base as the way to build wealth and value for your school. As self-serving as this may seem coming from a billing company, they are absolutely correct. Thats not to say many cash out kings and month-to-month schools have not built wealth, but its tough to build value in your business if the majority of students have already paid or are free to leave at anytime.

If your exit strategy is to sell your business, then this is something to consider very seriously.

Not many people are in the market for a school full of students who require lessons but have already paid. Month-to-month schools can be sold but will usually not get the same price as a school with a portfolio of agreements and a history of high collections.

Having an agreement is also good for retention. Thats not to say students on agreements dont drop out; they certainly do. However, the very nature of making a contractual commitment to train for a period of time helps students stay longer than those who can cancel at any time. Some school owners dread presenting an agreement to be signed by a new student. Conversely, the instructor who understands the Core Dynamic of Valuing What You Do feels it is a waste of everyones time for someone to enroll for less than 100 classes or about one year. What would someone get out of three or six months of martial arts? If you are a top instructor, you want to work with students who appreciate that and will be in class.

Remember, in almost all markets, the largest schools with the most students and highest tuition typically require agreements. Often these are surrounded by smaller mom-and-pop schools or dungeon dojos with signs in the window reading No Contracts. The sign should say No Confidence. Not that every school that doesnt use contracts lacks confidence. I mean that a school that uses that as its unique selling position is selling from a weak place.

Using an agreement tells prospects that you have expectations about your relationship. It communicates that you value what you do, and that is a positive element in helping the student gain confidence in your school. Certainly, an agreement can complicate the enrollment process, but not as much as many might think.

Like all sales (and any financial presentation is a sales presentation) the most successful ones start with an attitude of positive self expectancy. The successful salesperson believes in what he does, and he believes everyone will enroll. This is much bigger than you may think. People who are nervous about contracts will often convey that to the prospect, who will then contract the virus of concern.

Proficient salespeople are very well rehearsed, and they understand people. They dont make light of the agreement; they also dont concern themselves with it. Its just the final step in the enrollment process. They simply present it as an opportunity for the student to get involved in the school. On the other hand, the struggling salesperson will present it as though the student were signing her life away.

It makes sense, though, in a business like martial arts where there is still confusion and concern about money mixing with arts, that the promise of high enrollments without agreements would be very attractive, and it is.