How do we keep students long term in our martial arts school?

We talk a lot about retention techniques, but most of them are “silver bullets”, things that seem to work short term. There are ton of tricks to keep students longer.

Here is the biggest silver bullet magic trick you can do to make more money, keep people training long term, and live your wildest dreams as a school owner: Give a damn.

I am not talking about pretending, or manipulating. I mean really, now hear me out… “Give a damn.”

We talk a lot about “authenticity.” While we search for the next magic trick to squeeze more out of the students.

I know for a fact that you care. yeah… I know you want to make a thriving business. You got rent to pay, people to employ, mouths to feed.

BUT! All of those things are a byproduct of caring deeply about the people you serve.

When students (especially new students and students who have trained with you for years) feel like your school is their second home… they stay forever.

One of the best things we can do is make people feel like our school is their second home, a place where they feel comfortable, and safe and VALUED.

One of the best things we can do to keep students long term, and keep them engaged, is to create lifelong relationships.

As martial arts instructors, there are things we can do to help foster relationships inside of our school.

One simple way is to greet everyone who walks into our school by their name. Duh!

Put yourself in your brand new student’s point of view for a moment. They are new, they have no friends, no one in your school feels familiar yet. This creates a lot of anxiety and apprehension for the first few weeks and months.

If every time they walk in they feel like no one knows them, or likes them or cares about them…

Or they have not met one friendly person yet…

They will not stay.

All of us would rather be in a place that feels comfortable, like they belong. And we all avoid places we feel uncomfortable in. It is human nature. Go where you feel welcomed, avoid places that feel uncomfortable.

Imagine you go to a place where everyone knows your name (are you singing the Cheers theme? I was writing this), where you see friendly faces, and welcoming people. This is the place you want to spend your most time. You feel at ease.

Imagine showing up to your favorite restaurant and the hostess calls you by name, then the waitress, then the chef comes out and calls you by name. You would keep coming back. (I understand this rarely happens, but imagine if it did.)

I was having dinner with a restaurant owner one night, he owns seven high-end restaurants in Tampa. When the waitress came to us, she didn’t even know that was the owner, however, the owner knew her name, called her by name, and she lit up. Seeing this interaction happen in front of me, I asked him about that. He said he has over 700 employees, and that it was important that he learned everyone’s names. He created an app for his phone, and all managers uploaded the name and picture of all new employees. He spent hours a day using that app as a flashcard system, and memorized everyone’s names.

I think best in lists, so here is a list of my top thoughts on this.

• Know who is coming to your classes. Put students on a schedule. Now you know who is coming in and you can prepare for them. Preparation is where winning takes place. Preparation is what separates the champions from the mediocre.
• Take a picture of every student, add them to your Spark account. Review who is coming in, memorize their face, along with their name. I KNOW this seems like a waste of time, it isn’t.
• Make knowing your students’ names a priority for ALL your team. Every team member greets every student, parent, grandparent and siblings by their name, with a warm smile. Hard? YES!!! But necessary.
• Every student needs to be called by their name at least three times every class. 30 students on your mat? 90 times a name will be called. (Huge shout out to Dave Kovar!)
• When interacting, be present. Students need to feel SEEN every class. I know you have a lot to juggle while teaching, and I know you have a curriculum to teach. However, being present, calling them by name and paying attention to them is required. It is a standard that must be held to. Side Note: Your spouse needs to feel seen too, take the time.
• I know our classes are tough. But the warmth of your smile and eye contact keeps others engaged.
• I know there are different levels of students who train at your school. Some are shy, others are crazy, some are outgoing, some are rock stars and some are hiding behind everyone else. No matter their personality or ability, they all need to feel seen. It is our responsibility to make them feel important. (Shout out to Zig “MMFI”.)
• Taking the time to get to know your students and remembering their unique qualities, hobbies and challenges will keep them engaged. Remember when a student tells you something important in their life, and follow up with them the next time they walk in.
• Get to know your students. Their hobbies, their employment, their goals, their family, their church, their other sports. Commit it to memory. The more you know about your students, the more you can help them grow. When they grow, you grow.
• We all know that there are levels to relationships. From “barely know them”, to “marriage and intimacy.” The level of our relationship with our students should be somewhere between “friendly” but just under being “close friends.” We never want to get too close, too personal. But do not let that stop you from being interested, caring about their progress, wanting them to grow, looking out for them and making that connection.
• How many businesses have you visited in the last 90 days that actually gave a damn about you? I am not talking about caring about their service, or wanting to do a great job. I am talking about how many of them cared about you and what you want? We are in a unique position that we can care deeply about our business, our quality of service WHILE caring about the growth of the student we have. Always give a damn.
• Light up. When a student walks in, look them in the eyes, smile, and light up! Kinda like your grandma did when you walked into her house. She was over the top happy to see you. Imagine how your student feels when they walk in and you are excited to see THEM. Now imagine if your entire team did that.
• Take attendance. I do not care how you do it, or if it takes time, or it is a pain, or you don’t see the value in it. Or you don’t care if the attendance counts towards anything. Take it. Every class. Be vigilant. Be 100% accurate. Care about taking attendance. Why? Because when someone misses a class, call them or text them. Let them know you expected to see them, and were sad they missed. I have heard stories of students that stopped taking class for months, no one ever called. They didn’t feel missed, they felt they didn’t matter. Care enough about your students that when they get out of the habit of attending they get the call, even if it is voice mail or text. Now they know someone cares, someone wants them. I get it. You have a lot of students. If ten people miss, it doesn’t seem like much. I know you have a lot on your plate, you need to focus on the students who show up. I understand that you get busy. But that one student, who missed class, they need someone to give a damn.