Findings from Summit 2008
The Quit Book or Reactivation Book
BY SENSEI STEVE SOHN AND SENSEI ERIKA BEINTREXLER
When the authors of this piece shared this idea with other EFC clients during the EFC Summit, they saw tremendous interest. We have included the brochure mentioned in this piece in our Marketing CD for your benefit. Scenario: You are waiting in the waiting room talking to parents, greeting students, lifting everyone’s spirits with your awesome attitude. Or, you are talking to a mom whose child just took an awesome intro class when suddenly you are approached by a parent wit a crying child, who says, “He wants to quit,” or “I don’t know what to do,” or “He doesn’t want to come any more,” “He doesn’t like it,” or “I can’t force him,” and the list goes on. Besides the annoyance of the student wanting to quit, did they have to mention it in front of everyone, or during the new intro? I feel your pain, and it happens to all of us. When the parent approaches you, it is never a good time to talk. They are at an emotional high, and nothing you say
Summit’s A Winner:
Excerpts from Letters Like always, we received some great responses regarding the EFC Summit. Because of space constraints, we are publishing excerpts from a few of these.
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EAGLE EXPRESS | DECEMBER 2008
will make them think reasonably. You have to think fast and the right words may not be at the tip of your tongue. Finally, is this really a conversation that you want to have out of nowhere? No! How do you respond? We have taken the approach of responding with, “I understand. Please do me a favor. Read this special brochure I have prepared for moments like this. Give me a call tomorrow and we can set up an appointment to discuss it.” Then we set up a meeting at an appropriate time where everyone is receptive to solutions. This is what we call a “Quit or Reactivation Book.” The copy [included in the Marketing CD] is the first draft that was distributed at the Summit in Nashville, TN. We’ve already implemented it in our Training Center. Twice now, kids who wanted to quit have decided to stay in the program. Parents said, “You are absolutely right. He is not going anywhere.” Wow! Powerful. We’ve saved tow parents from emotional torture and saved two students. The next time the situation comes up, because it will come up again, their parents know how to handle the problem, not just with martial arts but in applicable situations. This problem can come up with homework, practicing an instrument or doing chores. We have now given parents the right type of thinking—not stinkin’ thinkin’ (asah Kyoshi LaVallee). This was designed to make it easy for you to team up and solve the quit problem. Please let us know what you think. Let us know how we can improve this. Our plan is to make a book like this for adults. You can contact Sensei Steve Sohn at Steve@SafeAndFit.com or
Sensei Erika Beintrexler at Erika@SafeAndFit.com or call them at (914) 723-7818 with questions, comments or suggestions.
For us the trip was like a family reunion. We always look forward to our EFC martial arts family from all over the country and the world. We saw many of our good friends from the UK and even from Australia. (It is great to have Mark home. He was dearly missed). And of course, the relationships we have with so many of the USA EFC clients go way beyond business. The personal connection with them is very strong. The Summit is the place to catch up, network and keep our fingers on the pulse of the industry. I thank EFC for making the relationships possible. Mr. Cokinos, you challenged us and inspired us to shoot for
improving everything we do in life by 20%. We will take the challenge seriously and give it our best effort. Sincerely, Keith and Debbie Thompson
Mr. Cokinos, I have said this before, but it bears repeating. Thank you for allowing me the means to teach martial arts and having a real impact on my community. Kudos to Steve Sohn, Steve Lavalle, Keith Thompson, Garland Johnson, Mike Nebgen, and all of the