done than your staff can handle. People slip through the cracks. Money is left on the table. Well — what if all that soul-sucking, mind-numbing work just ... disappeared? That is what Spark is helping 1,000+ schools do: Get out of the nonsense and get back to just changing lives. In fact, Spark saves schools an average of 10 hours per week, if they use even basic features. Schools making the most use of Spark save 20+ hours per week and some have even completely replaced their front desk staff. I want to share with you how three schools — from three different regions — are using Spark to do just that. The first two highlight features we’d implemented before COVID-19 that have since become even more important. The last one is a story of a school (one of many) that was literally saved by new features and resources we created right when the disaster hit. I guarantee you will get a lot out of these stories, even if you never use Spark! (Though I sure hope you’ll give us a try — I know you’ll love it.) Let’s dive in.
“Finally breaking my
120-student ceiling ... and hitting 200 students.” Francois Daneau’s school has been in business for 25 years. As hard as he’s tried, though, breaking that 120-student count has been impossible for him. And believe me, he’s tried. Francois is a hard worker and a passionate instructor. It turns out his big problem was communication slipping through the cracks. And who can blame him? When you’re giving your all to teach your best classes, it’s hard to stay on top of follow-ups for prospects, trials, leads and members.
Photos Courtesy of Spark
e change lives. It’s what we do as school owners. That’s exactly why I created Spark, the industryleading software for, well, running and automating your entire school. And that’s exactly why the martial arts industry will always be my home. But there are parts of running a school that are soul-sucking — that might even make you want to quit sometimes. It makes sense. I mean, I’m guessing you became an instructor for the same reasons I did: Passion for spreading martial arts. Passion for changing lives. Seeing the look on a parent’s face when their child finally shows respect. Seeing an adult experience confidence for the first time in their entire life. I’m going to take another guess and say things like email and SMS follow-ups are not what you wake up in the morning excited for. “I can’t wait to send some emails and texts to yesterday’s noshows!” — No one, ever. So most school owners do what any of us would do: Delegate all that to your staff. Right? But staff hate these calls, too. That’s because they became instructors for those very same reasons you did: Passion. Inspiration. Change. No one became an instructor to cold-call leads and speak to angry people on the other end of the phone and try to get them in the door! Over time, this burns even the best staff members. Not to mention there’s usually more work to be
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