Do You or Your School Approach People?

[Tainan Mantis]

Do you or your teacher approach strangers on the street and start a conversation right off the bat about the stranger coming to your school for a free class or trial classes?

I have spoken to some people who do this for MA schools and was told it gets good results.

I would like to hear from people who have done this.

I have thought about doing it, but it seems a bit awkward to me.

And from those who have had this happen to them...

In the parking lot I have had Lifestyle Gym guys try to sign me up for a free trial class.
Thought he was coming to mug me...

[xcakid]

Umm...no.

However, when I am conversing with someone, I try to work into the conversation that I teach at a CMA school. Typically most people want to know what you do for a living. That's when I tell them and let it stand. If they ask questions then I pursue it further and maybe hand them a card. I know my Sifu does the same.

[BoulderDawg]

I would be no more receptive to this than I would if a bible thumper came up and started talking to me unsolicitated.

Also, if I was considering chosing a program, this kind of stuff would have a negative effect on my choice.

[lkfmdc]

If you did that in NYC you'd probably be assaulted :eek:

[YouKnowWho]

Do You or Your School Approach People?

My school used to give demonstration in local high schools. After demo, I was almost raped by those high school girls but I didn't get any new students.


a free class or trial classes?
I hate this idea. A prostitute will never give a "free" try. Why should CMA instructor do it?

[sanjuro_ronin]

You can always go up to a stranger and beat them up then drop them a card and tell them to learn how to fight, the big pussies !!

[Dale Dugas]

Being a rather big, bald gorilla looking mo fo, I scare people if I approach them on the street willy nilly asking them to come join my kung fu cult...................:eek::confused::eek:

[sanjuro_ronin]

Being a rather big, bald gorilla looking mo fo, I scare people if I approach them on the street willy nilly asking them to come join my kung fu cult...................:eek::confused::eek:

And the kilt, don't forget the kilt !

[TenTigers]

Being a rather big, bald gorilla looking mo fo, I scare people if I approach them on the street willy nilly asking them to come join my kung fu cult...................:eek::confused::eek:


Naaa, Dale. That's because your approach is all wrong.
You don't ask them, you tell them to join.
Presentation is everything.

[Dale Dugas]

Most people see me in a kilt and they RUN the other way when I approach, though Gene likes my Kilt, he likes it a lot.........................

[sanjuro_ronin]

Most people see me in a kilt and they RUN the other way when I approach, though Gene likes my Kilt, he likes it a lot.........................

Yeah, Gene's a freak, deep down in places we don't talk about at parties, we want you in that kilt, we need you in that kilt...
Or so Gene says..
:D

[MasterKiller]

Do you or your teacher approach strangers on the street and start a conversation right off the bat about the stranger coming to your school for a free class or trial classes?

I have spoken to some people who do this for MA schools and was told it gets good results.

I would like to hear from people who have done this.

I have thought about doing it, but it seems a bit awkward to me.

And from those who have had this happen to them...

In the parking lot I have had Lifestyle Gym guys try to sign me up for a free trial class.
Thought he was coming to mug me...
I think it's a bad idea. 10 times out 10, if someone tries to talk to me while I'm on errands, it annoys me to the point of being rude. I know, I know, you'd never think I could be rude in a million years. But that's how unsolicited sales pitches affect me.

You should have heard what I told the NYC transit cop when he busted me doubling-up in the subway turnstyle. He was undercover and approached me, and I'm pretty sure I was rude because he detained me for 3 hours.

Finding a flyer on my windshield is only slightly less annoying.

[Lucas]

randomly on the street approaching people?....not sure about that. i guess it depends on the area and circumstances.

standing on a corner in a busy downtown city handing out flyers and sparking up conversations with those that seem interested from the visual presentation of the fliar, i could see going over well.

[Oso]

yea, probably not such a good idea.

i have given a card to a guy that the cops pulled down from the top of an ATM at a festival once and he actually showed up a few weeks later but didn't take the classes...I think he ended up at the SD school down the road...

...but, I was sorta sure we would get some traffic from the large pizza dinner we had after that tournament that turned in to a dozen people doing arm drills in the middle of the restaurant...but, nada

[xcakid]

Ya know, I like leaving my card with my tip when I eat at restaurants. I also drop them into those boxes that says, "win a free (burrito, dinner, slice of pizza etc)" box.

I also like to leave them at Walmarts that have a bulletin board. And at the counter at my gym.

Hey its free.

[Oso]

i don't leave it with a tip most times but I do it at the others...gave one to the girl at Blockbuster the other day when she was pestering me about signing up for some rewards something or the other...you have to rent the vids on Mon, Tue or Wed...I told her those were my 14 hour days...conversation went on from there

[taai gihk yahn]

If you did that in NYC you'd probably be assaulted :eek:
especially if they are a practitioner of Krock-Chew...

[TenTigers]

I always carry my cards and VIP passes-free week, with me wherever I go. This way, if I happen to be in a conversation with someone, and it ends up going onto (surprise surprise) the topic of Martial Arts, I can just give them a card.
I also carry a staple gun with me and staple them to the heads of sleeping homeless guys, winos, and crackheads.
Always a plus.

[Oso]

yea, give me 100 of these guys and I'll take over the world

[David Jamieson]

we all move in a group, huddled together repeating the word "hei" over and over again.

then we surround sexy wimmins and offer them sammiches and a free lesson in sexums wit us.

mmmm sammiches, wimmins and sexums.

now that's some kungfu!

[GeneChing]

...oh yes, I forgot. It's right here on the forum. (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46827) :rolleyes:

I never approach people with sales pitches. I don't even tell my classmates what I do for a living. Only the clever ones know.

[Water Dragon]

Most people see me in a kilt and they RUN the other way when I approach, though Gene likes my Kilt, he likes it a lot.........................

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's not the kilt that Gene likes

[Dale Dugas]

Gene likes my utter and wicked awesome manliness!!!!!!!

[IronWeasel]

Gene likes my utter and wicked awesome manliness!!!!!!!



...Sounds like you mean UDDER manliness!:D

[lkfmdc]

especially if they are a practitioner of Krock-Chew...

the first rule of Krock-Chew is, we don't discuss Krock-Chew :mad:

[Songshan]

A while back, I had a person from the Gokan-ryu school (spelling?) knock on my door and solicit. I had asked them about that since no other martial art school has done that. The guy was nice but said he was "hired" by this organization to do this.....in return they gave him free lessons and comission on his sales.

[yutyeesam]

An MA industry consultant tried driving this point into my skull that walking up to people cold is the fastest way to build the school. He said that 10% of the population have a negative view of MA and will never join - don't bother with them. Another 10% of the population have a positive view of MA, and they will be the ones coming to you - don't bother trying to get them, as they will come to you. The 80%'ers are the ones who have a neutral view, no hate, no love. Those are the ones to go after...which means to do cold solicitations to random people - start a conversation with them, then manuever it to MA and etc.

I told him that I abhor people who walk up to me and try to sell me something, and in good conscious, I cannot be what I hate.

He told me to deconstruct why I would hate doing it - and told me that it is b/c of a fear of rejection.

uhh...

He proceeds to tell me that I have "Approach Anxiety", and that all it takes is practice.

hmm...

He concludes by telling me that to really master this skill, I need to watch and learn from the television show, "The Pick Up Artist".

:eek:

Referrals, strong online presence, and open houses are my preferred methods.

[BoulderDawg]

There are all sorts of "Tricks of the trade" so to speak. None of them work with me. I'll give the guy about 10 second and then when I find out what he's after it's "F off"!:D

The worst is someone who see you in a team cap or jersey and starts the conservation with "How 'bout those ******" or some guy who heard a friend call you by name and come up and starts talking and calling for by name without being introduced.

[Reverend Tap]

I never approach people about it, but all of my conversations wind up on MA sooner or later, so I always wind up telling people they should take up kung fu. I tend not to actually tell people they should join the school or even style I'm in because I don't want to sound like a salesman, but by the point I'm telling them to get into KF I've pretty much always already told them where I train.