Attracting new students to your dance studio is only half the battle; the real challenge lies in converting trial attendees into committed members of your dance community. If you find yourself struggling with this crucial phase of student acquisition, it’s time to shake things up. In this blog post, we are giving you a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to ensure you’re maximizing free trials at your dance studio.
These nine steps require time and attention, but mastering this process at your dance is key to building a thriving dance studio. Making sure every prospective family feels valued WILL pay off as you see more free trial students at your dance studio enrolling in classes!
9 Steps to Better Free Trials at Your Dance Studio
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Alert your front desk staff and teachers.
Make sure to send an email or text that a trial is scheduled that day. Your staff will be better equipt to provide an excellent trial if they can plan for it.
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Greet new families with cheer!
It seems obvious but new families will not know where to go or who to talk to when they first arrive at your studio. By greeting them at the door, they will instantly have an opportunity to ask those questions. You want the first emotion that your trials feel to be joy/happiness/excitement, not lost/confused/scared. A simple “hello, what brings you in today” can change everything.
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Give trial families a tour.
Helps trial students and families feel more comfortable in the studio. Where do they put their things, where is the bathroom, and where can parents wait? These are all important details that families want to know before class. By giving a studio tour, you also have a chance to show the student her classroom and introduce the teacher.
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Introduce the family to the trial class teacher.
This doesn’t have to be long or awkward. Just a simple “Hello Miss Nicole, this is Sophie. She is trying your class today” will do. If the teacher has any questions about the student’s previous dance experience, it gives them a chance to do so.
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While the student is taking the class, be available for questions in the lobby.
There is no need to hover over the parent just be visible and available.
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After class, have the teacher pop out to give a short report to the parent and student.
Teachers don’t have to say much here if they need to consult with the studio owner for placement. Have them say: “Sophie did a great job in class today, I will speak with the studio owner about placement and she will be in touch soon. Thanks so much for coming in, I hope you had fun!” Having your teacher step out of the classroom tells parents that your studio values individualized attention and that parent/studio communication is a top priority. As a parent, I always LOVE hearing that my child did a good job in class.
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One more check-in before trial families leave.
Have your office staff check in one more time and give them relevant information such as schedules, pricing, etc. This is a chance for families who are ready to register to do so. We always suggest asking how the class went or if they had a good time to get the conversation started.
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Follow Up.
Give trial families a few days to think it over and send them an email/call to check-in. All you have to say is “Thanks so much for coming in last week, we wanted to check in to see if you had any more questions about our studio or if you are ready to register”. This is also a great time to create some urgency in registering: “We are measuring students for recital costumes soon so if you are interested in registering, we recommend doing so in the next couple of weeks.”
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Add the new lead to your mailing list.
Regardless if they enrolled or not, you want to keep the conversation going. Just because they are not ready to join a class now doesn’t mean they are out forever. Keep them in the loop by regularly emailing them with your program information.
If you are already offering free trials at your dance studio, but not seeing enrollments, review these steps. We can almost guarantee there is an area that you and your team can improve upon. We have found that it is essential to talk about this process with your staff (both teachers and front desk). You may want to go as far as to print out a quick guide with suggested scripts. It may seem intuitive to you BUT it is not for everyone.
Make sure your team also understands why you offer free trials. It’s an essential part of growing your studio! Without leads and without new students enrolling, you will eventually not have a business. Teachers sometimes forget that while it is important to focus on the students currently enrolled, focusing on leads means that they will have students to teach next season. Try to build a culture where free trials are not annoying, they are exciting. Be willing to give your teachers strategies for hosting trial students if they need extra support.
The goal is that these 9 steps happen with or without you at the studio.
Once you have the operations down at your studio surrounding free trials, you can move on to automating parts of your system. It’s important to remember that all the automation in the world can’t replace good, old-fashioned customer service. Those soft touches inside your studio play a big role in getting families to say “yes”!
