We are conitnuing Maria Palozola‘s previous post where she started to list her 5 key performance factors:
2) Email Marketing
All the instructors agreed that growing a big Email List whether it’s through private lessons, outings, your website, your newsletter, etc., is the second most important factor in driving customers to the lesson tee.
It’s not of course just about growing the list, it’s about staying in constant contact with your customers through email marketing. This won out over Facebook and other social media. Social media does help drive people to your list, but if you don’t work the list, stay active and put newsletters, tips and offers out there people eventually lose interest.
When I asked Hall of Fame teacher Nancy Quarcelino what she attributes the growth of her business to when the industry is suffering her response was simply “Being in constant contact with my customers who are avid golfers.” There are many email marketing platforms out there and I feel the investment is well worth the return that you get. I have used Constant Contact for 6 years and have zero complaints.
1) Word of Mouth
Hands down, Word of Mouth won out as the biggest revenue driver among top instructors. Each and every instructor agreed that it’s your current customers that really drive your business. This means of course being good at what you do is key.
Understanding the golf swing, understanding how the body works, being a good communicator, being personable and entertaining and being a caring instructor are all attributes every successful teacher carries. LPGA Master Professional and Teaching and Club Pro Division National VP Deb Vangellow said “I have great passion and joy for all things teaching and I think it shows when you really care…relationships are so important! This is what it is all about! Going the extra mile and doing the little things.”
Of course you have to be educated, keep up with new technology and methods, be efficient, be organized and timely, but if the student doesn’t like you and you don’t seem to care about them, the lesson leads to nowhere. Long time Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher and Golf Magazine Top 100 teacher John Elliott Jr. had this to say: “To summarize; give a great lesson every time, show up ready and prepared to teach, continue to learn no matter how good you think you are and word of mouth will fill your lesson book.”
No Magic Wand
As you can see, there is no magic wand when it comes to growing your instruction business in today’s market. What we do know is that top instructors attribute, word of mouth, email marketing, utilizing more technology and increasing media exposure with helping propel them to the top of their field. You simply have to employ good business tactics.
Get busy giving good lessons, making your business more efficient with technology and staying in constant contact with your customers. If you can increase your efforts in the 5 performance factors this year, you can rest assured you are doing what you can to make sure your instruction business stays on an upward trend.