Imagine a martial arts association that your students could go to, see what was being said —and watch the videos…AND YOU WOULDN’T BE EMBARRASSED!

No talk about “upgrades” —no talk about “holding back curriculum —no talk about standing in front of elementary schools, in uniform, and waving big signs —no talk about students only lasting 18 months —no talks about how you run an “event” as a smokescreen for aggressive sales —and no talk about your wealth, your cars, his cars, his watch, or how many millionaires are in “the club.”

No inner-circle nonsense, no Dan Kennedy sales tactics, and, well…nothing but honesty. Imagine if your students were actually inspired by what they found; imagine if they thought more of you when they left the site. That’s the work being done at www.the100.us

The IDEA of “financial transparency” is a bold one —and a sign of respect for your community.

There has, in the martial arts world, been a practice —-given to us by dance studio owners and health club sales-people —of hiding our prices “so as not to scare away potential customers.” We have, as an industry, taught our people to avoid the subject —and in some cases, school owners/employees simply refuse to discuss them over the phone ——or, God forbid, actually post them on their website.

To add to that, there is a school-of-thought-and-practice in the martial arts community that purposely engages in a hidden pricing agenda where teachers are taught to “hold back” aspect of practice as tools to “upgrade” members to higher priced programs (and other manipulations). 

An upgrade is actually an OK thing to do, but not when the process is purposely hidden from the consumer. If the school is up-front about their pricing, and people go into the relationship knowing what to expect, then all is good. It’s hiding, manipulating, baiting, and otherwise misleading students that is doing its part to destroy (and/or damage) the reputation of the martial arts school, in general.

Fusion Martial Arts (screen shot above) http://www.fusionmma.com/tuition/tuition-transparency/ and this site: http://flavors.me/transparency (which you can link to or copy from) represent a VERY positive and constructive approach to the dishonesty and manipulation embraced by unsophisticated school operators who treat others as they themselves would not want to be treated. 

I believe transparent pricing is a strong sales benefit for the martial arts school owner of today ——and SHAME on the schools that still purposely hide their pricing from the public. 

Hide Behind Your Billing Service?
 
Should a martial arts teacher lie to or mislead his/her students?
 
A friend of mine wrote me this morning that he’s on his way to some business training sessions, a “boot camp,” hosted by his tuition billing / collection service. He said that there was to be a debate about whether martial arts schools should hide behind their billing service when students come to them asking for help with —or changes in —their tuition rate, or even cancellation of their financial obligation (after signing an agreement [contract] that they would pay for some predetermined period of time).
 
In other words, the debate is about whether a school owner, someone who has a relationship with a student (a customer), should tell the student that he or she cannot adjust the tuition or “let them out of their agreement,” as it’s out of their hands. This requires the school owner to tell the student that the billing service handles all student agreements and tuition issues.

Or, in even simpler language, the debate is about whether a school owner should look right in the eyes of a student and lie.

Should a martial arts master teacher tell a student that the billing is handled by a third party —and so he/she can’t do anything about any change in tuition —or deal with the cancellation of a contract? One prominent martial arts “business” association leader, last year, told a large audience of school owners that to avoid having to cater to students that need financial help with tuition, they should tell the student that their billing service might be able to help them. Then, in the same breath, the speaker told the audience that they should tell their billing service not to negotiate with students, but to collect!

That, my friends, is dishonesty at its finest.

My advice:

NEVER lie to a student. Help your students, as they are your friends, your neighbors, and your brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts.

They’re your “customers” if you value business above compassion and kindness.

Never lie to a student, instead help your students. Help them in any way you can. Trust me, when you lie to people, when you’re hard and inflexible, it comes back to bite you in the behind. When you use love, honesty, compassion, and understanding with your students, especially when they’re struggling, it will serve you for years to come.

There’s no debate in this issue. We are here to set an example for our communities. You CAN run a business and be a master, you just have to act like one.

My apologies, as a representative of the leadership in the international martial arts community, for everyone who sat in that meeting and to every student who has ever had to deal with a billing service or teacher with questionable scruples. We, as an industry, are moving away from the dishonesty and misleading practices of the dance school / health club industries —and moving towards fair, equitable, and sustainable business practices.

To the consumer: Sir, Mam, the owner of a martial arts school has complete authority over all monetary issues pertaining to the school. Most owners are very good people, but if you ever come across a school owner who isn’t straight up with you, write me through www.TomCallos.com.

My colleagues and I are documenting and writing about best practices in the martial arts business world —and your story may help us guide other school owners to embrace better and smarter methods.

Tom Callos