We all know that when a new family comes in for a one-on-one, we must build rapport with the parent, and we must also build rapport with the student.
Now most of you are probably doing an awesome job with the first two steps, but what many of you may not know is that there is a third step here.
A “missing puzzle piece” for most academies, and it’s that must build rapport between the student and their parent!👨👧
Let’s break it down and see what each step looks like.
1️⃣Step One – Building Rapport with the Parent
First, you need to ask questions. You need to find out their “why”, find out what it was that brought them here today. When you find out their “why”, you can then sell how your academy is going to help them accomplish that. If they say that their kids lacks discipline, tell them about how your class is structured to teach discipline. If they say that their child lacks focus, explain to them your methods of keeping a kid’s attention. When you know what they want, you can sell them on how you can provide that!
2️⃣Step Two – Building Rapport with the Student
We love to build rapport with the student by starting with a handshake. This is a great opportunity for us to immediately teach a life skill to the student, or to compliment them if they have a great handshake. Another great option is a high-five and a fist-bump! One thing that’s important to note, especially when working with a child that is shy, is that you want to get down on their level as some students may feel intimidated by a “big, tall coach”.
After that you can simply ask questions, “How was your day?”, “How was school?”. This starts to build familiarity between the coach and the child and is a great way to start a conversation if they’re shy. This last tip is more of a personal preference, but I’ve found that making a joke or two and getting the kid laughing is one of the best ways to break the ice.
For example: “How old are you Nick?” – “I’m 5.” – “No way me too!”. Something simple and silly is perfect for calming nerves and getting them excited!
Those are some really easy ways to build rapport with the parent, as well as the student. But how do we build rapport between the student and the parent? Here are three awesome tips!
3️⃣Step Three – Building Rapport with the Parent and Student
▶️The first thing you’re going to do, about five minutes into the introductory lesson, is look over to mom and dad and say, “Mrs. Smith, have you ever seen Johnny this focused before?”. Now the parent is seeing how martial arts is going to help Johnny become more focused. Also, if the parent isn’t paying attention, they’re sure to be focused on their child now.
▶️The second thing is that about halfway through the lesson you’re going to say, “Johnny, you’re doing such an awesome job, I want you to go over and give mom and dad a big hug and hi-five and thank them for being here!”. This helps connect the parents to the lesson because they’re congratulating their child on their hard work, and they can see just how excited they are!
▶️Now that we’ve started building rapport between the student and the parent, the final thing you’re going to do is to bring the parent(s) on the mat. Now we do a little bit of striking in our introductory lessons, so we have the parent hold the target. If you’re strictly a Jiu-Jitsu school, then you can have the parent be the partner.
So far, we’ve had three things happen: we’ve engaged the parents with a life skill in step one, we’ve engaged them with support and encouragement in step two, and finally we’ve engaged them physically and educationally in step three.
It’s important that you hit all three of these steps during an introductory lesson.
✅Step one: saying “Have you ever seen Johnny this focused before?”.
✅Step two: Have Johnny run over to mom and dad and give them a high-five and a hug and thank them.
✅And step three: bringing the parent(s) on the mat. Remember that this isn’t just about signing up the student, it’s ultimately about getting the entire family on board.👨👩👧👦
So those are your three “must-do” steps to building rapport during a one-on-one so that when you go into your sales office your conversions skyrocket! 🚀
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Author : Cris Rodriguez
