On the phone.....

[MarleensYoga]

First of all: I like the site and the forums!

You've made me think about expanding to private classes, which I never considered before, just because it hadn't crossed my path. Why not? I am working on a craiglist ad, which I'll put on here for review in due time, but before I post it (and start answering lots of phonecalls!) I would really like to hear more about answering those phone questions.

I have noticed that maybe half of the people that call me about advertised classes will actually end up showing up in class. I'd like to improve that percentage, so I am really curious about your suggestions on fielding those phone inquiries.

MarleensYoga

[Sara]

Hi Marleens Yoga,

Thanks for checking out our site.

You asked a great question regarding how to deal with potential clients on the phone.

I will share with you a few of my own secrets and you can give them a try.

It may take a few hits of practice but I guarantee if you change how you are speaking to people on the phone it will turn a"maybe"client into a " definite" client!

The first initial conversation with someone who knows nothing about you is so importat.

You want to be in control of the conversation.

You want to be warm and friendly.

You want to keep them on the phone for a few minutes and ask lots of questions.

Sell yourself and what you do by teasing them with information and drawing out as much about them as you can.

If your goal is to get privates then don't invite them to your classes.

You want them to only come to you for privates.

If you tell them where you teach and they start coming to your classes they may decide the don't need a private cause you have an open class and is less money.

However if they first try a private session and find it to be fantastic and they get so much attention from you then they won't want to go to a class.

Warning:
Do not tell how much you charge at the beginning of a phone conversation. This is a big NO NO.

When I get people calling about privates and the first thing they say to me is
"Hi my name is Julia and I am calling to find out how much you charge for a session", you politely ignore that question and ask questions about them.

Most important question: How did you hear about me?

You want to know where people are finding out about you.

Are they new to Yoga? What are their goals and how many times a week would they like to work one on one with you?

Once you have warmed up the conversation and told them the benefits of working with you and told them what a one on one session is like then you tell them your prices.

I have turned a couple of "How much are you callers?"
into "OK so when can we start our first session."

So try some of these things out and send us your craigslist ad.

Go for doing privates and be confident, bold but warm too.

Good Luck,
Om Shanti,
Sara