No More Free Trial Lessons (w. Greg Genter) [7FMS Ep. #51]

by Daniel Patterson
 

For as long as I can remember, I have seen the debate rage among studio and school owners:

“Should you do free trial lessons or not?”

Some argue that giving away a free trial undercuts the value of your product.

Others have moved to alternative systems like the 30 day lesson pass.

We invited Greg Genter of GroupLessons.com to come back on the podcast to talk about what he uses in his studio.

Greg needed a solution that:

  1. Did not take much time each week
  2. Allowed him to see 10 – 20 prospective students per week
  3. Allowed parents to see his studio’s cutting edge tools and custom curriculum
  4. Set kids up for success once they began lessons

He couldn’t just do a “no trial lesson” model…

And the 1-to-1 free trial wouldn’t allow him to see all of the families that were inquiring every week.

His solution solved all 4 problems above…

And it just so opens that Brooklyn Music Factory independently arrived at the same solution!

Listen in as both Nate and Greg share the details around their “high-capacity” enrollment systems!

 

Or, check out the video version of the podcast:

 

 

Here’s a sneak preview of the topics covered in this episode:

  • How Greg enrolls up to 20 students per week without ever using a trial lesson
  • Greg shares simple ways to gain parents’ trust before they ever pay for a lesson
  • Training teachers & staff to support open houses at your music school
  • Do people sign up & pay for lessons at the open house? How do I follow up with those who don’t decide to sign up?
  • How to run these effective open houses (plus, do’s and don’t’s)
  • How can I be sure I want to take on certain students without 1-on-1 time?
  • Daniel highlights 2 crucial tools you need if you’re struggling with enrollment
  • What you should know before you implement open houses at your music school

During the episode, we mentioned that Greg has made available an example open house from his studio.

You can watch that video on group lesson open house on the Piano Express blog.

Conclusion

How did this episode land for you?

Are you convinced? Do you have a unique perspective on the “late game” of enrollment?

Leave a comment on the blog, or send us a message directly.

We’d love to hear from you!

 

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Daniel Patterson is a private teacher, writer, and marketing consultant for music schools. He began teaching in 2004. He co-founded and led marketing operations for a summer music camp that sees over 200 children each summer.

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