13 Ways To Bring In The Clients You Need At Your Teaching Business, RIGHT NOW!

You know I'm not keen on last-minute, short-term actions. My way of bringing in new clients is constantly building your list and a waitlist of potential clients who are ready for you to open new places, rather than chasing new clients when it's time and constantly running short, through a system I call the Dream Client Nurture Cycle. It's your best bet to have a steady stream of new clients throughout the whole year. 

But I know that sometimes you need faster action, and there's that magical open window of a few weeks in September where the influx of new students can be multiplied.

So this post is here to share ideas you should consider. It doesn't mean all of them work the same way for all of us. You will need to find the ones that work best for you. And there will be numerous other ideas out there too, but use this list as an inspiration to find your best ways to secure the number of students you need.

And now, before we delve into it, there are two essential elements you shouldn't forget about. Whichever method you go with, ALWAYS BE BUILDING YOUR EMAIL LIST (doesn't matter if it's a physical business or an online one). Having them follow you on social media is not enough. Whether it's an event you speak at, an opening party you organize, or a playing corner at a school, always ask people to sign up to your email list to leave their details (before the event) so you can reach out to them in the future. 

Also, before you get started, you need to get clear on how many new clients you need precisely within what timeframe. Get clear on how many new clients it means daily. If you don't have an exact number, revisit Day 2 of the Uplevel Challenge.  Don't start without a specific number, as all the effort you put into it might be in vain if you don't know what you're going for! When you have the number, document it, journal about it, and TAKE CONSCIOUS ACTION TO BRING THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF NEW CLIENTS EVERY SINGLE DAY. Conscious action can be making a call to someone that said they would sign up but haven't, or posting about your registration being open. If you're in urgent need of new clients, don't let a day go by without taking at least one conscious action towards your goal. 

And now, here they are, 13 ways to bring in new clients to your teaching business: 

1. OFFER A TRIAL CLASS (physical and online business)

This method can be applied throughout the year and constantly generates new contacts and new clients. Organize a trial class, blow people's minds with it, make children want to repeat and tell their parents how much they loved it, and make sure they sign up at the end. 

You shouldn't forget that a trial class in itself doesn't tell people everything about you, your story, your big why, and the transformation they will experience in the long run if learning with you. So make sure there's an appropriate follow-up after the trial class with a parent meeting (if you teach kids) or with a series of emails that explains to people everything they need to know before they make their final decision. Keep an eye out for next week's post, where I will share my script for my most successful trial class+webinar combo that brought me the most students with my online school. 

2. ORGANIZE AN OPENING PARTY (physical and online business)

I love a great party and bringing people together after a summer break. Whether in person or online, people love get-togethers, picnics, and parties, so make sure you take the opportunity and invite them to celebrate together with their friends. Don't forget to build your email list (have people and their friends pre-register before the event) and make sure you follow up the event with an appropriate email sequence about everything they need to know about you and learning with you. 

3. TALK AT PLACES AND EVENTS WHERE YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTS ARE PRESENT (physical and online business)

Reach out to local schools, city halls, and cultural organizations, and talk about the transformation your offering brings into people's and families' lives. Again, build your list before and during the event and offer people the opportunity to sign up right on the spot. When you imagine such a speech, it shouldn't be about how excellent your method is directly or the discounts you're offering to siblings or couples. It should always be about how your life changed by applying what you teach and how people can experience the same shift in their lives. If you have recordings of your previous talks, pull them out and refresh people's memory.

4. GET AN ARTICLE WRITTEN ABOUT YOU (physical and online business)

Little by little, you need to build authority around what you teach; you need to become the go-to person in your area of expertise for people in your circle, whether it's a physical place (a village, a city, a country) or the online space. Reach out to bloggers that talk to the audiences that include your potential dream clients, and set up an interview, a life-story session, a "behind the curtain" article, or anything you feel will connect best with their audience. If you have previous articles written about you, it's time to repost them.

5. UPDATE YOUR GOOGLE BUSINESS ACCOUNT (physical business)

Many people will find you by searching by location if you have a brick-and-mortar school. Make sure your Google Business profile is up-to-date, verified, and has recent updates, posts, and reviews from raving fans. People who find your business on maps should immediately see that you're active and open to new members. 

6. ASK YOUR EXISTING CLIENTS/STUDENTS FOR THEIR CONNECTIONS (physical and online business)

Don't hesitate to talk to your dream clients and ask them where they think you can reach out to more people like them. They will be happy to contact the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) of their kids' school or invite you to their company to speak or hold a workshop. It's a fantastic opportunity, and you're not going to talk to a cold audience but people similar to a proven dream client. You'll find that there are several "micro-influencers" in your community (e.g., parents people listen to) who can quickly mobilize their little circle to come and see you or bring you to them.

7. CREATE A LEAFLET THAT STANDS OUT (physical business)

At this time of the year, people would receive leaflets on the street, in shopping centers, and mailboxes. I don't particularly like this method, but if you decide to do it, make sure you stand out. You don't have to put all the information on the leaflet. Just find an image that represents you, add an intriguing, thought-provoking sentence (your transformation message), and a QR code that leads people to your website, and you're done. 

8. ORGANIZE A STREET FEST (physical business)

If you have a physical business, giving a buzz to your neighborhood is a fantastic thing you can do. Organize a street party, a treasure hunt, games, workshops, and as always, build your email list and allow people to sign up directly. 

9. OFFER AN OPEN DAY (physical and online business)

Offer people an open day, open week, to experience life at your school. Again, make sure people not only get to know your classes, but your story, your why, and how learning with you will transform their lives. Offer them easy ways to sign up during or after the event, so they don't have to come looking for you to do that in person, per email, etc., but can do it online through an automated system. 

10. BRING YOUR FRIEND OFFER (physical and online business)

If you've been with me for a while, you will have heard about this. My most successful "bring your friend offer" invited people and their friends for dinner together, should they sign up with us. The deal was, "Being your friend in September", and I invite you for dinner together in November. Why November? Cause, of course, the friend has to stay; you don't want to invite people immediately and have them walk away after that. How did I invite them for dinner? I gave both of them a $50 cashback in November, so they could go for dinner with that friend and enjoy some time together under my invitation.

11. TEAM UP WITH EXISTING CLIENTS TO DO FUN THINGS (physical and online business)

Find out what your clients do, and see if you can offer something together to their clients and your clients. This is how we have a country music party at our school with some cool dads of our students that have a band, a comics design workshop with a designer dad, a book club with an author dad who writes books for teens, a bread-making workshop with a mum who has a bakery, the list is endless. 

12. CALL PEOPLE FROM YOUR LIST (suppose you have their phone number)

Sometimes, bringing in students one by one can work great. People that once gave you their contact but haven't been in touch, create a list and give them a call or have someone on your team do it. Invite them to your next talk, your next party, or workshop; make sure they know your doors are open to them. 

13. MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE (physical and online business)

There are those typical people who would leave your classes to be the last after they have sorted out everything else. The swimming lessons, the math classes for their kids, their mother's elderly club, their husband's tennis classes, and only sign up with you once everything else is figured out, and the hours you offer still match their schedule. You can turn this around with a little trick. Offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if the hours don't work out in the end or if they change their mind for whatever reason. This will give people the security that they can still organize their lives, but once they sign up with you, your classes will be put on another priority shelf in their minds and will more likely organize the rest of their activities around yours. Make sure they understand that the earlier they sign up, the more flexibility you can offer them with the hours. The later they come, the more rigid it will become, especially if you have fixed groups with a limited number of participants.

+1 CONNECT WITH BUSINESSES WITH THE SAME AUDIENCE AND EXTEND YOUR REACH (physical and online business)

Look out for businesses that serve the same audience (but with a different service) and collaborate, organize your opening event with them; show up at their workshops and opening parties (building your list, of course). I had local music schools, dance schools, book stores, toy stores, and birthday party venues "·sponsor" my opening party by giving away their products and free monthly membership at my raffle. I also announced it in the party invitation, which made more people show up and bring friends. 

And don't forget, your opportunities are endless. Get your imagination to work, find your most successful method with minimum effort, and establish that one on an ongoing basis. 

If you want to see how many new students each of these methods brought me and find out which methods did not get me ANY clients at all (so know what to avoid), I invite you to watch this case study I did last year. 

ps: paid ads are, of course, a viable option, too. The rule I apply to them is I only put money on a method that has already worked organically. That said, a method I tried, and it brought me, new clients, even without paying for it. That's a method, that will definitely be worth investing in.