The fact that you answer your telephone is an advantage over most Yoga studios in your geographic area. Many Yoga teachers do not follow up on phone messages, have a phone answering system, or have a live person “fielding” inquiries.
Many Yoga studios are part-time businesses, but this is not an excuse for lack of professionalism. If you look around, you can find many businesses with poor customer service.
However, do you want your Yoga studio to be compared with them as just marginally better, or would you prefer to be known as “The best Yoga studio in town?”
If you want to be successful, you must instill the desire to offer a premium Yoga teaching service, in your staff, and within you. Most of us have other Yoga studios in our areas and cannot afford to give off a less than professional impression.
The first impression a potential student receives is through a phone call or an Email. It is extremely rare to advertise in your local newspaper and have Yoga students “drop out of the sky” into your studio, without an initial phone call or an Email inquiry.
Potential Yoga students will have questions, may be seeking directions, or just want to feel comfortable before visiting your Yoga studio. Now, let’s look at a procedure for answering an initial inquiry from a potential Yoga student.
Any person who answers the telephone should have a smile on his or her face. Some prospects may not be pleasant, but the person who answers the phone for your Yoga teaching service must be.
The objective is to get a prospective Yoga student to make an appointment of some kind. When answering the phone, the first words to come out of your mouth should be something like, “Good morning, Aura Wellness Center, Paul speaking – May I help you?”
This may seem like a lot to say, but you have already given them information, shown courtesy, and displayed an air of professionalism. The next step is to listen to the request, without interrupting, and to remember the name of the prospective Yoga student.
Try to avoid putting a caller on hold, and answer his or her questions carefully. Remember that the questions asked are important to this Yoga student. No matter how many times you have answered this same question, you should personally reflect the importance of a professional answer.
Once you have made an appointment, you should thank this Yoga student for calling, and let them hang up first.
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a business coach, Yoga studio co-owner, and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: “Yoga in Practice,” and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
