How to Talk About Your Studio’s Services in a Way That Will Grab Someone’s Interest
Imagine you’re at a friend’s party. You’re introduced to someone new, and she asks, “So, what do you do?” You explain you own a yoga studio and teach Hatha yoga, including advanced classes and private sessions, perhaps you mention where you studied and how you’re planning to go to an intensive yoga workshop this summer. After a few minutes she smiles politely and says “Oh, that’s interesting…” and either shifts the conversation elsewhere or excuses herself.
Perhaps you dismiss it as her being disinterested in what you do. Later on, your friend (the one who introduced you to this woman) mentions that the woman you spoke with had chronic back pain. Why didn’t she say anything about it? Why didn’t she seem interested in yoga?
This woman could have been a potential student and perhaps an ongoing client for private sessions. Unfortunately, you not only lost out on potential business, but she missed an opportunity to ease her back pain. If she tried yoga, and her pain was reduced or eliminated, she might have been your best source of referrals (“Remember I used to have that awful back pain, but since I started doing yoga, it’s gone!”) We often look for win-win situations, but this was a lose-lose disaster. You didn’t get a student and she still has back pain. So, what went wrong and how could it be done better?
First impressions are always a learning experience about each person from both sides. However, we don’t ask what we really want to know, instead we ask other questions we think will bring the desired answers.
One key question we use is “So, what do you do?” This is really asking, “What can you do for me?” However, giving a face value answer is a big mistake because what people ask and what they really want to know are two very different things. If you answer the question they ask, they don’t get the answers they want. For example, if the person says, “I am a filesystems quality engineer for Apple,” this translates OK now I have your label, but I don’t know what that means to me.
At face value we don’t communicate much real value because the person you meet may not understand what you do or how it benefits them. One of the greatest perplexities in talking about, and marketing, professional services is we tend to answer questions about our services at face value.
You should never miss an opportunity to connect with a potential student or client again. Next time give an answer that will leave them feeling like “I want that!” This answer is sometimes called a “Tag line.” How do we create a compelling tag line? First, a couple of guidelines:
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- When you first start answering these questions, you usually have 15 seconds to catch someone’s interest before their eyes glaze over and they start wondering about what’s for dinner.
- After you say your brief piece, listen! Their story is just as important as yours.
The key is to identify yourself and then target your specific audience. 1. “I’m a mechanic. I fix Volvo’s that have troublesome engines and transmissions.” 2. “I’m an accountant. I help small business owners with little tax experience easily make it through an IRS audit.” 3. “I am a yoga studio owner. I work with people who suffer from chronic physical pain to eliminate the pain and resume the active lifestyle they used to have.”
These answers are much more compelling
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- than,”I own a yoga studio. We teach Hatha yoga, including advanced classes and private sessions.” Now the person you’re talking to may not suffer from chronic physical pain, but if they do (or know someone who does), you’ve made a lasting impression with your answer. Here’s is the formula: 1. First, start with a short “I am _______.” statement. (“I am a yoga studio owner.”) 2. Next, “I [insert a positive adjective (help, fix, teach, support, etc.)] followed by who you wish to appeal to (“I help people who suffer from chronic physical pain”) 3. After that, describe what you will do for the problem or challenge (“to eliminate the pain”) 4. Finally, you can optionally add a positive outcome (“and resume the active lifestyle they used to have.”)
Yes, I know it starts by focusing on a problem
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- or trouble people have instead of just extolling the virtues of yoga. Most people will take action to eliminate a problem they have or to relieve pain, but are less likely to do something good for themselves.
Once they experience it, they’ll be hooked!
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- How would the studio owner in the beginning of this article feel if two years later the woman with back pain came in, still suffering, and within a few months of yoga, the pain was virtually gone? Because the studio owner didn’t know how to effectively share how she could help, this woman spent two years unnecessarily suffering. Remember, you’re helping people – this is what it’s all about.
Tag lines are not just for the studio owner either.
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- Once you refine it on your own, share it with your teachers and staff. Have them improve your ability to help people (and get students) by describing themselves in a similarly compelling way. It also helps them learn more about your target customers.
Wouldn’t it be great if it got easier after the tagline?
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- Well, it doesn’t because will continue to speak in this code.
The second key question is, “That’s great, how do you do that?”
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- But don’t use a face value answer again. Translate the question as follows: “What kind of results do you produce for your clients?” Then answer like this: “The clients who work with me get these results: They alleviate their pain through a gentle yoga routine by six months and begin to live an active and healthy lifestyle again.”
Successful results are a language that everybody understands.
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- This kind of marketing language gets attention and interest from potential clients. You’re going to get more coded questions:
The third key question is, “That’s terrific. But how does your service work?”
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- The vast majority tends to answer this difficult question in one of two directions:
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- They go into “tech-talk” that explains their approach or process in excruciating detail. Tech-talk can be confusing to the average person: “The sub-optimal performance horizon undermines the maximization of variable input factors in the productivity matrix.” Huh??
- Or they use generic terms to explain their service that loses the needed impact. “Well, we’re all about productivity, and commitment. When we get those things going, our results improve pretty fast.” Well, Duh!
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Nobody really wants to know how your service works.
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- The hidden question behind the question is: “Do your services actually work?” Answer with something they can understand.
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- Tell a story. Success stories that outline how you helped a specific client will get listeners hanging on to your every word:
- “We met a very distraught woman who suffered from chronic back pain for years and who was unable to go to work since it affected her so much. We created a gentle routine for her body to ease into and to help her build strength, release muscle tension, and improve flexibility, bringing her body back into balance, thereby alleviating her pain. Nine months later she was able to go back to work, play with her kids, and actually go shopping for hours again.”
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If your studio does really alleviate chronic back pain
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- then it isn’t that hard to come up with a few student success stories, because they create a powerful persuasion tool for gaining the interest of potential students.
Remember, most students/clients have chosen to spend just a few hours per week on yoga where you have devoted your life to it – it may mean something entirely different to them than it does to you. Learn what it is all about in their lives, and you will be able to serve more people (not to mention create even better tag lines). You may be amazed at the new students you gain and the results you achieve.
Coach Al Lipper
Business Coach for Yoga Studios
Destiny: Success
Website: http://www.CenteredBusiness.com
Email: coach@centeredbusiness.com
Telephone: (805) 544-3938
Coach Al Lipper of ‘Destiny: Success’ helps Yoga studio business owners smoothly run and expand their yoga studio business. He helps stressed and overwhelmed yoga studio business owners who spend most their time wrapped up in daily business tasks, who can’t handle any more clients, or who can’t make any more money out of the yoga studio.
Coach Al helps clients find new yoga business strategies which result in generating more clients, increased profits, and more free time for the business owner. The amount invested was small compared to the results. Contact him today to discuss your yoga studio challenges at (805) 544-3938 or visit http://www.CenteredBusiness.com
