How to Teach an Intro Lesson 2

The goal of the second lesson is to enroll the student, so it has to be pretty powerful. In addition to teaching the back, kick, reverse punch and reviewing the first lesson, we conclude the lesson with a white belt test.

Remember, they are no-belts during this class. They wear the uniform, but no belt. We tell them, “At our school, we don’t give belts away. They have to be earned and, at the end of this introductory course, you will take a test for your white belt.”

How to Conduct the White Belt Exam

The white belt exam lasts about a minute. It’s a three-technique test and each has a number. Number one is the jab, number two is the reverse punch, and number three is the front kick.

We stand in front of the student and call the numbers out. Their job is t fire the combinations we call. For instance, “One-two; One, one, two; Two- three;”

Make it hard enough to be just a little challenging and if they make an error once or twice, that will give you a chance to explain that their positive attitude is what you were looking for. It was a test of their “black belt attitude” not of their physical technique.

Here’s an example of how you could explain this:

“As a beginner, we didn’t expect your punches and kicks to be like a black belt after just two classes. However, your attitude can change to a black belt attitude that fast. You’re always going to make mistakes, but we’re more interested in how well you recover from that mistake. You stayed focused, didn’t give-up and got it right the next time. That’s the attitude of success! So it’s my pleasure to present you with this white belt. Way to go!”

In my schools, white belt represented courage, because it takes a lot of courage to get started in the martial arts. So in addition to the example above, we also let the student know that if they continue to work very hard and come to class consistently, in three-to-five years, they may earn a black belt.

This is a very powerful finish to the trial course. We’ve seen parents and spouses cry during the white belt presentation. If it’s done correctly, it really is very powerful.

Questions To Ask After the 2nd Lesson

After the final introductory lesson, the first thing to do is to congratulate the prospect on an excellent class. You might also remind him or her about what they said they were seeking in the martial arts and how that was touched upon in the intro, or how they will get it once they become a member .

For instance, if you were teaching a child, you can give examples of how their child overcame shyness or how he or she persevered through the white belt exam. Encourage them by telling them that if they can improve that much in 15 minutes, imagine how well he or she will be doing by coming to class twice a week.”

Review the Benefits

“Joey did very well, and not only will he get the self-esteem and self-confidence you were looking for him, but he will get a whole lot more. Our program has a great advantage in that we use the techniques to capture the interest of the child and use that to motivate them to perform better in all areas of life. In our school, sidekicks lead to self-confidence.”

“It’s great for us to see parents like yourself who recognize how much this can help a child to grow.”

The Ascending Close

If you did your prep work well, all of these answers will be YES. This creates a momentum of YES that helps the student to make the final decision. If any of these questions is answered NO, then you have to make sure it’s converted to a YES before making the final enrollment presentation.

1. How long have you been thinking of learning (or getting Joey into classes)? What was preventing you from starting before?

Why ask this? This exposes any potential obstacle. The key is to find out if the situation has changed to allow the enrollment to happen. For instance, “My work schedule was crazy. Now I work during the day, so it’s shouldn’t be a problem…” That is a major buying signal.

2. Based on what you have seen so far, what has impressed you the most?

Why ask this? It gets prospects to tell you what they like so you can emphasize it in your presentation.

3. Is there anything you saw or heard that concerned you at all?

Why ask this? It gets prospects to tell you what they didn’t like so you can address it before making your presentation.

4. Will you be attending classes on Mon/Wed at 6 or Tue./Thur. at 7?

Why ask this? This is a test close. If they answer YES, then they are ready to enroll.

5. Based on everything we’ve discussed, would you like to continue to learn?

Why ask this? This is getting them to give you permission to enroll them.

Action Steps: What to do now

1. Based on what you teach in your trial course, create a one-two minute white belt test using your curriculum that you can use during the finale of your second intro lesson.

2. Review the Ascending Close questions and decide if you’d like to begin to use them after your intro lessons and before your enrollment conferences.

3. If you’re going to use the Ascending Close questions, begin role-playing and training the staff so they become natural and second nature to ask.