After 13 years and working with 400+ martial arts school owners, I share my refined vision from helping school owners break the 100 student barrier, to 300, to $1M revenue per year.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- The three-part framework to attract, convert, and retain students for long-term growth.
- Why most martial arts school owners struggle with marketing—and how to fix it.
- A new lead follow-up engine that automates engagement and increases conversions.
- The one overlooked strategy that can increase school revenue by 20-30%.
- How to scale without burnout while maintaining a balanced personal and professional life.
- And more
TRANSCRIPTION
Today I want to take you through my plan to help 100 martial arts school owners scale from 100 to 300 students and help 10 martial arts school owners scale to 1 million dollars in annual revenue. I'm going to go through the whole plan. I'm going to take you through this google doc and I'm probably going to go a little off script just to give you a bit more context around how the story evolved, what got me here, what brought on this plan and all the rest.
So, I'll start at the semi-beginning. 13 years ago I discovered martial arts at my five-year-old's first martial arts class. I'd never been to a martial arts class, and didn't know much about it.
I saw the movies. All that I thought is, you know, for me as a first-time parent, what a great activity this looked like for my child to get into. And I was watching this class and to me the only words I could find to describe it was personal development in the physical form.
I was seeing these kids stand six feet tall, disciplined, confident, and I thought wow these kids are learning like life-changing skills and it's all disguised as fun and they don't even know it. And that moment in hindsight was a life-changing impact for me which brought me to this life-changing journey. So I started helping the school where my son was training with lead generation.
This came about completely not on purpose. I actually bumped into one of the instructors at a kid's playground where my child was playing and got talking to the instructor and learned what they were doing. And this was the first time I sort of got some insight just on how the business was running etc.
And my marketing brain kind of just triggered a few ideas and I thought look I know a few things that could definitely help you guys. I'd love to come and share what it is. And so at this time in my life I was deep into the trenches of online marketing.
I was doing Google ads. I was mainly running online affiliate type products. Doing Google ads to landing pages and emails and I'd gotten a little bit of success.
My biggest aha moment was being in Australia at the time and selling to someone in the United States that I've never met and they bought my product and I said oh wow this the possibilities of this are endless. I know it's common now but at that time it wasn't that common. Anyway, the school was already successful.
They just started on marketing online and so I introduced them to a few things like we ran an email campaign which got surprising results and by the way we still run this campaign. It's called The 4-Day Student Scale Campaign. It's slightly modified now but it still works and it's the thing that we put on repeat for our clients all the time just with some variations but the psychology it still works.
And I became their marketing arm and shortly after that I stepped onto the mats myself. One of the instructors was asking me why aren't you training and it was funny because if I think about it now I had all the excuses that you probably hear all day right. Too old, I'm too injured from rugby etc.
But then I heard a cliche. I tried it and I was hooked. And that's just the next step of how martial arts started to infiltrate my life. So parent, son was training three times a week. I'm helping with the marketing and now I'm training and so now martial arts is slowly becoming my life.
And this is I guess where our stories might become you know we might have a similarity in that where I don't know when you decided that martial arts is going to be your life you know you'd probably been training way longer than than me starting in my late 30s and but there was probably a moment where you decided we'll hang on I'm gonna go this route martial arts is going to be my life.
And that was it for me right and Martial Arts Media™ was born as a brand and I'd found my purpose. So, fast forward to 2016 I created the Martial Arts Media™ Business Podcast. At this point in time this was really a channel for me so I just wanted to learn right and if I think about it now it's like nine years doing this podcast. But that's when I did the first interview with the guys I was working with and it was really to learn.
I thought well look I don't know much about martial arts I love everything about it but my knowledge is I need to catch up. And the podcast for me was a channel of just interviewing as many experts as I could and just learning to really soak up the knowledge. And from that point I picked up a few clients and I started helping other schools first nationally and then internationally in Europe, the States, Canada, New Zealand and we got some good results right.
The last screenshot I captured from our old shopping cart system we had recorded 7,386 paid trial students signed up through our system. Which you know in itself is a big number but conservatively now the time has ticked on our results have improved and you know we've been doing this for a long time. I mean I could say conservatively we've at least tripled that right well over 25,000 paid trials and then some.
After working with 400 plus school owners now I faced two separate problems. There I'll talk about industry first and then I'll bring it on to me. So there was a general lack of knowledge around marketing which led to the big problem: just no strategy right now, strategy of what to do.
How to market the business online, generate leads, attract the right students, how to convert them and then like retain on the back wall. Retain on the back end is more on the mat but how to build this online infrastructure that could also support the community and what to do at the right time and so strategy was non-existent. There was a clear disconnect on how operations were handled on the mats versus how the online world operated and from my perspectives strategy was non-existent.
Software tools available to the industry at the time were decades behind. I mean the struggle and confusion that still exists today was kind of real because as much as well intended as people are, if they haven't come from that space it's hard to take an offline model and try and piece it into a space where it's just not compatible. Look, today the tools are much better, coaches are in abundance but yet I see strategy is missing and I mean let's not even begin to talk about the impact of AI which I think most software applications just aren't ready for.
We get these conflicting tactics from agencies and then software tools duct-taped together which just causes more overwhelm, more bloat, more frustration and it feels like it's the 80-20 in reverse. You know if we think of 80% of your results coming from 20% of your efforts it's almost like 80% effort is being sacrificed for 20% of the results. That's a broad stroke on the industry.
The other problem was me. I burnt out after taking on everything like building websites and it's funny I remember why we wanted to build websites because we were running google ads to pages and I was just looking at what the average web developer was building which doesn't work for ads and so it was.
And I still see this you know it's very frustrating for me when somebody says here's a high converting website and I'm like well have you run ads ever or to it no okay then it's just speculation right if you haven't put your heart and money behind a website and run ads to it and track those conversions everything is just speculation.
And so I started building the websites and landing pages just to make sure that I could actually test it, not that I could get it perfect but at least I had the data and I could make improvements through split tests and so forth.
It was websites it was ads doing the emails blogs at the time videos social and if the goal was and this is something that I really started with from the beginning is you know working with the school that I worked at they were at a high level and to maintain that level of authority.
I coined the slogan Become The ‘Go-To’ Martial Arts School because that was kind of everything how we approached the strategy of how do you become the authority that people look up to in your space that yeah that's the go-to martial art school you know if you always think of a brand there's always one that pops in your mind and that was how we framed everything from that point.
And so to do that these were the tools of authority that were needed and so I was over delivering trying to do everything for every school owner which was a big mistake and so I needed a better system and a better model too and a bit of script here but me trying to do everything for every school owner kind of robbed them from some of the knowledge that I feel is essential every business owner needs to grow a school.
If you think of basic marketing basic sales and I see the more people you know have some sometimes, limit, what's what's the right word like there's limiting beliefs around or cringiness around sales and people just feel weird about it and they're like, oh it's like a used car salesman etc., and you know there's definitely a gross side to selling but that doesn't really apply if you're selling something of value.
You know if you're selling something of value and it truly changes lives well you've got to do everything in your power to gently persuade people without manipulation and weirdness right but so shying away from those skills and just you know thinking you could just teach and never market. I don't feel that's always also a good strategy right, you've got to understand what resonates with your audience from an ad level and even if you're not running them but a basic understanding of knowledge is important anyway.
Look I needed a better system and a model too to deliver make sure there's a little balance of knowledge with execution and delivery of services as well so for me look taking on the complexity of every component of online marketing that schools need to be the authority it's helped me carve a system of simplicity it's called the school scale plan and it's nine areas of accelerators that we work on as a model there's strategies and there's accelerators and then there's purpose which really sits right in the middle.
And I created the recipe but my clients really inspired the ingredients. If I think about how many hours I've spent with martial arts school owners online every week we run, currently we're running three to four zoom calls every week for about 60 to 90 minutes.
And then just one-on-one time working with high-level school owners always approaches to learn what are the problems being faced and then going to the drawing board and creating solutions from that.
And I think that's what's really given us an edge it's just time in the market but then also unpacking where there's where there are obstacles and where the problems are that we can draw solutions together and over the last few years it's we've created some staggering great results for a small group of martial arts school owners that we call Partners.
And so this year and this is where the big plan comes in is this year I'm really stepping into our vision and it's to take 10 school owners to 1 million dollars per year in annual revenue plus, help 100 martial arts school owners scale from 100 to 300 students, and also through our community and through our tools support 50 new martial arts school owners breaking the 100 student barrier.
Those numbers are metric for them. It's like a north star for me too but for me it's also knowing that the school scale plan is working and it gives us a goal that we can filter or remove any strategies around that doesn't align with that goal that's not going to support the outcome.
So more important than the numbers is how we achieve it, and we start with purpose so if we look at our we've got a Venn diagram of our model which really attracts, increases and retains. Attract the right students to increase signups by improving conversions and automations and retain more members.
And we all know if we don't get those things right but if we can't attract the right students well we're not gonna have students. If we can't increase signups and convert we're gonna struggle with cash flow, and if we can't keep them well there's never going to be growth and it's you're just going to be on a hamster wheel of students in and students out.
Now those are the strategies but right in the center what we work with is purpose. So purpose is the goal so in our world and in our model purpose consists of three things: income that you desire, the impact that you want to create through your students and within your community, and then the lifestyle that you want to live.
And you know for some and in the beginning it's eat sleep breathe on the mats and for others it's not eat sleep breathe on the mats but a life of balance travel etc.
We all probably start you know with eat sleep breathe but the the whole goal is to build a business that you can choose to work and take the classes that you want. So here's how we are rolling out the plan here for Partners.
And by the way Partners is our flagship program but there are also three levels inside Partners and that goes back down to this vision depending on where you're at with a school owner and where you are headed will depend on which level and which level of access you will need for the right tools and the right conversation to take you where you want to go.
Here's the plan, first up I'm going to keep on doing what I do which is one-on-one kickoff calls with me to optimize pricing offers and strategy. We've got a thing a 10-step process that we call The OnRamp, I do the kickoff call so we can fast track especially on the pricing and the offers so we can unpack any obstacles or any uh any blocks on taking those right decisions to do the right things and build the right foundations that are going to build the move the business forward.
Now number two, onboard our clients into MAM.Pro immediately and we do that this is our CRM by the way we have a CRM that we use for our clients for our marketing some are also using it to launch their schools. It's our CRM system that it doesn't replace, it doesn't need to replace what you have it can work with what you have and it's not a requirement to swap CRM to work with us but we have managed to build all our top performing Facebook ads into our CRM.
And it means that we can launch our highest Facebook ads within 24 hours right? It's that good. It takes you three to six clicks and you gotta register, connect your Facebook account, choose the ad if you got the right offer and you can launch your ads so it is that easy.
Number three once we got your ads running we install the new lead follow-up engine which automates the follow-ups via email phone SMS and ai and if I say ai it's AI supporting the conversation and not being the conversation I'm not into lying to people tricking people I've never liked buying from an ai bot and I don't think your customers like that either.
So yep we use it but it's definitely a balance of keeping things authentic and real because we don't want you to break that trust with your new student.
Number four increases revenue by 20 to 30 percent with the student price upgrader a lot of what we do part in in our kickoff call.
Number five, create Irresistible Offers that you can't say no to. Number six, cut ad spend by 25 to 40 percent while increasing lead flow. Number seven, monitor the eight core metrics with the progress tracker to keep score so we know exactly where your numbers are at and then we know where we need to do the most work if it's retention if it's getting more appointments it's actually converting appointments etc.
Number eight hosts weekly Partner Power Sessions that we would like to do right now plus we've got our Facebook Ad Marketing Implementation Sessions and Bi-Monthly Workshops.
It is now me recording this at 12:20 at 6 a.m we did at my time, we did a Facebook Ad Implementation session and we also ran a mastermind at nine o'clock. That's typically on a Thursday for me, so that's on top of the programs and this is sort of added, as we host live events and private VIP days and that's for those who want to connect and connect in person and get results faster.
And I say results faster just because you've got direct access in person and getting information in person it just you know you get information in just a different in that real modality you know you see experience have the conversations and I feel you can just get to process information a lot better so you want to elevate your results always good to try and meet up in person where you can.
And number 11, hang on number 10, refine and repeat with 10 improvements at each 90 Day Growth Cycle so every 90 days we reset the plan, we reset the numbers and we commit to new marketing campaigns and new projects.
Number 11, apply The Retention Maximizer to keep churn below five percent our record in the group i think is just below three percent and for our high level group uh which is called Partners mentor the group is gunning for one million per year.
I've partnered with my longest standing client who's a multi-seven figure school owner to help implement their 40 year proven operational systems that have scaled their school to which there are currently 1,850 active students.
I'm working together together with them and their team and we're working with a small group of martial arts school owners over a 16 week commitment, and the whole goal is to revamp operations with direct access, it's not another course or another program it's high level direct access direct coaching to make sure you get the right answers and make the right decisions.
Most importantly that is going to help you take your business to 1 million and beyond so that's the plan for Partners.
Now I want to talk about probably something you know a bit more probably a bit more personal and but also more important because I did mention that you know I did go down a path like I love business and I love marketing but i also went down a path where like that became so much my life and it it burnt me out trying to do everything.
And I want to do this business for a very long time and I want to keep working with people that I like working with and to do that I've got to be honest and real with who I am what I can deliver what I can't and what level of energy I can actually expend to commit to the business while keeping a balanced life myself.
And so to do that, here's a plan for me to stay aligned with the mission, and that is to prioritize health, family, being a great dad and time on the mat. So, health super important for me I've had a few situations over the last couple of years just surgeries and stuff that were really set me back and it really made me appreciate day-to-day living and being healthy family my kids my wife most important to me it's kind of why I do what I do and being a great dad i like to be present with my kids and involved and whatever I can do in leadership for them to make sure that they become great adults is super important.
And then time on the mats which is something that because of these surgeries and injuries has been very limited for me and I've just started back with back on the mats with a coach private right now but it's still jiu jitsu still one of my big passions.
And yeah, really working on that so that's number one. Number two, say no to distractions and clients who don't align with my values. So, martial arts is you know it is a small probably niche in itself but it's also very big right. And there's a lot of people and there's a lot of different styles.
People in different countries and continents have different ideas, which is all you know, everything in all styles and everything is all welcome to me. I just want to work with good humans, people that align with my values and you know there's going to be a fraction of the martial arts industry, right?
Some people are just not going to gel with me, that's they just not going to like me or the things I stand for etc. And that is okay, I want to make sure I spend more time on my marketing and that's we'll discuss that later but I want to make sure that people know exactly as much as possible who they're working with and feel kind of work out for themselves.
If I am the right guy to help them achieve those goals, get to 300 students, get to 1 million per year etc. Cool, so say no to distractions. Number three, keep it real, express my weirdness, don't take life too seriously.
I can be a weirdo and yeah just have fun doing this. Number four, sink my feet into the beach sand daily, live five minutes from the beach. I moved here. It was kind of like a lifelong dream to live here on the sunshine coast. I do make the most of being able to go down to the beach.
And number five, when I can surf, train BJJ, I mentioned that on the mats, meditate, drink coffee and have fun. All right, that's the personal stuff.
How am I going to do this? All right, how am I going to execute the plan to make sure I speak to the right people and get the message out about Partners, so this video is step number one by the way of creating this video.
So here's my plan of execution: increase the rhythm and expand the value on the Martial Arts Media™ Business Podcast. I joked the other day that I'm probably the longest standing podcast because I've been going for like nine years. Where I probably should be at like thousands of episodes but I mean I've done a good 150 60 but it's documented a long journey of you know where I've where I've been and what I've done that's going to be a big focus to really make sure I invest everything back into the Martial Arts Media™ Business Podcast.
Number two part of the podcast really document and share previously private resources to attract the right school owners who value the Partners way so I've been doing Partners for I think seven years now as as a community in a group and we've shared a lot of resources and frankly I'm much happier spending the time that I do with clients than out there making a noise marketing.
Which is kind of why I've kept it small and kept it growing the way it is I do feel however that there's so many things kept behind the scenes that can be so helpful for a lot of school owners and I'm happy to release a lot more of this content out to the public because it's a great filter right but people can see the content they get to experience what value we provide it's an easy answer if they should be working with us on this journey or not.
Number three, invite subject matter experts to Partners and collaborate with any martial arts school owner who adds value to the mission. I feel I'm very aware of what my strengths are, where I can help and then where I need more help and the whole goal of aligning this vision of taking 100 school owners to 300 students and 10 school owners to a million dollars.
The whole premise of this is that there's a direction and there's going to be skills and resources needed to get there. Which is why I've partnered with my longest standing client for example, because there's things that are just beyond my skill set.
I've never run a school and definitely not at multi-million dollars per year as they have. So, tapping into those resources is what brings the value to the table that keeps everybody in line and keeps everybody on the right path.
Number four, I'll email often and make offers daily. Cap Partners at 100 people. This is a big one. So, keep it lean with direct access to me. I want to be able to know my clients, be able to talk to them and have a handle on where they are at in their business.
I'm at this point, I'll reserve the right to change my mind but I would, I don't want to have a situation where I've got a, I cannot be able to answer the question or I've got to hand you off to this person and that person. Yep, we've got to support, help their system. My team helps with that. Yep, we've got a community where people like all the clients that have been with us for a long time and that are decades into the industry will help answer questions.
But I want to make sure that I've got hands on things and be able to, you know, keep it lean with direct access to me. Number six, work with great humans only. What I mentioned earlier.
Number seven, sell one-time access to workshops that we host for Partners so instead of keeping all, and by the way, over the last seven years we've got more than 200 courses inside of Partners.
I'm kind of busy refining and pruning a lot of them back but because we've got so many resources. Because we've got so many resources but I've changed our model to give access to people on a one-off basis. If people want to attend a workshop that we're hosting for Partners at times I will make that available to the public and they'll be able to access those workshops and attend and again that's a good way to assess whether I am the guy to help you to your next level or not.
Number eight, keep running ads and focus on video content like this and that's the plan that's the big plan. Probably good to mention like what's in this for me. Like what's it for me? Well I wanted to tell you my story so that you know how I got into this because it wasn't like I bought a course, found a niche and started working like this, started from passion really.
Love of the industry, and that's what got me here. But it's also a business right? And when my clients win, I win. And my goal is to take Martial Arts Media™ to a hundred thousand dollars per month. That number aligns and reflects the impact we're creating.
It's kind of the yin of the yang. I love martial arts, I love marketing and I like to help the good guys, the good guys win. And that's really it, I know for me to generate a business turning a hundred thousand dollars a month, it's I've got to be generating 10 times the value with that.
And that's just how the numbers add up for me. It's gonna be fun, it's gonna be a ride, and yeah, if you'd like to join me on the journey, hit me up wherever you find a place to send me a message below. Reach out and let's have a chat and if not, all good but I'll keep you in the loop and I'll update you how it's going so until then I'll see you in the next video. Cheers!
INVITATION: If you’d like more info about working with me in Partners, Just message me ‘Partners’ on Facebook and I’ll send the details over in a doc (no sales call required) Send Message >
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