How to get more students for your tutor business  - Adding more clients
You should have a goal for how many new clients you want to get every month. Even if you’re small and currently have only one student you should have a goal. Getting one new client every semester, even if you’re small you should be able to handle that.
When working on adding new students, you’ll want to keep an eye on the spreadsheets we made last week. How many of your students do you predict will be gone at the end of the year. Let’s say I have a small business with two helpers. Let’s also say in the list I made we have ten students that will be leaving. Then I want to get at least 10, plus I want to grow a bit. So we’ll say the goal I set is for 15 new students. In order to hit this new goal I’ll want to add 2 new students – for 8 months. Before you continue – make sure you have figured out your goal. Take a piece of paper and write it down. “I will get 2 new students every month”.
We talked about advertising last time (we spend a whole module on this in our online tutoring guide). We want to track our advertising and continually tweak it. We want to use what is working, and ditch what isn’t working.
There are hundreds of ways to do it – I’ll list five – from things that have been most effective for me. Please feel free to share methods that have worked for you.
1. Client Referrals – without a doubt the easiest new students to ‘sell’ your program on are people that have talked to your current clients. Â Think about it for a minute. They have students in your current market… the students you tutor are in the same grade as students you want to tutor. They also know how well you tutor.
Here’s how to get the conversation started. During one of your post tutor reviews, ask them if they know anyone in ‘Sam’s’ class that could use some math tutoring. Explain to them that you have a few openings in your schedule. They may say they’ll think about it or something similar to them. In a few weeks ask them again. Ask ALL of your clients at least once a month if they know someone that needs tutoring. This also puts you in their mind. So if they hear someone talking about their child having a hard time in school… who will they think about… you.
2. Free Classes / Seminars – we’ve talked about giving Seminars before. If you need some guidance in finding it let me know. You create a hour presentation about a subject that your prospective students would be interested in. Examples would include things like: how to study, how to take a test, how to prepare for the ACT / SAT etc. During the presentation you give everyone a handout with some notes about your presentation. You include your contact information and a coupon for a discount if they call you within 2 weeks.
3. Ads in a local paper – these work great and can be short. Something like – “Stink at Math – we can help. We have spots open in our High School Math Tutor Program. Call xxx-xxxx mention this ad and get the first lesson free.
Again we ask them to mention the ad so they’ll let you know where you found it. Test your ad copy, test the days the ads come out etc. Track everything. Keep running the ads that are working well – rework those that don’t work.
4. Facebook – we’ve talked about facebook. Make sure you especially let your current students know about your fan page. Share a facebook only discount with your fans. Again use your imagination.
5. Online site / blog – you want your website to provide them with information that is useful for them. If you tutor high schoolers – writing about how to make friends in the third grade won’t help very much. Write something every day – it doesn’t have to be something you write but a resource you highlight, an article you found or tips for doing something (quicker / faster / easier).
To Do List –
1. Make it a point to ask your clients if they know anyone that needs a tutor (and keep doing it).
2. Start advertising in your local paper.
3. Work on putting daily content on your blog / facebook – if you don’t have one then you’ll want to work on creating one.
Tanya says
I have put an ad on Craigslist, made business cards and sent out e-mails. I’ve been doing this for about two months, but still no clients. I’m also going to make fliers to pass out in my neighborhood. Hopefully something will come through soon.
The-Apple says
Have you talked to teachers / guidance counselors etc. within the schools you want to tutor in. As we talk about in our guide that is a very important first step.