MEETINGS (EDUCATION) TITLE SECTION PAGE BOOK MEETINGS CONFIRM MEETING MEETING PREPARATION ATTEND MEETING MEETING QUESTIONNAIRE PRESENTATION FORMAT FREE DEMONSTRATION CLOSE SALE / MEETING OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS MEETING FOLLOW UP PROPOSALS THANK YOU ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING SECTION CHECK LIST 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.4.1 6.5 6.5.1 6.6 6.7 6.7.1 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12 1 1-2 2 2 2-3 4 4 4 4-5 5-6 6-7 8 8-9 9 10
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6 MEETINGS 6.1 BOOK MEETINGS YogaBugs is a highly visual product and service, therefore having the ability to demonstrate or explain how YogaBugs works is far harder on the telephone or in a letter, than it could ever be face-toface. Therefore, the importance of meeting with your potential client is far greater for YogaBugs than some other services. When potential customers ask you to send some info or drop us an email, your reply should always be no. Explain politely that you wish it was possible to demonstrate the great benefits that YogaBugs offers in a simple colour brochure but that would make you the same as many other suppliers. Suppliers that are basing their service on an off the shelf style service that totally fails to take into account the customer s needs or understand that not all children are the same. YogaBugs prides itself on our ability to work with our customers and build a service (class plans, targeted lessons, special needs) around the real needs of our customers. We don t hide behind clever words or nice pictures on a leaflet; we demonstrate our service right in front of their eyes. We discuss the real challenges and issues that schools, nurseries, parents, grandparents, carers, councils and even whole education departments are facing on a daily basis and we come up with real solutions. Solutions that can be backed up by testimonials, referrals, news reports, statistics, TV programmes, radio interviews, press cuttings and the one area we really excel in and that s our commitment to excellent customer service. This is the reason for wanting a face-to-face meeting; something that you feel will be of great benefit to the customer. When you are ready to start making your calls to book your meetings (refer to section 4.5 for the telephone script). 6.2 CONFIRM MEETING It is company policy that all meetings are confirmed in writing and that an outline of the meeting is forwarded to all attendees. The confirmation letter should confirm the time and date and location of the meeting, you should confirm the names of the people expected to attend. Where possible you should include job title or position of each person (i.e. Head Teacher, Sports Coordinator etc). There is a template letter available on the database. Section 6 Page 1
Confirmation should be sent at least five days prior to the meeting, time permitting. The letter is to be sent on YogaBugs letter head with clear instructions on how to contact you should they require any further information prior to the meeting, or in case of cancellation. 6.3 MEETING PREPARATION Preparation is a key part of conducting a successful meeting. It is essential that you have the following items with you for any meeting. YogaBugs book to show credibility and to refer to for the special needs section. YogaBugs DVD to show credibility. Small press file to show the strength of the brand. Testimonials (if you are new and you don t have your own testimonials, you can find some on the database) to give examples of how YogaBugs has helped others. Impact and Change presentation folder to introduce this package. Presentation folder / Powerpoint Presentation an overview of YogaBugs, class examples, the benefits to the children and the customer. Lavender eye bag to use during the meeting to demonstrate the relaxation period of a YogaBugs class (this helps the customer visualise the classes). 6.4 ATTEND MEETING You must be dressed smartly for any meeting, remember you are representing both yourself and the brand. Ensure you know how to get to the venue. Arrive early to make sure you have time to park and to allow for traffic. In the meeting have a look at the surroundings and make subtle compliments to start the meeting with a positive vibe. 6.4.1 MEETING QUESTIONNAIRE By asking questions you are trying to ascertain the needs of the customer; don t just ask questions, create a conversation. Pay attention to the answers given so you can explain how YogaBugs can help. Section 6 Page 2
Similar to that of the school interview questions (section 4) you should ask a range of questions to find out the needs of the customer: What are the key challenges / issues that you are facing, behaviour, listening skills, focus, fitness, etc? What impact is this having on the (school, nursery, children s centre)? What is being done to address these at present? With what success are you having? What are the challenges that you face in meeting some of the [ Every Child Matters agenda or Family Learning, SEAL Emotional Literacy, Early Years Foundation Stage]. What other initiatives are you currently following? Do you have a mentoring programme for those children having trouble with their emotional literacy? Do you currently work with any suppliers? (Similar to YogaBugs)? There are several other questions that, depending on how the conversation is going, you may think of at the time, but remember the key highlights are: What is important to the [school, nursery, children s centre]? What issues does the [school, nursery, children s centre] want to address? How big of an issue are these issues? What is being done to address these issues at present? How successful is this? Section 6 Page 3
6.5 PRESENTATION 6.5.1 FORMAT You will have been provided with a YogaBugs power point presentation, which covers the basis on which YogaBugs supplies its services. For Franchisees who do not have lap top facilities, a hard copy is also available. The format of your meeting will depend on the answers you are given to the questionnaire. Once you have ascertained the needs of the customer you will be able to tailor your pitch to fit. You should offer Impact and Change as your first pitch and if funds seem an issue you can offer our other services (refer to section 8 for list of services). 6.6 FREE DEMONSTRATION Sometimes the outcome of a meeting will be for you to offer a free demonstration (refer to section 5.12 for information on demo s). This gives you the opportunity for the teachers and possibly parents to see YogaBugs in action! Not all customers will need to see a demo before booking, so don t offer them too freely, as this delay s a booking. 6.7 CLOSE SALE / MEETING This can come at any stage of the process. Some customers know what they want and may have been recommended to use you, whilst others will be hearing from you for the first time. Taking into account all the different stages, the most successful form of closing the sale has been to clearly demonstrate how you have understood the needs of the customer (i.e. increase confidence, offer new activities, reduce stress levels, meet the government criteria) and how YogaBugs meets all their needs. This can be done either by simply talking to (or showing) them how we meet these needs or by offering a form of proposal. There are a number of discussion documents and proposal templates on the database but as with any presentation, please ensure that you reflect the customer s needs in the details. Section 6 Page 4
Once you have confirmed that you have met the customer s needs, try to highlight the importance of this to them. For example no Head Teacher wants to end up excluding a child from the school (it reflects the school badly) so the cost of avoiding this could be high to them. A nursery who wants to offer high quality childcare and knows that YogaBugs would appeal to their parents, would not have an issue with price if they believed they are investing in something that will improve their profile and ultimately increase the number of new children each term. The nursery market is very competitive and commercial. You must think like them, when pitching to them. We recommend you charge in schools an average of 60 per hour for two back-to-back YogaBugs classes (which, with an average class of 15 per session, is only 2 per child). For private classes and after school clubs we currently charge between 4.50 and 7.00 per child (per 45 minute session) depending on the area. As a part of your pre-opening consideration, you should ve researched similar activities within your area. Do not compare yourself to everything though, as YogaBugs is unique and therefore can command a higher price. The best way of pricing is, of course, to work out what you wish to earn per hour and then break it down per child or just offer a flat rate. You may wish to investigate other suppliers and find out what they are offering (but remember we are not like many other suppliers so don t discount to match poor suppliers). Please note you should not advertise any YogaBugs class for less than 50 per hour without written Head office approval (as this can reflect poorly on the entire Franchise network and de-value the brand). 6.7.1 OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS Below are some of the most common objections that we have come across and some answers to help you through: Too expensive / no money Could the school pay half and the parent pay half? Could the parents fund the classes completely? Offer to contact the extended services co-ordinator. Explore offer funding options with the school. In case of no solution ask when a good time to re-visit would be. We already have yoga classes That s great! Ask how the classes are going. Are the children enjoying the classes. Ask what age these classes are for. Leave your details and offer to cover classes if needed. Section 6 Page 5
We already have our activities booked for the term/year Ask what these activities are. Are they fully inclusive. If they have too many activities ask when they schedule them for next term. Offer classes during the school day. Yoga is boring, children won t be interested Ask them why they think yoga is boring. Offer them a demonstration, this is the best way for them to see what YogaBugs is! Yoga is religious Some people believe that yoga is a religious practice and conflicts with the principles of the school, this is commonly found in schools of specific denomination i.e. Roman Catholic, Church of England, etc. To overcome this issue there is a letter on the database to support your argument. Make sure you have this with you during meetings. 6.8 MEETING FOLLOW UP Having done your presentation and offered your solutions to the customer, it is important that you follow up your meeting with two clear objectives: 1. Thank the customer for their time and explain how pleased you were to be given the opportunity to discuss ways that YogaBugs can work with them to achieve their goals. 2. Re-cap the main points that were raised in the meeting and highlight the key areas in which the client agreed that the YogaBugs service would have the most impact. The best way in which to achieve the above is in the form of a letter (example on the next page): Section 6 Page 6
Dear May I start by thanking you for your time on date. I found our meeting highly informative and it gave me a far better understanding of the challenges that you face at name of venue. I was particularly interested in your comments about an issue they raised and I can fully understand how having these issues has now resulted in. As I explained, I truly believe that YogaBugs could help address the issue by offering an interactive story style activity, that through imagination and adventure could really open up the children s minds as well as their bodies which should result in improvement associated with the issue they have raised which I hope you agree should have a great impact of solving the issue. Now I have had the time to really think about what we discussed, I would like to offer a free session where I can hopefully demonstrate in person how I can achieve your objectives. I shall be in contact over the next few days to arrange a suitable time for me to present my proposal and hopefully discuss ways in which we can move forward. Yours Sincerely, Franchisee Name YogaBugs Territory Name Section 6 Page 7
6.9 PROPOSALS Why are they important? Proposals safeguard both you and the client. A proposal spells out the details of what is to be done, by whom, by when and at what cost. Remember by detailing all information, there is no argument later about what was confirmed. How Much Detail Should a Proposal Include? This depends on your client; the proposal itself should summarise the agreement, payment rates, payment schedule and general class details. You may wish to cover such things as your cancellation policy or the maximum number of children you will allow in class or even the finer details of why YogaBugs benefits the children. This will all depend on the level of detail that your client wishes you to go into (or how much you need to go into to win the business). There is a standard YogaBugs proposal on the database which you should edit as required Why Can't I Just Use a Standard Proposal? If all the classes you do are identical then you can use the same proposal each time (as found on database) but, how often are assignments actually identical? This is your opportunity to not only really shine as a service provider but also ensure that all the service expectations are outlined at the beginning. 6.10 THANK YOU The best way to thank customers and friends for their business is in writing. A letter or card will last in people s minds rather than a phone call. This shows that you took the time to write to them personally. Now your customer has a personal letter or card on their desk, unlike a phone call, this has a physical presence in the room and it will last in their thoughts for a longer period of time. People like to be appreciated, and what better way than to send a personal note of thanks. A letter or a thank you card is an excellent vehicle to express your personal appreciation. Section 6 Page 8
A YogaBugs branded "thank you" letter or a YogaBugs branded thank you card (see photograph) also works as a great marketing tool. When you thank someone for a referral the customer is more likely to feel appreciated, think that you are nice and friendly and is more likely to refer you to others. The thank you letter template is available on the database and the thank you card can be ordered in different quantities. 6.11 ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING One of the biggest mistakes made in business, is to keep chasing new business and forget about your current customers. Having put in all the hard work and won the business, ensure you don t lose out by not keeping in touch and building a true business relationship. YogaBugs success is built on offering a very personal service; this can prove to be one of your most powerful tools moving forward. A happy customer will: Rebook their classes. Recommend you to others. Write a strong testimonial. Confirm your level of service to other customers. Give you referrals (quality leads) of like-minded people. Successful Franchisees have built up a strong bond with their customers; as a result they have been invited to industry events that they would normally have never known about i.e. cluster meetings, open days at council level, etc. Franchisees have been given quality information about the market from people who really know what is happening out there. It is this level of information and contact that has allowed them to grow a very strong foundation to their business. Please ensure you place high value in keeping in touch with your present customers before someone else does! Section 6 Page 9
6.12 SECTION CHECK LIST Before you continue to the next section please make sure you have completed this check list. Understand how and why to book a meeting Understand the process and importance of confirming a meeting Understand what to take with you to a meeting and why Understand the questions to ask and why Understand how to present YogaBugs and the different options Understand how to try and close a sale Understand how to overcome possible objections Understand how to follow up from a meeting Understand how to do a proposal Understand the importance of relationship building and how to do it Section 6 Page 10