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How to Position Yourself as the Local Crime Expert

by | Offline Marketing & Sales

Setting Expectations for Martial Arts Students Upfront

Authority is highly influenced by emotion.

While your staff and students may intellectually understand that you are the boss and master instructor, they have to feel it, not think it.

It’s the emotional connection that anchors your authority on a deep level.

If there is one powerful moment in your role as a professional martial arts instructor, it’s in the enrollment conference.

While the parents may see you as the master black belt, they usually don’t have an authoritative reverence at this early stage.

The enrollment conference is a seminal moment for you to establish your authority and gain the respect and gratitude of the family you’re dealing with.

Presenting the programs and their cost to parents can be tense at times. Some parents want to negotiate. Others might object to the agreement. Some want a safety net in case their child wants to quit.

While it’s important that you are prepared to overcome any objections, it’s when the bottom line is signed and the initial investment is completed that you have a critical window to demonstrate your authority.

Many owners complete the transaction and gush with statements like, “Awesome. It’s great to have you on board. Johnny, you did an awesome job tonight. High five! Thanks Mrs. Jones it’s great to have Johnny as part of our family. Let me know if I can help with anything.”

Barf.

Who has the role of authority here? Mrs. Jones and her credit card. That was a missed opportunity.

Let’s try again. You would adjust this script to the age and circumstance, but here is an authority template for the enrollment conference.

Mom has just enrolled Johnny into the program.

You, “Johnny. You want to learn Empower Kickboxing, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. I want you to understand that your mom just enrolled you into a six month program. You are going to learn a lot of great skills and lessons. It’s going to be fun and sometimes it’s going to be hard. That’s the good part because that means you’re learning. So you have to pay attention and practice at home 20-minutes a day when you don’t have class.

Are you going to work hard and practice?”

“Yes sir.”

“I’m glad. Your classes are Monday and Wednesday at 5pm. When are your classes?”

“Monday and Wednesday at 5pm.”

“Good. You’re a smart guy. That means that you have to be ready to come to class by 4:30 on Monday and Wednesdays so that you’re not late. Will you do that?”

“Yes sir.”

“No matter what you are doing, you will be ready by 4:30, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. The first lesson is integrity. Integrity means that you do what you say you are going to do. You keep your promises. You promise to work hard and be ready for class, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“No matter what you’re doing. Right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Great. We’re going to be so proud of you. Your mom just enrolled you, so please turn to her and say, ‘Thank you mom.”

“Thank you mom.”

“Alright. When someone does something good for you, you always say thank you. That’s called gratitude. What’s it called?”

“Gratitude.”

“Correct. So you’ve learned two important lessons today. Integrity and gratitude. What does integrity mean?

“Keeping your promises.”

“Yes. What does gratitude mean?”

“Saying thank you.”

“You got it! You are going to do great, I can tell already.”

“Remember, your class is…”

“Monday and Wednesday at 5pm.”

“When will you be ready to come to class?”

“4:30pm.”

“You have a good head on your shoulders Johnny. You’re going to be good at this.”

“Because you’ve showed your mom gratitude and you’re going to keep your promises, here is a school t-shirt for you to wear. Every time you put it on, I want you to think of integrity and gratitude. Will you do that?”

“Yes sir.”

“I just gave you a shirt. How do you show gratitude?”

“Thank you sir.”

As taught in the MATA Certification program, it’s also a good idea to let mom know that it’s important that she control what Johnny is doing around 4:30 which is the agreed upon to be ready for class.

If Johnny is playing with his friends or deep in a video game, it’s going to be harder to get him to get ready than if he is cleaning his bedroom or something he’d like to leave to go to class.

Keep in mind that mom is watching this happen before her eyes. What have you done to establish your authority?

  1. You’ve provided her with a language pattern that both her and Johnny understand. This is huge.
  2. You’ve given mom the “integrity” framework to deal with any reluctance to go to class.
  3. You’ve provided her with a strategy to engage Johnny in less fun activities so that going to class is an easy decision.
  4. You’ve laid out when Johnny should get ready for class without complaint.
  5. Before her eyes, you taught her son important lessons with real world examples. No doubt, your authority sky-rocketed in her eyes and in her heart.

Look for places where you can make these kinds of strong emotional connections.

Demonstrate true authority and leadership. That will last much longer than a trite, shallow compliments like “Awesome! Good job.”

This will help your students to understand how and why they are training with the best school.


If you want to stand out above your competitors, here is a strategy that can result in you getting the phone call from media for expert advice.

To get your website to rank, you have to convince Google that your content has value and authority. The following strategy is designed to give you both by commenting on crimes in your local area. This will start to position you as the local crime expert.

It should also improve your search rankings when Google sees local IP addresses click to your blog. Be sure to include an RSS feed that people can subscribe to in order to get alerts when a new post is up.

This is the RSS logo on the right side of MATA’s blog posts. 

image of RSS feed for self defense reporting
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Step 1
Find and register a free account on local community websites that welcome guest/members posts and links. For instance, here in Tampa Bay, the TampaBay.com website has a PR service that allows posting your articles for free. You can include up to ten photos (label the photos with your article keywords)

Other sites might include the Chamber of Commerce, NextDoor.com, Craigslist.org, community organizations and civic groups, local papers, local TV and radio station websites, college newspapers, crimestoppers.com, non-profits, colleges, and universities etc…
Some may require a donation to post. That’s up to you, but it’s something to consider if you’re serious about standing out.

Step 2
Each day, look for the news about local crimes that you can comment on and provide tips to either prevent or defend against.

Step 3
Write a “Self-Defense Analysis” blog post about the crime and provide tips or resources to help readers prevent or deal with the crime in the future. Post this article on your website’s blog.

The important part is this. The news article describing the crime will provide an address of where it happened. Be sure to include that address in your article.

Over time, the accumulation of all of these local addresses on your blog make your site more important in Google searches.

Keep the article short and to the point WITHOUT any promotional copy for your school.

Step 4
Email your list directing them to your article. Encourage comments.

Step 5
Post either the article or a link back to it on the network of websites you created in Step 1.

Example Article
One Person Shot Dead in Hillsborough Home Invasion
Tampabay.com – July 12, 2016 (always date and source the article)

(Copied straight from the article)
TAMPA — One person was killed in an armed home invasion at a mobile home park in Town ‘N Country late Monday, deputies said.

Three people burst into a home at 219 Baywater Drive, Tampa according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and shot one man inside. He later died at the hospital, and investigators did not immediately identify him.

Crime Stoppers Tampa Bay is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. Tipsters can call 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or report information anonymously at www.crimestopperstb.com.

7 Tips to Prevent and Defend Against Home Invasion
by (your school) USASelfDefense.com Expert John Graden Comments on the Crime (your article)

This tragedy illustrates a key distinction between robberies and home invasions. Robberies are typically carried out during the day when a home is empty. This way, there are no witnesses.
Home invasions happen more often at night when people are home. In many cases, the fact you are at home is attractive to bad guys with violent intent.

1. Keep your doors, windows, and garages locked at all times.
2. If you have a gun, practice with it once a month.
3. Never open the door to strangers or solicitors.
4. Have a rehearsed escape plan in mind for your family.
5. Don’t fight over your property with an intruder. Let them have the property; it is not worth your life and can be replaced.
6. Make sure your bushes do not cover up your windows.
7. Do not depend on a sliding glass door lock. They easy to get around. Get a reinforced sliding glass locking system instead.
Home invasions are terrifying. Decrease the chance of it happening to you with good prevention and increase your chance of surviving with a little bit of family planning.

John Graden is the Owner and Chief Instructor at USA Self-Defense in a local town.
Phone. 727-644-3384 Email: john@selfdefense.com
Address
Website USASelfDefense.com

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