Call Back Students Who Quit Martial Arts

Reactivation is one of the most frequently overlooked and neglected aspects of our business. Somehow we think that because someone is not currently training with us, that they are no longer interested in the martial arts at all, or they quit because they weren’t happy with our program. The reality is, however, people quit for a wide variety of reasons, many of which have nothing at all to do with us.

The chances are very good that many students who have fallen to “inactive” status at your school still plan on getting back at it someday. It’s a good idea to generate an inactive list to keep a record of these students, so you can reach out to them periodically to re-activate them in your program.

When you look through your records, assess how well you or your staff members remember each inactive student, and put those with the strongest previous relationship to your school at the top of your list.

Two to three times per year, go through the list and call the inactive students to offer them a reactivation special. You can say something like,

“The reason for my call is to let you know that we are having a reactivation special this month and if you ever thought about continuing your martial arts training here at [the school name], now would be a great time.”

From there, you can explain the special and if they’re interested, get them signed up for their first day of class. There is a full reactivation call script in our Resource Library if you need a guide.

You can also reach out with your offer through email few times per year, but typically a phone call has better success.  You may hear a lot of “no’s” but it is definitely worth the effort. The first call is the hardest. You can do it. Good luck!