*rant: How much do your classes cost?

[Omega Supreme]

I hate it when people call or email and ask me how much classes cost. I'm thinking to myself WTF do you care how much it cost? It doesn't mean anything to you until you step out onto the floor and train. I could be the best instructor you know or you may think I'm the biggest jerk you've ever met. If I told you it was only $99 per month that could be a lot to you or very little but what does that $99 get you. 1 class per week? That's like $25 per class that only lasts 1 hour.

Seriously how does one answer this question? Especially if you have varying rates. If you can't afford training then why bother asking? I've even gone so far to reverse the question and ask them what they believe the training would cost. Most of the time I just tell them we offer two free "days", not classes but two entire days to try out as many classes as they want.

You know what the funny thing is that if you low ball yourself they'll end up going to another school because they believe they get what they pay for. Only to have them show up a year later and realize that it was my gym that they were looking for all along. Then they expect me to cut them a deal on their price not knowing that I know full well how much they paid at the other facilities. Or even worse have them leave my facility where I cut them huge breaks because they are don't have much money only to pay full price at the next facility that they go to. Talk about a huge middle finger.

[Ke?poFist]

You hit the nail on the head. People who don't train usually can't appreciate credentials as it is, so they tend to judge your value based on your cost. Around here I'd say 80-100 a month is what people look to pay, as anything cheaper makes you look shoddy and anything more makes people wince at their wallet. I know at Serras, last I checked they were inching upwards towards $200 a month for unlimited training. But if you think about what you are getting for that money it sounds completely worth it to me assuming you actually take advantage of that mat time instead of going once or twice a week.

PS: This is part of why Judo schools always struggle. They undersell themselves :P

[gregaquaman]

"Understand sir that we don't tell people prices over the phone. The reason we do this is because insted of offering you the cheapest service we offer preimium quality training and we want you to have the ability to experience this before you make a decision based on price that you may regret later."

[Permalost]

If you can't afford training then why bother asking?

To play the devil's advocate: how do they know if they can afford it, if they don't know how much it is? Rates can vary by a hundred bucks a month and that makes a difference if someone can afford it, and most people have no idea what martial arts tuition costs. I didn't ask when I started learning from my current teacher (fortunately it was only $65/mo) but I could see how it could be an issue for people.

My peeve when I worked at a kung fu school was when someone (usually a parent) called about how much it costs to train, and that was their only question. Sure, cost can be an issue, but it shouldn't be the only one guiding your choice of a school.

[Omega Supreme]

"Understand sir that we don't tell people prices over the phone. The reason we do this is because insted of offering you the cheapest service we offer preimium quality training and we want you to have the ability to experience this before you make a decision based on price that you may regret later."

What are you a sales man?

[Omega Supreme]

My favorite is when they have a smart phone, drive a $65K car and then tell me that it's too expensive.

[gregaquaman]

What are you a sales man?

Bouncer. But we use the same bullshit.

[W. Rabbit]

My sifu hates that as well Omega, in fact I've seen him get phone calls where the first question is "how much does it cost" and he basically says right there "sorry, I'm not taking new students". I've also seen him respond that way when asked "do you teach things like Death Touch". He's got his routine down flat, because he's heard it all in terms of the ridiculous.

He doesn't do contracts either, so he's careful about who he takes on as a student. In fact, he's happy keeping only as many regular students as it takes to pay the rent for our hall. For every longstanding student I've seen him tell a handful of folks to take a walk, especially young kids who show up with big egos right off the bat.

That said, it's an investment. Lots of people are on a budget these days, including me. They want to know how much training will cost them over the course of 6/12 months, not necessarily month-to-month, because if they're good with their money, they budget themselves.

One cool sales trick is to go presearch the more expensive MA schools around you, create a comparison chart, and show that to prospects so they can clearly see how "cheap" your school is compared to the others. That combined with actually seeing your gym in person would probably clinch sales.

[Kintanon]

I expect any school I'm looking at to have the following information on their website:
Class Schedule, Drop in Fees, Class packages/programs, cost of said packages/programs, short video including clips from a typical class, competition footage, instructors credentials, and a New Student orientation section that describes what a prospective student should wear to a first class and what that class will be like.
I see no reason why that should be a problem to have available. Then when someone calls you just direct them to the information on the website.

[Omega Supreme]

Bouncer. But we use the same bullshit.

Bouncer? I don't remember using any lines like that as a bouncer.

[judoka_uk]

PS: This is part of why Judo schools always struggle. They undersell themselves :P

We don't run on a for profit basis and long may it remain so.

[Omega Supreme]

I expect any school I'm looking at to have the following information on their website:
Class Schedule, Drop in Fees, Class packages/programs, cost of said packages/programs, short video including clips from a typical class, competition footage, instructors credentials, and a New Student orientation section that describes what a prospective student should wear to a first class and what that class will be like.
I see no reason why that should be a problem to have available. Then when someone calls you just direct them to the information on the website.

You must be an engineer (This includes accountants, IT and most tech guys.)

[Kintanon]

Yup, IT Consultant.

[robopablo]

I have my prices on my site and they STILL email/call to ask.

My standard reply is, "The real question is 'what the class is worth?' and only you can answer that." Then I remind them the 1st week is free...which is ALSO on the site.

[Apollo1982]

Our classes are dirt cheap imho.

Annual membership = $50
Monthly training fees = $35 for males, $25 for females (we're trying to get more females in the club), $25 for kids

The cheap fees and poor attendance means that fees don't cover the rent, far less the bills and our grandmaster has been subsidising the club from the time I started training 5 yrs ago. He just continues to pay the balance on the rent and the bills because he loves teaching.

@Ke?poFist judo classes are really cheap in Barbados as well, probably around $15 a month at some schools, but they get subsidised by the Barbados Judo Association, so they can afford the low fees.