This article was written by Louise Brough, founder of The Dance Business Academy. Louise is a successful dance school owner, mum of three, and the creator of the Dance Business Coach community. With her experience managing a school of 500 students, she empowers fellow dance business owners to overcome challenges and achieve extraordinary growth, offering tools and support that go beyond student numbers to transform both businesses and lives.
My incredible team booked 106 trials into our school last month - all paying £20 for 2 weeks – no free trials here!
As well as generating over £2k revenue into the school, these trials ONCE CONVERTED into paid members on subscription (for 12 months of the year – because if you aren’t doing this, how is your business even sustainable?) have the potential to generate an extra £3800 per month this year!
This equates to a whopping £47,000 this year!
That number ^^^ would be life changing for any dance business owner, right?!
I keep hearing incredible dance teachers and school owners who struggle to make ends meet. Dance teachers and dance business owners who are quite frankly overworked and underpaid.
It genuinely makes me sad when I see amazing teachers who are ready to quit because their school is no longer financially viable.
I get it. I’ve been there too.
But I promise you there is another way.
You are making such a positive impact to the children you teach and it’s only fair that you get paid for that! Let’s start by driving more new students into your school by actively selling more trials, then we can build from there!
Sales are the lifeblood of any business, and yours is no different! Imagine what you could do with this additional revenue?
- Perhaps actually pay yourself what you’re worth and deserve?
- Invest in more team members to help you grow?
- Reinvest back into the business?
As a business coach AND school owner, I don’t like to gatekeep what works, so I’m happy to share the exact action steps we implemented to get these results so you can steal our strategy!
Sound good?
Keep reading.
Nothing gimmicky. No hacks.
Just 10 actionable, repeatable steps that you can start implementing immediately at your school. Let’s go.
1. Ensure Your Trials are Paid!
We have tested and found that 2 weeks is the sweet spot. Even better if you can ensure these are paid for in advance on your easy-to-use, parent friendly, booking system! Try it and see for yourself. When people pay, they pay attention!
2. Stay Super Consistent on Social Media
6 grid posts per week. Timetables and links on stories x4 per week. Facebook events and Instagram countdowns. Sharing behind the scenes. 3 posts per week in our members group. Find different ways to communicate the same class - new ad, different language etc. You should ALWAYS BE MARKETING!
3. Weekly Emails to Database
Consistent communication to database via email, twice every week with clear CALLS TO ACTION. Emails any past customers who are still on your booking system, and stay in regular contact with people on waiting lists.
4. Outbounding
Get in your DMs on Instagram and reach out to your followers. A simple hello/welcome video is perfect, along with a booking link, as you thank them for following you and let them know what you do! The goal here is to build relationships and get more eyeballs on your business!
5. Add More Value
Phone-calls and voice notes to trialists and existing students: Opportunity to improve customer service with a check-in, sharing class updates and upselling other offers! This will not only generate more sales, but also increase retention!
6. Run Events
Holiday camps & Family Fun Days/Open Days. A variety of events to keep existing students engaged and get more new students through the door to market to. Bringing your community together makes you more than JUST a dance school!
7. Referrals
Introduce a new, exciting referral programme if you don’t already have one, and really capitalise on word of mouth from your existing customers! How can you reward people for spreading the word for you? How much are you willing to pay to get a new customer?
8. Social Proof
Gather parent testimonials on Facebook or Google (and student ones). Ask for minimum of 10 each week - pop onto Canva and share. Even better if you can get videos! MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A HIGHLIGHT OF THESE AVAILABLE TO SEE ON INSTAGRAM.
9. Follow Up
Follow up with ALL past enquiries on socials/email/text - make these personal, stating parent name and child’s name as opposed to generic messages which get lost! A step further would be to send a personalised voice note.
10. Brand Awareness
Posting every single week in your local Facebook groups to create brand awareness - do this regularly and engage with the community (CHECK POSTING DAYS AND RULES FOR GROUPS AS THEY VARY) You are building a brand, not just a business.
I hope this inspires some of you book more trials this year and really help your business thrive in 2025.
It also goes without saying that you must ensure your class prices are where they NEED to be, not where you THINK they should be.
Make this the year that you decide what you truly WANT from your life and business, then reverse engineer and take ruthless action to make it your reality!
You’ve got this.
I believe in you!
Louise x
Louise is part of our Step Up Scholarship initiative, where we are providing financial assistance for dance schools by contributing £50 per month for up to two years towards the cost of education with some of the UK’s leading dance business coaches.
Click here to apply.
