Patrick

heh.

Welcome.

Thanks guys. It was a team effort. Patrick

Hello, KarateForums.com recognizes one member every month as the Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. The April 2008 selection is... IcemanSK. Congratulations!

Please see: http://www.karateforums.com/april-fools-vt33648.html Thanks, Patrick

Hello, We are not merging any forums (at this time, anyway). Much less would we ever do something like merge Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Martial Arts, Internal Arts, Combative Martial Arts, Kickboxing, Boxing and Muay Thai and Sport Martial Arts into one forum. Hope everyone had a good April Fools Day. Thank you for reading and for visiting KarateForums.com. Sincerely, Patrick

Update: This was an April Fools joke. Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. In order to stimulate growth on our community, we have decided to merge a number of different forums together in order to make the forums appear as active as they really are and also to make our index page more user friendly (and not as long). The mergers will be happening on April 7. So that no one is caught off guard by this or wondering where something went, we wanted to go ahead and announce this and mention where everything is going. General Martial Arts, Karate and Martial Arts Entertainment become General Martial Arts. Chinese Martial Arts and Korean Martial Arts become Chinese and Korean Martial Arts. Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Martial Arts, Internal Arts, Combative Martial Arts, Kickboxing, Boxing and Muay Thai and Sport Martial Arts become Combative, Grapping and Internal Martial Arts. Equipment and Weapons become Equipment and Weapons. Martial Arts and Politics, Instructor Central, Getting Started in the Martial Arts and Testing, Grading and Promotions become Dojo Issues. Self Defense and Strategies and Tactics become Strategies and Tactics. It'll all happen seamlessly and there is nothing that you'll need to do, besides post as you always have. We'll take care of the rest. Thank you for reading. Sincerely, Patrick

Thanks. Still don't feel that bad, today, but have a little something. If this is as bad as it gets, I'm good.

Yeah, I got a flu shot last year, as well. I feel a little worse today, but not too bad, really.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you finish it off soon. I have been hearing about a lot of people I know getting sick, but I have been great... until this morning. I think I may be coming down with something. We'll know soon enough. Patrick

Thank you for the submission.

You're like a machine in here, Brian. You must really enjoy these books.

Welcome, mmaguy17.

Hello, KarateForums.com recognizes one member every month as the Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. The March 2008 selection is... white owl. Congratulations!

This should help: http://www.stevewilkos.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steve_Wilkos_Show http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wilkos

Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard.

No problem. Glad it helped. I agree with what NewEnglands_KyoSa just said. Ideally, I'd tailor the conversation around them and not so much around what you think they may need to know. In other words, answer their questions and don't seem like there are points that have to be made. If they have specific goals they are looking to accomplish and they want to ask you about them, they will. For example, they may ask, "I'm looking to defend myself. Can you do that?" or "I'm looking for a good art for my 8 year old - is your art good for kids?" And then that will give you an opportunity to share with them more about your school. But, when you do it without them prompting you, you risk coming across as forceful or pushy. So, I'd just let them ask the questions. If they only ask about pricing, after giving them their answer, you could simply say that if they have any questions, they are welcome to ask you. So, for example: You: Hello, this is . Them: Hi, I was wondering: what are your rates? You: Our rates are this for this, this for this and this for this. We teach and if you have any questions about it, please feel free to ask me. (I would probably have the pricing part scripted, at least casually, to ensure that it is both 100% complete (no hidden fees) and as short as it can be. If your rate system is so complicated that you have more than 5 different rates or so, I'd just say "We have a number of different programs. Could you tell me a bit about the person who would be attending?" or something like that. But, keep it as short as you can, really). And, at this point, they'll probably either thank you and say good bye or they will ask a question. But, by placing them in control of the call (or, at least, perceived control), you'll probably be more likely to put them at ease. I'd say the most important things are to speak slowly, kindly and be receptive to what they say, rather than trying to pull information out of them unprompted. Just my thoughts. Good luck. Patrick

Unless you were the only game in town/the only game in town I was interested in (i.e. if I was insistent upon a certain martial art and you were the only one offering it), I would be skeptical that approach and of coming to your location to find out what the price was. So, for better or for worse, I'd just tell them the price, even if you aren't the cheapest. If people are going to go for the cheapest, they are going to do it, anyway. They may just be asking the price to see if you fit into their budget. Most people who love the martial arts can't spend endless amounts of money on it, so everyone has a budget, big or small. But, at least if you tell them your price, you're still in the running. If you need to ask a question to get the right price, you could do that "Is this for an individual membership or a family membership?" (that sort of thing). But, like Brian alluded to, most people expect to be able to get pricing information over the phone for this sort of thing. Just like I would expect any form of teaching, instruction, education, recreation or professional service to be able to tell me what their rates were, over the phone (or, at least, for them to send me the information via regular mail or the internet), I'd expect the same of a martial arts club/school. Good luck. Patrick

Thanks for the kind words. Glad to have you.

No problem. Glad to hear it. Patrick

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you.

Welcome.

Welcome. I don't have loyalty to a particular brand, but right now, I'm using Colgate MaxFresh Spearmint Burst.