Carlos’ Experience

Our studio has been in business for over a decade. Our policy has remained much the same since my wife launched the studio, “All new dancers get one free trial class”. It’s been a huge success for us. We believe that when it comes to little kids, parents will always want to get a feel for the activity before committing to a bill each month. It’s also a great way to get people in the door. People see “free” and are more willing to try our classes. The policy is so much a part of our studio, that it’s just built in to our registration process.

How We Do It

For us, all families register directly through our website. Provided the class they selected isn’t full, and the dancer is new to our program we send the family a free trial confirmation. On the confirmation we add the dancer’s name, the trial date, the class day/time, the teacher’s name, which studio they are in, and lots of other site specific information like parking, building info, etc. In that initial email we let them know that after their trial we will send a follow up email. In that email we also let them know they are officially enrolled but have 3 days to DECLINE the spot after the trial class. Notice I typed DECLINE in all caps. This is key, here is why.

When our families register for classes they must submit a credit card. Once the registration is completed, they are technically enrolled in our system. All we have done is hold off on processing their billing. We will hold off for a 3 day grace period after their trial class. So they have those three days to DECLINE, not ACCEPT the spot since they are already enrolled. After 3 days pass if we have not heard back or if they let us know they want to continue, we start billing and all our policies kick into effect. We even write in the email, “No news is good news.” Referring to the fact that is we don’t hear back from them, we will proceed.

Families love the fact that after the trial class they don’t need to do anything else to enroll. They just show up the following week, dressed and ready to go. They appreciate they have a few days to make a decision as well. Because we tend to keep upwards of 90% of our trial students this process works well for us.

Tasha’s Experience

Many of the students that come through our doors have never had a formal dance class. I truly believe that they don’t know what they are getting themselves into and believe they should be able to try it before they buy it. Trial classes are free for us because there is little to no additional effort to allow them to try class. The classes are already in place and running and we just have to collect a physical waiver with contact information. I consider a free trial a test drive so we do not charge.

How We Do It

New students are allowed to try any class for free. In fact, we allow them to try one class in each genre for free. I have found that offering them the opportunity to try more than one style of class has lead to more registrations for multiple classes. If they just try ballet, they may leave or only sign up for ballet. But, if they try ballet followed by tap and jazz, they may love tap and jazz and register for both.

Jerleen’s Experience

The General idea of a free class is to draw attention to your program and hopefully gain new clients. I find that when giving free classes a lot of people take that for granted and just bring their kids with no real intention of following through and signing up. However when there is a fee attached that requires a commitment, this helps to filter out and bring in those who are seriously considering signing up themselves or their child up for future classes.

How We Do It

I rarely do a free class. This is uncommon for me. I did in the past but learned my lesson. I offer a $5 Trial class too those interested but are unsure. When someone shows interest in a class I give them the information for the class. I don’t offer a trial class unless they ask or seem hesitant and unsure. They pay the $5 fee and if they sign up i deduct that from their registration fee. So essentially the class ends up being free. If they don’t sign up it doesn’t end up being a complete loss for me. I’ve gained many clients this way.