Creative types help me please

roundthebend

Sesh said:

Buy a job lot of kazoos.
Give them to all the kids.
Tell the parents you'll only take the kazoos back if they sign their kids up to a full price lesson.

I went with wisdom for that, rather than LOL.

@Lestratcaster
I reckon you need to have a guitar there to grab peoples' attention. And offer to show kids and parents some simple stuff in 5 minutes. Don't look at the event as a sales pitch. Use it to explore what that part of the market might be interested in - ask anyone who shows interest what kind of music they like, whether they have tried guitar or other instruments previously, what they think would be difficult etc. I'd bet a few will ask you for contact details and prices. Those are the ones you need to close the sale on - book a free trial session, or agree a date/time to give them a call to work something out.

Lestratcaster

roundthebend said:

Sesh said:

Buy a job lot of kazoos.
Give them to all the kids.
Tell the parents you'll only take the kazoos back if they sign their kids up to a full price lesson.

I went with wisdom for that, rather than LOL.

@Lestratcaster
I reckon you need to have a guitar there to grab peoples' attention. And offer to show kids and parents some simple stuff in 5 minutes. Don't look at the event as a sales pitch. Use it to explore what that part of the market might be interested in - ask anyone who shows interest what kind of music they like, whether they have tried guitar or other instruments previously, what they think would be difficult etc. I'd bet a few will ask you for contact details and prices. Those are the ones you need to close the sale on - book a free trial session, or agree a date/time to give them a call to work something out.

Yes, and I will have one there. Or two in fact. I couldn't imagine just standing there talking about how I do lessons.

I don't agree with and don't give free trials, would you work for free to prove yourself? I wouldn't. Do Tesco let you have a sandwich for free to see if you like it?
A reduced rate first lesson is the way to go for me, so I don't lose out on anything if they piss off and not come back.

Anyway that's not what this topic is on.

Something more like an introductory offer, first month is a reduced rate for anyone who signs up there and then at the Business Fair is what I'm planning to do. I don't think you can gauge if you're going to progress on the guitar after 1-2 lessons.

LuttiS

Lots of great suggestions.. especially the marshall stack. Super attention grabbing. Something to take home, flyer/cards etc.
Also, maybe a lappy with your website on etc.

I do lots of trade show designs, adverts and stuff, if you know what you want i'm happy to stick it all together for you if it's not a massive job

Branshen

Do you have a loop pedal? Bang out some simple loop stuff, and that should intrigue and impress. Ed sheeran music will work better than Autumn Leaves with younger folk I suspect.

Play recognisable radio songs. That will open their minds up to the possibilities. 

Gassage

Branshen said:

Do you have a loop pedal? Bang out some simple loop stuff, and that should intrigue and impress. Ed sheeran music will work better than Autumn Leaves with younger folk I suspect.

Play recognisable radio songs. That will open their minds up to the possibilities. 

Looper is a fab idea.

hassleham

Having worked in schools for the past 18 months teaching guitar, on top of the suggestions here, I would speak directly to the school about going in during the school day to give a demonstration in a few classes or an assembly. You could give the demonstration to get them interested and then do a few group sessions in smaller groups where you let them hold/strum/try playing something. Then send the kids  home with a flyer for their parents, buzzing about how they already learnt a song on guitar at school that day.
If you can get the school to allow you in during school hours to teach then it's filling in time that you would otherwise probably have a lack of students.

As for the fair, It's about inspiring the child to want to learn inside the few minutes which you have their attention, and making the parent believe you can bring that enthusiasm out of them in every lesson. If there aren't any children there to inspire then your main job is to persuade the parent how much their child will benefit from learning the guitar and make them like you.
Make the stall eye catching with a few guitars etc. so that anyone coming in will notice you straight away.

ESBlonde

My thoughts (and I'm no expert).
Wear something stand out without dressing like a clown. Now maybe a bright waistcoat is your thing or a flat cap or a bowler hat! It helps make you memorable. Have some toy windmillls or bunting or items of interest to attract from affar. Flyers and cards don't sell you, they are simple reminders after the event with your contact details. Some presenters/salesmen might also collect emails from potential clients, this is so they can follow up in the days and weeks after rather than wonder what happened to Fred who meantime is humming and Hawing about it just now. have a simple preprinted A4 page/form which people can fill in boxes. Don't just aim at the kids, you might get the odd parent also quite keen (always meant to do this etc.).
Have your table with a guitar or two on it, have a couple of stools or camping chairs (without arms) so people can sit and play with you. Any displays on the table should be laminated against the weather!
Smile and talk to people, it won't be for long so make the best of the time.
HTH.

57Deluxe

go on freecycle and snag an unwanted old charity acoustic and do a poster like what I did...

http://i66.tinypic.com/x3bdol.jpg

Have the guitar on a stand too...

Or you could do a signup for xx lessons and go in draw for this FREE Guitar...

Lestratcaster

LuttiS said:

Lots of great suggestions.. especially the marshall stack. Super attention grabbing. Something to take home, flyer/cards etc.
Also, maybe a lappy with your website on etc.

I do lots of trade show designs, adverts and stuff, if you know what you want i'm happy to stick it all together for you if it's not a massive job

I don’t have a laptop so the next best thing is my iPad mini. As long as the school has WiFi I should be good.

As for the flyers I've free design sites where they give you a template, just need to put it all together and make it eye catching.

Lestratcaster

Branshen said:

Do you have a loop pedal? Bang out some simple loop stuff, and that should intrigue and impress. Ed sheeran music will work better than Autumn Leaves with younger folk I suspect.

Play recognisable radio songs. That will open their minds up to the possibilities. 

Not a loop pedal but a drum machine. Not the same but might be handy.

Ed Sheeran is the best chance I have of connecting with the children I reckon.

shaunyshaun1234

Lestratcaster said:

LuttiS said:

Lots of great suggestions.. especially the marshall stack. Super attention grabbing. Something to take home, flyer/cards etc.
Also, maybe a lappy with your website on etc.

I do lots of trade show designs, adverts and stuff, if you know what you want i'm happy to stick it all together for you if it's not a massive job

I don’t have a laptop so the next best thing is my iPad mini. As long as the school has WiFi I should be good.

As for the flyers I've free design sites where they give you a template, just need to put it all together and make it eye catching.

Canva is a good site for this!!

Lestratcaster

shaunyshaun1234 said:

Lestratcaster said:

LuttiS said:

Lots of great suggestions.. especially the marshall stack. Super attention grabbing. Something to take home, flyer/cards etc.
Also, maybe a lappy with your website on etc.

I do lots of trade show designs, adverts and stuff, if you know what you want i'm happy to stick it all together for you if it's not a massive job

I don’t have a laptop so the next best thing is my iPad mini. As long as the school has WiFi I should be good.

As for the flyers I've free design sites where they give you a template, just need to put it all together and make it eye catching.

Canva is a good site for this!!

I’ll look it up. Just need something with drag n drop really as I have all the media.

Tbf the flyer that came through my door advertising the actual Business Fair looked like it’d been knocked up in 5 minutes in MS word haha.

LuttiS

Yeah Canva is great, simple and some great designs there. Also Pixabay for some free images etc.

Dominic

Gassage said:

Lestratcaster said:

Gassage said:

Being serious:

Offer a 'Song in 5 minutes' based upon E, D and or something.

Annouce at say a certain peak time you'll do a simple thing- a good one is 10 songs in Am, F G

Have a little tape of backing tracks made up of popular songs, and have a 'wheel of fortune' with them all one- ask the kids to choose, and you'll show quickly

The more you interact, the more you'll succeed.

Always remember this fact;

When 100 people were asked what was the topic of the best presentation they've ever seen, 86 people replied wth the name of the person who gave the presentation rather than saying the topic presented.

These are great suggestions, this is what I do in my trial lessons whenever anyone comes in for the first time. I remember one person who came in once who decided to go with another tutor, I asked why and he told me its cos the other tutor actually got him to try to play something as opposed to just wittering on for a long duration. So I learnt my lesson. KEEP IT PRACTICAL!

No bother. I am the Content Producer for www.mipim.com , the biggest investment/RE conf in the world so I gen know what works for situations like this.

The suggestions are simple, do-able and memorable. Just be memorable yourself.

Busy time for year for you then ...........enjoy Cannes

Lestratcaster

Plan could be thwarted, I contacted the school and now they’re telling me “they’re unable to accommodate my equipment....” I only need a stall and a power supply! 

Still gonna keep pestering about daytime sessions and whatnot though.

Keefy

Lestratcaster said:

Plan could be thwarted, I contacted the school and now they’re telling me “they’re unable to accommodate my equipment....” I only need a stall and a power supply! 

Still gonna keep pestering about daytime sessions and whatnot though.

They're probably worrying about public liability - people tripping over mains leads, shonky electrical equipment etc. Solve their problems for them - acoustic guitars, battery amp, or PAT-tested kit on a stall right next to a mains socket.

Lestratcaster

Keefy said:

Lestratcaster said:

Plan could be thwarted, I contacted the school and now they’re telling me “they’re unable to accommodate my equipment....” I only need a stall and a power supply! 

Still gonna keep pestering about daytime sessions and whatnot though.

They're probably worrying about public liability - people tripping over mains leads, shonky electrical equipment etc. Solve their problems for them - acoustic guitars, battery amp, or PAT-tested kit on a stall right next to a mains socket.

I’m with the musicians union which covers public liability but I’m not sure about a school. 

Phil_aka_Pip

The educational establishment is besotted with "Health and Safety", so much so that it's almost not worth bothering with these days. Likewise the amount of paperwork needed to run a nightschool course or even to get paid for it (let alone having to commit months in advance to their schedule with no guarantees that you'll have enough punters to allow it to happen).

Lestratcaster

Phil_aka_Pip said:

The educational establishment is besotted with "Health and Safety", so much so that it's almost not worth bothering with these days. Likewise the amount of paperwork needed to run a nightschool course or even to get paid for it (let alone having to commit months in advance to their schedule with no guarantees that you'll have enough punters to allow it to happen).

See everyone is telling me to get into schools and stuff due to the lack of client numbers during daytime hours, so this comment just backs up the reason why I have stuck to private til now.

Phil_aka_Pip

A mate teaches in a private school. He apparently doesn't mind cutting his hair short and wearing a tie but he gets good money for it. Its the state establishment that sucks.