𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝟮 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀

If you know me, you know I'm the “organic marketing guy.”

Especially when it comes to setting up school programs with your local public and private schools.

With back-to-school season around the corner, I've been getting the same question on repeat:

“When should I start setting these up?”

Great question. Because timing matters.

Here’s the deal,  there are 2 golden windows each year to build strong school partnerships that actually lead to new students walking through your door.

Let’s break them down:

🗓️ Time #1: Right Before School Starts

This is one of the most overlooked opportunities of the entire year.

Most schools have an “in-service” week a couple weeks before the kids come back. This is when teachers and admins show up without students, prepping classrooms, and organizing for the year.

No students. No parents. No chaotic hallways. Just the staff. 

This is when I like to make my first attempt.

Here’s what I do:

☕ I show up with a box of coffee and a couple dozen donuts
📜 Inside the lid of the box, I write in sharpie,  something like:

“Thank you for being such great teachers for our kids, here’s to a sweet new school year”-  Your friends at [Blank Martial Arts]

And I try to talk to someone on staff with the snacks in hand, preferably the guidance counselor. 

It’s kinda like a Trojan Horse, if the Trojan horse had pink icing and rainbow sprinkles. 

Do me a favor, don’t drop off the snacks anonymously. That does nothing for your cause.

Make it personal. 

And yes, sometimes right then and there, you can book a school program.

You’re catching them at the perfect moment, calm, grateful, and not distracted by kids screaming in the background.

🗓️ Time #2: Week 3 of the School Year

Let me tell you when not to go.

Week 1 and 2.

Why?

Because everything is chaos. Teachers are adjusting. Admin is putting out fires.

The copier is already broken!

And you showing up with your “cool martial arts program” is just one more thing they’ll politely brush off.

So we wait.

By Week 3, things settle. The staff starts breathing again. And this is when we hit every public and private school in the area.

You’ll find they’re way more receptive to a new idea. You’re not catching them in survival mode, you’re offering a solution when they’re ready to plan.

Now, if you've done this before and got hit with the classics like: “Just send me an email” or  “You need to talk to the district.”

Don’t give up! You haven't been defeated yet. 

Those are surface-level objections, not hard no’s. You just need the right script to navigate around them.

If you want help turning these school programs into a funnel that gets you new paying students within 1 week, schedule a free 10-min Discovery Call and I’ll see if I can help, click HERE to see my free times. 

If you already know how to do this,  go crush it.

Don’t wait until October.

The window is open right now.