The 8 Step Black Friday Sale Blueprint For Martial Arts Schools

Black Friday is the biggest sales event of the year, whether you run a Best Buy or a martial arts school.

So if you want to inject cash into your school FAST before the year ends, here’s the Black Friday Sale Blueprint we’re using this year (and what I recommend you do too).

Now full transparency,  I’m not usually big on Black Friday or holiday sales.
I’d much rather see martial arts schools build steady recurring monthly revenue than rely on one-time cash grabs.

But as long as you’re disciplined with your spending and don’t go blow your profits on Bruce Lee memorabilia and vegas black jack bender, there’s nothing wrong with bringing in some extra money,  as long as you do it intelligently.

After talking with some of the most successful schools in the industry, here’s what’s working right now (and what we’re using for our sale this year):

1) Get There EARLY

Most people only have a limited amount of discretionary income.
If you wait until Black Friday itself, you’re competing against every major retailer like Walmart, Target, and Amazon.

You’ve probably noticed how stores now start their sales earlier every year, it’s because they’re soaking up the spending before everyone else can.

Let’s take a page out of their book.

We’re starting ours on Saturday, November 22nd, beat the crowd! 

 2) Build Hype, One Week at a Time

Each week, announce just a few of the new items that will be on sale.

Don’t list everything.

This builds anticipation and keeps parents checking their inbox and socials for updates.

🎁 3) Everyone Gets a Free Gift

If someone buys anything, they get a free item.

We’re giving away a custom mug or headband, we’ll keep this a mystery, but we’ll announce that whoever buys ANYTHING gets the free gift. 

It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to feel like a reward.

People love free stuff.

4) Use Smart Discounts

Keep your discounts between 20%–40%, or use BOGO deals for T-shirts, sweatpants, or gear.

Make sure you’re protecting your margins, but still creating urgency and a good deal. 

5) Offer “Early Pay” Memberships

This one’s a game-changer.

Offer a 1-year membership at a 20% discount, or let them pay 12 months early and get 2 months free.

✅ The “cash discount” is better for the student.
✅ The “free time” is better for your school.

Both inject instant cash flow without hurting long-term recurring revenue. 

6) Limit The Offer

If you don’t want too many Early Pay memberships, put a cap on them.
Tell families you’re only offering 10 spots, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. 

Scarcity sells.

And that way,  you can also protect your MRR. (monthly recurring revenue) 

 7) Stack Early Pay Memberships

If someone already has 6 months left on their membership, stack the new one on top of it.

That way, their “new” membership doesn’t start until their current one ends.
You’re not discounting something they already bought,  you’re securing future revenue early.

8) Run It Like A Flash Sale

Make it in-person only and keep it short,  2 to 3 hours max.

This creates hype, urgency, and makes life easier for your staff to manage instead of getting overwhelmed with retail sales all month. 

People want what they can’t have, so make it limited, make it fun, and make it fast.

Run this play the week before Thanksgiving, and you’ll have a flood of cash before the turkey hits the table.

And if you really want to crush your Black Friday Sale, there’s one more essential strategy I didn’t include here…

Let’s make this your most profitable November ever.

Also, if you wanna dominate 2026, by creating a funnel of new students from your local school system, so you become the "go to" school in your area, schedule a 10 min Discovery Call here: https://calendar.app.google/4iebpmfcm547p5Bu6