Booking a student for a private lesson
- Daniel Kalman
- Jul 13, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 16, 2024
The student support specialist should know what to do when students ask about private lessons – price, schedule, location, duration, and instructor, etc. - and help them book a session/package. Connect them with the instructor and make sure the session went well afterwards.
Context:
We offer private salsa/bachata lessons and the inquiries typically come from:
Engaged couple wanting to learn a salsa/bachata choreography for their wedding dance
Someone from another state/country who’s visiting the area and wants to get busy/social
A student enrolled to our group program, missed a couple of classes and wants to catch up
A student who’s joining the group program mid-season and wants to catchup before jumping into class
A very shy student who wants to learn in their own pace before joining the group programs
It is very likely that the remote assistant will be assigned up to 3 academies, so be very careful when introducing yourself to the student and the instructor. Make sure you tell them you’re from {NameOfCity} Salsa and Bachata Dance Academy. Example you’re assigned to support students for our academy in Las Vegas, you should say you’re from Las Vegas Salsa and Bachata Dance Academy.
Tools and Permissions:
For this task, you’ll need the access to the following:
Google Calendar of each instructor and academy programs (use our Gmail address to access shared calendars). It should have the “make changes and manage sharing” access to all the calendars. You’ll have multiple calendars: one per instructor.
A Dialpad account for SMS messaging
Access to our Gmail and crm@moversandshakersdance.com email
The JPG file of our private lessons info sheet. See below.
Zoho CRM
Steps:
1. When you receive an SMS message from a lead or a student asking about private lessons, first thing that the remote assistant should do is to look at the calendar of the instructor and check which dates he/she is available. Instructors prefer to schedule the session same day that they're doing another private lesson or they're teaching a group program.
2. Inform the lead about the earliest time and day we can schedule them for a session. Afterwards, send them the info card sheet so they have all the needed details.
3. Open your Google Calendar and make sure you’re seeing all calendars shared with the instructors. Find a date/time that works for both the student and the particular instructor.
4. Next, update the shared Google calendar with the assigned instructor in the following format:
As shown in the screenshots above, the name of student is written as Event Title. When they’re new private lesson students, the remote assistant should include a context in the title so we can help the instructor prepare for the session.
Notice that the calendar is different for every instructor – this is important. We share the calendar with them as well. Sessions are 45 minutes long. Sometimes, students will book a double session, so this means a private lesson that’s 1 hour and 30 minutes long.
When the student isn’t paid yet but they said they’ll be booking the date, you may write their name on the calendar with “?” at the beginning of the event title. This indicates that the session isn’t confirmed yet. Once the student pays, don’t forget to remove the “?” so other instructors know they shouldn’t book for that time anymore.
5. When the student confirms availability for the session and everything’s set, ask them “To lock in the session on our calendar, here's the link to complete the payment: https://moversandshakersdance.com/lesson-payment. Able to send it tonight?”
You will be able to verify that the payment went through when you check crm@moversandshakers.com.
6. Once their payment is verified, please update "Private Lesson" section in their Zoho CRM profile. Then create an SMS group chat with the student and the instructor. Follow this SMS message template:
Hi {NameOfStudent}! VAname here with Movers and Shakers Salsa and Bachata Dance Academy. I created this group chat with your instructor, {NameOfInstructor}, for faster communications.
You're confirmed for a private lesson on Thursday (tomorrow), 3/30, at 7pm.
Location: Park your car near 1296 Holmby Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024 (there's plenty of free street parking).
Be sure to come to this address, not the address of Movers and Shakers on Google :)
When you arrive, please don't knock on the door. Just message here and {NameOfInstructor} will come out and show you where you'll be.
Enjoy!
*** Gentle reminder: Each lesson is allowed to be rescheduled once and can only be rescheduled 24 hours before the lesson start time. Fee is forfeited for no-shows and late cancellations.
7. Make sure the instructor replies to the group chat, too. If several hours or a day has passed and they still haven’t acknowledged the group chat, you may follow up the instructor and ask nicely if they can reply to the group chat you made for their session on {DateOfLesson}.
8. A day before the lesson start time, kindly send a reminder SMS to the group chat with student and the instructor: Reminder: Lesson tomorrow at {5:00pm}. Enjoy!
Around 9:30pm, please send a summary of tomorrow's private lesson schedule to Danny via SMS so he can prepare the home studio (see Instructor Guidelines for Studio Security at the bottom of this article). Below is an example (kindly follow the format):
Reminder: Private lessons scheduled for tomorrow, 6/22, Saturday
11am - Inna
1pm - Inna
2pm - Inna
6pm - Ariela
9. Unusual Scenario: In the event that the instructor cannot enter Danny's home studio for a private lesson, refer to
10. Right after the {TimeOfLesson}, the remote assistant will text the student and ask how to session went. The goal is to make sure they had a great time and offer them our packages or another session.
Ideally, the instructor will schedule the next session with them and put that in the calendar, or they will encourage the student to do the group programs if they see fit. Nonetheless, the remote assistant will check in on the student to see how they felt about the session.
Scenarios:
Other times, the student will ask to reschedule at the last minute or cancel the session. If they sent the request within 24 hours before their session time, we will be counting the session whether it occurred or not. Update the calendar and the group chat so the instructors also know.
Some students would like to book a private lesson for more than two people. When this happens, we tell them that the standard pricing of $125 is good for max 2 people, and it’ll be an $20 per additional person.
When a student comes to us wanting to book a specific date and time, to minimize the back and forths, we first ask the instructors if they are able to do it. If not a single one can, we ask the instructors what time closest to the student's desired schedule they can suggest.
We want to be strategic when offering schedule options. Is it back-to-back with another scheduled lesson for that day? If the instructor has to teach a program that day, is the schedule feasible for them?
A lot of different scenarios can happen when booking private lessons. Most, not everything, is covered here. We need the student support rep to think critically and strategically while making sure that the students are taken care of.
Guidelines for Booking:
When a lead for private lessons calls/texts and schedules a session through you, confirm their soonest available time. Use the power of suggestions (enumerate the only options they can choose from) and double binding to get a commitment from them. As someone who's setting the appointment, it is your duty to keep offering solutions while directing the conversation to the desired outcome. Scenario: First time private lesson student wants to book for Saturday next week. GOOD: "We can get you in as early as 1pm. Do you prefer afternoons or evenings?" Reason: We narrow it down to a chunk of time so we can suggest better options. If they say evenings, we can suggest one or two timeslots for them afterwards. GOOD: "Are you able to make Sunday at 7pm work?" Reason: Yes or no questions are good because they require less thinking. Usually if the student cannot make the initially suggested time work, the students share their preference which makes it clearer and easier for us to find a schedule that makes sense for them. GOOD: "I'm looking at our calendar right now and it seems like the instructor has her 4pm and 6pm open for Saturday. Which time would you like to book?" Reason: Even if the entire day is available, we don't give students more than 2 schedules, except when the student specifically asks for all options. We always want the student to focus on one or two options only. BAD: "We can book you anytime between 1pm and 8pm for all days except Saturday. Able to make any of those days and times work?" Reason: The more options the student has, the more complicated it usually gets. This is why we don't give them a range of time. We make them focus on specific schedules only to keep it simple. BAD: "What date are you looking at?" Reason: Unless the student requests for a specific date outright, the student support rep should be the one to suggest schedules.
Students should always pay for a session upfront. So when you’re done with finding a day and time, transition to something like: "The private lesson is booked after we receive the payment." Even when we already sent them the full info, sometimes the student ask for the info again. If they ask the price again, that’s the only time to give them a number. Say: GOOD: "Sessions range from $125 down to as low as $97, depending on the number of sessions."
If booking was done through the phone, text them right away after the call, and before putting in the calendar.
We don't send them an invoice after every unpaid session.
When on the phone, never use the 'avail' word. It’s not often used in the US. Also, avoid the fillers BUT, LIKE, YEAH, and YOU KNOW when on the phone.
"Let me know" should essentially always be avoided. It's too passive. Direct questions get responses. Bad Ex. “Let me know if that time works for you.” Good Ex “Does that time work for you?”
If you feel like the prospect is hesitating or says “I’ll get back to you” when talking about private lessons, you can say “I’m pulling up my calendar right now, we can schedule you as early as <DAY>.” Check the shared Google calendar and confirm with the instructor right.
Make sure to schedule lessons back-to-back with the same instructors so they can be efficient with travel and time. That means if a student is booked for a 6pm session (which will end at 6:45pm), it's best to schedule at 5pm or at 7pm.
If instructor is teaching a group program, make sure that the last private lesson for that day ends at 7pm. Instructors will need at least an hour to eat/travel to the studio location.
If student asks where the lesson will be, you can say "You will be at the dance academy director's home studio where you won’t need to share music and floor space with other lessons 👌💫! We tell our students to park near 1296 Holmby Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Full address will be sent afterwards :)"
IMPORTANT: Ensure that all lessons are always on the calendar. Same-day changes should be avoided. If a lesson is added on the same day, notify Danny immediately. Reason: All locks on the door will be locked if lessons are not seen on the calendar. This means that the instructor will not be able to enter the studio.
Alternative Studio Arrangements for Private Lessons:
In the event that the instructor cannot enter the home studio for a private lesson, do the following:
Call Soho Dance LA and book a room for a private lesson. Their contact details can be found in the CRM. Introduce yourself as being from Movers and Shakers Salsa and Bachata Dance Academy and request that they charge the session to Danny's credit card. Soho Dance LA Details Address: 1618 Cotner Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025 Operating Hours: 9 AM - 10 PM on weekdays, 9 AM - 4 PM on weekends
Once confirmed, inform the instructor and student to proceed to Soho Dance LA to continue their private lesson.
Ensure that despite the additional cost of renting the Soho studio, the instructor receives their regular payment.
Instructor Guidelines for Studio Security:
Danny's home studio was broken into before, so it's important to keep the place secure and safe at all times. Below are some important info to help keep the place secure after each lesson:
Ensure that the sliding glass door is fully locked before leaving. The door can be difficult to close and lock properly, so ask Danny how to do it correctly. For the front door, lock only the top when you leave.
IMPORTANT: Ensure that private lessons are always on the calendar. Same-day changes should be avoided. If a lesson is added on the same day, notify Danny immediately. When lessons are not seen on the schedule, all locks on the door will be locked. This means that entry with the key will not be possible.