I Need to know how deal as a teacher ....

[son-of-earth]

well.... it's not exactly what the title of the thread is .... i know how to teach ... actualy im pretty good in teaching .... well don't get so confused i will tell you the whole story ....
im a guitarist who lives in egypt .... i've been studying so hard for 8 years .... i studied with real respectable teachers here ... and i also studied so many books .... watched endless numbers of videos ....made sure i learn things so right .... and not just be another pretender ......
well the thing is i find myself more as a teacher ... not a performer .... im skilled in understanding complicated theories and techniques and explaining them in a very simple way ....... so i started teaching a few months ago ..... and i got only couple of students .....
and i think i have a reaaaal huge problem in dealing with new students ... sepcialy when they contact me for the first time ..... i seem to repell them .....
although all i do is saying my price and the place where i teach ......
so after a couple of students called for once then didn't call back again .... i thought it's a matter of credibility ... so i made a website for me as a teacher .....
what im asking you , specialy those who has experience with teaching ..... im asking you for advice .... how to publish for myself ..... and how to deal with students when they're asking for informations ......
and also there is the link to my underconstruction site ...
www.freewebs.com/pureguitars (http://www.freewebs.com/pureguitars)
i want your opinions and notices ...... and im open to any criticism you will say ...... after all nobody knows everything ... and im welling to learn what i don't know .......... thank you
Joe

[Malcolm]

My career was in sales and my last assignment was teaching sales.

I would think you would receive many calls just asking about your class. How much and where. Just because you get a phone call does not mean they will be attending class. Until you get established and have people recommending you I would think that you could only expect to teach 10 to 20% of those that phone for information.

Getting started is the hardest part, as word of mouth is the best advertising you can have. With no graduates there is no word of mouth.

I would hate this but, you may look into being the back room instructor at one of the music stores. :mad:

Keep plugging and good luck.

[son-of-earth]

thx a lot malcolm ... very well spoken indeed

[son-of-earth]

well malcolm ... i would like to ask about your opinion about my site .... from both the musical and the commercial point of view ....i'd realy be glad to hear ur advice about it ... and what i should add to it .....thx again

[NG7]

First of all it looks a tad unprofessional because of how much you use those dots.

Get rid of them. Capitalise all your sentences and correct all your grammar.

You should also have a seperate section for your contacts to make them easier to find. Maybe in another section you could also have some more important details. Address? Prices?

Lastly you should have a section where you show yourself off. What experience do you have? Do you have any professional qualifications? Who have you worked with? Really sell yourself in this section.

That's all I can think of.

[Joe Pass Jr]

You may not like this idea, but i offer it to all prospective students.
First lesson is free. Its a good way to get them in the room with you, if its free why would they not at least give you a shot. From there you have the opportunity to show them that you actually can teach them something, and it also gives you a chance to suss them out. See if they are the sort of person you would want to put time into. Which in itself is important. I don't like the idea of taking on students who aren't going to put in the time. There are so many young kids who are sent in by their parents not because they want to learn the guitar, their parents want them to. Which in my mind is a waste of my time. I would rather loose that $25 and use the time for my own benefit, rather than waste it entirely.

[Malcolm]

Your site: You've fallen into the same trap a lot of new salespeople fall into. They know their product and want to tell the prospect everything about their product. I call this vending machine selling. Tell them everything you offer and let them chose what they want. Vending Machine Selling. The prospect does not want to hear everything about the product only enough to justify spending the money, time and effort to obtain what they need. Key to this is to find out what they want and let them have it by using your product. Not what they need, what they want.

They want to learn the guitar, that's a given, or they would not have pulled your site up in the first place. Tell them how much you charge, where they can receive training and a short list of what they can expect.

Things I'd suggest:

Spelling and grammar
Shorten the section on what you want and how you feel about music and enlarge the section on what you can offer them. Go watch a commercial on TV. You get a new screen every 2 to 3 seconds. Keeps us watching. You need to keep them reading.
Your color choice does show contrast and is easy to read. Certain colors suggest; Buy Me. Not sure what they are in your area, but, that falls into what you are studying. Something to think about.

Where and how much ----- right up front.

No idea what a professional Webb Master would charge you, but you may be better off with some professional help.

Now all that said. A Webb site will be seen all over the World. How many within a 35 mile area will see it? Your prospects have to come to you, how far will they come? Continue with the site, but, I'd think of spending my advertising budget in other areas. Something that would generate prospect from the immediate area.

Gets back to word of mouth. Perhaps fliers at the local music stores. Cold calling on the industry. Making yourself known and offering your services. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.

What do we know about websites, and marketing, we just play guitar.

[NG7]

Hehe.

I'm actually an I.T. student with a major in Web Services and Applications.

[Malcolm]

And Texas A & M says I'm a Certified Training Professional. So....... you've gotten some pretty good advice for a very reasonable fee. ;)

[forgottenking2]

Wow. I found this helpful for ME. Thanks guys.