Some tips and advice in running your driving school
The success or failure of running a driving school (or any business) depends on how much effort your willing to put into it. The more effort, the more successful will be.
1. Advertising:
If your just starting in starting in business as an independant driving school, here are some tips to help get started.
Do you monitor your Advertising and Referrals?
If you do, you will avoid wasting a lot of money on ineffective advertising which costs you, but provides no revenue.
When I first started out on my own, I used to advertise everywhere. Diaries, Calendars, cinema programme's, telephone directories, shop windows, newspapers, leaflet drops, even on restaurant menu's.
I started out before the internet existed, so now include a website as part of my company promotion. I believe that having a 'web presence' is vital these days, as most young people use the internet for most of their buying. If your not sure how to set up a website, you could call adiwebsites4u or, Hooper Deakin for information about setting your website up.
There are many places where you can advertise for free, and other Instructor/Driving School directories where you can advertise for a nominal sum such as £10.00 per year.
After a year of advertising and by asking each and every pupils where they obtained your details, you should have a good idea of where your hard-earned money is best spent.
For example, in some areas Yellow Pages works extremely well and Thomson Directory quite poorly. In another area the opposite will be true. So when one person swears by one and then someone else swears by the other, they may both be correct, in their own particular area. You might also consider their internet version such as Yell.com
I have worked in various parts of the country over the years and in my own experience I have found that one or other of the directories provided much more work than the other. I also found that local newspaper adverting worked either quite, or very well. In some areas shop window advertising and leaflet drops did very well.
What I found that did not yield either any or virtually non-existent response was calendars, cinema programme's, diaries, menu's and anything unusual.
Put yourself in your prospective pupils perspective. Where would you begin to look for a Driving School?
One wise man - who was a friend and successful businessman - gave me this advice 'Monitor Your Advertising'.
Always ask each new pupil where they found your details. Also ask if they contacted any other Driving Schools/Instructors, and why they opted for you.
2.Learn from what you discover.
Which form of advertising provided you with pupils and which did not. Note any negative comments they may relate regarding the telephone manner of your competitors - and ensure that you avoid that particular manner. Enhance and ensure that you use whatever it was that attracted the pupil to your particular driving school.
3: Handling telephone enquiries
Most driving school business comes from the telephone, so its essential that you get it right first time, as you may not get another chance.
One of the first questions a caller will ask is, How much do you charge? Unless they have been recommended to you, then they would probably know the answer. If you give them the answer straight away, they're more likely to end the conversation and call another school.
When they ask about your charges, follow these steps:
- Say to them that "Id just like to ask you some questions and tell you about your training course before I give you the answer", or something along those lines.
- Ask the caller for their name; this makes it more personal.
- Are the lessons for yourself?
- Have you got a current provisional licence? (Or the person that what's to have the lessons, if they are enquiring for someone else)
- Have you (or the other person) passed the Hazard Perception and Theory tests?
- When do you (or the other person) plan to start a driving course?
- What area do you live in? (This will avoid an unnecessary long call if they live outside your area).
You should now proceed to explain your training methods, and how they will achieve their ambition of passing the test(s).
If the caller is still interested, in booking with you, give them your fees, and ask them when they're available for training, i.e. daytime or evening; and offer them some available training times. Finally, ask them if its ok to book them in at those times.
If they say that they have to speak to the prospective client, then offer to make a provisional booking.
