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What Makes Your Yoga Teaching
Special?
by Harlan Kilstein
www.buildyouryogabusiness.com
A number
of years ago, a plumber was out with his wife attending a wedding.
His pager went off and his answering service used the "911 code" to
tell him it was an emergency. His discovered one of his
regular clients had been flooded out. Now in the world of
plumbing, a flood is good news. It means the insurance company
is going to pay right away for a huge bill. He said good bye
to his wife and showed up at the client's house still dressed in his
tuxedo. He spent hours stopping the leak and drying up the
mess. After several hours, he went home with the incident
behind him - or so he thought. A few days letter, his phone rang
and it was a new client with a blocked pipe. When he showed up
for the job, the woman looked at him all disappointed? "Aren't
you the plumber in the tuxedo?" At first, he didn't know what she
was talking about. But then it dawned on him. The woman
had been referred by the flood client. Pretty soon, his phone
was ringing with calls for "the plumber in the tuxedo." It
didn't take long for him to figure out the "tuxedo" had become his
calling card. His business doubled because women wanted to see the
"plumber in the tuxedo." What does this have to do with yoga?
Everything. Forgive me for saying this to yoga teachers who know
much more about yoga than I. But all yoga teachers are not
alike. I've only just begun my journey and already recognize a
difference in teaching styles, adjustments, energy level, and
availability for questions. What makes your yoga teaching unique?
It's not the poses or sequences. So what is it? What do your
students say about your teaching? What is unique about your
style? Let's say I was talking about Sara. In my opinion,
she has a wonderful way of motivating people to challenge their
abilities to go to the next level in a safe and appropriate fashion.
And if someone were to ask me about Sara, that's what I would
say. Now there's much more as well but let's just stay with
this. There must be something that sets you apart from other yoga
teachers. This is the message your students will pass on to
your future referral clients. In the business world, this is
called your USP - Unique Selling Position.
If you are in a place where no one teaches Ashtanga or Kundalini
or Kripalu, this could be your USP. The problem is, the public
doesn't know what these terms mean. You have to break it down
into simple terms for them. Being certified by Yoga Alliance or
Yoga Fit is a very good thing. But it's not something that
will very likely bring you new customers. If you want people to
tell your story to their friends, you have to give them a great
story to tell. No, you don't have to teach yoga in a tuxedo.
But I hope you get the point. |
