[Guest Teacher]

Yeah I go with the no free trial option as well. Free stuff tends to attract people that want free stuff and that seems to be true in all areas. I’ve noticed that I tend to sell more CDs at ticketed gigs than free ones, for example. Stick with your gut, don’t do it.

[Guest Teacher]

Hey guys,

Thanks Rosie for starting this thread. I’ve had a situation pop up today where someone had referred a friend of his to me. The guy got in touch and asked for an hour session tomorrow to work on his vocals for a gig. This is way beyond the scope of what I do in a free consult so I told him my prices. Immediately I was met with “But my friend said he got his first session free”. Huge red flag for me so I’ve clearly outlined what I do in a 30 minute vocal consult (talk goals, a range test, me listening to a song/songs, discussing what is and isn’t working, a demonstration of a couple of the exercises I use).

I’ll see if he tries to push his luck tomorrow. I having a feeling that my free sessions will be ending soon as this has left me feeling used and like my time isn’t valuable. It’s a shame as these freebies really helped me grow my business in the first year. I guess times have changed for me though.

[Guest Teacher]

I don’t do trial lessons at all.If the student wants to speak on the phone or through e-mail thats no problem at all but in my opinion a lesson is a lesson and has to be paid because is your time what your are giving to the student,and the student has to understand that the teacher’s time is what he/she is paying for. You can explain that to the student so she/he can understand why there is no trial lessons.

Cheers,

Gael

[Guest Teacher]

Hi Rosie

I charge for all my first lessons and in my experience if people aren’t willing to pay for 1st lessons then they are probably going to be tight with money going forward or not go forward at all.

I agree with the phone call approach but again don’t let them drag the phone call on for too long, as they can still get an hour out of you on the phone.

I know that this all sounds negative and they might be fine and extremely serious about singing and doing lessons, but if they are not it will soon show.

[Guest Teacher]

I’m really glad to see that not everyone is doing free trial sessions. I charge for all my first sessions and wondered if this was unreasonable, so it’s very comforting. I also think it’s a good idea to give them a ring and just make it clear how much the first session will cost:)