A trial class converts when the family feels looked after from the moment they book. Send a clear message before the day, greet the child by name, give them a small win in the first 10 minutes, talk to the parent at the end, and follow up within 24 hours with a specific class and an easy way to enrol.
A mum stands at the edge of the court with her phone in one hand and her son’s water bottle in the other. Nobody has said hello yet, and her son is hanging back by the fence. Whether this family enrols has very little to do with how good your drills are, and a lot to do with the next five minutes.
Key takeaways
- Choose free or discounted trials on purpose. A small fee often means more families turn up.
- The pre-trial message decides whether the family arrives on time, dressed right and relaxed.
- The first 10 minutes are about names, safety and one early win for the child.
- Talk to the parent at the end, and recommend one specific class.
- Follow up within 24 hours, then twice more, and track every step so you know where families drop out.
Should your trial class be free or discounted?
Both work. A free trial gets more bookings, while a small fee usually gets more families actually turning up. If your no-show rate is high, a discounted trial is often the better choice.
A family who has paid even $10 or $15 has made a small commitment. They’re more likely to put it in the calendar, and less likely to cancel because it’s raining. A free trial is easier to say yes to, which helps when you’re new to an area or launching a new class.
- Free trial: good for new classes, school holiday “come and try” days and referral offers (“bring a friend for free”).
- Discounted trial: good for busy classes with limited spots, private lessons and any program where no-shows cost you a place someone else wanted.
- Trial credited to the term: charge a normal casual fee and take it off the term fee if the family enrols that week. It rewards a quick decision without looking like a discount.
Whatever you choose, pick the price on purpose and keep it the same for everyone. If you’re not sure how the trial price fits with your term fees, see how to price coaching classes.
What should happen between booking and the trial?
Confirm the booking straight away, then send one clear message a day or two before the class. It should cover where to go, what to bring and who will meet them.
Most nerves on trial day come from not knowing what to expect. Parents worry about finding the venue and parking, and children worry about not knowing anyone. Answer those questions before they’re asked. At booking, collect the child’s name, age, any previous experience and anything the coach should know, such as medical details, so the coach isn’t asking in front of the group.
Here’s a pre-trial message you can copy and change:
Hi Sarah, we’re looking forward to meeting Jack at his trial class this Saturday at 9 am.
Where: Court 2 at Westside Tennis Centre. Park on Smith Street and come through the side gate.
Bring: a water bottle, sports shoes and a hat. We have racquets he can borrow.
Coach Mia will meet you at the gate at 8:50 and introduce Jack to the group. Please stay for the last five minutes so we can have a quick chat about how he went.
If anything changes, just reply to this message. See you Saturday!
What should happen in the first 10 minutes?
The first 10 minutes should make the child feel safe and give them one small success. Skill comes later. If they leave saying “I did it”, the parent hears that in the car on the way home.
- Meet them at the door (minute 0). A coach or front-desk person greets the parent and child by name. Have the trial list ready so you aren’t asking “and you are?”
- Introduce a buddy (minute 1 to 2). Pair the new child with a friendly regular of the same age and level. Kids settle faster with a peer than with an adult.
- Start with something they can do (minute 2 to 6). A warm-up game everyone can join, not a skills test. Keep instructions short and show rather than tell.
- Give one early win (minute 6 to 10). Pick an easy skill and praise it specifically: “Great, you kept your eyes on the ball the whole way.” Make sure the parent can see it.
For the rest of the class, the coach should check in with the trial child two or three times and use their name each time. Don’t change the whole class plan around them. Families want to see what a normal week looks like.
How do you involve the parent?
Parents make the enrolment decision, so they need to see the class, understand the next step and feel the coach knows their child. Two minutes of the coach’s time at the end does more than any brochure.
- Show parents where they can watch, or invite them in for the last 10 minutes if they can’t watch the whole class.
- At the end, the coach gives a short, specific summary: one thing the child did well, one thing they’ll work on, and which class suits them.
- Recommend one class, not a list. “Saturday 9 am Red Ball is the right group for Jack” is easier to say yes to than five options.
- Tell the parent what happens next: “I’ll send you the details tonight, and you can enrol from the link.”
Don’t push for an answer on the spot. Some parents need to check with a partner or look at the calendar. Make it easy to say yes later.
How quickly should you follow up after a trial?
Within 24 hours, and ideally the same evening. The family’s memory of the class is freshest, the child is still talking about it, and nobody else has got to them first.
Use a short sequence of three messages. Each one should be personal, mention something the child did, and include one clear next step.
Message 1: same day or within 24 hours
Hi Sarah, thanks for bringing Jack along today. Coach Mia said he picked up the forehand grip really quickly and was chatting with the other kids by the end.
Mia recommends our Saturday 9 am Red Ball class for Jack. There are 2 spots left this term.
You can enrol here: [booking link]. If you’d like to talk it through, just reply and I’ll give you a call.
If you’re in NSW and registered for the Active and Creative Kids voucher, say so in this message. Service NSW says the voucher is worth $50, is available twice a year, and is for families receiving Family Tax Benefit, so for some families it takes the edge off the first term’s fees.
Message 2: three days later
Hi Sarah, just checking in after Jack’s trial on Saturday. Did he have fun?
If the Saturday time doesn’t suit, we also have a Wednesday 4 pm Red Ball group at the same level.
Happy to answer any questions about fees, makeups or what Jack would work on this term.
Message 3: seven days later
Hi Sarah, I’m finalising the Saturday 9 am class list for this term and wanted to check whether you’d like me to hold a spot for Jack.
If now isn’t the right time, no problem at all. Would you like me to let you know when next term’s classes open?
Stop after the third message. If the family hasn’t replied, add them to a list for next term’s enrolment message. A “not now” is often a “yes” in three months, especially if you send a short note before term starts. Our guide to re-enrolment for next term covers that timing.
How do you track trial conversion?
Track four numbers each month: enquiries, trials booked, trials attended and enrolments. Divide each step by the one before it to see where families drop out.
Say you get 30 enquiries a month. 60% book a trial (18), 80% of those turn up (about 14) and half of those enrol. That’s about 7 new students a month. If they pay $120 a month and stay 14 months on average, each month of trials adds around $864 in monthly fees and about $12,100 in fees over the time those students stay.
Now say you lift trial-to-enrolment from 50% to 60%. That’s roughly one and a half extra students a month, worth about $2,400 in lifetime fees for every month of trials, or close to $29,000 across a year. Better follow-up often does more than more ads.
Your numbers will be different. Try them below.
Trial class funnel
New students per month: 7.2
Monthly revenue added by each month of trials: $864
Lifetime revenue from one month of trials: $12,096
Lifting trial-to-enrol conversion by 10 percentage points is worth $2,419 in lifetime fees per month of trials, or $29,030 over a year of trials.
Assumes every new student pays the average monthly fee for the average number of months, with no discounts or fee changes. Percentages above 100 are treated as 100.
What each number tells you
- Enquiry to booking low: you’re slow to reply, or booking takes too many steps.
- Booking to attendance low: the pre-trial message isn’t working, or a free trial is attracting families who aren’t serious.
- Attendance to enrolment low: look at the first 10 minutes, the parent chat and the follow-up.
Also check what happens after enrolment. A trial student who leaves after four weeks wasn’t really a win. Keep an eye on first-term absences, and act on a student who misses two classes in a row. If your classes are full, more trials won’t help much, so check your capacity first with our guide to filling empty class spots.
Trial day checklist
Use this for every trial, starting this week.
- Booking confirmed, with the child’s name, age, experience and medical notes recorded.
- Pre-trial message sent one to two days before, with venue, parking, what to bring and the coach’s name.
- Trial list given to the coach and front desk before the class.
- Greeting at the door by name, and a buddy picked from the regulars.
- Easy warm-up and one early win planned.
- Coach chat with the parent at the end: one strength, one focus, one recommended class.
- Follow-up message 1 sent within 24 hours, with an enrolment link.
- Messages 2 and 3 scheduled for day 3 and day 7.
- Outcome recorded: enrolled, thinking, or not now (add to next term’s list).
How can software help run trial classes?
None of this needs software. A form, a spreadsheet and a phone will do. Where software helps is in making each step happen on time, every time, even when the coach running the trial isn’t the person who took the booking.
- Booking and trials: Outcoach’s online booking site lets you switch on a discounted first session for any class, and enquiry forms can ask up to five custom questions so you know the child’s age and level before they arrive. Terms and your cancellation policy are shown at booking.
- Messages: messaging sends updates by push, SMS or email, so pre-trial details and follow-ups go out from one place.
- Turning a trial into an enrolment: Outcoach’s pages for dance studios and music schools describe turning a trial into a term enrolment in a click.
Check the pricing page to see which plan includes the booking system and messaging. If you’d like to try it with your own classes, you can start a free trial.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your goal. Free trials get more bookings and suit new classes or come-and-try days. A small fee, or a casual fee credited to the term if the family enrols, usually means more families turn up. If no-shows are taking spots others wanted, try a discounted trial.
Within 24 hours, ideally the same evening. The child is still talking about the class and the parent remembers how it went. Mention something specific the child did, recommend one class and include a link to enrol, so saying yes takes one step.
Three is enough for most families: one within 24 hours, one around day three offering another time, and one around day seven asking whether to hold a spot. After that, stop and add the family to your list for next term’s enrolment message instead.
There’s no single benchmark, because it depends on your price, your area and how serious families are when they book. Track enquiries, bookings, attendance and enrolments each month, then work on whichever step loses the most families. Small gains add up over a year.
If your venue allows it, yes, at least for the last part. Parents make the enrolment decision, so they need to see their child having fun and getting better at something. A two-minute chat with the coach at the end matters as much as what they watch.
