Getting into Schools
How do we approach schools to get a Footy program running in their school?
- Leverage existing relationships: Teachers at footy clubs, friends who are teachers, kid’s schools. Get into their schools.
- Emails: Compile a database of emails for a family of schools. Can drip feed emails with advertising, availability, success stories. Emails can include:
- Principal/staff emails.
- School Emails - Generally monitored by office staff.
- School Council/Parent Advisory Committee emails - Generally have a big say on what happens in the school and fund events.
- Generally the emails are all structured the same (firstname.lastname@schoolboardsuffix.ca) or something along those lines - easy to find on the school's website.
- Drop Ins: Simply pop into the school - Chat with the Principal outlining the program benefits, set a time to catch up or leave promotional material.
- Referrals: Leveraging existing contacts to refer you to other schools in the area who would benefit from these sessions.
- Calls: Calling the school, good for following up with people you’ve been in contact with. Can generally reach more schools in less time.
- Sample Sessions: Do a half/day free or with one class to show the school what it would look like to get them to commit to a longer program.
- Conferences: School boards and PE societies will often have a yearly conference where vendors/presenters are invited.
- Social Media: Schools are generally active on Twitter so having a presence there is key.