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**** The Solo Sensei Newsletter - Volume #15 ****
June 16th, 2003
Over 5000 Readers Japan-wide
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You are receiving this newsletter as part of your membership in findateacher.Net. If needed, see remove instructions below.
IN THIS ISSUE
1. FindaTeacher.Net / SenseiSagasu.com News
2. The Most Frequent FAQ
3. Site Upgrades
4a. Introduction to Hagglers
4b. Dealing With Hagglers
5. "Tattle and Win" Reloaded
6. Tips/Miscellany
7. Tell us
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1. FindaTeacher.Net / SenseiSagasu.com News
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We're happy to let you know that we are currently sending out over 1000 teachers' contact information per week. A few changes in Japanese media have allowed us to expand our advertising so that even more prospective students can view your on-line record. Of course, we are still looking for more exposure and more is on the way.
Until now, students have had to choose to search for teachers by prefecture, city and ward. In the next couple of weeks, we will be adding a way for them to search by station. When ready, you'll be asked to select your closest stations / train lines when you log in.
We hope you are getting your share of students. If not, please read Section 2 of this newsletter. And...please be sure to put yourself on "break" if going on an extended summer vacation.
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2. The Most Frequent FAQ
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Mail like this (below) comes to us daily asking just about the same question. We wanted to share this one and its reply with you as the answer may help you too.
Teacher's question:
"I would like to increase my hit rate. I feel I do a better than adequate job of teaching. Currently I do about 20 hrs a week in privates, but I would like to increase that to about 30 hrs. Got any suggestions?"
After taking a look at the teacher's record, findateacher.Net responds:
"Here are few optional suggestions which may help you get more students:
* You are only listed in 2 of Tokyo's wards (ku's). List yourself in up to 10 in order to get the best exposure. If you are unsure of which ku's are near you, please see the click-able map at:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/mapindex/E/mapindex.html
For more information on choosing places correctly see:
Section 4 of
http://findateacher.Net/solosensei/volume5.html
* Your photo looks like you are diving at the camera. Consider uploading a slightly toned down, less aggressive one.
* Refresh your record more often than you currently do (every 3 weeks). You are in a busy area so refreshing at least a few times/week will keep your record towards the top of your chosen area lists. Not refreshing allows your record to slip down the list below everyone else who has refreshed more recently than you.
* Price per hour at 4000 for a private lesson is OK but above the average of 3500 yen. I also charge 4000 per hour but do so because I already have enough students and that higher-than-average price of 4000 yen seems to slow down the flow of students"
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3. Site Upgrades
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A. Photo Uploader Ready for Use
Take control of your photo! Now, from findateacher.Net's Teacher Control Center you can choose any photo from your hard drive and upload, resize and crop (cut it to size) and upload it yourself. After we approve it (usually in under 6 hours) it is added to your record for students to see.
You can change it as often as you wish. Sorry, even though Summer is approaching, shirt-less photos are not approved.
B. Database Cleaned
To enhance the image and content of the SenseiSagasu.com database, any record which has not been logged into by its owner in over 8 months is now automatically removed.
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4a. Introduction to Hagglers
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In the last issue, we dealt with "straggling" students (ones who won't leave). This time, we'll discuss "haggling" students (those who try to re-negotiate, persuade, haggle or chisel down your listed price).
The stories used by students to justify a lower price vary:
A. Some do it because they are or claim to be poor, unemployed, students or some combination of these.
B. Some have visited foreign countries where bartering is the norm and think that "bartering" is something *all* foreigners (including gaijin language teachers in Japan) do regularly.
C. Some students claim that due to their taking "lots" of lessons they should be given a lower price (sort of a "bulk rate" - although this system doesn't seem to apply anywhere else in Japan).
D. Some students are just plain cheap.
One haggle-victim teacher from Tokyo writes "...at the end of the (free) trial lesson, a couple (of students) have said that they want to learn from me, but they wanted me to make my price cheaper. When I was new to Tokyo, I did not yet have a job and I really needed the money, so I agreed; but it rankled me that they knew what my hourly rate was before the trial lesson, and yet wanted to pay a lesser amount all along. Why couldn't they have requested a cheaper teacher in the first place?
Unfortunately, the answer to this teacher's question is one we'll probably never know. However, there are ways to defend yourself.
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4b. Dealing With Hagglers
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Here are some suggestions for dealing with hagglers:
* Never agree to a price that you feel uncomfortable with in the beginning because that feeling will only intensify over time.
* Tell haggling students that you use to haggle but have decided to make things easier on yourself (to make your accounting easier) by streamlining your prices across all students to a flat rate per hour - and that you do not negotiate anymore.
* Tell them that you can not lower your price per hour because if you do...it's money that you could be getting from another student who *is* willing to pay the normal price for that timeslot.
* Haggle back. If they offer a lower price....offer a decreased lesson time. For example, if they say "3500 is too much for 1 hour", say, "Well...I can do it for 3000 but only for 50 minutes".
* Another way to halt the desire to haggle is to make a schedule of lesson prices for different classes and show it to students during your first meeting.
Curt from Chiba says, "I make one price schedule showing lesson costs based on class lengths (45 minutes, 1 hr, 1.5 hr, etc.) AND a different price schedule for classes of different frequencies (for example, one 1 hour lesson/week costs 3500 yen/hr 2 lessons/week costs 6500 yen, three lessons 9000 yen, etc.) But it's important to explain to the student that if they change their frequency...the price will also change."
* Post Haggle Recovery Strategy - If you'd like to raise your price on a student who originally haggled you and is currently paying a lower than desired price, try the following. Tell them several lessons in advance that you will be raising the price for their lesson. However, give them enough lead-time to decide whether or not they are willing to accept this. Explain that the reason you are telling them so far in advance so that they have time to decide whether or not to continue with you.
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5. "Tattle and Win" Reloaded
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For those of you not familiar with findateacher.Net's on-going "Tattle and Win" contest, we wanted to let you know how you can get an easy 5000 yen.
By answering our survey and/or telling us whenever a school/matching service contacts you, you could earn 5000 yen. Why? Well...
As you may or may not know, schools and matching services are increasingly using findateacher.Net to locate staff. This is fine with us BUT the price for schools/matching services to purchase teacher contact information is 15,000 yen (the individual student price is 3800 yen).
Weekly, we learn of a school or two that somehow didn't notice that the price was 15,000 yen (even though it is clearly displayed three times before the purchase can be made!) so they accidentally pay only 3800 yen. When we contact them to ask for the remaining 11,200 yen, they usually pay up.
We are sure that this is happening more than we are aware. So we thought that if you would be willing to help us by letting us know if/when a school contacts you, we'd be happy to give you 5000 yen of the balance when we collect. That is, if that school happens to be one that "accidentally" underpaid.
Of course we would never reveal our sources to the underpaying school in question. So far, 50% of those schools reported to findateacher.Net by teachers have been "under-payers" and 34 teachers have gotten their 5000 yen reward.
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6. Tips / Miscellany
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A. Add Credibility to Your findateacher.Net Record
Any teacher who sends in a *clear* copy of the front and back of their gaijin card together with a signed copy of the downloadable findateacher.Net Teacher Contract will receive a small "Certified" symbol next to their summary record on the page where students browse and on their full record.
For details please visit:
http://findateacher.Net/links.html#credibility
B. Military personnel can add the credibility symbol without a "gaijin card". According to the Wing Public Affairs Office it is OK to photocopy your military ID and/or passport and send it to findateacher.Net. Findateacher.net will gladly accept these, instead of a "gaijin card", as proof that you're legally residing in Japan.
C. While it is quite easy to check the check-box that says that you teach children, actually carrying out the task can be much more challenging, especially to those new to the teaching scene.
Teaching kids requires different materials, a different level of patience and a different temperament than teaching adults. Often these jobs are babysitting jobs in disguise. You'll often notice the relief on the mom's face when she drops her little one off in your room and walks quickly in the direction of the shopping mall or grocery store. If you do not have the previously mentioned qualifications, it might be best to not check that you teach kids, even if the lesson fees are enticing.
E. Going to meet a student for the first scheduled meeting - only to have that student not show up - is quite irritating. This can be avoided by calling the student the day before the lesson to re-confirm OR calling about 20 -30 minutes before the lesson to make sure they have left their house and are on their way. If not, 20 -30 minutes might give them enough time to hustle over to you.
Copyright 2003 FindaNet, Ltd.