Now You’re an Advanced Driving Instructor

How to Market your new driving instructor business:

Homers Driving School will guide and support you and handle most of the marketing and generation of leads. However, you may want to expand on this.

Now you’re a driving instructor you will want to take into account your over-heads and work out a pricing scheme. For example, most driving lessons cost between £30 – £35  Depending on the cost of your over-heads, price can be altered. You can market your business in the following ways:

Price and Differentiation:

If your lessons are a little pricier than the competitions, this needs to be justified. What are you offering that is included in that price? Is it 10 minute longer lessons? Theory advice? Theory App subscription? Or a high percentage of first time passes? Or is your differentiation strategy going to be that your price is the lowest in your surrounding area?

Place:

The place that you are offering your services needs to be taken into account; this is due to the amount of competition and the amount of learner’s available/ rivaling your new franchise. Try our new locations that are in desperate need for new driving instructors such as; Wednesfield, Willenhall, Tipton, Darlaston and Wolverhampton. Over-heads should also be taken into account when deciding where your instruction will cover. This is due to the price of fuel to get to one student to the next.

Running your own business

Running your own driving instruction business can give you the flexibility to choose how much work you do and, to some degree, when you work. While it can give you a great deal of freedom, it will also require you to develop a range of business skills and to be able to work independently.

For example, you’ll need to think about these factors:

• Market research: Who are your customers? Who are your competitors? What opportunities are there in your area? What’s the best way to promote your business to your potential customers? As a franchise of Homers, you wont have to worry too much about these kinds of questions, however, if you would like to generate leads for yourself, these are what you should be asking yourself!
• Will you use social media to talk to your pupils and colleagues? A younger approach will probably attract a younger audience who are most likely to be clients you’ll instruct. Try opening a google drive and encouraging students to pick a slot that suits them best- provided it isn’t already taken by another pupil. This way late cancellations and rearrangements can be checked and resolved efficiently.
• Buying a training vehicle: This will be your biggest investment: it must be suitable for your learners but it should also be economical and have low emissions. Your learner car should be different to your everyday run around. Remember that your learner car will have plenty of students coming in and out so needs to be cleaned at the end of every lesson.
• Customer service: Doing this well can make you stand out from your competitors. How will you provide excellent customer service? Will you be extremely friendly and offer your pupils an extra 10 minutes if they were late or will you peanalise them for that and take 10 minutes from them?
• Record-keeping: You’ll need to keep track of your financial transactions, including pay and tax, as well as your pupils’ progress.
• Keeping up to date: As laws, policies and technology change, you’ll need to keep up with them. Joining an association for driving instructors can help you do this. Homers will also help you with this when you become apart of our franchise.
• Continuing your professional development: You’ll be responsible for keeping your skills up to date and developing them further through training courses, research or other means.

References:

Running Your Own Business

https://www.safedrivingforlife.info/running-your-own-business

The Driving Instructor’s Handbook

John Miller