Here are five resolutions that can increase driving school revenue and make a big difference this year. Say goodbye to your old way of doing things and hello to totally doable resolutions for driving school owners.

Resolution #1: Revisit your website

Let’s face it. Driving school websites are not very exciting. Believe it or not, some don’t even offer online ordering. Your website is your best sales team because it stays open 24/7/365. Plus, it can potentially drive up to 80% of your total sales.

For most driving school owners, launching a website is a “one and done” issue. However, this is the wrong approach to take. If you want to increase driving school revenue, you need to continually invest in your website and update when necessary.

Ingredients of a good driving school website

Investing in your website is a no-brainer that will give you a very high ROI. It’s also your #1 way to stand out among your competition. Plus, it brands your driving school.

The ideal driving school website must…

• Be easy to navigate
• Convert well with the least amount of clicks
• Feature simple design
• Brand your school
• Be easy to update and maintain

KISS Websites

According to marketing guru Neil Patel, the most successful websites follow the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle. As Patel explained on Quicksprout …

Something that’s sometimes overlooked is the simplicity of the website. Far too often I see websites try to jam too much information into a very small space.

The navigation is confusing, and it’s overwhelming for anyone viewing the site.

If this is starting to sound like the layout of your website, it could be the reason why your conversion rates are unsatisfactory.

Driving School websites increase driving school profit

Below are a few more guidelines to ensure that your website is optimized to increase driving school revenue.

Increase website speed

When potential customers are looking for a product or service to purchase, they want it fast. Lightning fast. Then, if interested, they want to make a purchase right then and there. There’s no time to lose, so your website better be up to speed. If you want to increase driving school revenue fast, look at your website speed.

Simple, clean, responsive websites work

A simple, thoughtfully designed website paired with strong brand messaging can increase driving school revenue to the next level! The fewer the clicks needed to make a purchase, the better.

In a perfect world, it should take three (or less) clicks to checkout. Customers do not want to hunt and click all around to find what they need. One, two, three and done to increase driving school revenue.

Add a Call-to-Action

Adding a clear and concise call-to-action like “Book Now” or “Sign Up for Our Newsletter” will also help increase driving school revenue and generate valuable leads.

Resolution #2: Set manageable goals to increase driving school revenue

As you think about your resolutions for this year and beyond. Just the idea of this task can seem daunting, so start by making a list or marking up a calendar. If you prefer to keep things digital, check out some of these goal tracker apps.

Write out what you’d like to see your business become. What goals would you like to achieve? Start by thinking about what steps you can take to make those dreams a reality. Use this plan as a motivator to stay on track with your goals.

Set sales goals to increase driving school revenue

History repeats itself in the driving school industry. That’s because our business is cyclical, meaning there are expected peaks and valleys.

Your driving school will always be busier in the summer than during other seasons. The key to increase driving school revenue is to “fish when the fish are biting.” If you know that people are in the market for your services more in June, why would you increase your marketing budget in September? It just doesn’t make sense.

Your monthly sales goals should reflect the cyclical nature of driving schools.

Establish monthly sales goals

A single driving school location can make $500,000 in one year. Don’t worry if you’re only at $50k (or less) per year though. Rome wasn’t built in a day and great driving schools aren’t either.

Below is a breakdown of a typical driving school’s sales for a single location that averages $500,000 annual sales.

1. January – $30,000
2. February – $35,000
3. March – $40,000
4. April – $50,000
5. May – $80,000
6. June – $70,000
7. July – $45,000
8. August – $30,000
9. September – $25,000
10. October – $25,000
11. November – $40,000
12. December – $30,000

So, set your monthly sales goals according to the ebb and flow of your business. Don’t make them too lofty, but don’t make them too low either. At the end of each month, see if you reached your goal to increase driving school revenue.

Resolution #3: Delegate tasks and utilize software to increase driving school revenue

Driving school owners are used to doing everything, but should they? It’s all too easy to get caught in the daily grind of checking things off your to-do list. If you’re not careful, you’ll star in your own version of Groundhog Day.

Sports superstars excel at leaving the daily grind behind and getting their head in the game. Somehow, they always manage to maintain perseverance and achieve their long-term goals.

While you’re not Tom Brady, you too can accomplish your own driving school goals by utilizing automation, hiring extra staff and breaking out of the daily grind. This will result in a path to increase driving school revenue.

Delegate tasks

The easiest way to break out of the daily grind is to delegate tasks to others to save time and money. This will give you more time to focus on big picture directives, like uncovering more ways to increase driving school revenue.

So, how can you step back from low value tasks? The first step is to determine which time-consuming tasks you can delegate to others. You may think you’re the only person who can get them done, but you’re not. You’re the tour leader, not the bus driver.

Next, start focusing on the big picture. When you’re not caught in the daily grind of operations, you’ll have extra time to act as captain of your ship. Block off some time on your calendar to generate new ideas and identify action steps. Read and study small business and marketing blogs.

Think about how you can implement the best ideas at your own driving school.

Don’t work “in” your business, work “on” it. Work on high level hiring or a big initiative that can make a big impact on your bottom line. Keep your eyes on the prize and don’t drown in the daily grind to increase driving school revenue.

Use automation to increase driving school revenue

Driving schools can be quite profitable when you use the right tools to save both time and money. Using a solid driving school software suite like Drive Scout can make your day much easier.

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However, there are a ton of other software solutions that can also increase driving school revenue by giving you more time to focus on the big picture.

My favorites include:

Constant Contact (an automated email marketing tool),
Google Analytics (a web-based platform that lets you collect data about your website and its visitors)
Microsoft Office 365 from GoDaddy (all-in-one office suite with powerful features and great support)
Quickbooks Online Plus (an extremely helpful tool that combines bookkeeping and payroll programs)
Trello (amazing task management software). All will save you time and money to increase driving school revenue.

Resolution #4: Fine tune your customer service to increase driving school revenue

You probably already know this, but excellent customer service doesn’t just take place from behind a counter anymore. Like most things in the online age, customer service interactions are increasingly transparent and web-based, with online reviews having the power to make or break your driving school.

In fact, good customer service practices are essential to modern and future businesses. By 2021 – less than two years from now, customer service is expected to become more significant than price or product when customers decide who gets their business. No pressure, right?

How to provide the highest level of customer service

In order to increase driving school revenue, it’s critically important to provide the highest level of customer service. Providing the best consumer experience will lead to repeat customers, referrals and tons of good online reviews.

Small Biz Trends says…

Do everything in your power to absolutely delight your customer. Going above and beyond to deliver an amazing customer experience increases the chance of repeat bookings; and might inspire your customer to recommend your business. These are both positive levers on the unit economic model of a business.

When you’re considering hiring someone, ask yourself if this person will represent your driving school in a friendly and approachable way. The easiest way to provide the best customer service is to fully train your staff.

Hold weekly and monthly staff meetings to come up with new ways to improve customer service. Run contests and reward employees that provide the best customer service. Offer additional training sessions so your staff knows the latest DMV rules and guidelines.

A happy and fully trained staff will lead to better customer service to increase driving school revenue.

Resolution #5: Rework your marketing plan to increase driving school revenue

Marketing has changed dramatically. In the early 2000’s, a driving school had about ten different avenues to market their services. Most were expensive and not very targeted.

Flash forward to today. Now, small businesses can actually reach their core customers (also known as its “lowest hanging fruit”) without breaking the bank. Why spend thousands on print ads? Yes, they reach your core customers, but they also reach every Tom, Jane and Harry in your community. The marketing rules and guidelines that existed ten years ago have been blown out of the water.

4 marketing tips to save money and increase driving school revenue

Run PPC ads when the fish are biting

According to Google, when you purchase a PPC (pay-per-click) ad, your driving school will “be seen by customers at the very moment that they’re searching on Google for the things you offer.” You will only pay when the customer clicks to visit your website or calls in. There are many Pay-Per-Click platforms you can use but the most popular is Google Adwords. You’ll get the biggest bang for your buck when you run Google PPC ads in May – August, when the “fish are biting” and in the marketplace for your driving school services. PPC ads are a GREAT way to increase driving school revenue.

Improve your driving school’s SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. In order to land on the first page of a Google search, your website must contain meaningful and relevant keywords on each page. Google’s magic happens when you type in something in the search bar and something 100% relevant, local and meaningful shows up. Your own website should include relevant keywords like “driving school,” “drivers ed,” “driving lessons,” etc. on the appropriate pages. To improve your SEO, you can hire a professional or use tools like SemRush or SpyFu.

Establish a promotional calendar

If anyone of my driving school marketing tips can save you time, it’s this one! Why? Instead of coming up with new promotions time and time again, develop an annual promotional calendar and just tweak it every year to repeat successes and eliminate flops. Why reinvent the wheel every year? Successful sales promotions increase driving school revenue every time.

Run Facebook ads

Facebook ads are extremely targeted and can affordably and effectively reach your core customer base. Do you need to reach moms age 35-55 with highs school-age children that live within 10 miles of your driving school? That’s no problem with Facebook’s targeting options. For a monthly budget of $200-$300 during the busy summer months, you can increase driving school revenue, especially during the busy summer months.

Resolutions to increase driving school revenue – In review

So, there you have it. Enact these resolutions to increase driving school revenue.

1. Revisit your website
2. Set manageable goals
3. Delegate tasks and utilize software
4. Fine tune your customer service
5. Rework your marketing plan