Nervous About The 11+? Here Are 3 Ways To Annihilate Exam Anxiety

We've all been there. It's the Big Day and your 11+ paper is just hours away.

How to conquer exam nerves when preparing for the 11+

Something's amiss, though - your breakfast has gone cold and you've locked yourself in the bathroom for the past two hours.

Your hands are clammy, your pulse is dancing a two-step: everything from your toenails up to your eyelids seems, somehow, to be sweating. Simply put: you're miserable.

Rest assured, however; you're not sick, you're just going through exam anxiety, and it's something everybody deals with at some point.

Read on to learn our top three tips on how to master your panic and give yourself the best shot at success.

1. Deep Breaths

Yep, you're dead right: this one does sound ridiculous. After all, isn't it what people advise when they have nothing better to offer? Don't knock it 'til you try it, though: a deceptively simple technique has been backed up again and again by cold, hard science.

The fact is that the biggest weapon in exam anxiety's arsenal is depriving your brain of the optimum amount of oxygen it needs to function - either by stressing it away or making you so jittery that you can't even use it properly.

Don't let your hard work go to waste for want of some oxygen - try this simple strategy, discovered by students at Harvard, for some much needed relief (and oxygen saturation!).

1. Breathe in for a count of four
2. Hold your breath for a count of seven, and
3. Exhale slowly while you count to eight. 

That's it. Sound simple? That's probably because it is.

Give it a shot, though - we recommend repeating the cycle above four times, and then taking a short break before the next four repetitions until you've completed 16 "long breaths" in total - and just see if it doesn't calm you all the way down.

2. Eat Light

Don't get us wrong - food is the fuel that powers our brains, and we'd be lost without it.

All we propose is to avoid the all-too-accessible refuge of a solid, heavy meal - most of the time, this serves no further purpose than to further deplete your blood's oxygen levels, as well as making you too sleepy to focus properly.

When coupled with ample amounts of water (just say NO to caffeine!), fruits such as bananas and apples provide exactly the high-energy, slow-release carbohydrates you need to function at your maximum capacity.

We suggest a banana 15 minutes before the start of your 11+ paper, as well as a nice, green apple you can munch on to sustain yourself while getting that perfect score.

3. Raise Your Expectations

Although it may sound counter-intuitive - after all, aren't we trying to reduce pressure, not increase it? - this tip is perhaps the most important of any of those listed here.

Think about it - you've done your time with the tutoring, you've put in the hard work: an elite school should consider themselves blessed to have you walk through their door!

This test is the perfect chance for you to make them realise what an opportunity they have in you.

Remind yourself of all the preparation you've done, and then aim even higher than you did before.

The elite school of your choice is just a hallway away: stride up to your 11+ paper and kick the door in.

There you have it - our top tips for making exam anxiety rue the day it ever set eyes on you. What techniques do YOU have for conquering nerves?

Let us know in the comments below!

Two Of The Best Ways To Grow Your Tutoring Business If You’re On A Low Budget

This week's blog post was written by Jeevan Singh.

Jeevan is a hugely successful tutor and has established not just a great tutoring business but a variety of products that help students to pass their exams.

He's a superb example of someone who is making a difference to students both locally and nationally. Furthermore, he's pretty darn good at marketing his own business so if you're a tutor or aspiring tutor, read on!

PS. This is a long article so if you'd prefer to download it simply click here.

My name is Jeevan Singh and I’m a maths tutor and author. I started my tutoring business at the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year, whilst studying at university. Being a cash-strapped student at the time, it was difficult to for me to grow my tutoring business. I had to test a number of different marketing strategies and painstakingly record the results of each one, including the response rates as well as how many enquiries turned into long term students in the end. This is the only way I could identify the strategies which were the cheapest to implement yet delivered the best results.  

After months and years of testing, I’ve identified the two best ways to grow your tutoring business if you’re on low budget. To save you the time and hassle of identifying these strategies on your own, I’m going to share them with you today. Most tutors and tutor agencies wouldn’t reveal this information. They will give you general advice on how to find new students but they won’t give you the results you’d expect. It’s probably because they haven’t really gone to the effort of testing them out. At the end of the day, it’s about the results. You don’t want to waste your time carrying out an ineffective marketing campaign that is not going to bring any new students to your tutoring business. That’s why I am prepared to go an extra mile today and reveal the two best marketing strategies I use in my tutoring business and the kind of results you’d expect from each one.

Right let’s begin...

The first marketing strategy to use in your tutoring business is supermarket windows...

Many tutors and tutoring agencies underestimate this strategy but I’m not sure why. Over the years, it’s proven to be one of the best strategies and this is where I get the majority of new students.

Supermarket window advertising is kind of self-explanatory; you place your adverts on local supermarket windows. You should place them in shops which have high foot traffic. By this, I mean, you should place them in areas which have a lot of passers-by. For instance, town centres or parades of shops. The idea is a passer-by will eyeball your advert as they walk past, make a note of your details and contact you about your tutoring service, very often on the same day. 

Now, shopkeepers may be a bit reluctant to put your advert up at first. After all, they are giving you free advertising space. But to get around this, stress the kid’s benefit of your service. Explain to him/her that it will improve kid’s education in the local area. People are open to anything which relates to kid’s development. Say you will put it up temporarily and remove it in due course.  

A word of warning: Some shopkeepers will not allow you to put your advert on their shop window but they’ll insist on letting you leave some on the counter. Don’t leave your adverts near the counter. I’ve done this before and it seriously lowers the response rate (I’ll explain the response rate in a minute). You have to place your adverts on the shop window because you are capturing the attention of passers-by. Remember, not all passers-by enter a shop so they’ll never see your advert, let alone give you a call.

Some newsagents may charge you to place your advert on their shop window. Don’t be afraid to spend a quid or two. The responses are worth the cost. Some shopkeepers leave your advert on their window for weeks on end because they simply forget about it. I still get enquiries from adverts I put on shop windows months ago.

What advert do I use for this type of campaign?

The way you construct the advert is crucial in driving the greatest response from the supermarket window campaign. I’ve assessed many tuition adverts in the past and they’ve been very poor. No wonder they struggle to find new students.  

Below is the advert I use in the supermarket window campaign. It’s an A6 size advert. Use an A6 or A5 advert in your campaigns. Anything larger than that and the shopkeeper will feel you are taking advantage of their free advertising space. Notice how it’s a black and white advert. You may argue: “A black and white advert looks dull. It needs a bit of colour’. However, in this type of campaign, a black and white advert is more effective. I always use a black and white advert and get very good results. This is because the message on the advert is clear. Too many colours/designs can distract the reader from the main message:

Let’s have a look at those 4 key areas I’ve highlighted on my advert:

1.     Headline – the most important area of your advert. The headline is 80% of your advert. If you don’t get this right, you’ve lost the reader from the outset. You only have a split-second to capture the reader’s attention as they walk past the shop so you have to accentuate the headline. Use a big, bold heading. It spells-out to the reader what you’re offering; in my case – MATHS TUITION. It will immediately grab the attention of somebody who is looking for a maths tutor, stop them in their tracks and encourage them to read on.

2.     Benefit-driven bullet points – the next part of the advert ‘sells your service’. List the benefits of your service in a bullet-point fashion. Don’t list the features. Features talk about your service. Benefits explain how it will benefit the customer. For instance, don’t say “we have a 100% success rate”. Add... “So your child will achieve their target grade”. This reminds the reader what your service will do for them. Use ‘You’ a lot in your copy because it’s all about them. Not you!

3.     Scarcity – the last bullet-point is known as scarcity. People lead busy lifestyles so they may forget to call you later on. That’s why it’s important to use scarcity. By giving the impression that resources or availability is limited; in this case, “we can only take on 2 more students this term” forces the reader to act then and there.

4.     Call-to-action (CTA) – Scarcity is usually followed by a call-to-action. Believe it or not, most advertisers get this bit wrong. They explain how good their service is but fail to instruct the reader on what to do next. It would be a big shame to get the reader this far, only to leave them guessing what to do next. You have to tell the reader exactly what you want them to do. Spell it out to them: “Get in Touch Today”. This is followed by your contact details. Over the years, I’ve found parents like to call you because they want to hear ‘a voice’ behind the advert. Thus, make sure you include a contact number!

What results should you expect from this type of campaign?

A supermarket campaign usually results in a 20% response rate. This means, if you were to place your ad in as little as 10 shops, you should get 2 responses over time. This is a fairly high response rate considering the work and cost involved. Creating an A6 postcard is cheap to do (you can create a basic advert for free on Word) and posting it in 10 shops should take you around 20 minutes, if you choose parades of shops.

If you would like an electronic copy of all my ready-made adverts, please visit my website: www.marketingfortutors.co.uk

When you get enquiries, make sure you ask the parent where they saw your advert. This is important because you’ll see what shops generate the greatest response rate. It may be that a particular shop does not have many competing-adverts on their window and that’s why you get a greater response. You should revisit these shops on a consistent basis and put your ad on their windows to generate a regular flow of leads.

That is the first marketing strategy to use in your tutoring business so what is the second?...  Referrals!

Again, many tutors and tutoring agencies underestimate the power of referrals. It is one of the best marketing strategies because it costs you virtually nothing and the work is carried out by someone else, usually by your existing student.

People are very skeptical when it comes to purchasing goods and services. I guess it’s due to all of the scams that are floating around these days. Parents are even more skeptical when it comes to choosing a tutor for their child because if they choose the wrong person, not only will their time and money will be wasted, but their kid’s exam results and future will be in jeopardy.

This is where referrals can be very powerful. By encouraging your students to recommend your service to their friends/family, you seriously lower their resistance. You don’t have to convince the prospective parent that you’re the right tutor to go with. Your existing student will do all the convincing for you. Parents prefer to go with someone who has been ‘tried and tested’. Also, it reduces the effort on their part because they don’t have to actively look for a tutor. As I said before, people live busy lives and prefer if things were handed to them.

Don’t expect your students to recommend you to their friends/family on a consistent basis. You have to remind them from time to time and provide them with incentives. For instance, reduce their tuition fees if they can bring a new student to your business. Or, offer a free session after a set number of sessions with the referred student.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for your existing students to recommend you to their friends/family. Social platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook make it very easy for students to ‘spread-the-word’. I’d advise you to create a Facebook Page for your tutoring service. Interact with your students on Facebook so they’re inclined to like/share your posts. When they like/share a post, all of their friends see it too. Hence, benefitting from viral marketing.

So what kind of results do you expect from referrals?

Personal analysis has shown that 10% of leads will arise, solely through referrals. For instance, if you manage to get 20 enquiries from supermarket window adverts, an additional 2 enquiries will come from referrals. Even individuals, who enquire about your service and don’t go with you in the end, will still recommend you to their friends/family. How great is that!

Why conversion rate is more important than response rate...

Although the number of responses from referrals won’t be as high as supermarket postcards, they’ll convert into long-term students at a higher rate. The conversion rate is different to the response rate and it means, out of all the responses you get, what percentage of those will become long-term students in the end. Referred parents/students usually convert at a 50% rate. Using the example on the previous page, out of the 2 enquiries I get through referrals, 1 of them will become a long-term student of mine. This is due to the reasons I mentioned in the previous section; parents/student are less resistant to services recommended by their friends and they will naturally go for products or services which have been ‘tried and tested’.

On the other hand, ‘cold’ parents who enquire about your service after seeing your advert in a shop window, will take a lot more convincing. Remember, the purpose of the advert is just to drive a response i.e. to encourage them to contact you. But, you’re only halfway there. You still need to ‘sell yourself’ to the parent and convince them that you’re the right tutor to go with. What I’ve found in the past is parents who come via the supermarket window route won’t have a single tutor on their radar. They’ll carry out a bit of research and have a handful of tutors and tuition centres on their shortlist. This means your conversion process has to be strong in order to convince the parent you are the best option.

When this happens, I usually send over a 20-page pre-sell document to the parent, reiterating the benefits of my service. It’s important to get this message across as soon as possible or the parents will not take you seriously and go with a nearby competitor. It took some time to perfect this document but nowadays, every time I send it to a prospective parent, it blows all of my local rivals out of the water. If you would like to use the same report in your tutoring service, head over to my website: www.marketingfortutors.co.uk

The Tutoress is a Young Entrepreneur of The Year Finalist at the 9th Annual Precious Awards

The Precious Awards were founded to recognise and support women of colour in the business and work environment and create role models for future generations to follow.

Founded by Foluke Akinlose in 2007, the awards aim to create "a world where women of colour are visible, valued, recognised and influential in all areas of business, public and corporate life. And where girls and women of colour have no ceilings to their dreams."

The goal of supporting and encouraging the work of women of colour is close to the heart of our team here at The Tutoress and it's something that is of particular importance to Miss Olubi.

We're proud and happy to be amongst a list of incredibly accomplished women and we're keeping our fingers crossed for Thursday when the winner will be announced at a ceremony in London.

For more information please visit Precious Awards.

Does Your Child Need To Be a Genius To Win a Place at a Top School?

                Does your child need to be a genius to win a place at a top school?

If you'd love to see your child win a place at a prestigious British secondary school, read on...

One thing that many parents, teachers and tutors fail to realise is that the best schools aren't just assessing a child's intelligence when determining whether that child should or shouldn't obtain a place at a particular school.

The best schools are actually looking for something that is beyond intelligence. This is a great thing for both parents and children because it means that in essence, your child doesn't need to be Einstein or a member of MENSA to win a place. 

The fact that they're looking for something beyond intelligence gives your child an even playing field when competing with children who may have had more tuition, read more books or are in some way more advantaged than your child.

So what is the 'thing' that's beyond intelligence?

Potential. Potential demonstrates to a school that your child might not be 100% there but they have the ability to be superb if given the chance. 

How can your child demonstrate potential or improve their potential? 
They can do the following:

• Develop a true passion for learning and a desire to expand their mind.
• Be well-travelled, well-cultured and well-mannered. This is particularly important if your child is applying to schools that have interviews as part of the entrance process.
• Foster a great personality. Is your child quiet but confident, polite yet slightly assertive, kind yet strong-willed? These are some of the unique attributes that schools are looking for in their pupils.

As a leading 11+ tutor, I've spoken to hundreds of parents and I've taught hundreds of children. I've carefully observed the differences between the students that pass and those that don't. I know for a fact that the very children who "seem" to be high-flyers don't necessarily do well in the 11+ nor do they always receive offers for the best schools.

If you truly want your child to succeed, you have to encourage them to be well-rounded, incredibly hard-working and to retain their own individual identity,

The most elite schools assess a wide variety of traits which is why it's important that you follow the advice that's set out in this article.

Now, here's your homework for this week:
Think of 3 ways in which your child can improve their potential.

What can you do to help them to possess and demonstrate it? 

Be creative and jot down ideas, create a mind-map or spider diagram with your child. 

PS. If you'd like your child to receive tuition with me personally, join our waiting list or take a look at our next course.

Here's to your child's success!

The Tutoress.

What Happens After The Grammar School Exams?

Now that we're half way through September, thousands of children who sat the grammar school entrance exams will have finished the 11+ process and will be moving on to preparing for the 2016 SATs exam.

Although it might seem like a great time to breath a sigh of relief, unwind and avoid doing any form of studying,  this might actually be the time to think about your child's next steps.

These include:

How to help your child after they've sat the 11+ grammar school exams.

• Getting ready for the 2016 SATs exam.
• Sitting the independent school exams in December/January.
• Maintaining your child's academic progress so that they don't slip.

Whilst it's easy for both parents and children to become complacent, it's actually crucial that you make a conscious choice to keep your child's academic future in mind.

In doing so you'll be teaching your child a very positive message:

Life doesn't reward complacency. Click To Tweet!

Don't get me wrong, it's great to give your child a break (and after the 11+ process, they certainly deserve one), but it's also important to ensure that the break that they have is scheduled and purposeful.

I personally recommend giving your child 4 weeks off after the 11+ exam so that they can have as much fun as possible. Then, after those 4 weeks have passed, encourage them to go back to their usual 11+ preparation routine or a routine that's similar.

Communication is vital so it's important that you communicate to your child; tell them that they will have a 4 week break after the 11+ exam to have fun and unwind, but after those 4 weeks have passed, they will return to their usual routine.

During the 4 week break your child can engage in a variety of activities, make friends or go on holiday. Reward them for the hard-work that they've done over the past few months/years and remind them that no matter how they do in the 11+, you'll still love and adore them.

After their break, start focusing on your child's next big goal. For instance, if they're planning to sit the independent school exams in late 2015 or early 2016, create a revision time table for them. You may also consider hiring a tutor to help with preparing for the exam.

If your child isn't sitting any more entrance exams, start preparing them for the KS2 SATs or simply give them work that is of 11+ standard or higher so that they don't forget what they learnt during the 11+ exam process.

As always, stay positive, enthusiastic and loving. Encourage your child to do their best and continue to be their biggest source of support.

I hope these tips were helpful! If you liked them, leave a comment below sharing your favourite tip.

Here's to your child's happiness and success!

Victoria.

Founder, TheTutoress.com.