What do you love most about diving? Is it the peace and quiet? Or the beautiful sea life? Or being able to swim alongside history? Maybe it’s the thrill of it. Whatever makes you love diving, that passion has kept you in the sport. And at some point, you realized an Open Water Diver certification wasn’t enough to satisfy your love of diving. It may have taken time. But at some point, you realized you would need to learn and experience more to chase your diving dreams.

Your students are the same. Even before their first dive, they dream of what it will be like to scuba dive. That dream compelled them to seek you out. And like you, they will eventually learn that they need more than Open Water certification to achieve it. Read on to learn how to sell more Con Ed in your Open Water orientations by helping divers follow their dreams.

Dealing in Dreams

Consumers don’t buy products; they buy dreams. If you remember nothing else from this article, remember that. You will revolutionize your business when you realize that you are not in the business of selling dive training. You are in the business of making dive dreams come true. 

Every diver, future and present, has a vision of what their perfect dive will be like. They daydream about it. And that dream is what finally motivated them to learn to dive. All the training and equipment are just tools that facilitate that dream.

1. The Art of Dreaming

Understanding your divers’ dreams is vital to tap into the root of their motivation. And you only have to ask to find out what those dreams are. At the beginning of your Open Water course orientations, ask your students to describe what they see when they imagine their perfect dive. 

Don’t just ask, “why do you want to be a diver?”  That question is just as likely to get a nervous student to clam up as it is to get a chatty one to open up. Instead, ask questions that ground the student in the details. Where are they in this dream? What are they doing? What do they see? 

There are no wrong answers. And student responses will vary. So make a note of what each student says in their student record. Then, later in the course, use these dreams to inform what courses you recommend to your students. Pick classes that further a student’s dream and lead with the value.

For example, many instructors pitch Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB) by telling students that good buoyancy will help them dive no matter what they are doing. This is true, but it’s also a very general statement. 

Instead, tell your student who dreams of exploring lost wrecks that PPB will help them move through the ship’s passages. And tell your student who wants to be a marine wildlife photographer that excellent buoyancy keeps blur out of their shots. Tying the general value of great buoyancy to a diver’s specific dream makes them much more likely to invest in the course.

2. Planning Beats Improvisation

When you teach the Open Water Diver course, you use your slate. You take it with you to make sure nothing is left out. Apply the same principle to your Open Water Diver course orientations. 

Create an outline or slide deck that you use for every orientation. Not only is this good instructional design, but it keeps you consistent. And students can follow along, making it easier for them to absorb the information.

In fact, it’s a good idea to run your orientations like a knowledge development presentation. Lead with an introduction, follow with a body, and end with a summary. You want your students to retain the information you provide in the orientation. So approach it with a plan like any other knowledge development presentation. This ensures they learn better and reminds you to talk about Con Ed each time.

3. Keep it Simple

Make it easy for your divers to add continuing education to their Open Water courses. Several courses can link to Open Water. If you are making Con Ed recommendations that support your divers’ dreams, they will want to get started immediately.

Offer upgrade packages that allow your Open Water students to add courses like PPB, Enriched Air Nitrox, Altitude, or Dry Suit to their open water dives. And consider offering a discount on Con Ed courses completed during the Open Diver course. This will encourage your students to invest in Con Ed right away instead of pushing it off.

Make sure your staff is trained on these upgrade packages. This should include training on the price, what’s included, and how those Con Ed courses link to Open Water Diver. In addition, staff members should be able to take payment for an upgrade right away instead of telling an interested student that a manager will get back to them about it.

4. Codes are King

Some people love eLearning, some hate it, and others couldn’t care less. It doesn’t matter which camp you fall into. But be prepared to sell eLearning and know how to teach with it. 

One of the prime advantages of eLearning is the immediacy with which you can purchase a code and issue it to a student. This means you can get materials to a student within hours instead of the days it could take for a physical product to ship. This is especially useful with students who decide to add on Con Ed at the last minute. And it means you don’t have to hold on to stock for every specialty available. Instead, you can purchase as needed, even after the student has already paid you for the course.

Get Started

These are 4 easy ways to get more Con Ed sales out of your Open Water course orientation. The process works best if you implement all 4 suggestions. But perfection is the enemy of progress. So pick an easy one and get started right away. You can build to the others as you see growth in your Con Ed sales.

To learn more about how these tips can benefit your Con Ed sign-ups, call your Regional Training Consultant.

The post 4 Ways to Sell Con Ed in Your Open Water Orientations appeared first on PADI Pros.

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