As site hosts, StudyGate’s job is to bring the traffic onto the website and engineer the user experience to work as smooth as possible. Once you become a tutor, your role is to establish solid connections with our students.
We want you to be able to focus on the earning process as much as possible, and we’re also bootstrappers. We operate in an environment where things aren’t handed to us, but we go out and claim them for ourselves. The most successful first users on SG will excel in their chosen subject area. Also critical, they will know how to sell.
As a classically trained musician, I’ve always thought of sales as a dirty word associated with selling cars and red light districts. Jim is selling his 1995 Ford Taurus on Craigslist with only 50,000 miles. This Amsterdam coffee shop is selling $10 space brownies. Since getting into education services as a textbook editor 10 years ago, I’ve slowly grown to appreciate the power of a good salesperson.
Sales isn’t scamming or selling covert products. Sales is about anticipating the needs of others.
So what makes a StudyGate tutor? What is a salesperson? I think they are one and the same–a talented communicator who understands what the student is looking for and responds with a useful solution. If a student is worried about getting quick homework help, a successful tutor will move quickly. If a parent is concerned about getting their son or daughter connected with a thorough subject expert, the tutor seeks to ensure the pairing is a good fit before making an offer.
Above all, a successful tutor asks good questions. As this site continues to grow, I recommend the following tactics to maximize opportunity:
Tutoring Tips #1
Message students before making an offer, especially if the information is unclear.
Something like “Hi, I saw your post and wanted to make a bid. Is this Q still open?” lets you gauge how quickly the student is looking to move and whether they really want to work with you.
Tutoring Tips #2
Keep messaging simple.
Don’t get elaborate talking about your awesomeness. Do try and guess what is needed. Starting sentences with “It looks like you need help with . . .” or “It seems to me that . . .” followed by “Have I got that right?” show you care about solving the problem.
Tutoring Tips #3
Keep it professional with good grammar.
Emojis are also cool, especially since 3 years of age difference is already enough to make a generational disconnect. But remember this is a client. If there is a dispute, you’ll want to be able to respond objectively without the “friend” tag.
So that’s it! Sales is all about front-end time to concisely address the student’s concerns. For more tutoring tips, check out our comprehensive guide on how to market yourself to students.