WiRE Discussions

by **judy@trainaidinc.com** on Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:16 am

Hi - I am an emergency life support and basic first aid instructor and after a long time working for others I have recently branched out on my own with my company TrainAidInc.
Sitting at my desk working out my best marketing approaches and proffering my 'wares' I am very often totally flabberghasted when people tell me that they dont need to do a first aid course !!

It is all basic stuff and most people have an idea of the principals behind it, but, when faced with it, many people back away due to lack of confidence. Is this the way I do it ? Or should it be that way ?? !!!!
There are legal issues regarding first aid at work but what about first aid at home ? Do we legally have to learn about that ? How many of you are mums/aunties/grannies ? Do you know what to do if a child become unconscious ? Stops breathing ?
I have 4 children and have waivered through life sat on the edge of my seat sometimes as I dithered on what to do.....Morgan with her head streaming with blood after she cracked a paving slab with it, Chelsea choking on a cocktail sausage, Brianna twisting her ankle in her first ballet lesson and Max ... well, a whole host of things with him. I am trained but its different when its your own!

I would be interested to hear from WiRE members if this is something that they worry about - might not be children, might be aged parents, or it might be that your aged parents are now your primary childcare option.....do they know what to do ?

TrainAidInc can come to your venue, deliver a fact filled and fun Emergency Life Skills and Basic First Aid (children and infants) session, using specialist resources, guide and assess students (and give them confidence !), arrange registration with the HSE (for HSE courses) and Certificates for all successful students (100% success rate so far !)
We are UK wide and will work 24/7 to fit in with your timings, and courses can cost as little as just £10 p/p....
We offer a range of HSE and Non HSE courses.........see our website http://www.trainaidinc.com

TrainAidInc - Making First Aid, Second Nature

by **rosemarie@freshapproachweb.co.uk** on Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:06 am

I think this is very interesting because I think you are probably dealing with a lot of hidden issues that people won't want to admit to when you are trying to market first aid courses. For example, some of my initial thoughts are: 'well I might make the situation worse, isn't it just better to call 999', or 'what if people know I have done some first aid and they call on me in a situation where I feel out of my depth'. Also there are people who can keel over in a stressful situation with blood. It's not a conscious decision, but it becomes easier to say 'I don't need a first aid course', because you don't have to explain all those things.

Yes, I have older parents, and children, yes, I should almost certainly have some type of training but I would need to be reassured on all those levels mentioned above - and the tricky thing is you have to convey those in the time it takes me to think 'ooh no, too scary, let someone else..'.

by **tanya@InnerGameProfits.com** on Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:24 pm

Hi Judy - just read your interesting post, and I'd like to add my two pen'th (from a marketers perspective!)
I took a peek at your website, and have a couple of ideas which might help you get your message across!
Rule 1, 1, 1 ,1 is always tell the reader what's in it for them!!

Ideally you want to connect with your prospect with the problem they perceive they have - not offer the solution that you 'think they need'
It's the age old adage, sell them what they want, give them what they need.

The thing is we all know that we *should* know first aid, but it's like we all know we should exercise and eat healthily. Once you're dealing in *shoulds* you're going to raise resistance in your prospects minds (nobody likes being told what they should be doing lol )
The whole thing about first aid is that you are forcing your prospects to confront their deepest fears - about accidents / being out of control etc.
If you can use case studies which highlight the fact that 'ordinary people' just like you and I (and the reader) can in fact cope magnificently and make a huge difference with first aid skills you'll create a better connection, and go some way to overcome that natural fear and resistance we all have to getting stuck in when someone's injured or hurt.

I would suggest you could think of which group you know who has a low resistance to this message - such as mums of young children, and then market specifically to them - they would become your niche. (you of course would know which group is actually keenest to learn first aid). You can have a number of different niches, and you need to make your marketing totally specific to EACH one separately, in their language, with examples, case studies and testimonials which are relevant to them! I'd recommend having a separate site for each niche you deal with, or at the very least each one has their own page on your site.

Also - first aid is a big topic, so I would break it down into more tangible chunks. So for example you could do a 'Minor Ailments Rescue Remedy' half day course for Mums of toddlers. During that, you could then make other related offers to other courses you offer (and give them a VIP graduate customer's discount to the other courses.)

Hope that helps, with a few ideas for you.

You're absolutely right - what you offer IS life changing and important, so it's all about making a few marketing tweaks to get your life skills out there :-)