How to Followup with your Graduates after class

by Ed Bernd Jr.

(In addition to lecturing since 1977, Ed has been involved with the Silva International Graduate Association - SIGA - from the time it was founded in 1982, and has worked with thousands of Silva graduates.)

Followup is very easy, and only involves a few short contacts with each participant:

In order to keep your graduates motivated, it is a good idea to call them approximately one week after the course. They always have questions, usually about things you covered in class. They just need a reminder.

Then call again about a month later. They might need a boost and a reminder of how valuable their new skills are. Ask them about successes. They have programmed for some things, and when they got results, they were so happy and so busy enjoying them that they didn't recall that they had programmed for them.

The result: We are not getting credit... they do not realize that what they learned in class lead to their success. And therefore they do not think to urge friends to take the course so they can get those benefits too.

When we talk to them, and they are thinking of things to tell us, they remember... and then they realize that they owe some of their success to the course. Then they get excited... use it more... tell their friends... etc.

Then call them about six months later, and you'll be happy to find that most of them will still be practicing... and in need of another boost. You can check with them a year later and they'll still be enthusiastic and still be practicing, at least occasionally.

Without those three calls, they may stop going to level and using what they learned from you.

Let technology help you

You can use modern technology to do this of course: Texting back and forth might be easier for them. Or perhaps they prefer social media. Keep notes so you know what they prefer, and so that you can refer to the notes about their successes when communicating with them.

Doing this will help both of you, and other people too, because - to quote Juan Silva: "Euphoric graduates refer people to class."

The more they use it, the more they will want to use it, so when they ask for guidance on using ESP in sales or to run a business, or for creative pursuits, or wellness and health, fitness and sports, earning more money, helping their children and other family members, you can let them know about our recorded workshops with expert guidance and advice on how to use what they learned in those specific areas. They are inexpensive, and you can earn a commission just for referring your students.

The Best Silva Instructors

Tony Silva had a great way of teaching. In class, he would ask and find out who had problems... headaches, trouble sleeping, etc. He would tell them to use the appropriate technique... that night.

Then the next day, he would inquire about how they had done. He didn't "call on" anybody and put them on the spot. Those who wanted to talk, he'd let them talk. Those who didn't, he would not pressure them; but later in the day, while explaining things, and moving around the room, getting close to people, he might walk over to one of the people who hadn't said anything and ask them about it: had they used the techniques? What happened?

Tony always wanted to know exactly what happened. If it didn't work, he wanted to know "so we can get it to working for you." That's the best and easiest time to do the troubleshooting, right there in class. It builds great credibility with everybody. They see that you are not concerned that they might fail, that you are so confident that you welcome the challenge of getting it to work for them.

Tony's graduates are different from anybody else's graduates that I have ever met, and I have met a lot of graduates, from a lot of different Instructors.

Jose Silva's graduates were different too. Both Jose's and Tony's graduates still had a special enthusiasm for the course years later, and they were still using it, and still referring people.

With Jose, I think it is because he did all the research and was so totally positive of it, and projected that at a level and in a way that the rest of us cannot duplicate, because we haven't had his experiences.

But we have all had our own experiences, and the more success we've had - and the more successes we help our graduates attain - the better role models we'll be.

With Tony, I think his graduates had that extra something because of the way he worked with them in class, making sure that they got what they needed, without pressuring them, without putting them on the spot.

That, and the fact that he really cared.

He demonstrated how much he cared by following up with them right there in class to make sure that they got it working for them, and got what they needed from it.