Because of this we would like to share some of our expertise with you to enable you to start work as a successful private tutor. Alternatively this guide can help exsisting tutors on how to improve their tutoring service so it will go from strength to strength. This is only a guideline but we hope it will help you. This guide is primarily targeted at those wishing to offer academic tutoring, however most of the guide applies equally well to those of you wishing to tutor non-academic/vocational subjects such as alternative therapies etc.

Advice For Tutors Preparing For The First Private Tutoring Consulation And Private Tuition Lesson

Potential Enquiries From Students Who Are Interested In Your Service

In order to sell your private tuition service well it is advisable that you get across your key points to prospective students. That five minute initial conversation or e-mail can determine whether a tuition lead is to be successful.

Prepare Ahead For Initial Contact From Students

From experience as private tutors, we advise that you have a copy of key points about the private tutoring that you offer prepared in advance. Have this to hand at the side of the telephone. If you use e-mail, have a prepared drafted e-mail to send to potential tutees. For telephone conversations it is advisable to draft two separate sheets. One called Tutors Details Sheet and another called Students Details Sheet. These are laid out below and should include the following brief points:-

The Tutors Details Sheet

Prepare a sheet with the key points to include in your telephone conversation :- about your service

• Your private tutoring experience or teaching experience
  
• Your qualifications
• Where you are based
• Your private tuition fees
• Your private tutoring terms of service including cancellation fees

The Student Details Sheet

Have another sheet prepared for the initial enquiry by the student which you can fill in during the telephone conversation listing the following :-

• Name of the student
  
• Subjects that student requires private tuition for
• Level of tuition required
• Syllabus studies
• Areas of difficulty or weakness
• Previous grades
• School or college attended
• Venue of tuition
• Phone number of student
• Address of student
• Where student saw your private tuition advertisement
• Time and date for tutoring consultation

What to Say When A Tutee Contacts You For Private Tuition

Before the initial meeting you will need to carry out the following :-

• Acknowledge, that you are the tutor that the enquirer wishes to speak to, speaking slowly and clearly.
  
• Try not to ask too many questions to the prospective student straight away. Let the caller introduce themselves and volunteer the information, filling in the above prepared sheet of student details.
• Tell them about your service, experience and qualifications, clearly stating your terms of service.
• Ask the student any further questions from the student's details sheet.
• Ask the parent, student or guardian if they require any further information that has not been covered on the above tutor details sheet or student's detail sheet
• At the end of the conversation the student may be interested in arranging an initial meeting.If this is the case arrange an initial tutoring meeting /consultation with the student and exchange contact details.

As tutors ourselves we would advise that unless you are meeting with a mature student to discuss tuition, that you clarify that you meet with both parent and student at the first meeting.

Half of the time that you receive tutoring enquiries, you will find that the student is just making an initial enquiry. However do not be offended or put off by this because more than often you will find that the parent or student calls back within a few days or weeks. This is why you need keep a record of this so that it can save time later because you do not have to go through the same conversation again.

Preparation For Your Initial Private Tuition Meeting

• Research the syllabus and relevant books. As you become more experienced with a particular syllabus, subject or topic you will find that you may not need do this on every occasion although it always pays to be prepared.
• Make a list of questions that you have overlooked in the first conversation with the student.
• Make a list of all topics and areas of curriculum that you need to tutor the student.

The Day of The Private Tuition Consultation

As a private tutor be prepared well in advance for the initial tutoring consultation. You will therefore need :-

• Three copies of the syllabus. One for the student, one for the parent and one for yourself. As a private tutor you will be surprised how often that parents and students are not familiar with the syllabus requirements.
• The list of topics that you have prepared in the last section.
• Diary - to write down appointment times for tutoring sessions.
• Business cards - We always give a minimum of three business cards at the initial meeting. This is to ensure that the student will be less likely to loose our number. You will also find that often these private tuition business cards are passed on to other other potential students by the parent or students if they are happy with your private tuition service.
• Private tuition credentials - Such as references, evidence of qualifications and CRB checks.
• The student's details sheet (see above), so you have all the information at hand.
• Spare paper and pens.
• Dress so that you look smart and professional. - As the old adage says "first impressions count" so try not dress too casually, show that you are a professional private tutor !
• If you are providing private tuition sessions at the student's home, leave yourself plenty of time to get there. There is nothing worse than turning up late to a first meeting.
• Alternatively if you are providing private tuition from your office or home, make sure it is clean and tidy.

At The Private Tutoring Meeting

As a private tutor you need to be prepared well in advance of the initial tutoring consultation. You will therefore need to carry out the following :-

• Try to feel relaxed and not too nervous. If you are a nervous person, you will find that after conducting many initial private tutoring meetings that this will subside. Remember the people you are meeting are human too!
• Introduce yourself and shake the hand of the parent or student.
• Break the ice by making a little small talk. You will find after this that the meeting will go well.
• Present a copy of the syllabus to the student and parent. Ask the student how they find each topic as you go through the list of topics on that syllabus and the topics sheet you have prepared. Mark off on the topics sheet any areas, that the student does not fully understand or feel confident about.
• Ask the student their previous EMS marks and examination grades. It will help if the student has their examination slips to hand or school report for younger children. Again make any notes of these.
• When you have a list of areas of weakness and grades needed, give a brief overview of what you will cover with the student in the private tuition lessons. We also advise that you offer to liaise with the parent or guardian regarding the progress of the student. This will allow any problems to be addressed early. The frequency of these updates must be agreed between yourself and the parent. After each weekly lesson is probably to often. An update once a fortnight to once a month is probably better.
• Allow the student and parent to raise any further questions about tutoring and your service as well as asking them if they want to check references, qualifications and CRB checks etc.
• Specify your terms of service regarding private tuition payment procedures, travel expenses if any, cancellation fees etc.
• If there are no further queries from the parent or student, ask them how many private tuition lessons they require, where they require the private tuition to take place and days and times of availability of the student.
• Providing that you the tutor are happy with the time, day and venue for tuition to begin, arrange a time for your first tutoring session.

Other Factors To Consider As A Private Tutor Before Your Initial Meeting or Tuition Consultation

• Free Trial Lessons For Private Tuition
  If a potential client asks for a free trial lesson before they decide to commit to regular private tutoring sessions with you, it is your choice whether to proceed or not. If you agree to this, then you need to be aware that after the free lesson, the parents may decide not to proceed with a course of tuition with you. Therefore you have prepared, possibly travelled and spent, your time tutoring for no gain. Whilst we don't offer free trial lessons, we know tutors who do. If you advertise in enough places and/or join agencies, you will have enough enquiries and students who require your tuition service already. Therefore we don't recommend offering the first lesson for free. We do however offer a free consultation service to potential students and parents. This involves a short informal 30 minute meeting (no tutoring) which allows you to meet the student and get a feel for what they may require from the tuition and their expectations. The student and parent can also then raise any questions they may have. We usually conduct this at our address so as to minimise our travelling time. If a potential client tries to barter you down on price, or tries to impose conditions i.e. that you have to travel to them etc or that the tuition must be carried out at certain times or days that may not be convenient for you. We suggest that you decline their offer. Most clients are prepared to be flexible about times and travel etc. It is important on initial contact that you are open and honest about your terms of service. This will avoid much wasted time and frustration. Declining work is always difficult but you have to have confidence that you will pick up students that are more flexible and are available at times that are more convenient for you. Believe in your service.

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Further Private Tutor Tips For When Your Private Tuition Business Is Established

• Student records for private tuition.
  Always keep a separate file for each student. This should include personal details, syllabus topics covered, examination papers given, homework questions etc. There are several reasons for this. This is so that if in the event where you are are tutoring the same topics or subject to several students, there is less chance of confusion of what you have have covered with what student. You can also regularly check each student's file to ensure that they are progressing and evaluate if your tutoring methods are successful for that particular student. Remember that providing the same private tutoring strategy for each student may not be successful for every student, so you may have adapt this accordingly. flexibility is the key.
• Accounting records for private tutors.
  Regularly keep on top of your accounting. As mentioned previously in this tutor guide, update your tutoring accounts on a regular basis. This means that you don't have a mountain of accounts to sort out at the end of the tax year.
• Keep up with the regular syllabus and national curriculum changes.
• Always advertise your private tuition service in advance, by preparing ahead, you should always have a steady supply of clients.
• Remain dedicated and enthusiastic towards your students.
• Stay professional.
• Do not worry about other competing private tutors in your area.

When A Private Tutor Feels They Should Decline Private Tuition From A Student

Here are some solutions to some problems which may materialise just before you begin tutoring or when you have already started tutoring a student. Again these are just some suggestions, the final decision lies with you the tutor and varies for differing situations.

• Unrealistic Expectations of Grades
  Unfortunately like any service some people have unrealistic expectations. We have had calls to tutor students who require one to three grade increases in very short spaces of time! Each individual situation varies and also the number of sessions required. From our experiences we believe the honest approach is the best. Often if the parents then push us to go ahead with the tutoring we explain and stress that from our experience half a dozen lessons or so will result in little improvement, and we find that it takes at least a couple of sessions for the student to become acquainted with your tutoring style. We also diplomatically suggest trying the exam, but perhaps prepare also for a resit at a later date. If you have not warned them first of the possibility that their expectations are too high it may damage your reputation when the student doesn't achieve the result they were expecting. Also the student and parents will be prepared should the worst outcome materialise, and suggesting perhaps a resit at a later date, will be less of a blow to the student's confidence (if the case is that they can resit).
• The Student Is Always Cancelling The Private Tuition Sessions
  No one benefits from this. The parents are losing money, the student will not make sufficient progress and it is highly frustrating for the private tutor. After all you as the tutor want to see the student achieve their goals. Secondly you have probably denied another student your time and expertise who will value your service, who you can help achieve their potential. Perhaps it may be best to raise the issue with the parents early on as soon as they have missed a couple of lessons. You may also wish to consider asking for payment in advance so that there is a potential financial penalty if the student cancels a lesson again.
• The Student Often Refuses To Do Any Work That You Set Them Out Of The Lesson
  Believe us, some of the excuses that we have heard over the years are as funny as "My dog ate the work that you gave me" or "My Mum put the completed work in the washing machine and I was unable to retrieve it" to less amusing comments as "I did not have time, my social life is so hectic at the moment." Again have a polite word with the parents raising your concerns.
• Clients Who Refuse To Pay Regularly
  One way to deal with this is to ask for payment in advance. Also if a student books your time with block bookings then again ask for payment in advance. Sometimes the above advice may not work, in which case, we advise that you rely on your instinct. There are no real answers to these problems, as each individual problem can vary. However as a guideline we believe diplomacy and an open and honest approach is required to prevent any difficulties arising and also if you feel very unhappy about tutoring a student then it is probably best for everyone all round that you decline or stop the tutoring sessions.

As in any profession, there are always going to be competitors. There will always be competing private teachers offering a private tutoring business like yours in your area. However bear in mind that no two tutors will tailor their services to be exact and that no two individuals are the same. As time goes by and you build up a reputable home tuition business, a good reputation and proof that you can deliver the goods matter. Never question your ability as a private tutor or the fact that you are offering a first class tutoring service by helping so many students to achieve their educational goals. This will always speak volumes to past and future clients so that your service will go from strength to strength.

We hope that by sharing our experience of running a private tutoring service for many years that we can help you too to become a successful private tutor and wish you the very best for many years of productive tutoring!

This guide to becoming a private tutor, was written and published in 2005 when www.hometutorsdirectory.co.uk went live. It is one of the original guides to be be published on a tutors directory. It is based on our combined tutoring experience of over thirty years. We are sure that this straight to the point, no nonsense guide will help you.These methods have been tried and tested and rest assured they work. We hope that they also work for you.

By Jayne Thomas Co-founder of Home Tutors Directory