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Episode 436 | AI and Automation: What Should School Owners Actually Use?

Podcast Description

AI is everywhere right now—and for a lot of martial arts school owners, it’s either exciting—or overwhelming.

In Episode 436, Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo cut through the hype and get practical about what AI and automation are actually good for inside a school. They talk about why tech won’t fix broken fundamentals, how to audit your numbers before you start building automations, and the real-world use cases that can save you time without turning your school into a “robot school.”

Along the way, they share stories from the trenches—including Allie using AI to create a ninja “we miss you” video, using ChatGPT to rewrite a heated parent message into something kind and effective, and why too many automations can create “white noise” that makes families tune you out.

Key Takeaways

• AI and automation are different tools. Automation is “if/then” triggers (texts, emails, reminders). AI is adaptive and conversational (helping with replies, content, and decision support).
• AI won’t fix broken fundamentals. It can’t repair a weak offer, unclear schedules, poor culture, or bad sales conversations—but it can improve speed, consistency, and follow-through.
• Audit before you automate. Track lead response time, booking rate, show-up rate, close rate, and first-90-day retention before you start adding more tech.
• Speed still wins. When possible, the best move is still personal contact fast—call or text a lead within minutes.
• Too many automations can backfire. If families get flooded with emails/texts, it becomes “white noise” and they opt out.
• Use AI to communicate with more care. Allie shares how he used ChatGPT to rewrite a message to a parent (when emotions were high) and it completely changed the outcome.
• Must-haves first. Automated lead follow-up, scheduling/confirmations, and no-show recovery are the highest ROI automations.
• Nice-to-haves next. Content help, review requests, and referral prompts can work great once your basics are clean.
• Don’t automate the important stuff. Billing disputes, cancellations, complaints, and emotionally charged conversations need a human.
• Guardrails matter. Build a voice guide, set rules (tone, language, escalation), and always offer a “talk to a human” option.

Action Steps for School Owners

1. Do a quick audit this week.

• Lead response time (minutes, not hours)
• Booking rate
• Show-up rate
• Close rate
• First 90-day retention

2. Fix your #1 leak before adding new tools. If your show-up rate is low, focus on confirmations and reminders. If your close rate is low, focus on sales conversations. Let the numbers tell you what to fix.
3. Set up (or clean up) your must-have automations.

• Instant lead follow-up (text/email)
• Scheduling + confirmations
• No-show follow-up + reschedule prompts

4. Audit your existing automations for “white noise.” Check if families are receiving overlapping offers or too many messages. Clean up old tags, old campaigns, and outdated promos.
5. Use AI as your “calm-down coach” for tough messages. Before you hit send on a heated reply, paste it into ChatGPT and ask: “Rewrite this in a loving, compassionate, clear way.”
6. Build an FAQ/onboarding library to reduce repetitive questions. Put your most common questions in one place (website/app/videos): uniforms, promotions, how early to arrive, what to expect, etc.
7. Create a simple weekly stats habit. Start small: trials booked, trials showed, enrollments, and which program they chose. Then build from there.
8. Set guardrails so you don’t become a “robot school.”

• Create a voice guide (phrases you use/never use)
• Define when a human takes over (complaints, cancellations, billing, pricing)
• Always offer a human option

Additional Resources Mentioned

• Spark Membership Software (automations, follow-up, reporting)
• LeadHunter Media (lead follow-up + AI texting support)
• Notion (used to track automations and systems)
• Upstream by Dan Heath (the “stop rescuing people downstream” story)
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Everybody Matters (mentioned as a book Duane is filtering through AI)
• Dan Sullivan (concept: “I always have a person between me and the technology”)

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another school owner. And remember: AI should give you more freedom—not more work.