Music Lesson Sales Objections: Why “Can You Send It Over in Writing?” Is Costing You Students
If you tried selling your music lessons online or face-to-face, you probably know the feeling when you think the demo went great, the vibe was vibing, but at the end of it you hear:
“Yeah, this sounds great… I just need to think about it.
Can you send it over in writing?”
This is one of the most common music lesson sales objections, and it’s also one of the most misunderstood. A lot of music teachers assume this means the student (or the parent) is genuinely interested and just needs more information.
So, let’s start with the uncomfortable truth...
When someone asks for a written proposal at the end of a call, it’s nor because they love reading. It’s usually because they’re trying to exit the conversation politely.
Think about times you have said this in your own life. You weren’t trying to be rude. You just didn’t want to buy, and you didn’t want to say that out loud.
So your potential student is now doing the same thing.
In other words, this objection isn’t a request for clarity...unfortunately, it’s a signal that something hasn’t landed.
What This Objection Really Means
Most music teachers hear this objection and think:
“Maybe I didn’t explain it clearly enough”
“Maybe they want to compare options”
“Maybe they need to show the information to their partner”
Sure, occasionally that may be true, but most of the time, this objection means:
They don’t fully trust the offer
They don’t fully trust the process
Or they don’t trust themselves to follow through
It’s not a pricing problem, nor a proposal problem, but, in fact, a trust and alignment problem.
So How to Make a Sale at the End of a Demo Music Lesson?
For someone to say “yes” to your music lessons, three things must be true:
Trust in You (the teacher)
They believe you know what you’re doing and can help them or their child.
Trust in the Process
They understand how your lessons work, what happens next, and what results look like over time.
Trust in Themselves
This point is the most common one that music teachers miss.
Your potential student needs to believe that they can actually practice, that their child can stick with the lessons, or that they can commit to the whole thing.
So when someone asks for things “in writing”, at least one of these three trusts is missing.
Why Sending Written Proposals Is a Waste of Time
The other uncomfortable truth is that written proposals almost never close music lessons.
Quite disappointingly, what happens instead is:
You spend time writing it
You send it
It sits unopened in their inbox
You never hear back
And what’s worse, you’ve now handed all control of the situation to the prospect, because you can’t follow up naturally without sounding awkward, you can’t clarify misunderstandings, and you can't really fix further objections.
If the sale couldn’t happen face to face (or on Zoom), it won’t magically happen via email.
What to Say Instead of Sending a Proposal
Instead of agreeing to send your whole pitch and information in writing, try something like:
“I actually don’t send written proposals. Do you mind if I ask what you’re unsure about?”
Or:
“What would you be hoping to see written down that we haven’t covered yet?”
These kinds of responses keep the conversation live, honest, and useful, and you give them a chance at talking through their own limiting beliefs, leading to the right decision (which is to sign up for your music lessons, which is good for them).
You’re not being pushy, you’re helping them make a decision instead of avoiding one. After all, they turned up in this call or meeting for a reason, but need a bit more reassuring.
The Real Fix Happens Before the Objection
If someone is fully aligned, they don’t need an additional written proposal.
That means the real "fix" is earlier in the process, either in:
Your demo lesson
Your explanation of how music lessons work
Your clarity around pricing and expectations
Often, sales objections don’t appear randomly, they’re created along the way.
Why Long Presentations Kill Music Lesson Sales
One mistake I see a lot is teachers relying on long presentations or slides during demo lessons.
What happens during such situations is that you’re talking, and they’re reading. Your potential student stops listening, and instead, questions start piling up silently in their head.
Essentially, the more text you show, the more objections you create.
If you want to use slides in your demos at all, keep it:
One page
Clear pricing
Simple options
No need for anything more.
A Real Client Example: Cheap Leads, Poor Results
Let me give you a real example.
One of our clients was running Facebook ads and getting leads for £3 per lead, which is excellent. For context, many industries pay £50–£75 per lead (Wordstream advertising benchmarks).
What our client got:
71 leads
Only 14–15 actual conversations
2 students signed up
Naturally, they thought: “I need cheaper leads”, “I need to improve my sales”.
But actually, neither of those were the real issue.
When we broke the numbers down, we saw that they got 2 sales from 15 calls, which means it's about 1 in 7.
That’s not a bad outcome, and the problem wasn’t their sales skill, nor lead quality.
The real issue was not getting enough leads on the phone.
If they doubled the number of conversations, they’d have doubled their students without changing ads or sales scripts.
So most music teacher marketing funnels fail because teachers often try to fix the wrong thing.
Finding the True Bottleneck in Your Music Teacher Funnel
If you don’t have a coach, you need to become your own magnifying glass and ask some questions:
Where exactly is the drop-off happening?
What happens before the problem I’m noticing?
If I fixed that earlier step, would everything after that improve?
This kind of analytical thinking is what separates teachers who struggle from those who scale.
And the beauty of fixing the earliest problem can bring multiple outcomes at once that can be used as leverage:
More conversations → more students
More conversations → more sales practice
More practice → better closing naturally
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I ever send written proposals for music lessons?
In most cases, no. Clear verbal explanations and simple pricing beat written proposals every time.
What if parents genuinely need time to think?
That’s fine, but clarify what they need to think about before ending the call.
Are sales skills really necessary for music teachers?
You don’t need to be a salesperson, but you do need a clear process.
What’s the fastest way to improve conversions?
Get more leads onto actual conversations before changing ads or pricing.
