How can you define a "Potential Lead" from a "Shop Around Lead"?
Building up a conversation with your Potential Student is very important, it may raise up with questions like; How did you heard from us?, Are you from town? What is intresting for you about this field? since when you were planning to learn about this career and waht it offers? and many others. Suggestion: answer the same questions, this will create a dialog that will link you to opinions that helps with interaction and individual understanding, this will help you to turn a lead into a prospective student with the right fit.
Lisa,
If we are always performing our best, remain truthful and compliant, we never have to worry whether ther person before us is a shopper. Some schools actually use their own staffers to visit other locations to test reps. Always be honest and hold integrity foremost.
Patty Aronoff
I think you should never make that asumption of which prospective student is a potential or just a shopping around lead. Always be informative, knowledgable and be genuinely interested by asking the student about themselves. Lastly, follow up and be available to them in the future.
Laura,
You provide a comfortable setting and they will open up.
I have been in admissions for about 4 years. I find that the more you discover about a student and let them speak about themselves, the more potential you have in turning them from a "shop Around Student" to an actual hot lead. Some people are harder to open up, but if you ask the right questions and discover the "why's" and "why nots" you can truly gauge the commitment and passions of the student. They also may just need the opportunity to open up to someone about their future and are fearful because they never have before. In this way we can truly discover needs and hopefully fulfill the need.
Brian,
Excellent post! Thank you for sharing your expertise.
William,
We also want to establish a good outcome for the student giving the referral. The best marketing tool is a satisfied, happy student.
I always ask for and usually get a refered lead, but I often do not ask for it on the first visit. By establishing rapport and providing good and personally helpful information and service my PDL's come easier and the prospective referred student is already open to em, my schol and our discussion abou their personal goals and interests.
I have been in admissions for 7 years now and the key to any lead I agree w Leroy is to build that rapport with the potential student no matter if you think they are shopping around or notyou must use the angle of if there not going to attend your school there are going to attend somewhere else if not now, soon, or sometime in the near future they will if school is on their minds and is an option that they believe will help them to achieve the goals that they hope to obtain to better themselves and also their families. So the key is to build that rapport because as much as the school the potential lead or student is buying into the admissions representative is more of the key opponent they will make their decision off of and if you feel they are shopping around and thats all you most likely are not putting all your effort in and in return yes you will lose that student. So if you sell yourself as well as your school well and they do leave to shop around, which I always expect they will be back hopefully right away, but down the road they do as well because they remembered you. So in conclusion I feel that there is no difference between them you must treat every prospect as a potential student because if you treat them as just a shopper you will probably lose them anyways and hopefully they come here to see me.
Tamara,
Personally developed leads are great. People trust others who have experienced before them. Plus, they are free!
Tamara,
You are right on track. People do want to shop around today to find the right investment in their future.
otally agree, in our institution we never do enrollment or force to a commitment on first basis is always done on 2nd to 3rd visit. In today’s days you have to remind them that they have choices to choose from if your institution has what they’re looking for they will be back and this time is to enroll.
Hi Carmen, for over 15 years we have survive based on free referral, student to friend, friend to friend, walk-ins, etc. As of today we have not make an appearance on TV or heard us in the radio. One of our procedures is that we never call a potential lead unless they need a follow for an incomplete process. Basically hour leads are totally free and most commonly are potential lead but you will always have a bad potato in a sack.
What I have discovered is as the rapport is established with a potential lead, they will indeed begin to open up as to the benefit of a degree, where as a shop around lead in my experiences demonstrates very quickly, that that is exactly what they are, focusing more on cost, length of programs or "can your school guarentee....." in their questions.
Deborah,
We look at PDLs as free as they are not cost advertising such as billboards, media ads, etc.
Hi Marnelle, I've been in Admissions for 5 years too. I love helping people change their lives and I agree, leads are absolutely crucial - each lead is, ideally, a student asking for help in beginning or advancing their career but I disagree that leads are "free". Marketing does not come without cost and outside lead sources have most defintely have a price.
Tamara,
Good advice. Conversations bring commonalities to the table and more to talk about.
Marnelle,
You have made a good point. Thank you for your post.
Carmen,
Depends...some schools pay for potential leads others find other ways without paying.
Carmen,
Primarily it is the confidence without the hard sell. Too much pressure can turn many away.
