I would say that attitude is the most important. If you have the possitive attitude and enjoy what you are doing, all the other elements will fall into place and there will be success with
each one.
Martin,
Thank you for sharing your insights. Each of the elements helps to contribute to your overall success in a variety of ways, as you've discussed. To be at your most effective, it helps to utilize each of the elements to help your students move forward in the decision making process that allows them to determine what is their best course of action! Continued success as you work with students.
Shannon Gormley
The Four elements for sccess will be the knowledge to the product in detail. People skills will help to understand the student more. And the most important Attitude have a strong possitive attitude to be able to help student to be succesful....
Jeffrey, thank you for sharing this. I agree that there is no place for manipulative sales tactics in education. Connor actually states that effective questions and problem solving skills are apart of the sales skills element. The goal is to help students move through a decision making process in a meaningful way that allows them (not us) to make their own best decision, even if that means not attending our school, so by asking those effective questions, the admissions advisor and the student can see the next steps.
Shannon Gormley
I would have to put them in order of more critical to less critical in this order.
1. Attitude - This is the real connection between you and prospective students.
2. Product Knowledge - It's interesting that this is 10% of the product model. If you don't know what you are talking about then you will lose credibility.
3. People Skills - There will be lots of different people that come through the door and knowing how to adapt to them will be important.
4. Sales Skills - Leave manipulative sales tactics out of education. The fact that this is an element is kind of uneducated or made for profit as well. Why else would you have to sell this training for people to learn YOUR model. It must mean that the people hired didn't have any of the above skills and probably shouldn't be working in this industry because they are too stuck on how much profit they are making just like upper management.
You have to have a good attitude , be positive and enjoy your work.
Suheily, you make a valid point. While attitude is extremely important, it sounds like you are saying that sales skills, people skills and product knowledge can be taught and enhanced. Do I have that right? Could you elaborate on how people skills, for example, can be taught?
Shannon Gormley
Maria, great point. Thanks for sharing. Could you tell me a little more as to how attitude will help towards your success?
Shannon Gormley
Attitude is very important also the knowledge that you have in the product or the service.
Attitude is very important for success.
The most critical element for the admission professional is the atitud, because the attitud it part of the personality. On the other hand we can learnd the sales skills, people skills and produc knowledge that the company or school use in the polices.
I think that attitude is by far the most important factor to the admission's professional. Attitude conveys the "heart" and/or "substance" of how you genuinely feel about the school you are representing. It is critical that you honestly believe in the school you are representing in order to represent them ethically. If you do not believe in a school, you should leave in my opinion.
I think people skills is the most important element becuase students feel comfortable with people they like and this allows them to be more open. If a student is comfortable with you it is easier to find out their real motivations and issues for attending school or not.
Janet,
Thanks for sharing. People skills are essential when you work with students because they give you the ability to make a meaningful connection with your student. This connection will be helpful as you work with your student to help them in their decision making process.
Shannon Gormley
I think people skills are most important because of how we can relate to the students and make them feel that this is the school that they want to attend.
Between the four elements I consider people skills and attitude. It is important to know your product and to have sales skills, but the attention and positive attitude that you provide to your prospect will be fundamental in the decision making process. First impressions will mostly determine whether that prospect will take into consideration the information that you have to convey or disregard it and consider other options.
Hector, great point. Yes, people skills are absolutely needed in admissions. I wonder, what steps could someone take in order to improve their people skills?
Shannon Gormley
Cassandra, I completely agree with you. I also believe that people skills is a critical component that an admissions offer must possess. Admissions officers need to possess the ability to gauge the prospective student's attitude, fears, questions and concerns and in the same manner discuss those with the student. The ability for an admissions officer to "read people" is very much a fundamentl aspect of hainvg "people skills."
Excellent observation,Carlos! A person's attitude really can make or break the situation, can't it? When you demonstrate a positive attitude and the ability to generate that type of attitude in others, it really does speak to the level of enthusiasm and energy you put toward your profession. Keep up the good work!
Shannon Gormley
ubaldo,
Great awareness. Taking the time to develop a relationship with your student is essential to best serve your students and let them know that you are truly there for them. It sounds to me like you are very attentive when it comes to your students, Ubaldo. I'm curious, what are some of the things that you do to maintain rapport with your students?
Shannon Gormley
