Thanks for sharing Linda. I get the sense that you want to convey to your prospective students your sincere desire to assist them in making this decision and that's wonderful. In thinking about today's student, I imagine that it can be difficult at times to get them to come on campus. It sounds like you create value for the visit by offering the opportunity to speak to people who might be important for that student to meet when they come in (like instructors). How do you typically handle the student that just doesn't have time in their schedule for a campus visit at this stage?
I usually say, that is a great question. What I would like for us to do is to sent some time aside for the two of us to sit down & discuss all of your questions & concerns. I would like for you to start now after we hang up & write down all of your questions so I am able to adress them in our meeting. Do you have some time available to come in & speak with me today because I would really like to show you the school & give you the opportunity to speak with some of our instructors & answer all of your questions?
Great awareness, Linda. It sounds like you feel that there are some opportunities within your current call process that might help improve your show rate. Because of technology, students have access to information about schools now more than ever. It might appear to your student that you're holding something back by not giving information. In the spirit of transparency, how might you create value for the student to visit your campus and still provide the information they are looking for?
NO more than 5-8 minutes long. I try to find out as much information as possible in that short amount of time. Also, I try not to provide too much information so the prospect has a reason to come in.
I have a bad appointment show rate and would like to figure out what I am doing wrong to make it better.
Thanks for sharing your process, Marcie. It sounds like you've got a system in place that helps a student quickly connect to a person quickly. Having a conversation with the student is wonderful as you start to develop a relationship to move forward. A framework can be helpful in making sure important information is covered during the course of your conversations.
Prospective students are prompted by our voice mail system when they call. They have very specific choices that allow them to connect to the approriate enrollment coordinator in a short amount of time. Once the call reaches our desk we all have idividual ways or styles that we use to best determine the needs of the prospective student. Upon completion of this first module I see that our department can improve on how we answer calls in a more uniform way ensuring we are gathering and giving the appropriate information. I have learned that we should have a more uniform outline for all to follow.
This is a good place to start, Jason. Knowing the information that you'd like to cover and being prepared before making your calls is so important. Just be careful that in your eagerness to cross off the things on your list, you don't forget to listen to what it is your student wants and how you might be able to best help them.
Good awareness, Jason. You might find that asking open ended questions during your phone offers you more opportunities to build value for the appointment. I'm curious, what type of open ended questions do you think you'd like to add to your phone conversations?
That is one part that i need to add to my call process, I do not ask probing questions. I spend my call process trying to get appointment.
I have a check list still of the information that I want to gather and inform from the potential students while on the phone. Always trying to get the student to make an appointment, so that we can get face to face. Plus show the student where and how they would learn.
Thanks Caterina. I am curious, are there questions that you like that not only dig deeper, but maintain rapport with the student?
Hi Shannon,
I agree that finding the value is the key to the decision in coming in. We have to dig deeper and ask and probe with a variety of questions while maintaining a rapport with the student.
Hi Caterina. Thanks for your input here. It is important to ask quality questions to learn about the student and find out who is supporting them in their decision making process. Asking questions that are for the student's benefit can be really valuable. In regards to objections about visiting the campus, remember that each student may have different reasons for wanting or not wanting to come for a visit. Once you figure out those, you may be able to find value for that student to visit.
I try to follow a protocol of making sure to implement a warm greeting to the prospect and obtaining their current contact information to better assist them. I will then engage in probing questions to determine their current interests in the program and where they envision this education to take them. It is important to gather information on support that they may or may not have with their decision and find out about their timeline in getting things started.
I would like to improve the capability to handle objections to visiting the campus better.
Our inbound process comes into a switchboard the operator will take the information and are told an admissions counselor will call back within 24 hours. The leads are distributed 4 to 5 times per day.
I would like to put all Reps on Skype and after the switchboard takes the info it would be transferred to the Rep Immediately. This will increase enrollments and illiminate all of the call back issues.
That's an interesting process Sirena and I am sure others have something similar at their office. It's helpful that you realize your processes could use some modification. It sounds like you have a few ideas for improvement too. How will you communicate your ideas to others?
Our inbound call process starts with the admin. Assistant(front desk) she feels the call by asking specific questions and then filters the call out to the appropriate person. If the admin. assistant is out to lunch or not in then the calls will go to admissions first and someone from that department will filter out the call. This is where I feel improvement is needed. Admissions has to deal with outbound calls, student walk-ins, appointments, files, etc. there is no real time to answer all the calls that come in a timely manner. I feel when the Admin. can not answer the phone there should be an automated option to dial ext. so the call can either go to the direct person or a voice mail.
Great practice, Jeremy! Thank you for sharing.
I try to get back to them via phone or email as soon as I receive a voice message or email. This way they can see that it will not or should not take too long for them to hear from you again. My policy is to get back to them no later than 24 hours fter they have contacted me. The best p[ractic, in my eyes, it to underpromise and over deliver. This always makes for a happy customer/client/student.
It sounds like you've got an efficient process in place to handle incoming calls, Jeremy. I'm sure your students appreciate knowing that they have the ability to connect with you directly. What is your follow up process entail for re-connecting with those students who have missed you on the phone?
