ROR ENROL-Bullet Proof Recruiting

Bullet Proof Recruiting Skills For Admission Professionals

The Secret Playbook for Success By

Tom Schenck, President

Bullet Proof Recruiting For Admission Professionals The Secret Playbook of Success

by Tom Schenck.

© 2021 Tom Schenck & Dartmouth Associates: Recruiting Strategies, est 2020.

DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved.

This book is being distributed in pdf form as part of ROR training program by Tom Schenck’s Dartmouth Associates.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author.

Direct All Correspondence to: Dartmouth Associates A Division of Schenck Enterprises Incorporated 614 North Front Street, Lemoyne, PA 17043 717 538 6000 www.DartmouthAssociates.com

Cover Design: Hagan Schenck Book Layout & Editing: Rhodora O

1

MODULE I

Entrepreneurial Mindset 8

STEP 1

The Mental Game

10

STEP 2

The Pitch Deck Paradigm

15

STEP 3

The Pitch Presentation

MODULE II MODULE IV

New Foundational Skills On Target Execution 18

STEP 4

Funnel Vision Meeting Agendas

STEP 19

65

24

STEP 5

The Marketing Universe

Follow-up Meetings

STEP 20

70

25

STEP 6

Persona Planning

Planning Agenda

STEP 21

75

29

STEP 7

The Story Library

Outreach Plans

STEP 22

81

31

STEP 8

Interview Planning

Follow-up Ideas

STEP 23

87

33

STEP 9

STEP 24

94

STEP 25

101

STEP 26

113

STEP 27

115

STEP 28

118

STEP 29

120

STEP 30

122

Communication Scripts Creating Engagement Checklists & Templates

MODULE III MODULE V

Results-Oriented Leadership Tools Strategies

Relations with Head/Board

36

STEP 10

38

STEP 11

Time Management Hiring Fall Objectives Compensation

40

STEP 12

Monthly Strategies

46

STEP 13

50

STEP 14

Daily Tactics

57

STEP 15

Persistent Follow-Up

58

STEP 16

Creative Engagement

60

STEP 17

Referrals

68

STEP 18

Communication Etiquette

Training

Weekly Tactics Wellness Performance

Thomas Schenck - Personal Mission

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Introduction

By Tom Schenck

Congratulations and welcome to our fellow group of fearless admission pioneers! You and other select admission professionals now possess the never before revealed secrets to saving independent education. Since 2020 1,000’s of schools and colleges have closed their doors, forever because the directors and their staff did not have the hardcore sales skills outlined in this playbook.

For years marketing was considered the shiny new object that would answer all the prayers for admission offices to enroll enough kids and make their budget.

The pursuit and application of various platforms such as social media inbound and outbound marketing and most recently the “magic potion” of AI. all of which have promised to attract and entice families to enroll. At best all of these marketing approaches will bring an increased amount of leads. That said, the naive assumption is that less, not more, personal engagement with potential families will be needed because of the plethora of admissions software now on the market. In other words, in the very personal space of deciding where to attend, software not people will change the game of admissions and it will actually be easier to enroll students. This is crap, and the proof is in the avalanche of closures over the last four years. In fact, the Department of Education predicts that one school closing will soon be at one per week will soon hit the country

Now more than ever the intimate relationship using sales skills to create personal bonds with students and families to compel them to enroll are crucial to the survival of educational institutions. The ROR ENROL playbook will give you the power to do just that!

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The Results Oriented Recruiting(ROR) is a proprietary intervention that immediately empowers your recruiting efforts. You have now joined professional colleagues across the globe who have decided to break from the status quo and take charge of all aspects of the admissions process once and for all.

You are reading this playbook because you want life long job security, help your school finally reach or you want to run your own office. As a former Director of Admissions, I know that you may be under pressure. Don’t worry, I am here to help you. Whether you are an office of one, or you have a staff of 10… ROR ENROL will work for you.

The core approach is for you to prepare your mind to become nimble and be ready to pivot as you consider possibilities across the corporate world and no longer feel bound to follow just educational trends. Additionally, you will approach every admissions decision with a thought-out plan and a specific set of strategies and tactics to achieve your desired results. Lastly, how you ultimately integrate ROR will be tied to your institution’s culture, your specific challenges, the number of staff, and how quickly you and they adjust… because you will be changing behaviors as well as a culture.

I have also given you sample weekly meeting agendas, questions, checklists, and a review of two current issues related to admissions, hiring, and compensation.

These examples are from an actual past client. This particular school had become complacent, essentially processing applications for the last five years without really ever aggressively recruiting. Consequently, with the advent of Covid-19, weakening international enrollment, a declining economy, and fewer people having children, they found themselves in a crisis.

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Furthermore, they were a group of nice people who had been merely ordertakers and the concept of having to reach out and “sell” the school was initially overwhelming. So they had to be eased into that mindset. You and/or your team may be further along in both skill-set and mindset. In fact, as you read through the agendas, you will see that there is repetition, encouragement, training, retraining, specifics, generalities, and cajoling, as the team slowly steers through the campaign. There is no magic bullet to success in sales recruiting but with hard work, focus, and staying accountable... ROR ENROL works.

ROR ENROL has mixed the best aspects of educational recruiting and sales fundamentals with an entrepreneurial mindset to create a powerful new standard for quickly attracting and enrolling families to your school. ROR ENROL is a focused approach that deals specifically with managing all potential and current stakeholders through your sales, admissions, and retention funnels. You will now have a system that will bring you enough referral sources and families grow everything from inquiry to matriculation.

The ROR ENROL playbook is not designed to audit all aspects of your enrollment management. Rather, it will allow you to leverage the leads brought to you by the marketing efforts and sell families on the benefits of enrolling in your school, so they will stay in the funnel and join your school! This playbook gives you the steps to easily implement and execute the ROR solution. Ultimately, you are creating an office culture of empowerment where you and your colleagues will control every aspect of your admissions process. You have now taken the crucial steps in the journey to regain full enrollment.

Wishing you great career success!

Thomas Schenck FOUNDER OF DARTMOUTH ASSOCIATES AND CREATOR OF ROR

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The Implementation Process We know that your days are nonstop action as you work to fill your school. So we have broken down the process into steps, you should involve your team in the process as soon as possible. Much of the ROR process is about changing both the culture of your office as well as reinventing it with a new approach.

Consequently, the team’s understanding and buy-in will be crucial. Your school and your office have a very unique culture that you must constantly adjust to your integration.

The main thing to understand here is that you are using a system that is already proven to work. The key is that you are not making a risky investment of time, on something new or unproven. These principals have already adapted to the educational recruiting process. In most cases, you will even continue much of what you are already doing. The ROR system… is primarily a shift in your mindset which means it is the implementation that can be customized.

Now, you may think that if these principles are so universal, then why haven’t you heard about them? The problem is that most independent schools have been very slow to change their past approaches. Given my years of experience in admissions, sales, and entrepreneurial businesses, I have taken the key elements of all three factors, and customized them, specifically for Independent school admission offices.

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MODULE I

7

STEP 01

The Mental Game As an admissions entrepreneur, admissions is your business and you must take total ownership of a plan that will fill your school.

Traditionally admission offices were content to follow the best practices of admissions within the realm of other schools. But times have rapidly changed in the last decade, meaning you must adapt to the frame of mind that will work. It is not only the world of education, but it is the world at large that you must consider your informational source now.

Since the biblical marketplaces in Jerusalem, businesses have been trying to figure out the best ways to attract and sell customers.

Recruiting families is one of the most complex sales processes ever. You must engage multiple decision-makers on many emotional and intellectual levels as you shepherd them efficiently through the recruiting process. The competition for mission-appropriate students is now fierce. You must be fearless as you plan every step of the process and have objectives that will bring you results. You must be a constant “student of the game” of enrollment management.

The customer experience has never been more important than it is today.

People ‌have fewer kids now and the pool of people who can afford private tuition is shrinking. But, remember, with ROR… you… are now in control of the future,…= and how you engage with every relationship will be critical to your success.

Before anything else… you must start with an attitude of Enthusiasm and Optimism! From now on… you want every person with whom you communicate to feel that there is nothing you won’t do to help them!

Admissions professionals are 10x more likely to be successful when they use collaborative words like “us,” “we,” and “our” vs. words like, “I” and “me” Staff who use confidence-boosting words like “definitely,” “certainly,” and “absolutely” are 5x more successful moving families down the funnel.

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Traits of the World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs Taking Calculated Risks You will never know unless you try new strategies. Don’t just use

what other schools are doing. Look at what the corporate world is doing to be successful.

Relentless Tenacity … in doing what it takes to get it done. However - Whenever Whatever it takes, you must be willing to face the challenge despite the odds. Be determined that your business will not fail.

Maintain Self-Control Now more than ever you are hit with challenges from all sides. You must think before you act.

Self-Confidence When schools are under pressure, many times people look to point

fingers even though you know in your heart you are on the right path toward solutions. You must also instill this belief in your staff.

Sense of Urgency Act like your hair’s on fire!.. Each day that you do not have a plan is another day wasted. Urgency will keep you on track and focused.

Global Awareness You need to be constantly aware of all the factors that can help you find solutions. Develop partners and know details.

Be Pragmatic You must be aware of point-in-time numbers, as well as how much time you have to reach objectives. Always make decisions based on facts, not on your gut. Always verify data and pivot quickly, so you are not wasting time.

Solution-Focused You must constantly know to adapt actions that move you closer to your goals. Don’t let irrelevant issues distract you.

Achievement-Grounded Titles or accolades don’t motivate you. Be happy with giving Status such credit to your team so it’s an incentive for them. You

concentrate your energies on essential operations that bring enrollment success.

Maintain Professional … based on performance and feelings of the people with Relationships whom you work. It is important that you find the balance.

Sometimes a lack of sensitivity to people's feelings can cause turmoil and undercut goals.

Emotional Stability You must be able to channel your energies toward objectives, and not get distracted by setbacks in your personal or professional life. You must maintain a healthy, personal routine that promotes wellness and mindfulness in your life.

Mind the Family Decision- Anticipating what drives their approach will help you Making Process prepare for their questions and your responses.

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STEP 02

The Pitch Deck Paradigm As an admissions entrepreneur, admissions is your business and you must take total ownership of a plan that will fill your school.

Traditionally admission offices were content to follow the best practices of admissions within the realm of other schools. But times have rapidly changed in the last decade, meaning you must adapt to the frame of mind that will work. It is not only the world of education, but it is the world at large that you must consider your informational and lead source now.

As you are an entrepreneur, you must be prepared to promote your school on different levels. You must think of your school as a viable business proposition. This is the way you would present your business to potential investors. Your prospective families are also investors, who are willing to invest long-term in both the future of their children and their own personal legacy. The pitch deck approach is a way for you to present a complete overview of your school.

Besides parents, keep in mind that some of your most important cohorts are current and prospective referral sources such as international agents, domestic consultants, and feeder school placement directors as well as school stakeholders like alums, current parents, and trustees.

You must know how to explain every aspect of your school. Often you never get a second chance to make that first impression The pitch deck is normally a PowerPoint presentation of business strengths. But in your presentation, you would offer compelling reasons for families to start and quickly finish the enrollment process. You could actually prepare a presentation, or you could use it as a conceptual road map… so you wouldn’t miss details when you present to the school.

Not all these categories will relate to each person, but you will be prepared for any situation. Even if you never have to use a pitch deck, it is a crucial exercise to strengthen your Entrepreneurial Mindset.

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Present Your Vision This is a brief overview of the unique value you provide to your families. Keep it short and simple. This is essentially your elevator speech.

There is a Problem What is the unique problem that you feel your school solves for parents and their children better than any other institution?

Give some specific reasons parents send their kids to your school. Ideally, with these points, tell relatable stories when you are defining the problems that you have solved for other families.

Target Market Show the families you have at the school.

Potential families and students like to know that there are people like them at your school. The more specific you can be the better the chance potential families feel that your process will be tailored to their needs.

The Solution Describe your school’s specific offerings to show how it helps both students and families. As I mentioned earlier, parents are making this investment in their children; but just as importantly, they are making it for themselves and their family legacy. If they see your school as helping their individual and family legacies, they will be motivated to enroll.

This is classic storytelling where you build up the educational opportunities and how your school is essentially meeting the whole family’s needs. Then contrast that scenario with a family who did not choose your school and what problems they encountered. Remember, people decide for two reasons: Either to improve their lives or avoid problems. Always think about a family’s motivations and you will be on the right track.

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The Investment benefit This is where you show the long-term benefits of parent investment. How this present decision is already helping the child’s college future and ongoing life skills.

And, be prepared to show what it could cost them if they didn’t make the investment in your school now. For instance, you can break down what it would cost for the family to have their child at home… show the cost of food, transportation, utilities, housing, hiring extra tutors to supplement what the public school cannot provide, as well as hiring consultants to help them get into college.

While this may not be a top-of-mind comparison for some families, you can never be over-prepared to speak about the specific value your school adds to both their present and the future.

Validation of Success Show the success and skills you have brought to students. Such as college placement success, testimonials from alums, parents, students, educational consultants… as well as local, regional, and national thought leaders.

Marketing and Recruiting Strategy Be able to discuss your marketing approach.

Families want to know that you are a dynamic institution with a well-developed plan to further its image and reputation in the marketplace and, most importantly, attract your mission-appropriate students just like their own children.

Most parents are not educators, therefore, the admission process can be scary. It is important to let them know that you have a clear process that takes them easily and quickly to matriculation. And you are personally there to guide them every step of the way!

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Leadership Highlight the achievements of your Board, Head, and your leadership team. Compare your Head of School’s qualifications against your competing schools’ Heads.

Always look for areas where you stand out as the obvious choice. You might even discuss succession planning as another example of your school’s stability to manage consistent leadership.

Remember, succession planning shows the board’s long-term strategic planning ability as they are already working to ensure smooth and highquality leadership changes in the future.

Financials All families want a financially stable school.

Be able to discuss capital projects and how much money was raised for the annual fund.

It is also good to show parents how the annual fund pays for the gap between expenses and the actual operating budget and how all children essentially receive financial aid. Similarly, you can share how much the school has in its endowment and what is its endowment philosophy 5% year draw for expenses or just kept for emergencies (like Covid).

It’s important to know that some people feel a large endowment takes away from the potential benefits for current students. However, a large or small endowment is not necessarily a positive or a negative. You want families to know that your school is carefully planning for longterm success, explaining the endowment decisions. Lastly, it never hurts when you can, again, show important financial distinctions between you and your competition.

Competition Here is where you can bring up some headto-head comparisons... sports records, extracurricular achievements, accreditation accolades, state-of-the-art facilities and your general reputation at local, regional, national and, sometimes, international level, as it compares to your competition.

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Family Investment and Urgency If this was a business pitch, this is where you would specifically ask your investor to agree to some kind of funding. As the school, you summarized why the family's investment would be good for this child and specifically why it would be important to finish the process quickly.

This also might be time to discuss the ease of affording your school regarding financial aid merit scholarships or even tuition discounts if net tuition revenue is part of your strategy.

Speak to the incredible benefits they will receive that will change the rest of their lives. Throughout this process, you may well feel that some information is not relevant to the pitch deck approach. You will obviously have the discretion to present what is most germane. At the preparation stage, however, you must be fully prepared regardless of the audience’s needs.

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STEP 03

The Pitch Presentation

We have just reviewed why developing an entrepreneurial mindset is crucial, as well as having the information necessary to present to all cohorts. Now is the time to ask yourself, how will you use these concepts succinctly?

It’s good if you are over-prepared in your thoroughness to gather the necessary information and ideas that could serve you in your presentation. Now is the time to overview it all and trim it down to efficiency.

Carefully inspect your pitch deck for any missing ideas, repeated facts, text or order errors, unnecessary information, overly long paragraphs, and such. You may well decide at this stage to let go of some of the slides in your deck. It is not only okay, but sometimes better, to adapt your deck to the needs of the family/student, or the circumstance of your presentation.

The family head may be running out of time for their next appointment, so insisting on going through the whole deck regardless does not exactly communicate your school is attuned to the family’s needs.

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After making sure your presentation is 100% ready, conduct your presentation on the appointed time with confidence and compassion.

Make sure the family is with you as you move through ideas and information, and give them time to process, satisfy their curiosity or understand something that is unclear to them.

Brush up on your presentation skills as a business person and you are ready to deliver.

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MODULE II New Foundational Skills

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STEP 04

Funnel Vision By now you are starting to feel the limitless approaches you may take as an entrepreneur and why it is crucial to know every angle from which to approach a family. The ROR solution simultaneously helps you see both the ‘10,000 view’ as well as the granular details of the admission process. Now we are going to present the big picture as it relates to the complete landscape.

In the heat of enrollment, many times you can develop a tunnel vision that makes you miss other important issues. Funnel Vision is the approach you must adopt. The admission funnel is frequently obsessed over as you worry about moving families from the top to the bottom, but actually there are three funnels: The Sales Funnel, Admissions Funnel, and the Re-enrollment Funnel that you must control daily.

The two great fears of any admission professional are that we won’t have enough Inquiries in our funnel, and if they are in our funnel, how can we keep them in long enough to matriculate?

In both these areas, admission professionals have done a lot of hand ringing…as many times your recruiting strategy could be described as “the hope approach”. You hope that your marketing will bring you enough inquiries, and you hope that those inquiries will turn into matriculations. As you have probably heard many times before, hope is not a strategy and you should never use it again!

You now have control!

The focus here is moving your perspective from ‘Tunnel Vision’, where you focus on one cohort at a time, to Funnel Vision, where you review multiple funnels daily.

But let’s talk first, about getting enough people into your Sales funnel, and the difference between the sales funnel and the admissions funnel.

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Remember that Sales is the approach that takes the whole universe of prospective parents who could potentially apply to your school. If sales and your school marketing has done its job, it will put those people in and through your Sales funnel so they can enter into the top of your admission funnel as inquiries.

The “soft” approach of inbound marketing campaigns creates awareness with prospective families using social media, blogs, and search engine optimization (SEO). Outbound marketing is also known as “interruptive advertising” such as paid ads on Google or virtual billboards on LinkedIn. Essentially, what the Sales funnel does is to take people from a position of never having heard about your school to have enough information and interest to contact you and then become an inquiry.

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Sales Funnel

Remember, This funnel is the potential universe of families and referral sources you can control. They are both current referral sources who are already in your database, and may have already referred students, or prospective referral sources who are not yet in your active database and are likely not aware of your school, but should be.

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Consequently, your office must commit to making proactive calls to introduce yourself and the school, and immediately try to take individuals from the top of the sales funnel (of ignorance… to awareness of the school, to interest in the school for themselves or their employees… all in one phone call.)

Regardless of what you achieve on that first phone call, you then continue to build the relationship by constantly following up. Don’t be deterred. It may take you 10 calls to finally reach and then engage the person.

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Obviously, if you do not make contact with a decision maker, you must at least get a person’s email and even a cell number that you can use to text a follow up message or even a 15 second video. Remember you will not get what you want… if you do not ask for the information you need.

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As these charts show, all three funnels are active at once. Your job, as an admissions professional, is to move current families, prospective families, and referral sources down applicable funnels every day.

When you realize the three major processes of your job as continuously functioning and fully open funnels, only then do you see how much round-the-clock work is required. This constant awareness and working the families toward the bottom of their funnels is the crux of Results Oriented Recruiting.

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STEP 05

The Marketing Universe Using the sales funnel categories as a guide, you and your team pick five categories each and pick 10 organizations in each category.

Use local directories, Google search, events listings etc. to create your lists. The primary sources for creating your master list are existing stakeholders of the school, such as current and past parents, teachers, alumni and trustees. All of them can give you direction as to what organizations, associations, and clubs they might have connections into a general pool of potentially reachable, prospective families. Once you have access to a club, for instance, or a club member, you can inquire with them to get the details of other similar clubs and organizations they have heard of.

Pool and collate the lists produced by every member of your team and create a master list with detailed contact information attached. This is your sales universe. When the team is ready these will be the people you will call daily to introduce your school.

This proactive sales funnel outreach must be a daily part of your recruitment activities. This process is what ultimately brings people into the admissions funnel!

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STEP 06

Persona Planning

Now let’s review the other great fear. That families drop out of your admissions funnel before they matriculate. Once again, you and your office have far more control than perhaps you realized. I cannot stress to you enough that you must give them the highest level of personal attention. Give the RED CARPET Treatment from the first minute you communicate.

There are keys to help you quickly develop empathy for the person with whom you are communicating, so you can immediately engage, and quickly have them feel that they are literally the most important person in your life.

This persona approach is also crucial when connecting with referral sources, particularly New Potential Referrals (NPRs).

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Once you know their current funnel status i.e. (Inquiry, visit, incomplete application etc), you then create a plan that will accomplish your objective to move them down the next segment of their funnel. So, by the time you are finished with your current communication, regardless of the medium (face to face, phone call, email, text or video), you will have moved them to the next segment of the process.

Think of a Persona as a virtual Avatar that represents similar qualities of personality, hobbies, stage of parenting, political leaning, social involvement, ideas about education, etc. The closer you are able to make educated assumptions about this person, you can more effectively communicate, and hopefully, compel them to like and trust you, and move down the funnel.

The best way to start creating a persona profile is to look at your current parents and then find similarities with your prospective parent. Let’s use preparation for an interview as an example. Maybe you know that this prospective parent is a single mom with one daughter, and she is a partner in a law firm. Think about working, professional moms at your school and how this woman may have similar traits. Once you do that, you create a persona. Ideally, once you create a library of personas, your preparation time for other parents, students, and referrers will be minimal.

Let’s look at the Persona Profile of a potential parent.

For example, she is a partner in a law firm, single mother of a 9 th grade girl who is in the inquiry stage of the admissions funnel. The categories below give you critical information that will allow you to be prepared prior to the interview.

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DEMOGRAPHICS

OCCUPATION - LAWYER

1. Age 40-55

5. Manages 100 or more people

2. Afro American

6. Works 50-65 hours a week

3. Salary $ 250K-$ 300K

7. High stress environment

4. Lives in the city

8. Belongs to many professional organizations

SOCIAL MEDIA LinkedIn SHOPPING HABITS Online

SOCIAL LIFE Tennis Club membership - rarely used Neighborhood Book Club

Why is she considering your school?

- monthly meetings

Wants her daughter to have:

Factors she may consider before

More friends

investing in your school

More mentors

The options for Financial Aid

More structure

Her Positive Influencers for investing in your school: Grandparents (help with tuition) Ex-husband (supporting the child) Friend who is a family with the school Reviews on social media

The number of Black female students in daughters class The number of Black teachers Quality of college placement The choice of roommates procedure

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QUESTIONS (to parent) 1.

You must be very

busy, thank you for taking the time from your schedule… How much time do you have today?

2.

When you are at

work what does your daughter do in the afternoon?

3.

What does she enjoy

doing with her friends?

4.

Do you wish she had a

wider variety of friends?

5.

To what extent is her

father involved in her life?

QUESTIONS (they may ask you) 1.

How do you help new students get to know returning students?

2. Do I make too much money to qualify for financial aid?

3. Do you have any scholarships?

4. My daughter is very sweet and well behaved… but I read on the internet that you had some discipline problems lately…what is going on?

5. How will you keep me regularly informed on her progress?

6. What are your policies and programs with respect to gender equality and racial inclusion?

7. Has your board developed a strategic plan and what are your critical objectives?

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STEP 07

Story Library

Developing a story library gives you an arsenal of strategies to talk about the school. Not only are these strategies most relatable to her questions, they illustrate how the school could best serve her daughter.

For example:

1. Tell her about a new girl who was shy but opened up because of your “Big Sis” Program.

2. Tell her the story of the girl who came from a big public school and was the victim of racial slurs and bullying, but since coming to your school she felt empowered when asked to join and present at your “Black Lives Matter Club.

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” With every interaction, your job is to not only move her to the next segment of the funnel, but to get her thinking about her daughter actually attending. So, you have two objectives: one, to commit her movement down to the next level of the funnel, and with foreshadowing, get her to envision her daughter’s matriculation!

Foreshadowing Statements

1. I know it will be exciting for you when your daughter introduces you to her many new friends.

2. Her peers are very motivated to do well and pursue good colleges. Won’t it be a thrilling process for you to witness your daughter’s college process?

3. Our application process is easy, and I will personally make sure that I answer all your questions so you can enroll quickly.

4. I will follow up with you by the end of the week to help you with the application. Is during the day or evening better?

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STEP 08

Interview Planning For every activity in the admission process, there must be an objective that will give you the results you desire. For the interview with a prospective family, preplanning is where you establish in sequence exactly what you are going to say and when you are going to say it. This planning is the only way to achieve your results from the interview process.

For example, if a parent is in the inquiry stage and is now interviewing, the objective is to get her to commit to a specific date on which to submit her application.

First, you SET THE AGENDA at the start of your communication. It is crucial that you are clear about the general purpose of the interview, as well as the final objectives to be accomplished. Next, it is important that you GAIN AGREEMENT with the family as to their understanding and acceptance of what you have just proposed. Essentially, you are asking for their permission and partnership in completing the goals by the end of the interview.

Sometimes during the interview the parent may also have objections or tough questions. You must practice in advance how to respond to those objections and then to smoothly continue the conversation to reach your objectives.

All of this would become much easier if you CREATE SCRIPTS for the interview process. These scripts have notes and pointers, allowing you to respond to objections, and practice your responses to objections (which we will address at a later stage).

ACTIVE LISTENING is a crucial part of effective communication, particularly when

you are in the initial stages of getting to know a family or referral. As a rule of thumb, make sure you speak only 30% of the time. You want to give the family ample opportunity to express their feelings and concerns. Studies have shown that allowing someone to speak gives them the same pleasure as eating good food or earning money. Active listening is a critical skill of the admissions professional.

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Remember, they don’t care how much you know… until they know how much you care about them!

At the end of the interview, SUMMARIZE THE OUTCOMES you want to achieve after the interview. For example:

1. A commitment from them to complete a preliminary application in the next three days.

2. Have a student call her daughter in the next 24 hours.

3. Have a current parent contact her in the next 24 hours..

4. Get her a financial aid application in the next 24 hours 5. Give her a personal phone call and text and/or video in the next 24 hours.

6. Send her a hand-written note that day.

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STEP 09

Communication Scripts This process is just a snapshot of how you must prepare for every contact. It is the planning framework of your approach. Now, you must plan exactly what you want to say in the form of actual, written scripts. Unfortunately, most admission folks look to “winging it.” But if you try to wing it, your presentation will be neither smooth nor insightful. You will tend to ramble and your speech would probably have many “Ums” and “Ahs.” Have you listened to a compelling and entertaining speaker where everything they said was clear and informative? Well, that doesn’t happen by accident!

As a national keynote speaker myself, I can guarantee you that I have written out what I was going to say verbatim, and practiced my speech hundreds of times.

It’s crucial that you both write out scripts for different people and practice them.

In fact, when starting out, have your script in front of you when making a phone call. One of the true hallmarks of top professionals in every field is that they regularly practice their skills in order to better communicate.

Michael Jordan was one of the best basketball players to ever play the game.

Regardless of his incredible skills, he was always the first at practice and the last to leave. He worked to leave nothing to chance! As a professional, you must create a daily routine to practice the skills of your craft, as well as, to constantly learn new innovations in your industry. Practice and training are what separate the mediocre from the rainmakers. I urge you to choose greatness in your profession!

Most families don’t necessarily narrow their choice to just one special school.

Very often, they enroll in a school because the admissions professional personally connected with them by fulfilling their unique needs. This professional likely offered a concise and organized process that was easy to understand and execute. Every contact you make is critical.

If you don’t plan for who you are speaking with and what you want them to commit to, you will lose them to the school that does.

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People appreciate clear expectations and timelines. People want a roadmap that guides them through every step. If they are confused about your process you will lose them!

As you can see, Objective Based Planning is a mindset that must precede any communication. This process is a crucial exercise you must employ.

Regardless of whether you are doing face to face, phone, email, text, or video, you can still quickly go through the mental checklist of creating a persona before you call, so you can understand the forces that affect this person’s life, and how you can connect effectively to set your agenda and objectives. Persona Development and Objective Based Planning will be powerful tools for your success.

Please note this statistic.

Currently, 63% of all admissions interactions do not include a specific request for action or completion deadline.

Give them the matriculation lifeline by telling them what to do, because you are helping them make the right decision, right now! Don’t assume they know anything about the process.

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MODULE III Results Oriented Implementation

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STEP 10

Time Management As a consummate admissions professional, you must learn the secrets of how to develop and plan the priorities of your daily accomplishments. You are not just a professional — you are the Admissions Entrepreneur. Remember, this is your business, and you must take total ownership of a plan that fits the needs of your school. From now on, you want every person with whom you communicate to feel that there is nothing you won’t do to help them!

Daily recruiting should be the number one priority for any Admissions Office.

However:

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It is because the staff has not yet made the distinction between activity and accomplishment. You have to have both activity and accomplishment to ultimately get results as you move families down the admissions funnel.

Daytime work hours should be about making as much personal outreach over the phone and, whenever possible, face to face. But telephone calls, texts and videos should be your priority. Of course, email will still be part of the mix but not as your first choice.

Three to four hours should be devoted exclusively for proactive outreach.

Clerical work and emails can be done at off hours, evenings and weekends. And yes, while most of you are already putting in extra time, for those of you who have tried to squeeze admissions work into a 9-to-5 pursuit, you will have to change your habits.

Yes, we all want to work smarter rather than harder, but there is also an inescapable degree of extra time on tasks that must be executed to succeed in admissions. Remember, as an entrepreneur, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to reach the numbers for the fall.

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STEP 11

Fall Objectives Most offices are usually quite clear about their goals and objectives for the fall enrollment. Unfortunately, those goals and objectives are not turned into actionable strategies and daily tactics, many of the times. The phrase “you can’t manage what you can’t measure” applies both to the office as a whole as well as to every staff member.

A crucial first step when laying down your objectives is to look at the average totals in each segment of the admissions funnel for the last couple of years.

Then average your totals in each category. This way you get the figures for each area of the funnel: inquiries, visits and interviews, applications, completed applications, acceptances, enrollments, and ultimately matriculations.

● If these numbers did not give you your revenue that year, then you will have to increase your numbers in that category Additionally, over time you will also establish numbers for both your Sales funnel as well as your re-enrollment funnel.

Next, figure out the total numbers that need to be achieved in each segment of the funnel to reach your matriculation goals. Now, work backward and determine what will have to be accomplished by each person, each week, and in the time period, you have left until the fall. For example, if it is March you have got six months to reach your fall objectives.

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Let’s continue with this six-month example. Determine what each staff member must achieve each week, to attain the totals. For example:

1000 inquiries

20 per week

300 visits

6 per week

200 applications

4 per week

150 completed

3 per week

125 acceptances

3 per week

100 enrollments

2 per week (hopefully they will come in chunks!)

95 matriculations

2 per week

Here you are working only with your total enrollment cohort. Obviously, there are other sub-cohorts such as boys, girls, day, boarding, ethnicity etc, which you can plug in. But the main goal here is to employ a system of regular planning, focus and personal accountability to achieve regular results.

Only this time you are creating a plan for your own daily activity. You are setting objectives, strategies and tactics for your performance. The mindset here is that you must have a daily plan for everything that you do, as well as for contingencies, which are always part of the daily admission world.

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STEP 12

Monthly Strategies Planning out your strategies in advance for the coming months is as important as any other type of planning we have covered. Your task would become much simpler if you understand and apply the GOST approach to any planning. GOST is an acronym describing the process for accomplishing most projects in all successful organizations throughout the world.

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You are a boarding school in the Mid-Atlantic area.

The G stands for Goals Your goal for the year is to reach fall enrollment targets.

The O stands for Objectives This is a specific and measurable metric, such as “enroll 50 boys and 45 girls.”

The S stands for Strategies This is the approach you will use to reach the objective.

For example, we will reach out to all feeder schools in the Baltimore metro area in order to reach the above objective. You could have multiple strategies to reach your enrollment targets for boys and girls. Brainstorm. Feel creative. List as many strategies as you can think of.

The T is for Tactics Measurable metrics to fulfill the strategy.

For example: “We will make 20 phone calls, send out 20 follow-up emails and 20 handwritten cards to the Baltimore feeder school placement directors every day.”

Remember each person must know what they must accomplish daily to hopefully achieve in each funnel and in each stage of the funnel to reach enrollment goals.

Now that you know what funnel results you must ultimately achieve, you create your Monthly Strategy plan. This is a report that describes your outreach strategy or, as your approach to achieving your daily, tactical priorities.

On the next page, find a sample report of what areas you and your team would address each month. This report would be due at the first of every month. I have included examples of responses. It starts with a recap of your previous month’s activity.

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Last month What recruiting activities went well and what were the results?

I was able to call my domestic inquiries. Also reached out to local feeder schools and had three really good conversations. I will also connect with them at the end of May and invite them for a campus tour and lunch with Admissions.

What didn’t go well in your recruiting activity?

Not a lot of initial response from my call outreach to my new domestic inquiries. I did leave lots of messages and will continue to follow up next week with handwritten notes.

What changes will you make in next month’s recruiting approach?

Why? I am planning to send out our school view books with my handwritten note card to some domestic families who provided a full address. My main focus this month will also be connecting with the agents in my Asian database.

What skills did you role-play?

Objections from domestic inquiries about tuition cost and follow-up scripts with feeder schools.

What new professional skills did you learn this month?

Learned how to better engage people by improving my school elevator speech by using more compelling stories and insightful questions that invite them into the conversation.

What would you like to share with your team?

Training students to participate in virtual open houses.

Share your commitment results from last month · · ·

Proactive Inquiries --- 6 Applications --- 2 Enrollments --- 0

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Now you pinpoint your strategies for the new month. Please note that these monthly strategies relate to focusing on the three R’s: Referrals, Recruiting and Retention.

Referral Actions (Marketing Funnelnew and current consultants, agents, service organizations, etc.)

Recruiting Activities (Admissions Funnel-Inq., visits, inc. apps etc.)

Retention Activities

➢ Connect with agents in southeast Asia through Skype and WeChat ➢ Connect with all California Consultants via phone, Webinar and text. ➢ This month, I will keep calling and texting my domestic inquiries in California with written-note follow up. ➢ I will reach out to the academic dean to review students below a 2.0 and the Dean of Students regarding any discipline issues. ➢ Start summer program planning. Discuss with the dean about those returning students. ➢ Review the tour guide protocols and set up student training. ➢ I will research the current F1 visa updates in our key countries.

Other Admission Activities

➢ Review and update admissions tracking report ➢ Train student speakers for the virtual open house

Professional Training Special Projects/ Responsibilities

➢ Take the seminar on new financial aid strategies ➢ Create daily social media posts

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Every month, each staff person reviews the goals for the year. The review includes whether they met their commitments last month and their new commitments for the next month.

Yearly Personal Goal: to reach the Enrollment Goal of 95 Matriculated Students in the Next Six Months Team Goals

Personal Goals

1000 inquiries =

20 per week

300 visits =

6 per week

200 applications =

4 per week

150 completed =

3 per week

125 acceptances =

3 per week

100 enrollments =

2 per week

95 matriculations =

2 per week

Your Minimum Commitments for this Month Proactive Inquiries --- 8 Applications --- 2 Enrollments --- 1 Note: It is important to adjust monthly objectives and commitment to the time of the year. For example, in the late summer and early fall, the emphasis would be on developing inquiries. In late fall, focus would be on moving those inquiries to the application segments of the Admissions Funnel. Regardless, every member of the team must have a daily, executable plan with results measurement managed by the director.

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Ultimately, Successful Admissions work is about achieving objectives, therefore creating the mindset of focusing on regular accountability to numbers is crucial.

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STEP 13

Weekly Tactics Break down your daily activities into at least one-hour chunks. This way you and every staff member have a clear idea of what they must achieve throughout the day. All members will track all their actions and admission funnel results daily to help make sure they are achieving their daily objectives.

Once you have broken down your day into chunks of time, you then commit to a number of specific, daily actions, based on the ultimate goals for the fall. You start with a strategic, monthly plan that gives you the direction of your weekly and daily tactics. Throughout each day you must have activities in the three main areas of admissions goals: Referrals, Recruiting, and Retention. Below follows a sample of the daily tactics worked into the weekly schedule.

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February 22-26 Week schedule MONDAY

Tactics

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Check voicemail and emails

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Call Realtors

11:00 – 12:00 PM

Work On general Flier info

12:00 – 12:30 PM

Social Media Posts Creation/Planning

12:30 – 1:00 PM

LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00 PM

Send summer flyer out

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Educational Consultant Calls

3:00 - 4:30 PM

Educational Consultant Notecards

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TUESDAY

Tactics

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Check voicemail and emails

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Check Inquiries and Reach-Out

10:00 – 11:00 AM

Meeting with Graduway

11:00 – 12:30 PM

Check Inquiries and Reach-Out

12:30 – 1:00 PM

LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00 PM

Local Outreach Calls

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Educational Consultant Calls

3:00 - 4:30 PM

Agent Outreach

WEDNESDAY

Tactics

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Check voicemail and emails

9:00 - 9:30 AM

Still checking emails and responding

9:30 – 12:15 PM

Meeting with Tom and Team

12:30 – 1:00 PM

LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00 PM

Calls and Follow-Ups/Notecards

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Agent Outreach

3:00 - 4:30 PM

Workout Wednesday filming & Posting

THURSDAY

Tactics

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Check voicemail and emails

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Still checking emails and responding

10:00 – 11:00 AM

Throwback Thursday search & Post

11:00 – 12:30 PM

Student Lead/Applicant Follow-Ups

12:30 – 1:00 PM

LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00 PM

Educational Consultant Calls / Notecards

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Agent Outreach

3:00 - 4:30 PM

Social Media Posts/Calendar Updates

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FRIDAY

Tactics

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Check voicemail and emails

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Still checking emails and responding

11:00 – 12:00 PM

Social Media Posts/Calendar Updates

11:00 – 12:30 PM

Student Lead Follow-Ups

12:30 – 1:00 PM

LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00 PM

Consultant / Local Calls

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Consultant / Local Notecards

3:00 - 4:30 PM

Agent Outreach/End of Week Tasks

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STEP 14

Daily Tactics The various examples of daily tactics, woven through the sample weekly schedule above, are what help you move people down your admissions funnel.

Here, we describe what these tactics entail.

New Proactive Referral (NPR) Calls Remember, these are people at the top of your sales funnel. They don’t know about the school. It can be the most difficult process, for you are introducing the school to new people. Essentially, you are interrupting their day trying to engage them long enough to move them down the sales funnel from ignorance then to awareness and hopefully interest on the first call. For this you must do a persona review so that you can quickly and empathetically engage them. Also, you need to create a unique script for this particular person, so you know what exactly you are going to say.

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To recap:

Potential referral contacts are… ➢ consultants and agents new to you ➢ service organizations such as Junior League, Rotary and Kiwanis, ➢ social organizations such as tennis and golf clubs ➢ professional organizations ➢ large individual professional companies like Family Law Practices and Money Management Firms ➢ Pediatricians, Family therapists, dentists ➢ HR departments Large corporate

Proactive Inquiries Your goal, with these referral calls, is to create Proactive Inquiries. These are inquiries that did not come through your website or aggregating sites like Study in the USA, or Boarding School Review. Instead, these inquiries are ones that you personally generated by establishing a relationship with a New Potential Referral, like a new consultant, who ultimately gave you a referral that turned into an inquiry. Or, with a current referral source that you regularly followed up on. It is important to track these inquiries specifically, as these are ones that you can control. These are the ones that you just didn’t hope would come into your admissions funnel… you brought them in!

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Conversations Conversations are defined as talks with decision-makers. From your twenty proactive referral calls, your objective is to have at least five conversations with a person who can make specific referrals, instead of leaving a message with a receptionist.

Recruiting Follow ups This is your outreach to existing people already in the database that you know, like prospective parents, who you are moving down the Admissions funnel. Be sure to include all mediums in your outreach. For example: ·

Calls

·

Notes

·

Emails

·

Texts/videos

Sending a brief text, either to someone you just spoke to or left a message for, reinforces your personal engagement. Additionally, sending a 20 sec video from your phone shows them your smiling face and lets them know you are there to help them. Admissions is an intimate, personal business. Get personal and engaging whenever possible; all of us want to feel wanted!

Retention outreaches Retention is the Final R in the daily process. Whether you are calling current families to thank them for sharing their child with the school, writing notes to current students or communicating with advisors. It must be done daily!

Remember, it is far easier to retain a student than to have to enroll a new one.

The biggest mistake admission offices make is not starting soon enough in the year. Make this a daily part of your schedule in the fall. This way any issues a student may have can be quickly resolved by the school, once the year starts, regardless of the increased relationship with teachers, advisors and coaches.

Ultimately, if the student does not come back, the responsibility to replace them is only yours.

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…

To review: Three part sequence of reporting protocol: 1. Each month staff will create their monthly Strategic Report 2. Each week staff will create their Tactics Report outlining the activity time chunks of each day of the weeks 3. Daily, each staff will do an End of Day (EOD) Report of their funnel activities as well as any admission results

Sample End of Day report Admission Funnel Actions

Admission Funnel Results

19 new referral calls

1 Application

22 follow ups

2 visits

6 retention Follow ups (all emails)

0 enrollments

★ Meeting with Mr. Kohn ★ Created acceptance packet ★ Sent tuition statement to deferred student ★ Booked 11 appointments for ST. Alphe Hong Kong fair It is easiest for this reporting to be compiled and tallied daily by each person and either turned in on a written sheet or emailed. All activities are then put in an excel sheet.

This way you can run analyses on your school’s daily, weekly, and monthly totals, so adjustments can be made for the next week to enhance results.

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This style of daily reporting is also helpful in communicating with both the head and the board to educate them as to the focus and accomplishments of the office, in a very transparent and real-time way. This also continues to educate Heads and Boards on how the admissions process works on a regular basis, beyond a snapshot of numbers at the quarterly board meeting.

If the board knows more about what you do and how you do it, they may personally engage in acquiring active referrals from their circle of influence.

Furthermore, as business people, board members are familiar with the concise reporting of regular actions and results. They can then give you a vote of confidence and support of your method and professionalism.

On the next page, find an example of the Excel reporting sheet for each of the staff.

While this may seem like an overly laborious process… what you are doing is creating in yourself and your team, habits that will allow you to achieve results. To that point… statistically, only 3% of people ever write down either their personal or professional goals.

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STEP 15

Persistent Follow-Up

This is one of the important Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in Admissions.

Expect to make many outreach attempts…here are some compelling statistics: . Texting a follow up after you make an inquiry contact gives you 112% higher conversion rate for the family to continue the admission process. · For 51% of families, a quick response is crucial to establishing trust in the school. · One hour or less response time to an inquiry makes the family 7 times more likely to engage and move down the funnel.

Why should you be tenacious with your follow up? . On average people delete 48% of their emails in five minutes. Which is why you must use other methods to continue to engage contacts.

It may take 15 to 20 or more contacts to enroll a student, so be tenacious and don’t ever give up!!

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STEP 16

Creative Engagement

Whether speaking for the first time or the 10 th time, everything you do needs to convey the fact that you are delighted to speak to this person. The vibe you give should get across the sentiment that you have their success as a priority. Anything you do and say should make them feel special; it will allow them to like and trust you.

When you are speaking to them, pay close attention to things relating to what they’re passionate about or what’s important in their lives. The information you gathered in their persona planning gives you a direction to your responses either later in the conversation or in a follow up email text or personal note.

For example, if they mentioned that they attended the funeral of a grandparent who they were very close to, it would be a very kind gesture to send them a note of condolence. Or if they happen to mention they enjoyed horseback, riding you might share a personal experience about your horseback riding. Or, the next time you send them a note, cut out a picture of a horse that may appeal to them.

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Please remember these are not tricks or ploys but rather raising your sensitivity and understanding to find out the best way to connect with a fellow human. You would feel the same way.

Yes, you both know that your primary relationships have to do with their child’s education. But life is a constant interplay of interests and motivations that you need to be aware of in order to connect with everyone you speak with. If you do not take the time to creatively engage with families or referral sources, you will lose out to those people and schools who do.

Remember!

Targeting emails to a person’s interests can achieve a 94% open rate!!

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STEP 17

Referrals They are the lifeblood of any successful business. They are your cheapest and most powerful marketing source. Asking everyone with whom you speak for referrals must be part of your operational DNA!!

Here, again you must have a written and practiced script. Essentially, what you want to do is to leverage every communication you have with either a parent or a referral source to get another potential inquiry. For a new family, it could be asking for a referral from their circle of friends. Or, it might also be a referral to the head of school or placement director at their child’s current feeder school.

Also, If you are talking to a consultant who does not necessarily have a child for you currently, you should ask for an introduction to a consultant that they work with. Once again, this is merely a change in your mindset and a crucial habit to establish.

Of course, your most obvious and direct referral sources would be current parents, students, faculty members, past parents, grandparents, alumni and trustees.

Here some statistics that show how crucial referrals are: 84% of all parents would like to receive a referral about your school from someone they know and trust.

90% of all domestic family decisions will rely on peer recommendations at some level during their school research.

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83% of all families are happy to give a referral if they have had a positive experience.

Only 29% of families give referrals. Why? Because the rest of the 71 % were never asked. Ask away!!

Also, follow up with those who gave you a referral, give them an update on your conversation with their referral, and always send them a handwritten note.

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STEP 18

Communication Etiquette (Old School Fundamentals)

Believe it or not. Old-fashioned values about general attitudes to keep up in communication get the best results. Below is my personal communication program that I apply to all situations involving admissions for my school.

For most admissions professionals, the matter of how to speak on the telephone may seem so basic, they may think it is not even worth talking about.

However, once again, we do not get a second chance to make a first impression. Every person who calls your school needs to feel personally appreciated and glad that they took the time to call us from the minute they first hear your voice.

Answer a call within three rings. The last thing you want to do is keep any family waiting after a string of endless ringing or send them to voicemail when you should've been able and ready to reply.

Responding within three rings gives you enough time to get prepared for the call. Picking up the phone right away might leave you flustered. Calls that are returned

within 5 minutes gives you a 50% better chance of converting that family to an inquiry!

Immediately introduce yourself with enthusiasm.

Practice answering the phone with "Hello, this is [Your first name] and [Your school name]. How can I help you?" This way, your contacting parent will be met with warmth and positivity establishing a good start to your call.

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Speak Clearly. Project your voice without shouting.

A strong, confident voice instills trust.

Only use speaker-phone when necessary. Make it easier for both parties to be heard. Ensure that you're actually paying attention to them.

Actively listen and take notes. It’s essential that you're actively listening to them throughout the conversation. Actively listening means paying attention to everything they have to say and basing your response off of their comments. This proves to the parents that you're present and are empathetic to their needs.

Use proper language. It might be acceptable to use slang and swears when talking on the phone with your friends, but this kind of language can cause you to lose a potential family for life.

Throughout the day, check for and respond to voicemails quickly. Give them a reason to call Back.

Give your name, School and return phone number at the beginning of the message. Next comes your compelling message such as “I have some great news to share with you about Mary,” and then Repeat your name, phone and School at the end.

Don’t ramble; make it short and sweet.

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MODULE IV On Target Execution

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STEP 19

Meeting Agendas These are some of the actual meeting agendas that real schools have used during ROR implementation. Hopefully, you will get a sense of the evolution of the process and how it was successfully introduced to the staff. Ultimately create your personalized agendas and approach that work best with your style. Also, within these meeting notes are sample email and phone scripts that you can use.

I -Strategic Enrollment Management Planning 68

Phase I-Audit and Review INITIAL INTRODUCTION OF ROR This begins a collaborative process to create and execute a comprehensive plan of recruitment and retention of mission-appropriate students to reach target enrollment goals. Each weekly session will explore different parts of the process to clarify and review each step. It is, therefore, crucial that you are actively engaged and understanding of every aspect. This is one of the most daunting and dynamic times in education, so we must all be prepared to function as a cohesive and empowered team.

PERSONNEL AND PROCESS (pre-meeting assignment) Every successful plan has two parts: the plan itself and those who execute it.

Ultimately, all of you are the crucial lynchpin of talent that will determine the level of our success. Having the right people, doing the right things at the right time will be critical. Consequently, in this first session we will be sharing our strengths and challenges in our current role as well as the process moving forward. Afterwards, we will have a general discussion about the current process from inquiry through matriculation as well as an update on current admissions activity. Please comment in the areas below and return back to me by ______________. (date)

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II -Staff Questionnaire ❖ Please list the areas where you feel most confident in your current role, as well as areas that are most enjoyable to you.

❖ Please discuss the areas that are most challenging to you, and where you feel that you would like to have access to more training and/or support.

❖ Please discuss your professional goals over the next 5 years.

Overview-Changing the Oil on a Moving Car (Executing and Planning simultaneously)

The State of Education (Covid-19 uncertainty, on-line learning, new paradigms)

Review of ROR Process Comprehensive, Engaging, Empowering and Collaborative 360 buy in ➔

Weekly Assignments

➔

Individual and Group Training

➔

Goals, Opportunities, Strategies and Tactics (GOST)

➔

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

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Our Opportunity, Our Responsibility ★ Promote an incredible school with a proud history. ★ Create a Best Practices Template for small boarding schools. ★ Become students of the game. Success comes to those who do what others are unwilling to do. ★ Maximize our talents and strive for greatness in a world where mediocrity is the norm. ★ Daily purpose, common goals… a tribe of fearless entrepreneurs acting in unison! ★ Vision, Mission-Brand & Stories that give the unique experiences of our school — what no one does as well or offer what we do. ★ Review ranges of student profiles. ★ Clarify the key stakeholders and personas. ★ Collect, evaluate and apply appropriate data. ★ Establish and execute flexible marketing Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics.

Staff Strengths and Challenges Discussion Admissions Operations from Inquiry to Matriculation ● Discussion of sequential timelines ● Objective based approach at every point of contact ● Common Language

Where are we right now!

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➢ Discuss all cohort status for summer and the fall. ➢ Group SWOT exercise

The power of Achievement (Balance and Health: Sleep, Nutrition and Diet)

● Personal Strategies ● Personal Goals/Passions

Next week expectation ➔

Write out the M-F timeline of your day in one-hour blocks when you are in the office.

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STEP 20

Follow-up Meetings INTRODUCTION Recently we have discussed the School brand and how we can consistently present it to parents, students, alums and referral sources such as agents and consultants.

Furthermore, we reviewed each staff person’s regular daily roles and responsibilities. In light of the currently precarious enrollment numbers, we will modify and clarify each person’s role, so that we can make a concerted effort to open in the fall of 2020 with a viable core number of students and corresponding budget.

ROLES, EXPECTATIONS & GOALS (Overview) This week you will be assigning each person specific daily/weekly tasks with corresponding goals.

As we all know the most important areas of follow up are with people who already know of us. Consequently, each staff member will be assigned a specific area in your locale.

Lastly it is important that we are able to handle questions about all aspects of our school.

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Module Status Goal: Establish consistency.

Objective: “Ten Consistent Messages” Strategy: Categorize messages by stakeholder persona.

Tactic: Brainstorm and role play stories using our stories.

Vision Statement

Mission Statement

Slogan

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Staff Module Assignment 1. Write out a M-F timeline of a typical day in one-hour blocks.

2. Prepare a SWOT analysis from the standpoint of our current recruiting situation. a. b.

Strengths

Weaknesses c. d.

Opportunities Threats

3. Write out 10 stories that give examples describing the unique experiences of Southwestern Academy… what does no one do as well, or offer what we do and relate the stories to the motto, vision, mission and slogan.

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Additional Sample Meeting Agenda Review of Last Week Review of GOST and SWOT.

9:30 Action Segment Current enrolled Inquiries Visits Visits scheduled Apps Potential attrition strategies/follow up Word on the street Success Stories

Immediate and Efficient Action Steps Review personal hourly breakdown of workday.

Immediate and personal action by team members.

Objectives-based approach for all we do.

Can’t manage what we can measure. Know the current numbers for every performance indicator.

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Features, Benefits, & Stories (Brainstorming Exercises)

● Vision, Mission-Brand & Stories that highlight the unique experiences that we provide. ● What does no one do as well, or offer what we do. ● Review Vision, Mission points and Slogan tie-ins. ● The Stories show how we help them.

● Role play exercises.

Focus on Who We Serve ● Review ranges of student profiles. ● Team Persona exercise (Psychographics vs Demographics). ● Clarify the key stakeholders and personas Parents, Referrals, Students, etc. ● Hopes (Gain) vs Fears (Loss).

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STEP 21

Planning Agenda (For Family Follow-up)

INTRODUCTION Recently, we have discussed the school brand and how we can consistently present it to parents, students, alums and referral sources such as agents and consultants.

Furthermore, we have reviewed each staff person’s regular daily roles and responsibilities. Moving forward, we will now start on a proactive plan to achieve a viable, core number of students for this fall.

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OVERVIEW Today we’ll review outreach emails and discuss weekly goals and objectives as they relate to follow up with potential families and referral sources as well as goals.

Moving forward I will be meeting with you individually, twice a week, to review your progress.

Module Status Goal: Attain viable enrollment numbers and corresponding budget figures by fall.

Objective: Matriculate established number of returning students and enroll established number of new students related to corresponding budget goals.

Strategy: Categorize messages by stakeholder persona.

Tactic: Follow up with the specific purpose of creating personalized relationships in order to expedite more leads to facilitate more student matriculation.

Overview

1. Academic departments will review all the returning students and develop a strategy to make sure that they are contacted and have all their concerns answered. The logistics of reentry, as they relate to Covid-19 contingencies, are of supreme importance here. We want there to be complete confidence in the students’ minds that they can return easily and have a safe experience once here.

2. The admissions staff will review the status of all newly enrolled students and have a specific strategy to keep them engaged through matriculation.

3. Admissions will now begin to contact families who did not finish any stage of the admissions process in the last three years.

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4.

Additionally, members of the admissions team will begin contacting alums, past parents, International agents, domestic consultants, local and regional private colleges, schools, pediatricians, psychologists and other professionals and corporations who could be potential referral sources.

NOTE: Before we reach out either by email, phone, text etc. we will consider the different audiences, the approach we use to get their interest, and ultimately our objective (a clear picture of what we want to accomplish). The aim is to allow creating very personal connections to help raise our chance of success.

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Additional Meeting Agenda (Family) Introduction Opportunity to Thrive ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Your potential I have seen True measure Integrity and character unfold in the face adversity We are a dynamic collaborative of recruiting entrepreneurs…we can always do it better…the freedom of how!

Pride of professional accomplishment…how did they do that?

Review of Staff Feelings & Observations State of the Union Updates (Where are we now & what do we know?)

Segment (45 min) Review numbers as of last Friday

Current enrolled Inquiries Visits Visits scheduled Apps

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Immediate & Efficient Action Steps (45 min) Admission Officers Today You are fearless in the face of adversity!

➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Phase I Sprint Strategy Retention strategy help with returning and enrolled students Overview of our approach moving forward “Look under every rock”- outreach emails and personal follow up Discuss specific goals.

Individual & Team OBjectives (Keeping track / Keeping score) INDIVIDUAL -3 Positive Actions a Week § - Got a positive response of interest from a parent. § - Moved a family from the inquiry to schedule a visit. § - Got a family to apply. § - Had a meaningful conversation with a referral partner. § - Got a consultant to ask for more information. § - Set an appointment with a referral source. § - Got an IECA consultant to refer the school to a family. § - Got an agent to visit campus. § - Got a guidance counselor or Head of School to visit. § - Got an alum to refer the school to a family.

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Individual & Team OBjectives (Keeping track / Keeping score) TEAM -10 Positive Actions per Week

Clarify Sequence ➔ Individual Protocols ➔ Emails ➔ Follow Up

Review & Discuss your Funnel Emails Core inclusions of every letter i.e. Covid 19 protocols

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STEP 22

Outreach Plans ROR does not play out by itself. It has to be relentlessly pursued with every possibility of moving potential families and referral sources through the funnels

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FOLLOW-UP LETTERS ◆ Letter follow-up to all the agents who bring us international kids. ◆ mailing #1- Email commission announcement ◆ Mailing #2 - Email commission announcement ◆ Mailing #3 - School Infographic ◆ Mailing #4 - Invitation to campus ➔ ◆ Letter follow up - Kids in the pipeline over the last three years. ◆ Mailing #1 - Email Specific status outreach ◆ Mailing #2 - Email Database first letter ◆ Mailing #3 - Email Database second letter ◆ Mailing #4 - Email Database third letter ◆ Mailing #5 - Email Database fourth letter ➔ ◆ Letter follow up - IECA consultants. ◆ Learning Differences students ◆ Post Graduate students ◆ Mailing #1 - General Introduction letters ◆ Mailing #2 - School Infographic (Constant Contact) ◆ Mailing #3 - personal note with card ◆ Mailing #4 -invite

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Follow up options: Subject areas that you can use to follow up with families ● Social media Icons ● Business cards with personal notes ● Student Bios ● Promote ESL and SAT during the summer ● Senior Speeches… ● Parent Testimonial ● Teacher Bios ● Head of School Welcome

Regional follow up Ideas: These organizations represent people who can traditionally afford independent school tuitions, and need to be made aware of your school. ● Law offices associations ● CPA Associations ● Engineering associations ● Real estate brokers ● Financial planners ● Bankers ● Dentists ● Private Clubs and organizations i.e. (Junior League, country clubs) ● Corporate HR offices for C-Suite executives ● Service organizations ie (Rotary, Exchange Club etc.)

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Follow up phone calls a. In most cases these can be done quickly, since you already have

connected on one level or another. b. You are reminding them of why you reached out. c. If they do not pick up the phone, you’ll leave a message. d. They do pick up the phone and they're busy... Tell them it was nice to

speak again and try to schedule a time to speak. e. It is clear that they have little interest in pursuing the relationship, so

you get back to them in six months.

Note: In your follow up emails, videos of parent and student testimonials are effective, as well as head of school and teacher biographies.

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Continued Follow up Reminders·

Your ability to engage these people successfully at both personal and professional levels, and to ask for and get a referral (or more) from them is crucial. In fact, this year it is the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of our admissions success. We cannot survive as a school unless we can bring more to the top of our admissions funnel through more inquiries!

By now you have some referral sources that you have contacted at least 3-4 times because you now need to ask for a referral. Make it easy for them to say yes. You have established a certain level of engagement with them to the point that they may place an amount of trust in you as a person and a professional. You have always spoken in terms of getting to know them and their business. Now at last, they feel you care about helping them and putting them first. If they object to your referral request, then they don’t yet see how your request is really helping them benefit and grow. Be sensitive to their feelings, and close all conversations and exchanges with empathy. People are afraid to make bad decisions so they won’t make one at all. Help make people feel that they already own a positive decision before they even say yes…

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Some Notes on Follow Up Our follow-up must be relentless. Continue to distinguish yourself with personal notes. Additionally, we must focus on converting those past and current domestic inquiries from the aggregator sites and make them proactive inquiries and move them to matriculation!

Things to remember: 1. Review your total contact list and prioritize your calls to families or referrals that you feel you have started to engage in a relationship.

2. Calling must be a priority, and texts and short videos are immediate ways to further the relationship.

3. Emails are to be used only when you have no other contact information.

4. Make sure that your whole contacts database has the clip of your school’s open house invitation.

5. Each of the domestic consultants on your list should be called at least 12 times. If you are leaving messages, give them a new and compelling reason to call you back.

6. We have got to be top of mind for them at all times. We are calling them to be of service. Never feel that you need to apologize for being persistent.

So much of your success is attitude, focus and mindset. Moving forward: Consider that the person you are about to reach out to is the only referral or family you have.

So, it is imperative that you do everything to engage them empathetically and quickly through the funnel. You can not let them go! Think… “What can I do to make that person feel they are the most important person we have ever met and that meeting their needs is all I consider?”

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STEP 23

Follow-up Ideas Role Play Questions & Objections There are numerous potential questions that the family, consultants, or others you are trying to engage about your school may throw at you. You need to practice answering these questions in role-play sessions, so that when the occasion arises, you can answer every question without hesitation.

Sample Questions: 1. What is unique about what your school offers? And, how does that help your students?

2. What is your mission?

3. What are you really good at?

4. What are the weak areas of your school? What are you doing to improve it?

5. What kind of kids do you work best with?

6. Where do your kids come from within the United States?

7. How do the kids access different campuses? Can they study at both during the year?

8. How is the curriculum different at each campus? And why?

9. What percentage of your students are international? Which countries do they usually come from?

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10. What is your plan to equalize the domestic/international ratio?

11. I usually don’t like to see more than 25-35% international kids.

Please, show me how a higher ratio works.

12. In what grades do most of your kids first enroll?

13. Explain to me your Covid-19 strategy for domestic/international kids.

14. How are you quarantining new kids (domestic/international)?

15. What is your school doing about maintaining social distancing in the dorms?

16. What are you doing to get the girls on campus? I am not comfortable with the current off-site arrangement.

17. Why do you have more boys than girls? What are you doing to improve this ratio?

18. How are you reinforcing your policy on staff protection and safety?

19. How do you plan to handle the enrolled students who might not arrive until the second semester?

20.What is your policy for classroom distancing and how are you enforcing it?

21. What formats between face to face/virtual/hybrid are your classes currently following? Can you please describe in detail.

22. Are you conducting daily student health checks for prompt COVID 19 detection and quarantining?

23. SAT at home protocols What are your protocols for taking SAT at home?

Brainstorm then role-play what other questions you might get asked.

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Role Play Questions that Consultants May Ask They hate it when you just give them features about the school that they could easily get from the website. You must engage them by first being interested in helping them. Be an active listener!

Before I list the role-play questions to help you practice your efforts to engage consultants and get meaningful results through them, here are some things to remember: 1. Review features vs benefits.

2. Show them the benefits connected with the stories we developed 3. They will trust and want to refer prospective students to your school if they see you are working hard to understand their approach to working with families.

4. The more that we keep consultants engaged with a student they placed with us, the more we keep them connected with that family. By doing this we help their business grow by putting them in a position to have more work with that family in the future such as working with a younger sibling or family relative or friend. Also, if that family keeps in contact with that consultant once the child graduates from your school, they could be retained for the college search.

5. You want them to see that you are working on their behalf to retain and get more families, just like we want them to send us more kids!

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Here are the consultant role play questions to be answered: 1. How can we best help you work with your families?

2. How can we best communicate with you during the application process?

3. Could you give me a profile of the families that you prefer to work with.

4. What are the types of families you work with?

5. Is there a different market that you might be looking into?

6. Working with therapists and associated testers, how do you want to be kept in the loop?

7. How do you best like to be communicated with?

8. What times work best for me to call you?

9. Do you want me to schedule our calls first via email?

10. Where would you like me to send you our school brochures?

11. Do you have a particular family that you would like me to reach out to?

12. When would be a comfortable date for you to have us arrange a visit?

13. Would you like to come alone or with a group of your colleagues? Do you have a group of people you like to travel with?

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Sample Parent Objections to Handle 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

It's too expensive.

We can’t afford the tuition.

We did not budget for this.

We have other financial priorities.

I don’t want to commit to a whole year.

We're already working with another school.

We’ve already signed a contract with another school.

The day school is cheaper.

9. We are happy with the school we are currently in.

10. I hear that you have too many Asians.

11. I have to speak with my spouse.

12. My spouse will not approve.

13. I just don’t know if this is worth our investment.

14. My company may be downsized.

15. There's too much going on right now.

16. I really can’t make this decision.

17. I've never heard of your school.

18. Our children are doing fine where they are.

19. We really don’t have a family plan for our child’s education.

20. It's just not important right now.

21. don't really see the advantages of your school.

22. I don't understand your mission.

23. I've heard complaints about your school from our locals.

24. We just have too much going on right now.

25. Your application process seems too complicated.

26. You don't understand my child’s challenges.

27. So far no one seems to understand our family’s challenges.

28. Your school doesn't have X feature, and we need it.

29. We're happy with where we are.

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30. I don't see the educational payoff given your high tuition.

31. Boarding school is not representative of real life.

32. Your school schedule doesn't fit with my family schedule.

33. We would love to do this for our child, but we are just too busy.

34. You have a weak sport program.

35. You have girl dormitories off campus. I am concerned.

36. Why do you have so few American students?

37. I'm busy right now.

38. I'm not interested.

39. Just send me some information.

40. Call me back after the first of the year.

41. Did you get my information?

42. I have heard terrible things about your school.

How to Handle Objections (They are really a request for more information) When a person introduces a concern…

Take a breath to consider exactly what you want to say.

Slow Down: Project authority by speaking slowly, calmly, and with certainty.

Talk Less… listen more.

Counter with a question: people feel understood when you validate their concerns with a question.

Give them the gift of feeling understood and you’ll carry powerful influence.

“For example: “That’s a valid concern, Kate. It seems like you’re pretty torn on what to do here. Could you please give me a little more information on why you are feeling this way?”

You’ll have them feeling like you are an ally who can truly help them with their concerns and need for more information.

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Objections Exercise Please be prepared to have 5 role play conversations and handle 3 ‘No’s before they give you the referral.

Closing is the process of helping people make decisions that are good for them. You must show them that their decision is best for them by giving you the referral!

Common Objections will be either articulated or they would be privately thinking those out. You must address common objections ahead of time, so it won’t become an objection.

Know their reflex objections.

Feed the objection back.

Never change the subject to a “No” or ”by the way.”

Some common consultant objections: 1. I do not have time to give you that information right now.

2. I do not feel as though you know me well enough to understand what our kids need.

3. I have not spoken to the family yet.

4. I do not feel as though I know you well enough to trust you, as you have not taken enough time to ask me the right questions.

5. I don’t feel that I know your school well enough to make a specific recommendation to one of our families, yet.

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STEP 24

Creating Engagement Strategies for Creating Effective Engagement 1. Make a habit of doing a mental, personal check of who you are about to call.

2. Virtually speaking we have 8 seconds or less to make an impression.

Record yourself and work from a script to sound more sure of yourself when speaking with someone over the phone.

3. Always be enthusiastic 4. Speak about 30% more slowly than you normally do on the phone. This way they are sure to clearly hear and understand what you are saying.

Clarity is the first stage of communication and sets the foundation for engaging people.

5. Thank people for their time.

6. Always ask a person for their name and always tell them yours.

7. Before someone transfers you, get the email of whom you’re trying to reach. Thus, if they don't answer, you still can get an email out while also leaving a message.

8. Always give your last name to leave a more professional and commanding impression.

9. If a sending school has no placement person, get the headmaster’s info.

10. Minimize your research time. Google the number and call.

11. Ask for referrals where appropriate. This will double our inquiry success.

12. Always be thinking of how you can save time. Keep asking yourself, “Is this important for me to do now? Is it a priority? Is it moving someone to the next stage of the pipeline? Is there a way to more efficiently manage my files?”

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Empathy: Understanding the Pain and Fears of Consultants and Feeder School Directors a. It is important for them to do an excellent job for a family and their children. By giving you a referral, they may feel that they are risking their professional reputation. b. They perhaps might not be an organized person and are embarrassed to tell you that they did not get enough information from their family on the last phone call. c. They have trouble separating all of the different schools and their specific offerings and are feeling overwhelmed. d. Every time an admissions officer calls them, they feel this person wants to sell the school to them and get a recommendation rather than to find out about their business or school. e. Possibly their headmaster has told them to really only recommend specific schools where he or she may have a relationship with that head of school and perhaps has made some promises that you were unaware of.

They do not feel as though you have spent enough time asking the right questions to show them that you really understand your school and what kind of environment their graduates need to continue to thrive.

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Empathy: Understanding the Positive Drivers of Consultants and Feeder School Directors a. By giving you the referral, you will save them time so they don’t have to do it themselves. b. You will be their trusted advisor partner in working closely with them and the families. c. If you have shown that your school is a good option for their kids, then it will make their parents feel that the person is more professional by giving them better choices. d. The more satisfied your parents are, they will convey their satisfaction to your boss, the head of school. Your boss will feel pleased about you and perhaps even give you a raise if you have successfully placed all of the kids at secondary schools this year.

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Engagement Questions & Pointers ● How long have they been married? ● How did they meet their spouse?

● Hobbies ● Where they grew up ● Where do you like to vacation? ● Favorite food

● How many kids do they have? ● Years in the profession

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Always Be Closing (ABC) & Always Be Listening (ABL) Whether you are asking for a referral from a consultant or organization to agree to proceed to the next step, keep focused and consider the following: Assume that everyone will respond favorably. Make your suggestion or request casually and with confidence. Tempered enthusiasm always helps.

For example: “Would you like to give me the family information now, so I can get it out to them today? Or, is it easier for you to email me the information? Would it be helpful if I sent you a reminder email when I get off the phone, so you can get me their information tomorrow?”

When they have made up their mind to give you the referral, they will want you to take care of it quickly. Do not discuss alternatives or off topic subjects.

They are busy; respect that and email those families!

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Parent Buying signs (i.e. agreeing to move to the next step in the admission process) 1. The pace of the conversation slows or speeds up.

2. They ask more questions.

3. They need more data.

4. They project into the future how your school will help them.

5. Visually, they might smile.

6. Their eyes may light up.

7. They may ask what exactly you are sending.

8. Laughing is like a “yes.”

After you ask for the referral, pause until they speak. Whenever you ask a closing question, remain silent. The first person to speak loses.

Practice W.A.I.T., that is “Why Am I Talking?”

Listen more!

Assume all people feel and act on the urge to say “No” at first. Begin with the acceptance that the person you are speaking to is committed to rejecting whatever you are proposing.

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Remember!

50% of sales (Enrollments) will result from handling major objections.

40% will come from your ability to overcome procrastination.

Most “Rain Makers” ( top admission professionals) usually get a family to commit on their fifth conversation.

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STEP 25

Checklists & Templates

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Check-List for Virtual Conference Planning ● Booth strategies ● Grab their attention ● Possible speaker ● Professional dress ● Must get them to the Booth ● Staffing of booth assignments ● Educational seminars

● Put on our social media pre-event invites ● Thought leader/provide value ● Provide a worthwhile experience ● Unique, compelling, clear (what is in it for them) ● Create personal and group questions ● Links to each presentation to attendees ● Buttons and visuals for booth

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

● Move them through the funnel: ○ Consultants, Colleagues, Feeders ● Video chatting-best connection ● Themed Game competition ● Trivia Challenge to know us ● Immediate follow up: Cards and email out key points ● Use of virtual briefcase: docs, presentations, booths, contacts, give-a-ways ● Robin – introduction Video et al ● Our profiles must have pictures ● Chat request in real time, or by appointment ● Our computer/cameras set up ● Landing page with information and social media ● Solicit questions. Make sure that attendees get announcements.

Chat strategy Group practice Booth messaging Clear message: Networking introductions Lookers vs shoppers PDFs Videos Podcasts Trackable leads Document downloads Themed Gifts Make emails easy Virtual Photo Booth Spash logo monitor Virtual Biz card Exchanges Real Time booth metrics Documents offered White paper, video, PDF

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● Starbucks ● Stuff in briefcase ● Initiate contacts ● Time zones ● Resource centers Info ● Compelling Picture profiles ● “Green Rooms”

● Many people don’t go to speakers ● GOST for conference with metrics ● Outcome ● Test lights, camera, headphones ahead of time. ● Multiple licenses and wi-fi connection. ● Force Majeure

● Speaker communication ● Eventbrite ● War room ● Always practice ● Conference/ Training ● Clear schedule of events ● Kick off and keynote ● Speaker wranglers ● Intro and excuse them ● Prioritiesstakeholders ● Backend tech support ● Sponsorship opportunities ● Attend to speaker upgrade ● Emcee for each track ● Schedule

contract ● All to promote!!! ● What is in it for them=value ● Branding ● Survey ● Volume vs price ● The “Red Sole” approach ● Break out room ● Post conference follow up ● Frontend ● Backend ● Big Backend ● What problems will be sold ● Problemsolution, problem-solution etc. ● Long time value ( one year) ● Regular swag and give a ways ■ 106

updates ● Compelling Event landing Page ● 30 minute lead time for speakers

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Presenting the School to a Group Tactics: ●

Know your audience, (review persona ahead of time)

●

Thank them

●

Write out your script, then outline

●

Tell school stories to make points

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Give Personal stories for emotional connection

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Enthusiasm- education is a passionate and noble profession

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Eye contact: scan the room, one person

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no ums and ahs

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Don’t pace while presenting

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Gestures above the waist

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If you are comfortable…they will be comfortable

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It is just a conversation

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Set agenda

●

You may be introducing the Head

Process: 1.

Tell them what you are going to tell them,

2.

Tell them

3.

Recap what you told them

4.

Plan objective to move them to the next level (apply, visit etc)

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Virtual Open House Presentation Checklist ❖ Consider background ❖ Shoulders/gestures ❖ Taking questions and handing off ❖ Intros to include titles ❖ energy ❖ make an hour or less ❖ Be above your camera ❖ Professional dress ❖ Alternative agendas ❖ Practice!!!

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Scripts and Email Templates

The crucial approach to recruiting starts with taking someone from ignorance to awareness about your school, followed by obtaining a referral/inquiry, so we can ultimately get them to apply and enroll!

INTRODUCTION Once they pick up the phone, they must engage with you on some level. Even if they don’t want a relationship now, they know that there is an enthusiastic and professional person on the other end of the phone representing the school. So, if or when the need arises, they know that we are good people who can assist them.

People can ignore emails. They are deluged with them, which is why if we have a conversation with them first, they will be more apt to look for an email from you and open it.

We can make calls quickly and if no one answers, we leave a succinct message. (Your name, who you represent, and why you are calling. Then, move on to the next call.)

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If you do reach someone, we have the opportunity to take them not just from ignorance to awareness but to actually asking for and getting a referral. We can immediately tailor our responses to their questions, further enhancing our engagement and trust.

We can get not only complete contact information immediately, but learn how specifically we can help them with answers to their questions, so that they can better serve their students. If we help people get what they want first, we will always get what we need in due time.

General Phone and Email Script for Educational Agents or School Officials These scripts can be adapted for use with potential parents as well. Feel creative!

Phone Script Key Objectives: 1.

Get inquiries: Get the name of specific students that can be emailed, so that we can email them school materials. (This will probably not happen on the first call but it is important to at least ask.)

2.

Set up a way to let their kids know about the school: Schedule personal phone/Zoom meetings.

This script is merely a guide; review the wording to fit your personality and how you would comfortably convey the information.

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“Hello, ( their first name), this is (your last name) from (school name). I am calling to introduce myself, get to know you, and determine how we can best help your families. Is this a good time?”

If it is not a good time, make sure that you offer another time during the current week and the following week ( have a sheet with the times you can suggest).

“I understand completely. I can give you a call back this Wednesday at 10 am or next week on Tuesday at 2pm. Which would you prefer? (Their response.) That is terrific. I will send you a confirmation email.”

If it is a good time, set the agenda:

“I would like to get to know you and learn about your process of helping your graduates or families make a successful move to their next school.

Also, I would like to let you know about us and how we help students like yours. If it seems like we might be a good fit for one another, then I would be happy to get their contact information and email them our brochures and application. Does that work for you?”

After you have had a conversation or set up an appointment for a later date:

“Thank you for your time. I look forward to working with you. I will send out a follow up email in the next 24 hours. In the meantime, please take a quick look at our website. Currently, we have openings for this fall. May I follow up with you in the next couple of weeks?”

Practice these scripts beforehand, so they flow naturally from you when you are on the phone.

Rehearse the basic talking points about your school before making the call.

Finally, make sure that you have your elevator speech in front of you, as well as other pertinent information.

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Potential Questions for School Officials 1.

How many students are in your graduating class this year?

2. How do you normally educate your parents about a potential school?

3. Will you be having a virtual fair this year? (If so, we would like to join.

What are the dates and details?)

4. Have you already prepared your school list for your graduating students?

5. Once you refer a family to us, how can we best communicate with you during the application process?

6. Should we copy you on everything or just on certain documents?

7. What are your best times and days to speak on the phone?

8. Do you want us to schedule our calls/video chats and send you confirmation via email?

9. Your preferred snail mail address?

Questions for Educational Consultants 1.

What is your preferred method of communication?

2. Once you refer a family to us, how can we best communicate with you during the application process?

3. Should we copy you on everything or only on certain documents?

4. Who are the types of students you typically work with?

5. Will you also help the student with college placement?

6. What are the best days and times to speak on the phone?

7. Do you want us to schedule our first call/video chat via email?

8. What is your preferred mailing address?

9. Currently, do you have a particular family you would like us to contact?

10. When would be a comfortable time of year for you to have us arrange a campus visit? Would you like to come alone or with a group of some of your colleagues? Do you have a group of people you like to travel with?

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Email Template Agents or junior school School Officials If you spoke to them…

Thank you for spending some time with me and allowing me to share information about your terrific school and students. I am excited to help you introduce (School Name) to your graduates…

If you did not speak with them…

I am reaching out on behalf of (school name and quick facts about the school).

Consequently, during these pandemic times, we want to help you and your graduating students learn about us. In lieu of a face to face fare, we can assist in the following ways: ● Schedule personal phone/Zoom meetings with individual families ● Schedule live chat presentations that your families could join ● Taped presentations that we could email to selected families ● Personal visits on your campus with proper protocol and social distancing ● Offer an on-campus group tour with interviews.

Again, please let me know how we can partner with you and serve you. I look forward to speaking with you this week. In the meantime, please review our website.

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MODULE V Leadership Tools

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STEP 26

Relations with Head/Board

Your Head of School, as well as your school’s Board of Directors, all may have a different understanding of admissions. Moreover, you are at different levels of relationships with them as the key admissions professional.

Few heads come from the admissions office. Most were teachers who went to department head, assistant head and now head. Some may have fundraising backgrounds or the experience in the business world with little or no educational leadership experience. Their management style may run to the friendly person who stops in your office at least once a day just to see how you’re doing and get a feel for how things are going. Also, they may or may not be interested in actually helping to market the school, but at least it’s someone you feel is interested and approachable.

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There are other heads who are very compartmentalized and see their most important relationship is with the board. This is essentially a corporate style. You are considered one of their direct reports. They will give you a certain amount of time, but basically tell you to do your job.

Regardless of their understanding and approach, every Head appreciates the opportunity to learn more and see how organized and effective you are. The transparency of the ROR planning and reporting also helps the head show the board how you are doing at any point in time. This also highlights his leadership ability and how innovative you are.

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STEP 27

Hiring

As we all know, we are only as good as our team. We can no longer be satisfied with current skill sets coming from our past. But still today, many young people come to admissions almost by default. For example, a school may have a need for a part time coach but the person needs full time work. Consequently, the Head of School may come to you and say: “I have got this great guy, wonderful personality and I know that he would be great for admissions.”

Or a trustee sends you the son of a wealthy donor who just graduated from college and needs a job, since his English Literature degree just isn’t opening many doors. Consequently, they want him to start in admissions. Now the English department chair is not about to take a chance on this rookie, but somehow admissions should. Lastly, how about the woman who is an alum and just loves the school and wants to tell all the prospective parents and students about the school.

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Unfortunately, alums present a particular challenge. They may love the school and teachers deeply, but are many times used to being catered to by faculty as a student. They are not experienced being in the role of employee and no longer given the special perks that they came to expect as a student.

I had an experience with one young woman who liked to sleep in and figured it was OK, just as long as she got her work done at 10 PM. Clearly, she was not a fit and didn’t last. Consider your own faculty, they know the school, and could tell someone you are slowing-groom for a future date. In fact, when there is an opening, let your whole community know.

Keep your eyes open for the teacher who, when you ask for help for an open house, responds quickly and seems to want more responsibilities outside of her teaching role. Additionally, be aware of people you interact in your personal life who might present themselves as a potential fit.

Also, remember that just because someone has come from another admissions office does not mean they have what you are looking for. Instead, grooming someone with raw but great potential and willingness to learn may be the way to go.

Regardless of where you ultimately find your next staff person, always do a background check and look for the right skills, love of education and ability to change student lives. Enthusiasm can never be underestimated - look for an upbeat person that hits the office with a smile on their face and an excitement for accomplishing goals.

In addition, consider these qualities: ➢ the desire to truly help people by enrolling them in the school. ➢ the ability to communicate clearly on paper and face to face. ➢ basic understanding of the social graces. ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ never go out of style. They can articulate your professional and personal goals. ➢ the desire to be compensated for outstanding results.

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Furthermore, you must remember that past behavior is the greatest predictor of future behavior. Therefore, it is crucial to review and study their past jobs and social or athletic involvement. For example, if someone was the captain of the soccer team and a member of the debate team, they are probably an articulate leader. As far as athletics go, you are also looking for a person who is motivated and organized to achieve goals in their own life through their association with a team. If you don’t feel you have the time to intensely mentor a younger person, then my advice is to look for someone with proven life and personal skills and wants to learn the profession.

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STEP 28

Compensation __ The New Paradigm

Discussing commissions and bonuses as part of the admission professionals’ compensation stirs lots of emotions. Personally, I feel that in the future, schools will not thrive unless they can attract and retain dynamic admissions professionals with new era skills who are motivated by both a love of education and financial Incentives apropos to their efforts.

In the current and future climate of enrollment, admission professionals are now faced with the challenges of a post-pandemic world where Americans are having less kids, diminished earning power, and fewer international students. Only being the benevolent educator, stewarding families through the admission process is no longer enough.

Professionals must be able to engage families and use sales fundamentals skills to clearly direct a family through every step of the process with a concise plan.

They need to display the relentless tenacity of an entrepreneur who demonstrates a complete knowledge of marketing and management.

Furthermore, unlike their corporate sales counterpart whose interaction with clients is mostly transactional and product-focused, the admissions professional must possess the empathic desire to change the future lives of young people. Add to that the sincere intention of helping parents create their own family legacy through a long relationship.

Admission professionals are further challenged by technological and marketing innovations that change at light speed. Consequently, the new breed admissions professional truly possesses a renaissance skill set in order to be successful at the highest level of competition for students.

Currently, many admission folks are feeling that the acquisition and incorporation of these new skills is not what they signed up for and are looking for other career options or retirement.

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However, for those who are willing to embrace the transformation to the next level of aptitude, schools must not only be willing to support professional training, they also need to begin attracting talented new hires and be open to performance-based compensation. The historical argument that commissions would encourage a conflict of interest between professionally caring for a family vs the lure of extra cash and admit non-mission appropriate students is ridiculous!

Whether one is a corporate sales executive or the professional admissions officer, both must perform their roles with top skills and integrity. Looking out for the best interests of a business client or family is the expectation for both professionals. Consequently, neither would have a career of any tenure if they engage in unscrupulous practices.

Currently, admission professionals must not only possess more complex skills than the corporate sales executive, they are still expected to meet an enrollment quota. They have no other incentive and neither do they get a commission. They only have a base salary and are woefully underpaid compared to those in the corporate world.

There are many young men and women who have a great love of helping people and are personally motivated to financially better themselves through extra effort. Most have never considered a career in admissions. Schools should consider that and tap into this pool for their admissions office hires. As for the young staff who already are in admissions for one reason or another, they would not consider admissions as a goal or career because of the currently low compensation. Furthermore, schools must invest in consistent, high level training for their admission staff.

It’s time heads and boards started to have these discussions the same way they discuss compensation plans elsewhere in the school. If schools don’t elevate the professional status of their enrollment offices by offering hybrid compensation, ongoing training to attract top performers, and recruit staff with the higher skills; they will lose outstanding candidates to schools who will.

Based on the pure amount of money brought in via the Admissions Office versus the Development Office, the Director of Admissions should get the higher salary, or at least have parity. I have successfully achieved in both fundraising and admissions and found raising money relatively easy versus the relentless pressure of enrolling students.

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STEP 29

Training

The average new hire is fully productive in 5.3 months.

High-performing admissions offices are twice as likely to provide their staff with on-going training.

Unless admissions skills are practiced and used, training is forgotten in 3 months!

Here is a small example of why daily training and personal practice should be a part of every professional’s day. One skill that every person in your office should know, like breathing, is your elevator speech. And yet, most still stumble about, and neither know what they should say and, what is the objective…when asked, “Please tell me about your school.” The biggest reason is that the office never created one in the first place , even if they did, the staff never practiced it.

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Elevator Speech is a term used to concisely describe your organization in a few sentences that compels the listener to want to know more. It is important that you give a brief overview of the school that focuses on the benefits rather than the features from the website. Focus on what core advantages you offer. It is also helpful if you give a specific story related to the success of a student …stories sell conviction!

For example:

“Stone Academy is a 9-12 School and was founded in 1842 by Mr. and Mrs. John L Haberdashery. Its mission has always been to serve each student’s individual educational needs, while giving them crucial life skills to thrive in college and beyond. One of our students, Lucy Drucker, started out as a very shy young woman but after four years in our women’s leadership symposium and public speaking clubs, she went on to graduate from Yale, summa cum laude. She went on to start her own software company that grossed over $100 million last year.”

The elevator speech should be memorized, ready on the tongue any time you meet someone unfamiliar with your school. Let it be your conversation starter wherever you are with new people. Ideally, your whole school should know what to say. Admissions can help train them to be true ambassadors.

The point is that if your office does not have a culture and curriculum of regular training, you will continue to fall behind the curve of access to new marketing and recruitment skills. When you are next with your staff, ask them what they would say if someone asked about the school. What you hear is what your prospective families and referring consultants are getting too. Additionally, try asking your Head - great way to get them engaged.

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STEP 30

Wellness Performance It is the foundation of life’s success: If you are not well, you can’t perform!

And you have to be well... ·

Intellectually,

·

Spiritually,

·

Physically, &

·

Emotionally!

As you have noticed, the overarching approach of the ROR system is one of planning, structure, fundamentals and attention to detail. Now, those admissions leaders who are most effective in implementing ROR principals, must also strive for a healthy well-organized personal life.

Our profession can take a physical and psychic toll on us by its very nature.

Beyond the office we all have demands and challenges as well as fun pursuits outside of the office that we must balance. Consequently, it is easy for the lines of personal and professional to get blurred.

Ultimately, while we may love our jobs and the people we work with, they are not usually filling the same needs as our spouses and children. We may have countless reasons to feel grateful, but sometimes we are challenged to keep a positive attitude as we face life’s villains and keep everything in balance.

Personally, my wife who fell down the stairs two years ago is paralyzed, and our youngest son is schizophrenic. So my unique responsibilities to them must be part of my life’s routine and balanced with my professional life, just like all of us.

We must therefore take the time to give ourselves credit for being a unique yet imperfect human being in this world and how we can appreciate what makes us special.

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Time does not give anyone a bigger or smaller piece. We are all handed 1440 minutes, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year in which to live our lives. In that time we grow up to adulthood, pursue professions, get married, raise children, go on vacation and grow older.

In this period of time, we must decide what must be attempted and hopefully accomplished before our bodies wear out. And when they do, we will hopefully have the luxury of reflecting on a life well lived. Perhaps most important is the satisfaction of having the opportunity of passing on our knowledge to the next generation, so that they too can live a fulfilled life.

We need a plan to focus on what we really want to achieve, personally, when we get up in the morning — compelling tactics and actions each day.

What really gets us into the party of life is when we are making things happen, when we are creating things, when we are learning and when we are helping other people. That is when we are truly living the life we were meant to live — when we are leveraging all our God-talents and acquired skills to forge our unique place in this world and achieve our destiny by reaching our goals.

As a lifelong student of the habits of people who have lived fulfilling lives, there are a few constants that stand out to me. While you have probably heard of most of them, they are worth repeating, and have been with me, most of my adult life.

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My Top Ten for the Day ·

Get up by 5am

· Eat nutritious foods when you are hungry ·

8 hours of sleep

·

Don’t eat after 7pm

· Tell at least one person you love them everyday

·

· Quart of water in the morning (water is to the body like oil is to a car, we can’t run without it!) · Exercise daily (think motion; doesn’t matter what) · Have goals for everyday written out the night before · Make practice

hugging

a

daily

Go to bed by 10pm

Also, remember the acronym, HALT. Don’t make decisions if you are: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.

I would like to leave you with a final consideration for directing your life.

Create a personal credo, a roadmap for your life, a mission you live by and stand by!

Just like we have spoken about the importance for your families and referrals to know how to get to the next segment of the funnel, you must first know where you are going in your life!!

You are part of an incredible tribe of admission professionals and I wish you all dynamic success …Remember, you are one of the big cats of the Admission’s Jungle…and now it is time to ROR!

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Bullet Proof Recruiting Skills For Admission Professionals

The Secret Playbook for Success By

Tom Schenck, President

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Tom Schenck - Personal Mission What I Stand For · I will strive to live my life with honesty both to myself and my wife Nancy, and others. ·

I will try to learn something every day that will enhance my life.

· I will try to live my life in such a way as to inspire and to enrich the lives of those around me. ·

I will try to keep myself alert with a regular routine of physical exercise.

·

I will always try to listen more than I speak.

· I will try to always remember that who I am and what I have achieved is the result of the love and guidance of many people and future success will be as a result of the same process. ·

I will always strive to be the best of my ability in every capacity.

· I will always keep my relationship with Nancy and my family a priority in my life. · I will work to keep a clear account of our monthly expenses so that we will control our money. · I will continue to challenge myself and take calculated risks that may enhance my life. · I will look for the good in everybody realizing that ultimately, we all want to be happy. ·

I will always look to inspire positive laughter.

·

I will seek to look at all opportunities globally before making decisions.

·

I won’t push myself when I am tired but realize my limits.

· I will never forget that I am lucky to be alive and blessed with the capacity to give and grow.

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