Versions of Conversion

A blog on managing enrollment and yield

Posts Tagged ‘college’

It’s Okay to Ask for the Order [Video]

March 29th, 2016

We recently launched a series of free video training tutorials on our website and YouTube channel aimed at making your counselors even better at their jobs. On our website you’ll find an ever growing list of admission counselor tutorials. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tutorials, powerful data from national co-sponsored studies and interviews with some of your peers.

Let’s take a moment and focus on the critical final step in the model of communication that will lead to higher yield for your college or university: CLOSING.

Did you cringe? Some readers may be thinking, “I am not in sales. I work for a highly-respected college.” I agree! That’s not what closing is about.

In the college admissions process, closing simply means getting the student to take the next logical step on the path to enrolling. That might mean asking the student to schedule a campus visit. Or complete an application. Or agree to meet students of like mind and interests on your campus.

In admissions we’re not in the business of imposing something on someone. We’re in the business of understanding how the student can best be served and suggesting the next logical step in providing the service we know they’ll benefit from. Many prospective students and parents have never been through this complex process of selecting a college. They need us to tell them what a good next step would be and why. And if we don’t do that for them then we’re not serving them well. If we don’t take charge then we’re not doing our duty for them or our institution.

There are many milestones on the path to enrolling. But in every conversation you have with a prospective student or parent, whether it is the first or the fifth, you should end with a suggestion that the student take the next logical step.

If the student indicates that a roadblock exists, you have to uncover his or her objection or concern. You may find that the objection or concern is rooted in a lack of information or a false assumption that the student or parent may have about your institution. You will never uncover that without asking for the next step and, if they resist, asking why. (You wouldn’t believe all of the funny false assumptions that counselors have told us they’ve heard from prospective students who didn’t want to take the next step. One Florida counselor told us a student didn’t want to move forward because she’d heard alligators sometimes get in the women’s dorm. The counselor assured her that she’d be safe from that.)

Many counselors tell us they are apprehensive about closing. They feel as though they are being intrusive or pushy by asking the student to take some action.

In truth, closing is a natural part of the dialogue. For the student, it signals the college’s desire to recruit them. They expect counselors to ask them to take action so it’s no surprise to them when they do. As a matter of fact, we have found that some students are disappointed when they are not asked to make some kind of commitment to the college. It signals a lack of desire on the part of the college.

Have you ever heard the expression, “Don’t get in your own way?” That is exactly what you are doing if you fail to ask for the close. Most counselors say that once they got into the habit of closing they were surprised at how many times prospective students happily agreed to take the next suggested step.

Closing, like the three other elements we have outlined in the model of communication, ensures you the most productive conversations with students. Embrace the model, and you and the students you serve will be more successful.

Longmire and Company’s on-campus Interactive Training Workshops dramatically improve the performance of counselors and staff in areas such as effective communication with students and parents, applying creative entrepreneurship to their jobs, validating past and planned actions against outcomes, and discovering and leveraging the motivations of students (and themselves).

The end result is improved service to prospective students and families, measurable increases in yield, increased counselor and staff job satisfaction, enhanced teamwork, and innovations in work process within the department.

If you’ve thought about helping your staff with professional development, now is the ideal time to train and motivate your staff. Email or call me if you are interested in how we can help. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company and the tools we have to offer, click here. Be sure to subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you can stay up-to-date.

Bob Longmire is President of Longmire and Company, Inc. He is a recognized expert on the topic of how prospective students and parents form their college selection decisions – and how colleges can use that knowledge to grow and control their enrollment. He can be reached at (913) 492-1265, ext 709 or at blongmire@longmire-co.com. Connect with Bob at Linkedin/in/boblongmire.

Comments Off on It’s Okay to Ask for the Order [Video] »

Posted in Closing the Sale, Conversion and Yield, Counselor Training, Organizational development

Tags: admission counselor training admissions admissions counselors admissions customer service admissions success brand management college college admissions college enrollment college presidents college recruiting college yield customer service training EMChat enrollment enrollment management higher ed higher ed marketing higher education marketing longmire and company Longmire and Company study recruiting staff training yield yield enhancement

Uncovering Hidden Objections Will Transform Your Conversations With Prospective Students [Video]

March 22nd, 2016

We recently launched a series of free video training tutorials on our website and YouTube channel aimed at making your counselors even better at their jobs. On our website you’ll find an ever growing list of admission counselor tutorials. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tutorials, powerful data from national co-sponsored studies and interviews with some of your peers.

Would you be surprised to learn that many students in your admit pool are withholding something from you? What if that “secret” is the one thing that could derail their plan to enroll at your college? Maybe it’s a concern. Or something they simply don’t like about your college. It may be a negative perception that’s based on a false assumption. It could be something huge or it may be something small, but it is something you need to know.

We have found that nearly every prospective student has a hidden concern or objection that could disrupt their path to enrolling. Even the most skilled admissions counselors often find it difficult to uncover these “secrets.” Typically, students don’t open up and share their concerns for one of two reasons: A) Your prospective students are genuinely kind and don’t want to hurt your feelings, or B) they are concerned they will reveal something that will hurt their chance of being admitted.
They may not tell you but they have told us. We provide a tool called the Yield Enhancement System (YES) that gathers key information from students at a crucial point in their college selection process – after they have applied. YES gathers candid information from students in a college’s admit pool about their needs, preferences, perceptions and plans, including which colleges are truly under final consideration and what they are most concerned about.

Over the years we’ve asked more than a million college-bound students two simple questions: What are your top-three colleges and what are your positive and negative impressions of each?

Very often, we find that the one thing troubling the prospective student is actually a misconception. We see this time and time again, even among those students who completed extensive research, toured the campus and received exceptional one-on-one counseling. And, almost always, the concerns can be addressed and overcome, if only you, the counselor, can uncover them.

You can uncover hidden objections and help the student make an informed decision about which institution is the best fit for him or her. Skillful probing is the key to uncovering the things that may be holding a student back from making a final commitment. Give him or her permission to open up: “At this point, most students I meet have at least one major concern. It is a normal part of the process. What is yours?” Sometimes it’s the student’s misunderstanding about a fact. Sometimes it’s a false assumption.

Probing with open-ended questions and attentive listening will also help you peel back the layers of the underlying issue and allow you to remove a doubt or a fear. The student who was worried about getting lost on a large campus? A quick walk of the campus with the counselor was all it took to change her mind. And, the student who was concerned about a lack of social activity? That vanished when the counselor introduced him to several students who shared his interests.

For a quick video tutorial on another highly-effective technique for revealing and dealing with hidden concerns, watch here.

A highly-personalized approach is most important at this stage of the recruiting cycle. The goal is to best serve the student by truly understanding what he or she needs and wants. Ultimately, that will make both you and the student more successful. One of the keys is to address potential objections and concerns head-on. It must be part of your conversations with prospective students.

Longmire and Company’s on-campus Interactive Training Workshops dramatically improve the performance of counselors and staff in areas such as effective communication with students and parents, applying creative entrepreneurship to their jobs, validating past and planned actions against outcomes, and discovering and leveraging the motivations of students (and themselves).

The net result? Improved service to prospective students and families, measurable increases in yield, increased counselor and staff job satisfaction, enhanced teamwork, and innovations in work process within the department.

If you’ve thought about helping your staff with professional development, now is the ideal time to train and motivate your staff. Email or call me if you are interested in how we can help. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company and the tools we have to offer, click here. Be sure to subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you can stay up-to-date.

Rick Montgomery is as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. With over 20 years in higher education marketing, he brings an innovative and dynamic approach to helping colleges and universities meet their enrollment goals. Rick can be reached at 913/492.1265 x.708 or via email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com.

Comments Off on Uncovering Hidden Objections Will Transform Your Conversations With Prospective Students [Video] »

Posted in Behavior, Campus Visits, Closing the Sale, Conversion and Yield, Counselor Training, Uncategorized, Your Value Proposition

Tags: admission counselor training admissions admissions counselors admissions customer service admissions success brand management college college admissions college branding college costs college enrollment college presidents college recruiting college recruitment college yield EMChat enrollment management finding the right college fit higher ed higher education branding higher education marketing higher education strategies longmire longmire and company value proposition yield yield enhancement

New Video Tutorials Sharpen Admission Counselor Skills

February 2nd, 2016

During yield season we frequently hear this, “Our admissions team could benefit from a tune-up, reboot, transformation, or reinvigoration.”

Longmire and Company has answered that need by offering free video training tutorials on our website and YouTube channel aimed at making your counselors even better at their jobs. On our website you’ll find an ever growing list of admission counselor tutorials. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get even more. There you’ll find tutorials, up-to-date market data, co-sponsored study reports and a wealth of actionable information to help you with your recruiting efforts.

Check out our Counselor Training Tutorials. At the heart of our highly-successful Interactive Counselor Training Workshop is a proven model of communication that counselors tell us is transformative. The model is simple and highly effective. Adopt this straightforward method and you will see greater success in your recruitment efforts. Our ever-expanding tutorial menu includes sessions covering these high–impact topics from the popular workshops we conduct at college campuses across the country:

Counselor Training Series Overview: Longmire and Company believes that the conversations between prospective students and the colleges they are considering can be much richer and more fruitful for both. Having rich conversations with prospective students provides you with a greater understanding of each student’s unique needs, preferences, motivations, and how they will make their college selection decision.

Probing to Uncover Key Information about Prospective Students: The vast majority of counselors don’t cover a sufficient number of topics with a prospective student. We tell you why you must probe and how to do so effectively.

Powerfully Presenting Your College’s Value Proposition: Here’s how you can define your value to students and parents in a truly meaningful way.

Uncover and Break Through Objections and Concerns: We show you how to turn questions, concerns, objections and indifference into conversations that lead to enrollment.

Take this Crucial Step Toward More Productive Conversations with Students: Get the student to take the next logical step on the path to enrolling.

Learn to Differentiate Your College in a Compelling Way: Break out of this trap: The students and parents you’re talking to are hearing the exact same thing from every other college they are considering.

The Counselor Training Series is just the beginning of the valuable free video tools we are making available to you. You can also check out our YouTube channel for more tutorials, powerful data from national co-sponsored studies and interviews with some of your peers.

If you’ve thought about helping your staff with professional development, now is the ideal time to train and motivate your staff. Email or call me if you are interested in how we can help. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company and the tools we have to offer, click here. Be sure to subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you can stay up-to-date.

Bob Longmire is President of Longmire and Company, Inc. He is a recognized expert on the topic of how prospective students and parents form their college selection decisions – and how colleges can use that knowledge to grow and control their enrollment. He can be reached at (913) 492-1265, ext 709 or at blongmire@longmire-co.com. Connect with Bob at Linkedin/in/boblongmire.

Comments Off on New Video Tutorials Sharpen Admission Counselor Skills »

Posted in Behavior, Closing the Sale, Conversion and Yield, Counselor Training, Organizational development, Research, Worthwhile Reading, Your Value Proposition

Tags: admission counselor training admissions admissions counselors admissions customer service admissions success college college admissions college branding college enrollment college presidents college recruiting college recruitment college yield customer service EMChat enrollment enrollment management finding the right college fit higher ed higher ed marketing higher education marketing higher education strategies longmire and company Longmire and Company study staff training value proposition yield yield enhancement

Yield Nightmare 1 – Your Prospective Students Are Committed To Another College

January 12th, 2016

When does yield season really begin? Sooner than you may think. Much sooner.

In a recent study of nearly 12,000 prospective students across the country, we asked, “When did you make your emotional commitment to the college of your choice?”

As you can see on the graph below, nearly one-third of students make their final college selection decision before the end of March, and by the end of April that percentage rises to 57%. By May, 80% of students have made their final choice.

No doubt about it, students are making their college decisions NOW. And that puts more pressure on your admission team to cement the relationships you’re building with prospective students.

Recently an admission counselor confided to me that she has regular nightmares that the students she is recruiting have already made an “emotional commitment” to another school but haven’t shared that fact with her. “There have been students that I was sure were going to enroll with us that surprised me. When that happens, I feel like I have failed the student and the university,” she said. “This is the fear that keeps me up at night. What can I do?”

I told her exactly what I will tell you: There are actions that you can take today that will improve yield, and may even help you get a good night’s sleep.

Understand the student’s motivation.

You might be surprised to find that our research uncovered that nearly 40% of students make their ultimate choice based more on their excitement about the college than facts about the school.

What’s more, only 30% of prospective students consider cost the overriding factor in their college selection decision. So it’s likely that 70% of your pool will not be exclusively waiting to hear about your financial aid package before deciding which school is right for them. They may play the “other school is offering us more money” game to try to get more from you but, believe me, if you’ve gotten them excited they’ll ultimately come to you.

Demonstrate a genuine interest in the individual student.

We asked college-bound students if the colleges they were considering had taken a personal interest in them at any point in the recruiting process. The response was shocking. Two-thirds said “No” or “Don’t Remember” and in our view “Don’t remember” is the same as “No!”

You may have heard the saying that “someone may forget what you said and forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Showing a personal interest in each student makes them feel good about the college and it has a strong positive correlation to yield.

Smaller colleges may have an advantage in that they can more easily establish a one-to-one connection with a prospective student but that doesn’t mean that large colleges that recruit thousands of students cannot also give prospective students the sense that the institution cares about them as an individual. This is typically done by providing great customer service so that students can easily get what they need, when they need it, from people who seem delighted to provide it to them. This commitment and practice has a measurable impact on yield.

Be sure to ask this one KEY question.

We have found that the most successful admission counselors build relationships with their students and gain valuable personal insight about each and every one of them. They know whether or not cost is the most critical factor and what attributes of their college will excite the student.

With that knowledge in hand, they nurture a relationship with the student that best serves the needs of the individual. They stay in touch, ask questions and have meaningful conversations throughout the entire admissions process. And, they don’t get unpleasantly surprised when the student tells them he or she has opted for another college.

But, what if one of your prospective students has formed an emotional connection to another college long before you have firmed up any details with them? How can you know that? What can you do?

At various points throughout the recruiting cycle, most colleges will ask the question, “Are you still interested in us?” The real question colleges should ask is, “At this point, has any college captured your emotional commitment?”

If the answer is “yes,” don’t be discouraged. You have just been given a golden opportunity. Use your probing and supporting skills to present your college’s value proposition in a truly meaningful way. You are very likely to change some minds.

Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company’s Yield Enhancement tool click here. [Subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you don’t miss any of this highly-valuable information.]

Rick Montgomery is as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. With over 20 years in higher education marketing, he brings an innovative and dynamic approach to helping colleges and universities meet their enrollment goals. Rick can be reached at 913/492.1265 x.708 or via email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com.