Posts Tagged ‘recruiting’

Yield Enhancement Series: The Final Push – Act Now to Impact Enrollment and Minimize Melt

March 23rd, 2015

[This is Part 6 of the Yield Enhancement Series: The Final Push, offering actionable and effective strategies for the closing weeks of the yield season.]

You are in the final weeks of your yield season and fully engrossed in your efforts to bring in your 2015 class. I know the last thing you want to think about right now is the dreaded “summer melt,” but there are actions you can take today to ensure that your admitted students matriculate later.Yield-Enhancement-Series

Melt (for the benefit of readers new to, our outside, higher ed) refers to those admitted students who give every indication of enrolling and then “melt” away – never to step foot on campus. Some are students who commit to one college and later find they are accepted at a school where they were previously wait-listed. There are students who will complete the admittance process at two (or more) schools to keep their options open until the last possible moment. Sadly, there are college-bound students who will be admitted yet never enroll or start their college education. The U.S. Department of Education estimates the melt rate between 10% and 20%. In certain points of the country (particularly in lower income areas) it can be higher than 40%.

A Harvard study titled The Forgotten Summer, authored by researchers Benjamin L Castleman, Lindsay C. Page and Korynn Schooley, delves into the “high rate of summer attrition from the college pipeline among college-intending high school graduates.” They also explore the effectiveness of various outreach efforts during the summer. You can also read about the Summer Melt Program created by uAspire, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help students find an affordable way to – and through – a post-secondary education.

POOF_300x208Obviously, when a student fails to matriculate it is a lose-lose situation: A college-bound student gets derailed in his or her pursuit of higher education and your enrollment goals are impacted at the point of no return. But there is another reason you should be thinking about this now: The research shows that the factors that contribute to the phenomenon of melt are the same issues that are impacting the students in your admit pool today; coping with the reality of college costs, anxiety about finding the “right fit” and an overwhelming amount of often confusing paperwork, among them.

We will take a deeper dive into the subject of melt in the coming months. What is of importance today is to follow the lead of the most successful admissions counselors. They know they must 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. They make the student feel wanted, important, and engaged with the college. And, they don’t get unpleasantly surprised in July when the student tells them he or she has opted for another college or gone completely silent.

We help colleges and universities with their recruiting efforts every day, especially now during yield season. If we can help you, please let me know.

Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company’s Interactive Counselor Training Program, click here. Be sure to Subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you don’t miss any of this highly-valuable information.

RickMontgomery_100x100Rick Montgomery is as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. With over 20 years in higher education marketing, he brings an innovative 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.

Yield Enhancement Series: The Final Push –The Question You MUST Ask Every Prospective Student

March 19th, 2015

[This is Part 5 of the Yield Enhancement Series: The Final Push, offering actionable and effective strategies for the closing weeks of the yield season.]

Do you recall when the iPhone was released? I mean the FIRST one? Maybe you were even one of the hundreds of thousands of people who stood in line (or camped out) in extreme heat, cold or rainstorms, for as long as four days to get their hands on this thrilling new technology. In what was described by many journalists as a “carnival-like atmosphere,” over 270,000 iPhones were sold in the first 30 hours they were available.Yield-Enhancement-Series

What could possibly motivate so many rational people to act in this manner? It was EXCITEMENT, pure and simple. The same kind of excitement that you and your admissions team have been working for months to create within your pool of prospective students.

Don’t underestimate the power of excitement. Consider this: While researching how students and their parents perceive value and make their college selection, we discovered that of the three primary drivers of college selection (cost, perceived quality of the institution and the student’s excitement about attending) excitement about attending was more strongly correlated to likelihood of enrollment – by a factor of two – than the other two drivers.

In our most recent national co-sponsored study, The Excitement Factor, we sampled over 13,000 students to rate their level of excitement (on a 10-high scale) at the point when they made their college selection decision. I use the word “decision” but it’s more like an emotional explosion for so many. Nearly half of the students told us that, at the end point of their college shopping process, their excitement level about their college of choice had reached 9 or 10 on the scale. What enabled them to reach that fever pitch was everything  that came before it. The conversations they had with counselors, the campus visit, talking with current students, seeing what their life experiences would be like when they step on campus Day One.

Certainly you and your team have been working for months to create student excitement about your institution; much like Steve Jobs and the Apple team did back in 2007. Every promotional brochure, email, campus tour, press release, personal conversation, every single effort you have put forth to make your class, has been designed to emphasize your college’s unique attributes in a way that will spark the enthusiasm of your prospective students.

Now it is time to ask each and every student in your pool this crucial question: “What is your level of excitement about attending our college?”

If you get the answer you want, terrific, it is time to close the deal. But, if not, follow-up with questions that will lead you to your end game:

  • “Is there another college that excites you?”
  • “What about that school is exciting to you?”
  • “What would amp up your enthusiasm for us?”
  • “What can I show you here that you really want to see?”
  • “Who can I introduce you to that will tell you what it’s like to attend here?”

1_Key_Question_300x172The reason most counselors don’t ask these questions is because they are afraid to. Counselors often hold themselves back from asking penetrating questions because they’re afraid students will perceive them as being intrusive. That’s so unfortunate. For both the counselor and the student.

Admissions counselors who employ the direct approach tell us that they are often surprised by the answers they get when they specifically ask about a student’s level of excitement. Not only do they get a real-time assessment of what the student is feeling, but they frequently uncover the ONE THING that will turn an admitted prospect into an enrolled student. It’s simple, effective and a WIN-WIN for all. That’s something to get excited about!

Asking direct questions about how a student feels and how excited (or not) they are about your college is crucial to understanding what you need to do to generate the kind of excitement that will lead to enrollment.

So, try this: The next time you’re talking to a prospective student, ask this simple question, “On a 10-high scale, what’s your excitement level about coming to our school?” Give them permission to be honest by telling them that they won’t hurt your feelings. If you get an answer that’s anything less than a 10, follow up with the sincere and honest question, “What would get you to a 10?” Listen to what they say. Listen for how you can help them.

We help colleges and universities with their recruiting efforts every day, especially now during yield season. If we can help you, please let me know.

If you would like a copy of our Excitement Factor report as soon as it is released you can CLICK HERE  to send us an e-mail to put you on the distribution list.

Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company’s Interactive Counselor Training Program, click here. Be sure to Subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you don’t miss any of this highly-valuable information.

RHL_Photo_100x100Bob 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.

Yield Enhancement Series: Improve Pre-enrollment Service for Greater Yield

February 24th, 2015

A single, isolated incident can change everything. Just ask Liz, an admissions counselor who had been working with a certain prospective student for several months. “Joe is a bright kid,” she told me recently. “He is passionate about biology and was really excited about our top-notch science department. He’d had a great conversation with one of our biology professors and a good visit with a third-year student who is microbiology major. We seemed like the perfect fit for him. I was absolutely sure he would enroll. Then, something happened….”Yield-Enhancement-Series

What happened was that Joe and his parents had less than a stellar experience on their recent campus visit. Specifically, the campus “grounds appeared unkempt, the restrooms were unclean, and some staff members were not helpful or friendly.” This is what Joe’s mother told Liz after he enrolled at another university.

As an admissions professional, you know how crucial first impressions can be. In our national co-sponsored study, Pre-Enrollment Service Study: How customer service delivery during the recruiting cycle influences enrollment, we found that over 53% of students and parents say that the pre-enrollment service they receive from a college influences their selection decision.

They also say that service is one of the best ways to differentiate one college from another. The fact is: Prospective students and parents view the pre-enrollment service they receive as predictive of how the student will be served after enrollment. They will avoid colleges that exhibit bad service during the “college shopping” process.

Certainly, every communication, every interaction, every brand touch- point with a prospective student and/or parent has the potential to make or break the relationship that you have worked so hard to establish.

You may know this, but does every other member of the team? And, by “team,” I mean every person at your college whose actions may influence the enrollment decision. Certainly, interactions with faculty, admissions and financial aid are critical, but many schools are surprised to find the impact that campus maintenance, grounds keeping, security and even the switchboard operators can have on creating a lasting impression.SQM_Logo_160x120

Colleges and universities that score the highest in pre-enrollment service are those that view prospective students and their parents as important customers. They typically engage every person on campus in a customer service plan with clear and actionable instructions and objectives. Most importantly, they express to each person how key their role is, and offer specific ways they can help the institution improve provide the best possible customer service.

The research suggests that for most colleges, improved pre-enrollment service offers an immediate opportunity to differentiate themselves in a highly-competitive marketplace. Best time to start the process? Today!

Longmire and Company offers Service Quality Management (SQM) to help you achieve these goals. Contact me today and I will show you how we can help you measure and manage your pre-enrollment service. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo.

Click this link for more information about Longmire and Company’s Yield Enhancement System (YES). [Subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you don’t miss any of this highly-valuable information.]

RickMontgomery_100x100Rick 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.

A Tool To Stay In Control During Busy Times

January 22nd, 2010

As we enter is the busiest part of the recruiting cycle, it’s easy for members of the admissions staff to get swept up by so many activities and tasks that they lose sight of anything beyond what they are supposed to do today. Or right now!

Stress mounts. Productivity can suffer. Activity can be confused with accomplishment. Creativity and thoughtful planning can be jeopardized at a point in the recruiting cycle when it is most needed.

Regardless of how busy you get, time must be set aside on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to assess where we are, where we are going, and how best we can get there.

Mind map example

A few years ago, I found a wonderful way to plan and be creative when times are busiest. It’s called mind mapping.

It’s a process that enables you to diagram your thoughts, ideas and plans very easily and connect all of those elements in a way that helps you visualize how all things are connected toward reaching a common goal. You can mind map something as finite as a campus event or as expansive as your year-long enrollment management plan.

Creating a mind map is easy. Anyone can do it. Everyone should know how. It’s a tool that enhances productivity and creativity. I cannot think of anyone in an admissions office who would not benefit from it. Mind mapping can help an admissions processing clerk contribute new ideas for minimizing incomplete applications. It can aid admissions counselors in honing strategies and tactics for managing their territories. It can help campus event organizers plan successful events down to do very last detail.

We have clients that use mind mapping as a tool to aid all department members in creating plans and sharing them with others. By sharing, everyone can see and understand the goals, strategies and tactics of co-workers, and see how they connect to them directly or indirectly. This promotes collaboration, understanding, sharing of ideas and a host of benefits that enhance teamwork.

You can draw a mind map on a cocktail napkin or use a computer program to draw one. There are a number of free programs available for creating mind maps. I recommend an open source program called FreeMind. The program (available for all operating systems) not only enables you to easily draw a mind map diagram, it also allows you to transform and export the map into a text-based document for editing in Microsoft Word or similar applications.

With as much as you have going on right now, there is no way that I would introduce a new tool or task that didn’t promise as much as the process of mind mapping promises to enhance productivity and effectiveness.