Versions of Conversion

A blog on managing enrollment and yield

Posts Tagged ‘staff training’

Six Ways You Can Relieve Prospective Student Stress

November 15th, 2016

Right this minute, all over the country, college-bound students are in the throes of making what is most likely THE biggest decision they have ever made: “Which college is right for me? Will the college accept me? Can I afford it?” Their parents are offering guidance and counsel because they know this is a crucial decision. Certainly, they too have a hugely vested interest in being certain that the final decision is the “right” one. Let’s face it: For nearly every student and their parent this is a period of high-anxiety.

No college would want to do anything that would ADD angst to an inherently stressful process, right? No college would do so intentionally but as an industry we do it all the time.

Through our pre-enrollment research, we communicate with hundreds of thousands of prospective students and parents every year and they have been very specific about the things colleges do that add stress to the selection process. Here are the 6 stress-inducing actions most often cited about the college admissions industry:

That we communicate poorly
That we’re slow to offer or reject admission
That we have burdensome processes
That admissions people are not responsive
We are poorly organized, and,
In some cases, they believe we’re being DISHONEST

Are you ready for some good news? Since these things happen more than you can imagine it gives you an opportunity to differentiate your college or university by doing the opposite. You can differentiate your institution by RELIEVING rather than ADDING stress to the college selection process.

Here’s how.

Students and parents have told us what you can do to help. Here are 6 stress-relieving actions:

Communicate often and artfully. Students want information that’s relevant to THEM.
Provide helpful advice and counsel throughout the college shopping process.
BE RESPONSIVE. Return calls and emails promptly.
Make decisions promptly.
Treat each prospective student as you would expect and hope to be treated.
Above all, show a sincere interest in the student.

These may seem obvious but it’s amazing how many colleges fail to practice these proven behaviors that will serve a prospective student and parent well. Every student has a unique combination of needs, preferences, perceptions and motivations. Identifying and dealing with all of them enables the college to have a deeper and stronger relationship with the prospective student. Uncovering them requires that the college focus on the student rather than the institution.

There are communication techniques your staff can learn that will help them feel confident about reaching out to prospective students to ask the right questions. This is one of the core techniques we teach in the Interactive Counselor Training Workshops we hold on college campuses throughout the country.

Longmire and Company’s on-campus Interactive Training Workshops 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.

We help colleges with their recruiting efforts every day. If we can help you please call or shoot me an email. 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 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.

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

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

Start Cultivating Relationships Now for Increased Yield Later

September 15th, 2016

Many of those prospective students you will be working hard to recruit in the coming months may walk away thinking one thing: That you don’t really care.

In our nationally co-sponsored study, “The Excitement Factor,” we asked 12,000 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 can DOWNLOAD the complete study here.)

On the flip-side, in another study called “The Relationship Dynamic,”
we found that 80% of students said the relationship they formed with their chosen college was influential in their decision to enroll there. For nearly half of the students the influence was “significant.” (You can DOWNLOAD the complete study here.)

You’re at the outset of a new recruiting cycle and the relationships you build with prospective students and the excitement you generate about your school will be the basis for your success next Fall. Your work going forward is not simply to provide the information that prospective students and parents need. It’s to cultivate relationships.

Meaningful relationships are built on shared beliefs and mutual reward. This is true whether the relationship involves two people, a person and a company or brand, or a prospective student and a college. For a relationship to begin and remain long-lasting both sides must see mutual benefit and feel as though the other side understands them and is sincerely committed to making a contribution to the relationship.

The correlation of relationships to enrollment is HUGE!

Students select and reject colleges on this basis. This is evident in how students rated their chosen college and their second choice college with regard to six factors that are fundamental to the building of the student/college relationship.

We presented students with six statements and asked them whether each statement applies to their chosen college, their second choice college or neither. CLICK HERE to see the complete graph that shows the differential between the first choice and second choice colleges in all six areas. It’s significant. As you can see, the race isn’t lost by an inch-it’s lost by a mile.

Just how effective are your efforts really?

Admission teams work very hard to spread the word about their institution during college fairs and high school visits. They lay out the facts and features. Your office most certainly conducts great campus open-houses at which enthused, friendly, and eager staffers speak positively about the great things your school can do for students. You may also have a well-planned direct marketing and electronic recruitment strategy.

All of this activity is good and necessary but how do you know which, or if any, of these activities are generating the level of excitement and emotional connection that makes students show up on campus day one? The only way to know is to take measurements throughout the recruiting process. You can do this by adding specific questions to your ongoing conversations with prospective students. Or by introducing feedback mechanisms to your electronic communications. The goal is to track and respond to “needle movement” on both the micro (student) level and macro (pool) level.

We’ve put out some tools you can use now.

Our series of Free Counselor Training Tutorials on our website and YouTube channel is 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.

This video training series is based on our highly-successful Interactive Counselor Training Workshop that counselors tell us is transformative. We have included sessions covering high–impact topics from the popular workshops we conduct at college campuses across the country. 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.

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.

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.

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

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

Sneak Preview of New Study Results are Eye-Opening

September 7th, 2016

Wouldn’t it be great if you could take a peek into the minds of your pool of prospective students? Find out exactly what they really think about your school and how they compare your college to the others on their list? You would finally know what they are not telling you; the concerns and perceptions that impact their college decision that they are unwilling to share. It would sure make your job a lot easier, wouldn’t it?

Our latest co-sponsored study, “Hidden Influences: Revealing the unspoken perceptions that prospective students have about your college and why it matters in your ability to grow and control enrollment,” is doing exactly that. We are taking a deep dive into uncovering the things students hold back from colleges during the college shopping process. More importantly, we are discovering techniques and strategies colleges can use to unmask hidden influences and deal with them before the student solidifies his or her enrollment decision.

Students may not be willing to share their hidden feelings with the colleges they are considering but they have been opening up to us. In volumes! We are so excited about what we are learning that we are going to give you a sneak preview of a few of the things we are uncovering. Keep in mind that we’re giving you high level, first-look findings at this point. Each co-sponsoring institution receives highly detailed data from their pool of prospective students that won’t be shared publicly.

We are still in the early stages of capturing and analyzing data (as a matter of fact, colleges and universities are still jumping on board this study) but with over 10,000 student respondents to-date, there are some trends we want you to know about. Here are three critical insights of the dozens we are seeing.

A single negative interaction can be a deal-breaker

More than half of students tell us that while visiting a college campus they saw or experienced something that made them cross that school off their list. Students are very specific about these “game-changers” too. The list includes “lack of cleanliness,” “rude faculty,” “my counselor couldn’t answer my questions,” and “the tour guide was too flippant.” And that is just a small sampling. Patterns are emerging in the data that will enable colleges to react and fix the things needing attention.

What students will and won’t naturally share with you

You may ask a prospective student, “Hey, what were your impressions of us after your visit?” Well, most students (by a large margin!) will freely share their positive impressions. A small (think very small!) percentage of students will offer up their negative perceptions or unfavorable interactions. That’s not to say you can’t extract that from them with skill. You can. The study is capturing a variety of ways that this information can be easily uncovered.

Good News: There are techniques you can use to uncover the truth

The “Hidden Influences” study is testing a number of strategies to uncover negative perceptions. Meanwhile, take note that very few students report ever being asked by a counselor if they saw or experienced anything negative during a campus visit. Yet, if asked in the right way, many tell us they are more than willing to talk about their negative perceptions and experiences. Opening the door with the proper approach is the required strategy.

The national report will be available after we have shared the findings with co-sponsoring institutions. We’ll let you know when it’s available. But, as I mentioned earlier in this post, colleges are still jumping in as co-sponsors to get data from their Fall 2016 pool of prospective students. You should consider joining the group!

As a co-sponsor you receive a far more in-depth personalized report that includes highly specific data for your college including comprehensive tabulations relating to your pool of students, as well comparative data of others in your cohort and other market segments.

For instance, you will know what your prospective students found both attractive and unappealing about your specific campus and how they compared that to the other colleges they considered. You will know precisely what they did and did not like about the campus tour, the representatives they interacted with and how their perception of your college did or did not change. Longmire and Company Enrollment Strategists will present a fully customized webinar to you and your team to review your individual findings, along with recommendations for specific actions you can take to uncover hidden influences and have more effective conversations that will lead to enrollments.

For more information or to reserve your participation in this study, contact me at (913) 492-1265, ext. 708 or by email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com or Bob Longmire at (913) 492-1265, ext. 709, blongmire@longmire-co.com. Colleges are signing up now so we encourage you to contact us soon if you are thinking about participating. CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION.

We help colleges with their recruiting efforts every day. If we can help you please call or shoot me an email. 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 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.

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

Tags: admission counselor training admissions admissions counselors admissions customer service admissions success brand management college college enrollment college presidents college recruiting college recruitment college yield EMChat enrollment enrollment management higher ed marketing higher education marketing higher education strategies higher education value longmire longmire and company Longmire and Company study recruiting staff training strengths- based leadership value proposition yield enhancement

Hidden Influences: Find out what prospective students are NOT telling you

May 24th, 2016

Get On Board!

We know that prospective students don’t always tell us what they really think. Sometimes they don’t want to be completely honest about their REAL first-choice college because they think they’ll hurt our feelings. They may tell us they had a great campus visit, yet tell their parents on the way home that they’ll never enroll. They often say one thing and do another. Why?

Unfortunately, their hidden opinions and perceptions hinder our ability to fully understand, communicate with, and ultimately recruit them. In light of this, colleges are asking, “How can we better understand the individuals we’re trying to recruit and uncover the positive and negative perceptions that influence their enrollment decisions?”

We will answer those critical questions in our next co-sponsored study, Hidden Influences: Revealing the unspoken perceptions that prospective students have about your college and why it matters in your ability to grow and control enrollment. This unprecedented study will break new ground in exploring the hidden perceptions and opinions that influence students in choosing your college or another. Unlike any other higher education research or non-matric studies, Hidden Influences will dive deeply into the emotions and perceptions that factor into the college selection process. This study, like our previous co-sponsored studies, will provide you with actionable information you can use immediately and effectively.

We hope you will join a prestigious list of co-sponsoring colleges and universities, large and small, and participate in this study. Co-sponsors find our studies valuable because of the wealth of new insight they gain about their individual pools of prospective students – insight they can use to drive action and change.

As a co-sponsor you receive a comprehensive set of tabulations relating to your pool of students, as well comparative data of others in your cohort and other market segments. You’ll also receive the national summary report before its widespread release.

In addition, Longmire and Company Enrollment Strategists will prepare and deliver a fully-customized webinar to review your individual findings and offer recommendations for specific actions you can take to improve your communications, conversations and interactions with prospective students. For these webinars co-sponsors often assemble staff from admissions, marketing, financial aid and faculty to benefit from the new perspectives, ideas and actions that these studies yield.

We have been told many times by co-sponsors that the webinar alone is worth the cost!

It can be very expensive for an individual college or university to do the scope of research needed to get the answers and insight we get. But by co-sponsoring with other institutions you get the best of both worlds: Data and insight about your pool of prospective students coupled with a national picture, resulting in a very comprehensive study for a fraction of what it would cost to do it on your own. These studies are affordable at just $2,975 (all inclusive) per institution.

For more information or to reserve your participation in this study, contact Rick Montgomery (913) 492-1265, ext. 708 or by email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com or me at (913) 492-1265, ext. 709, blongmire@longmire-co.com. Colleges are signing up now so we encourage you to contact us soon if you are thinking about participating. CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION.

We help colleges with their recruiting efforts every day. If we can help you please call or shoot me an email. 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 don’t miss any of this highly-valuable information.

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.