Posts Tagged ‘strengths- based leadership’

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?SneakPeekCurtain

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.

Hidden_Influences_ProspectusThe 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.

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.

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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

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Yield Enhancement Series: Is Your Admission Team Primed for Success?

February 16th, 2015

You know that you are in the heart of the most critical period of the recruitment cycle. Over the next few weeks roughly 60% of your prospect pool will make an emotional commitment to either your college or another. You have already invested months (or years) working toward building the best possible incoming class of 2015 freshmen and, if you are like most admission professionals, you have steep enrollment goals to achieve.Yield-Enhancement-Series

Now, ask yourself this: Is my team primed for success?

If you answered with a resounding “YES,” you are probably in the company of only 5% of admission professionals that reported that they “were not at all concerned” about making their class for 2015. According to its September 2014 Higher Education Outlook Survey, KPMG reported that 85% of higher education leaders are either “very” or “somewhat” concerned about maintaining enrollment levels—a 14% increase from the 2013 report.

Here are things that any institution can begin doing tomorrow to improve the functioning and production of the admissions department: Identify the strengths of each and every member of the department, fully align their tasks with those strengths, and lead them with an understanding of how someone with their strengths is most productive.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-time-now-motivational-reminder-green-sticky-note-image31832382All too often enrollment and admission managers wait too long to act on this. There is no reason you have to wait. When generals are in the heat of battle, or football coaches in the third quarter, they take stock of who the players are and put them in a position which will most benefit the team.

While this may sound simple in concept, it requires a radical change in thinking on the part of many organizations. They work more on trying to fix a department member’s weaknesses than maximizing their strengths.

When we work with enrollment management departments we use a similar model to enhance productivity. You would be amazed at the results achieved when people are allowed to discover and play to their strong suits. Gallup Press published a pair of books on this topic called Strengths-Based Leadership and Strengths Finder 2.0. I highly recommend them. The information and guidance can be put to immediate use.

In our Interactive Training Workshops for admission counselors, we see team members revitalized by the commitment that their leadership has made by investing in their future with professional development. At this point in the recruiting cycle our clients often see the training as a way to inject some sanity and organization at a time that is fraught with varying degrees of chaos and pressure.

Now, when you need your team to be performing at the highest possible level, is the ideal time to energize and organize them with a focused training program.

Consider this: the admissions department is responsible for the bulk of a college’s annual revenue. For state supported colleges, the percentage of total revenue generated through tuition may be well over 60%. For privates, it’s often 80% or more. Investing in the people who are responsible for generating interest among prospective students, managing the “sales” process and “closing the sale” offers the greatest possible return on investment.

We see it work every day: Hire the right people, put them in roles that let their strengths shine through, and give them the proper training and tools so they can populate the institution with students who will be successful and committed to the institution long after graduation.

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.]

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.

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Posted in Conversion and Yield, Counselor Training, Organizational development

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Get More Production From Your Admissions Office

December 2nd, 2009

When you think about how much revenue a college generates annually and the source of that revenue, the trail typically ends in the office of admissions. For state supported colleges, the percentage of total revenue generated through tuition may be well over 60%. For privates, it’s often 80% or more.iStock_000009277706XSmall

When I suggest that the trail of this revenue ends in the admissions office, I’m referring to the department that employs and manages the people who are responsible for generating interest among prospective students, managing the “sales” process and “closing the sale”. The aim, of course, is to match the student’s needs and preferences with the attributes of the institution: to best serve the student’s educational aspirations and personal growth. Fortunately for students, they may choose among many fine institutions that are fully capable of doing just that.

In truth, academic sales and marketing is similar to that of the B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) marketplaces. That is, generate interest, prove that the institution is a good fit, and manage the communication and human interaction process toward a successful conclusion (enrollment).

Here’s the $64,000 question: how much does an institution invest in the people and processes that are central to generating the vast majority of the revenue collected by the college? I’m not referring to things like direct mail and website development. I’m referring to people and processes –  the hiring of  the admissions team, building a motivating culture, engaging in a comprehensive training program,  implementing effective sales management, providing CRM software designed to enable sales, and enhancing communication between people and departments.

The answer? Not nearly enough. And why not, when the potential return on investment is so large and immediate?

Every institution can find its own reasons why they aren’t investing in these areas. We’ll often explore those reasons as part of our consulting engagements with clients. The most common barrier is perceived cost. But that barrier is easily removed – at little cost – with a change in perspective.

Here’s something that any institution can begin doing tomorrow that promises improved functioning and production out of the admissions department: identify the strengths of each and every member of the department, fully align their tasks with those strengths, and lead them with an understanding of how someone with their strengths is most productive.

While this may sound simple in concept, it requires a radical change in thinking on the part of many organizations. All too often, organizations work more on trying to fix a department member’s weaknesses than maximizing their strengths.

strengthsfinderbook2I highly recommend two books from Gallup Press that define this philosophy and enable you to take immediate action. The books, Strengths Finder 2.0 and the companion title, Strengths-Based Leadership give you immediate access to assessing the strengths of each member of the admissions team and, what’s more, provide direction in managing each member of the team based on their individual strengths.

I suggest purchasing the Strengths Finder 2.0 book for every member StrengthsBasedLeadershipof the team because each book contains a unique code that provides access to an online assessment that isolates and reports their top five strengths.

When we work with enrollment management departments as a part of our consulting engagements, we use a similar model to enhance productivity. You would be amazed at the results achieved when people are allowed to discover and play to their strong suits.

Likewise, in our Interactive Training Workshops for admissions offices, we see team members revitalized by the commitment that their leadership has made by investing in their future with professional training.

We see it work every day: hire the right people, put them in roles that let their strengths shine through, give them the proper tools, and structure their compensation to reflect the value they bring in terms of revenue generation and populating the institution with students who will be successful and committed to the institution long after graduation.

Bob Longmire is the President and CEO of Longmire and Company and has been helping colleges and universities across the country maximize their yield for over 20 years.

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Posted in Counselor Training, Organizational development, Worthwhile Reading

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