Attracting students to your school is harder and more expensive than ever. In fact, it requires 50% more marketing budget to get the same number of enrollments that you had in 2008, according to recent research by Velocify, evaluating cost-per enrollment at publicly-traded proprietary schools.
If your school competes for students, it is more important than ever to get every bit of value out of your marketing dollars by ensuring your admissions team is optimizing all new student inquiries. To make sure your admissions team is operating at their very best, here are three of the most important habits of successful enrollment counselors:
1. They follow up
The first habit is to simply follow up. Make sure you are following up with every inquiry. While this may seem basic, a staggering 66% of prospective students reported they have experienced a “no response” from a school they had expressed interest in, according to a recent study jointly conducted with Zogby Analytics.
2. They follow up FAST
The second habit is the speed at which admissions reps follow up. Being first to reach the student prospect is critical when competing for students, according to our research. In fact, inquiries called within the first minute are nearly 400% more likely to enroll than the average inquiry.
3. They follow up MORE
The third habit is to follow up more frequently. Our research shows that 1 to 2 contact attempts is just not enough for maximizing enrollment yield. In fact, our research found that on average, 6 attempts was the point at which diminishing returns set in. You can keep trying to reach out, but research shows that your efforts are better spent calling someone else.
These important habits are not innate – no one is born knowing the optimal contact strategy. Your admissions reps are excellent at working with prospective students, but knowing what prospect they should call at any given time is nearly impossible. To help your admissions reps be their best, take the guesswork out of the equation.
Velocify, the leading provider of admissions management software and a proud FAME partner, helps increase enrollment productivity by identifying and automating the most important activities for enrollment counselors. Velocify ensures reps follow up, follow up fast and follow up more, all while providing school leadership visibility into the effectiveness of your enrollment process.
At Velocify, we provide technology that helps schools manage inquiries, increase yield and reach enrollment goals. It’s simple. With many clients in common with FAME, we’ve got a proven record and numerous awards for helping schools rise above their competition.
Do you have all the right strategies in place to reach enrollment goals in 2014? Learn how intelligent enrollment management technology can enable your admissions team to work smarter and drive improved enrollment yield.
By: Martin Lind,Velocify Education Vertical Director
