The Admissions Guide for Colleges and Trade Schools
How to improve your admissions team's enrollment rates?
The role of the admissions advisor or representative is to recruit new students into their institution. Therefore, it is critical that your team performs their functions well. The ultimate metric on which to base their performance is to measure their ratio of “lead to enrollment rate (LE%)”. To improve your admissions teams’s performance, focus on 3 vital components that will increase your admissions team’s LE% almost instantly:
- Improve speed to lead – make sure to respond to inquiries immediately.
- Provide regular coaching and training for your admissions team with routine assessments.
- Practice good lead management routines.
To dive deeper into these points and other ways to improve your team’s overall performance, continue reading. If you are looking to improve your team’s performance, we can help. Our team has over 15 years of admissions experience in the post-secondary education market.
Need to Train Your Team?
Introduction
Welcome to the the definitive admissions guide for trade school and colleges: basics for improving enrollment rates
Unlike traditional universities, the admissions world for post-secondary private institutions is quite different. In this guide, we will explore how a well-trained admissions team can make a significant improvement for meeting your enrollment goals. Providing your admissions team with regular training and coaching can go a long way in supporting the sustainability and long-term growth of your school. This framework will cover some basics and offer some sage battle-tested tips that can make a big difference in your numbers.
“Unlike traditional universities, the admissions world for post-secondary private institutions is quite different“
-CMP
How Admissions Can Make a Difference
While every part of a college is important, the admissions team stands out for several reasons. Here are some reasons why they matter so much:
First Impressions Count: The admissions team is often the first contact for students and their families. They represent your school, your brand, and say alot about your school in how they conduct themselves. They can leave a lasting positive impression, which will affect the outcome of that particular opportunity and all the potential referrals that it can generate.
Supporting the Student’s Enrollment Journey: The Admissions Representative helps the student navigate the complex enrollment process. By providing the right sort of guidance, it can increase the number of students who enroll and stay at your college.
Building Relationships: Admissions staff know how to connect with potential students and their families. They can build trust, answer questions, and make students feel welcome. Their influence goes a long way toward boosting your school’s brand and retention rates early on.
Industry Experts: To better provide guidance, the admissions representative should invest time in learning about the school, the programs offered, the careers they can prepare students for, and what the industry is like. Reading is helpful, but being involved with the community and experts in the field can fortify their confidence when guiding students.
Teamwork: A good representative strives to build strong working relationships with all the people involved in the student’s enrollment journey, from the receptionist, the financial aid office, staff, and faculty. It would be wise to have the advisors sit in some of the classes.
Information is King: Admissions teams collect lots of information during the enrollment process. It is easy to lose track of activities and priorities. Therefore, a well-organized advisor can boost their productivity significantly and improve their numbers.
Connecting Growth and Sustainability
Keeping your admissions team morale high is a win-win for them and your school. Preparing your team by providing regular training and coaching, followed by routine assessments will ensure your team stays sharp and motivated.
Growth and Sustainability: With a steady flow of leads from the marketing and a strong admissions team will contribute to the long-term sustainability of your school.
In the rest of this guide, we will cover some admissions 101 basics that are often overlooked but can make the difference between a weak start or a strong one.
“Keeping your admissions team morale high is a win-win for them and your school.“
-CMP
Want To Improve Your Numbers?
Who Will Benefit from Reading This Article?
This article presents valuable insights into reducing marketing expenses while simultaneously increasing enrollments, thus paving the way for a more cost-effective approach to doubling yoour student population. It is specifically written for the following audience:
School Owners: Depending on the type and size of your institution may affect how close of a working relationship you have with your marketing and admissions teams. This may be useful information for those who are responsible for your admissions staff.
School Leadership: This includes individuals in leadership roles within the school, such as campus directors, operations directors, and department heads, who have a vested interest in supporting the admissions and marketing strategies.
Management Teams: School management teams involved in overseeing marketing and admissions functions will discover actionable tactics to optimize improve their internal operations.
Some aspects discussed here may be familiar to those with experience in the private for-profit school sector over the last 15 years, this article takes tried-and-true principles of successful admissions and marketing departments and updates them to align with the current admissions and marketing landscape.
If you find yourself in the roles of a school owner, marketing manager, or Director of Admissions (DOA), the insights i this admissions guide will provide you with a straightforward and practical framework to increase show rates, application rates, and enrollments—all without the need for an increased advertising expense.
“The insights shared here will provide you with a straightforward and practical fraemwork to increase show rates, application rates, and enrollments”
-CMP
How Do You Get More Enrollments Without Spending More on Advertising?
The quick answer is to improve your lead-to-enrollment (L-E%) conversion rates. Easier said than done, since so many factors are tied into a strong L-E%. The typical colleges and trades schools with an admissions department of about 2-5 reps convert anywhere from 5-7%. Teams hovering around 10% are doing some things right and have the potential to go higher. Take into consideration seasonality, location, audience, program offerings, financial aid, etc
“The typical colleges and trades schools with an admissions department of about 2-5 reps convert anywhere from 5-7%”
-CMP
Boosting Conversions Without Increasing Ad Spend
1. Speed to Lead:
IDEAL: For a a prospective student submitting a lead form, an admissions rep should be in contact with that person within 5 minutes or less. Ideally under 3 minutes.
If we could boil down all the variables that make up a good L-E% (lead to enrollment conversion rate) into the three most crucial components, they would be:
- Speed to Lead
- Communication Options
- Consistent Lead Nurturing
What Is It? Speed to lead refers to the time it takes for a prospective student to receive a response after filling out an online form, initiating a chat, sending a social media DM, or engaging with a social media post.
Why It Matters: An astounding 78% of buyers tend to choose the vendor that responds first. This statistic, originating from the realm of sales, underscores the critical importance of swift response times in admissions. This statistic holds true for most industries, including private education.
Lead Capture Tools: Various lead capture systems and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools exist to enable admissions representatives to promptly contact individuals who have submitted online forms, typically within a matter of minutes.
Figure 1A (Source: Growth Automation Services)
“An astounding 78% of buyers tend to choose the vendor that responds first.”
Growth Automation Services
Are You Happy With Your Team?
2. Communication Options:
Why It’s Vital: The traditional approach of making an outbound call and immediately connecting with a prospective lead on the first attempt has become increasingly rare and challenging. To bolster contact rates, give your audience different ways to contact that are more convenient for them.[/caption]
Phone Engagement: While younger demographics may prefer alternative communication channels, over 60% of people still opt for direct phone contact as their preferred method. However, it’s crucial to note that the remaining 40% are inclined towards texting, chat, and social media messages, indicating a shifting trend in communication preferences.
“The top 3 reasons customers avoid calling businesses are because of long wait times, other methods of communication are faster, and they anticipate being rerouted. 37% to 46% of callers avoid calling a business because other methods of contact are faster.”
3. Consistent Lead Nurturing:
Why It’s Beneficial: Lead nurturing involves maintaining regular, meaningful contact with prospective students over time. This approach builds rapport and keeps your institution top-of-mind.
Impactful Results: By implementing a systematic and personalized lead nurturing strategy, you can significantly enhance your conversion rates.
Considerations: Effective management of leads is key. An experienced admissions representative can effectively handle about 5-10 new leads a day in addition to their existing leads. This capacity can increase to 10 with the support of a proficient CRM system.
In today’s dynamic admissions landscape, a comprehensive approach that combines these strategies—speed to lead, diverse communication channels, and consistent lead nurturing—is essential to improving conversion rates. Whether the phone rings or a notification chimes, these tactics are instrumental in effectively engaging with prospective students and guiding them toward enrollment success.
“An experienced admissions representative can effectively handle about 5-10 new leads a day in addition to their existing leads.”
Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon.
Next topic in this series will cover admissions phone skills.
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