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Do You Have Friends? (Part Two)
Photoby Ambro from http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Leveraging existing friends of those supporting your institution is a quick way to recruit new prospects.
The next set of friends to look for is new friends. Ones with whom you can initiate a life long friendship.
Where will you find these friends?
Start local and work your way out.
1.) Connect with local young people, support their church events, and remember their names.
2.) Have dinner with local families of prospects and learn to appreciate their background and culture.
3.) Invite three or four local prospects from different churches out to dinner for an informational interview. Ask about what they are looking for in college, and how God is working in their lives.
Build long distance relationships.
1.) Call and take good follow up notes. Remember family events and hobbies.
2.) Send personal birthday and Christmas cards, and better yet a personal note as the opportunity presents itself.
3.) Ask if you can share their testimony with others and mention them in your next newsletter as an encouragement to others.
4.) Leverage your travel time and lookup as many prospects as possible while on the road.
5.) One-on-one communication and in-person adds authenticity to your relationship. Social media and mass mailings are okay if dispersed between direct contacts.
Remember friendship is a heavy weight used in the process of choosing a college.
Do You Have Friends? (Part One)
One of the shortest routines and quickest ways to increase your enrollment is leveraging existing friendships.
For a friendship campaign to be successful the student’s only job is to introduce the friend to the recruiter. It is still the admissions department’s job to recruit the prospect.
When a young person is considering which college they are interested in attending they will give more weight to institutions where they have friends or where their friends will be attending.
How can we use this factor in recruiting?
First, there are two types of friendships to consider: direct friendships and budding friendships. In this blog we will consider the direct friendship.
Here are some “brain storm” ideas you can build on.
1.) Sign-up friend day. Promote the event ahead of time. Ask the current student body to fill in information request cards for their friends. Encourage them to get their friends permission. Do this early in the fall. Follow-up by writing a letter to each of their friends and calling them to firm-up the lead.
2.) $50 for each completed basic application that they bring back to school with them from spring break. The student(s) with the most completed applications (4 or more as a minimum) will receive a $500 bonus.
3.) For faculty and staff that bring in 4 or more existing friend applications a year receives a $1000 bonus.
4.) Prospect students can receive a $50 tuition discount for each of their friends that have their basic application on file by a given deadline.
5.) When working a booth and a group of youth come visit. Take note of who is the leader in the crowd and leverage them to reach their peers through out the year.
6.) Host a Friends Day picnic.
7.) Organize traveling groups to visit events their friends will be attending.
For suggestions 2-4 include a friend referral box in your application.
How about Da’ Bears?
Photo by Stuart Miles from http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
In addition to football, Chicago is also known for its famous hotdog.
It was in the midst of the Great Depression that an owner of a hotdog stand wanted to offer folks a value in an affordable meal.
Most Chicagoans could not afford to go out to eat, yet with a Chicago Hotdog they felt they were receiving their money’s worth.
As a recruiting you have little impact on how your school packages up their product.
The opportunity for you is to add value to the recruiting process.
Here are some suggestions:
1.) Send birthday and Christmas cards to prospects,
2.) Listen for a special need, let them know you will pray, and let them know you have prayed.
3.) Help give them creative options to address the challenges they are facing in enrolling,
4.) Give them a tour of your school’s website over the Skype screen share options or use the free version of Join.Me.
5.) Give the prospect a call when your summer tour group is in their area.
Adding a little value can go a long ways.
Do You Take Care of Yourself?
Paul had to ask Timothy to take “a little wine for his stomach’s sake”.
As a Bible College recruiter you carry responsibility for multiple roles and are expected to have the strength to keep up with a campus full of youth.
In addition to taking care of your physical and spiritual needs … and they are important… don’t forget to grow professionally.
Keep a balance in all you do.
1.) Read books: how to, biographies, non-fiction, and fiction.
2.) Follow blogs.
3.) Subscribe to magazines: ministry, business, and hobby.
4.) Listen to taps, CD’s, and podcast of good sermons and motivational speakers.
5.) Read and listen to the sources with the mindset of the President.
6.) Attend events for the church and professional associations where you are not promoting your school.
7.) Find a trusted mentor outside your immediate organization.
8.) Invest in your family. They are investing in your career and you need to return the favor.
The second command is like the first. Love your neighbor as you love YOURSELF. If you don’t take care of yourself you will not have much to offer others.
Stop Using Public Relations for Marketing
Photo by Stuart Miles from http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Public relations and marketing projects both bring in students.
A common mistake is when a school receives positive feedback on a “marketing” project that does not contribute to the immediate improvement in enrollment.
This mistake becomes a black hole in the budget worksheet.
Bible colleges do need a good public relations program. Yet, they also need to identify which programs are public relations and which are failing marketing programs, and understand how each of them impact their cash flow.
A public relations program builds up the school’s image, brand, and good will. Much like a car dealer’s donation to a local charity gives the public a good image of the dealership. The dealer’s donation does not bring about an increase in car sales.
A marketing program has a direct relationship with in increase in the number of sales executed. An advertisement in the newspaper better show results or the use of the media should be discontinued.
Public relations is for the public. Marketing is targeted to a select group.
Public relations is sharing. Marketing is asking for a sale or demanding action.
Public relations is on going. Marketing has a deadline.
Take Your School Live
Photo by David Castillo Dominici on http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Hours of top talent can be invested in crafting the emotional words that produce the desired reaction from prospect.
Attempts are made to encapsulate the life changing offer you want to make.
The benefits of years of training are squeezed into a flyer.
Young people with question marks on their faces walk away from your booth uncertain if they want what you are offering them.
The most powerful way of communicating what you have to offer is to go in person. This is why Campus Visits and College Days events are important.
Not everyone’s able to travel or schedule the time to make it to your event.
The next best method is to go live!
There are opportunities to stream your chapel services, special events, and graduations via the Internet.
The most affordable and easiest to use options is to use a free http://www.UCStreaming.net account.
To maximize you live streaming event:
1.) Advertising your events with the option to watch the live stream.
2.) Mention the streaming options to the contacts you are visiting with on the phone before the event.
3.) Before the event send out an email or text blast.
4.) Before and at the beginning of the event have you participates turn on their cell phones and text the URL and events benefits to their friends.
5.) Email and direct mail to your prospects that they can watch the event in the archives.
6.) Mention key events to prospects and point them to the archives.
7.) Follow up and ask the prospect later what they thought of the event.
8.) Tweet highlights during the event with a hash tag and a link to the live service.
NOTE: In spirit of full disclosure UCStreaming.net is a business owned by my son, David Plappert.
Five Frogs on a Log
Photo by stockimages from http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
There were five frogs on a log.
One of the frogs decided to jump.
How many frogs are left on the log?
Four?
Wrong.
Five. The one frog decided to jump yet he did not take the action to do anything.
There are a lot of good people who talk about what they are going to do and only a few who take the step of actually doing it.
How do you move from deciding to acting?
1.) Do it yourself. A lot of dreams consist of seeing your peers joining you. Don’t expect it. It will be lonely.
2.) Remove roadblocks by right-sizing a doable plan.
3.) Put it on your calendar.
4.) Give a status report to your superior for accountability.
5.) Make sure it has the correct prioritization. Complete the more important task first and hold back on the less important items until this one is accomplished.
Don’t worry about the four frogs you left behind on the log. They will jump once they see your success and determination.
Do you value my input?
Photo by ambro from http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
It was important.
You waited all night for the opportunity.
You shared your vision and they shook their head in agreement.
Later, they acted surprised when you mention the previous conversation.
They did not hear you and demonstrate an appreciation for your efforts.
Is this the experience prospects face when they speak with you?
We are busy and have a lot to do.
Our conversations and phone calls are goal oriented.
What would happen if we could take the time to be a friend?
Yet, we do need to include our goals in the conversation.
One of the reasons prospect don’t move forward with their application process is they don’t feel heard and valued.
Stop. Listen. Take notes. Repeat back to them. Compliment them. Recall details in later conversations.
It is a significant responsibility you carry as a Recruiter.
Don’t Miss 7 Keys to Relationships
Photo by imagerymajestic from http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The number one goal of recruiting is to build relationships with the young people who feel a call to enter the ministry.
There are seven main steps to building a relationship.
1.) Building your brand, getting the word out, build popularity with the youth. This is known as Public Relations not targeted marketing.
2.) Collect quality information on students interested in going into a ministry. Quality is the key here. Do you understand their level of interests and the challenges they face to enroll? Make sure the contact data is correct and works.
3.) Introduce yourself and key members of your institution. Improve the quality of information you have about them by continuing to learn about them and the events in their life.
4.) Create expectations by outlining the next steps they need to take and discover any questions they may have at that stage in the enrollment process.
5.) Assist them in executing the tasks they need to complete by setting personal deadlines and put automated reminders in place.
6.) Evaluate the student’s interests. Is it growing or dying? Follow-up and adjust your plans. Should you continue or write them a “Dear John” letter with one last opportunity to enroll.
7.) Close the sale. Ask for the final sign-off and deposits. Don’t feel your job is done because you have talked with them… that can kill your time. Be excited about working with them to create action.
How Early Is Your Morning?
stockimages from http://www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
It puts you at an advantage.
A half hour can make the world of difference.
Your brain is at its best.
There are minimal distracts.
You can talk with God in your personal devotions and not be in a rush.
Think clearly about yesterday’s accomplishments and challenges.
This is an opportunity to build, review, and prioritize your task list for the day.
Catch up with the outstanding emails and clean up your inbox.
Check key websites that feed you information and motivate you in recruiting students.
Draft concepts, blogs, and papers.
It is easier to put in overtime in the morning than the evening.
Arrive home from work accomplished and in a good spirit to greet your family.
It is your morning routine. It is your privilege.
Enrollment Success 