This document discusses strategies for converting student inquiries into enrollments. It focuses on consultative selling techniques, emphasizing listening to students' needs and presenting benefits rather than features. It stresses the importance of speedy and personal responses to inquiries through phone or email. Maintaining a customer relationship management system allows tracking inquiries, applications, admissions and enrollments over time. Persistence is key, as most students do not decide until their fifth contact or later. The document promotes trust-building and empathy with students throughout the recruitment process.

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Selling Higher Education:
Enquiries to Enrollments

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Who we are?
Thijs van Vugt
› 27 years in international
education
› Over 16 years at Tilburg
University
› Over 10 years as educational
marketing consultant for iE&D
Solutions
› And 5 years as sales manager
for StudyPortals
Preben Sperling
› 15 years in USA in various sales
positions
› 7 years for Laureate
International Universities in
Market and Business
Development
› And 4 years as independent
consultant with Providentiae

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Let’s talk about sales

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The importance of selling a service
Tangibility
Services
Goods
High
Low
Salt
Detergent
Cars
Fast food
Airlines
Education
Consultancy

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Foundations of consultative selling

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Consultative selling
› Ask questions to determine wants and needs (travel agent)
› Use the information to determine best fit, i.e. programme
› Present benefits
› It is all about wants and needs to help the student better.
› No “speeds and feeds”, nor selling by telling

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Recruitment & sales roadmap

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Trust› But how?
› Be your friendly self
› Let your customer talk
› Deliver what you promise
› First impression
Trust and Empathy

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Recruitment & sales roadmap

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Listen (!) and pay attention
› You have 2 ears and 1 mouth… use them in that proportion.
Listening

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Active listening
Effective Active
Listening
Visualize
Encourage
Talking
Make No
Assumptions
Paraphrase
& Repeat
Monitor
Non-Verbal
Pay
Attention

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Speed to contact

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Responsiveness: speed to contact
› Reach out when the subject is most relevant (Speed)
› Introduce yourself, your school and your programs (Contact)
› Set the bar and set expectations
› Responsiveness is translated to excellence
High speed can increase conversion 7 times (HBR)

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Enquiry Response Time

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Tangibles

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How to use speed in the sales cycle?
› There is nothing more urgent than a new lead
› Speed is relative and depends on what you promise
› Always seek personal contact (you owe this to your student)
› In person or via a phone call
› E-mail only unless call is not possible!

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The relevance of CRM

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Marketing vs CRM
Marketing CRM
Markets Individual clients
Recruit Retain
1 to N 1 to 1
Short term Long term
Product life cycle Customer life cycle
Transactions Relations
Marketing dept All departments

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Data capture & communication
› CRM systems allow you to capture and store data of
 Prospects, leads, applicants, admitted and enrolled students
 Alumni
 Parents
 Employers
 Donors
 Etc.
› In order to communicate with them
 Faster
 More personalized
 More reliable
 And automated to different audiences
› CRM systems allow you to organize your work more efficiently

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Management information
Leads
Contact
Applicationsout
Applicationsin
Inclass
Admitted
Qualified

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Persistence pays off
› 53% of recruiters never follow up with a prospect
› 25% of recruiters make a second contact and stop
› 12% of recruiters make three contacts and stop
› Only 10% of recruiters make more than three contacts
› 2% of decisions are made on the first contact
› 3% of decisions are made on the second contact
› 5% of decisions are made on the third contact
› 10% of decisions are made on the fourth contact
› 80% of decisions are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

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› It’s not cold calling, you’re helping the
student
› Speed and contact
› Trust and empathy
› Active listening and asking the right
questions
› Make sure you have a decent CRM system
Take home messages

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Contact info
Thijs van Vugt
+31 6 41482449
thijsthoisy
vanvugt@studyportals.com
@thoisy
nl.linkedin.com/in/thijsvanvugt/
Preben Sperling
+31 6 5240 3604
paulie_preben
preben.sperling@providentiae.com
nl.linkedin.com/in/preben-sperling-
a088535
All materials copyright © iE&D Solutions & StudyPortals