The moderate strategy is sort of a hybrid of the conservative and aggressive strategies.

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Auto Response E-mails:

  • Can be customized
  • Acknowledge that request has been received
  • Are form letters that help establish contact

Phone Contact Tips:

  • Utilize all information provided
  • Attempt contact immediately
  • Within 12-36 hours, attempt one call in the morning, afternoon and evening

E-mail Dialogue Tips:

  • Maintain control of the conversation
  • Do not directly discuss tuition, financial aid or placement rates
  • Highly encourage a campus visit

What’s Next?: Moderate Strategy

Internet leads have their differences compared to leads from traditional media sources. However, the fundamental principles of working the leads are the same. The key is to lead a prospect who has contacted you via e-mail or the Internet into your preferred recruiting environment, giving you "the home field advantage." In short, an on-campus appointment.

The moderate strategy is a combination of conservative and aggressive strategies. You make initial contact by phone. You use e-mail as a fallback option. The primary emphasis is to establish a conversation prior to the appointment. This strategy matches more closely with follow-up from other lead sources.

Overview of the Follow-Up Process

Below is a flow chart representing the basic steps necessary to effectively follow up on an Internet lead. The process begins when a potential student e-mails a request for information to the school.

To view flow chart click here.

Auto Response
An auto response is an automatically generated e-mail message that goes to the person submitting a request for information from the school. This is the first step in the process. It is important since it acknowledges that you received the prospect's request. Provide your school's phone number in the auto response, and begin selling the value of a one-on-one meeting with an admissions representative at the campus.

First Contact Method: Phone
Typically, contact forms request both daytime and evening telephone numbers. They should also ask for the best time to call. If this information is completed, use it to guide your follow-up. When you have the phone number, contact your prospect by phone first. Make it your standard practice to contact the prospect as quickly as possible.

Attempt phone contact at least once in the morning, once during the day and once in the evening. Make contact attempts within 12 to 36 hours of receiving the lead. If you get a machine or voicemail system, leave a brief message. Make sure to state your name, phone number and the reason for your call. Emphasize that you are responding to their request. This will indicate to the prospect that the call was solicited. Make sure to suggest 2-3 times during the day when it is easy for them to reach you. Finally, let the person know you will be making additional attempts to contact them. Although you will leave only one voicemail message – on the first attempt – you do not want the prospect to feel harassed if additional calls from you show up on a caller ID log.

Once you establish telephone contact, work through the admissions process as you would with any other lead. Maintain control of the conversation. You want to guide the person to schedule a time to visit the school. It is important to ask how much the prospect knows about your school already. Internet leads have put time and effort into contacting you. They will most likely know more information about the school than the other leads you handle.

Second Contact Method: E-mail

If the lead has not supplied a valid phone number or you have attempted 3-6 phone calls without making contact, it's time to turn to e-mail. It's valuable to realize that Internet leads may prefer e-mail to phone communication. Once you have decided to move to e-mail, send out a standardized letter to your prospect as soon as possible. Develop one standard letter for your school and save it as a template, so that anybody working Internet leads can access and use it.

Your standardized e-mail letter should:

  1. Be customized to the information the prospect provided on the contact form. Make sure to use the prospect's name. Mention some specific information supplied in the initial request, such as program of interest.
  2. Have a subject line that makes your e-mail stand out. You don't want it viewed as spam or junk e-mail.
  3. Ask directed questions to help you fill in information about prospects and engage further conversation. This information may include their educational history, work status and interest in school. Utilize closed-ended questions. This will encourage them to give you more information about themselves.
  4. Let them know that you would like to set up a time to talk with them on the phone. Tell them you want to arrange a meeting at the school so you can answer their questions and show them the opportunities that are available. Be sure to also request and confirm all phone numbers.
  5. Provide 3-4 available times when you can talk with them by phone. Space out the times you give them, and set them on a quarter-hour basis, such as 9:15 a.m., 3:45 p.m. or 5:15 p.m. Ask them to e-mail or call you to select the time.
  6. Use proper grammar and spelling. Most e-mail programs have grammar and spell-check functions. Use these before sending the e-mail message, but not as a substitute for careful proofreading!
  7. Be as concise as possible so you won't lose the prospect's interest.

Keep in mind that not everyone checks their e-mail daily. A couple of days may pass before you receive a reply to your e-mail. Don't be frustrated if you do not receive an instant response. Once you receive a reply, confirm a call time and establish phone contact, you can focus on setting up a face-to-face meeting at your school.

Continued E-mail Dialogue
You may end up in a continuing e-mail conversation, should that be the method that establishes contact. In this situation, you want to make sure you can gain control of the dialogue. Try to work the prospect through the admissions process just as you would in a phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting.

  1. If prospects give lengthy answers or respond with additional questions, move to more closed-ended questions. This will help you re-establish control.
  2. If prospects are reluctant to reveal personal information, ask more open-ended questions to encourage valuable dialogue.

In all e-mail correspondence, answer questions within the parameters currently mandated by your company. In the matter of compliance, e-mail communication is no different from a phone call or face-to-face meeting. As the e-mail communication continues, make sure you remind prospects that you can answer their questions more efficiently if they come visit the school. Consider using language such as this:

"Jim, you have some terrific questions, and I want to make sure I get them all answered to your satisfaction. What I would like you to do is to write or type out each question so that I can address them tomorrow or Wednesday here at the campus. I am available to meet with you at 4:15 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday 5/8), or the next day (Wednesday 5/9) at 9:15 a.m. or 6:45 p.m. Please respond and let me know which time works better for you, or call me at 913-254-6000 to confirm the time."

You may not receive a response to your phone call or e-mail within the first week. In that case, attempt an additional phone call. Follow up with an e-mail and then a written letter. Keep the message short, and ask if they are still interested in your school. If you still get no response, wait 2 weeks and try again. Be persistent – but not pushy. Understand that these leads may have had something come up that is distracting them from contacting you. Don't assume that they are no longer interested.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

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