In every part of the inquiry-to-enrollment process, using the right questions can mean a family chooses your center over other options they are considering.
When you ask, how you ask, and what you ask are key indicators of successful performance. Here are three open questions to ask and when to ask them.
- What are the ways you heard about us? This question should be part of your inquiry process, either listed your website lead from or included in your first inquiry conversation on the phone or in person. Tracking the answers will help you direct marketing dollars to the best sources of inquiry for your prospects.
- What are primary factors in your decision of which school you select for your child? Ask this during the needs assessment part of enrollment interviews, while you are visiting with prospects in your office or a private area before showing them your center. Their answer will help you direct your tour to the benefits of your school that meet their expressed needs, and help you include decision- making topics in your enrollment conversations and follow up.
- What are the reasons you decided to enroll here at (name of school)? Once a family has chosen to enroll, this question can help you learn what made them choose you. Answers can be everything from, “It felt the best,” “I loved the educational program,” “You followed up more than anyone else”. Whatever it is, track the answers, and use the data to assess what matters most to your target audience of parents. You can ask this question as a family starts in your center, or as part of your satisfaction check-in conversation with new parents sometime during the first few weeks after they have enrolled.
There’s magic in asking good questions at the right times. Try it, and see how it helps you make enrollment building struggles disappear.
Julie Wassom
The Child Care Marketing Expert and Coach
Marketing and Sales Speaker/Consultant/Author
303-910-3083
julie@juliewassom.com
www.juliewassom.com
