Important Advice If You Want More Deposits

Here’s a communication practice and habit that separates a very successful territory manager from an average one.

A lot of admissions counselors and recruiters are great at answering questions when a prospective student or parent reaches out. The problem with the practice of waiting is you end up missing opportunities – to know when/why a student’s mindset has changed, to know when/why they’re feeling unsure about something, or to know when they’re ready to make their decision.

Without that knowledge it’s hard to provide help that is relevant, or to know when the right time is to encourage a student to take action.

If you want to take your relationship management to the next level and increase your number of deposits this cycle, it’s essential that you consistently do intentional weekly outreach.

One part of that outreach – the focus of today’s article – involves asking follow-up questions after you have a meaningful conversation.

The practice of being inquisitive and digging deeper not only demonstrates that you’re listening and you’d like to better understand the why, when, how, or what behind a statement, it also gives the other person ‘permission’ to go deeper. Without that sequence, most students aren’t going to reveal key details which then means you don’t get the additional information you need to improve your response or make a strategic decision on what you should do next.

Here's an example:

Let’s say a counselor emails an admitted student and asks how they’re feeling about making their college decision. The student responds back with some version of, “I’m nervous and stressed.”

The counselor can deliver a better response by asking a follow-up question like, “Help me understand, what is it about the decision-making process that’s got you so nervous and stressed?”

Depending on the student’s answer, there will likely be an opportunity for the counselor to help alleviate some of the student’s stress by offering advice on the decision-making process, or sharing a story of a similar situation with another student and how that played out.

Did I mention that asking follow-up questions also helps to build more trust, because it does. More trust equals better customer service, and how the admissions staff treats a student throughout the process remains one of the top college decision-making factors nationally.

Here are a few more follow-up questions that work well in numerous situations regardless of what the original question was.

• Why is that important to you?

• What do you mean by that?

• That’s interesting, tell me more about that

• Help me understand why you feel that way

  
  

Asking follow-up questions is an important skill that needs to be cultivated and consistently put into practice.

What do your follow-up conversations currently look like? 

I encourage you to ask yourself, or ask your team if you want to improve your relationship management and increase your chances of securing more deposits.

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