by Jeremy Tiers, Director of Admissions Services
They usually come up earlier rather than later – “Your campus is too small”, “It’s too close to home, and I already know everything”, “The food options aren’t great”,”The weather stinks”. The list goes on and on.
Your prospects list objections as to why your school isn’t going to be the right fit for them. Sometimes, they’re right. Much of the time they’re wrong. And I think the reason they’re wrong most of the time is because you haven’t corrected them about the common misconceptions that exist about your school.
Objections are okay…in fact I would argue you should actually seek out what a prospective student doesn’t like about your school. When was the last time a prospect or parent didn’t have any objections, hesitations or arguments with you about your school?
There’s an often overlooked secret that college admissions counselors tend to ignore when it comes to seeking out and overcoming their prospects’ objections.
The secret involves listening. I mean really listening.
Why is that so important?
Easy: If your prospect’s objection is real, they will usually repeat that objection more than once during your conversation. That’s a big indicator that whatever the objection is, it’s real…and it needs to be overcome before you can expect your prospect to take the next step and move closer towards any kind of commitment to you and your institution.
When you listen closely and let your prospect talk out their feelings without interruption, you’ll also be able to determine if your prospect is stalling. Recognizing “stalls” is a skill that you need to develop. Stalling by your prospect usually indicates that they’re objecting to something, and they want you to explain why they should think differently.
If you think your prospect might be stalling, and you want to uncover a real objection, try using some questions like these:
- “<Prospect name>, you’ve told me that you’re having a problem with _________, but I get the feeling you might actually have something else on your mind. What could that be?”
- “Usually when a student tells me that, it means that they (objection). Is that the case with you?”
- “I find that a lot of students have a question about (objection). Is that something that’s on your mind?”
Those three questions have helped our clients determine whether a prospect is really objecting to something or just stalling. I encourage you to try them out.
Overcoming objections is a key factor in successful recruiting. That’s why we’re making sure admissions staffs that take part in our On-Campus Workshops are getting the best training possible when it comes to overcoming objections. Whether you get training from us or another resource, learning to overcome objections is vital for your admissions career.
Last thing today: I’ve got an important question for you – I want to know what objection your admissions team is dealing with the most this fall. Email me that objection right now…and as always thank you for your time and attention!