By Jeremy Tiers, Senior Director of Admissions Services
4 minute read
Put up your hand if you don’t enjoy making phone calls to prospective students. When I ask that question during a workshop or conference session I’m leading, 75-80% of the audience reaches for the sky.
The reason there’s such a high dislike for phone calls is very clear – Hardly anyone answers their phone so it feels like a waste of time for the person making calls.
Good news! That problem is easily fixable, just keep reading.
Let’s start by examining the data. According to the latest Tudor Collegiate Strategies research, the overwhelming majority of both traditional (high school students) and non-traditional students (transfers, graduate students and even online learners) do not want a phone call from a college as a first point of contact. Email remains everyone’s initial communication preference.
Next, almost 45% of traditional students indicated they never wanted a call from anyone at a college prior to filling out an application. Non-traditional students are more accepting of a call once they’ve had some initial contact with their admissions counselor or another representative from a school.
More traditional students are okay with limited phone calls once they’ve applied to a college – only 32.6% say they still never wanted a call at any point from a school post-application. Of the more than two-thirds who are accepting of calls after they’ve applied, the majority prefer to receive no more than one call per month.
Students also tell us in surveys that oftentimes a phone call feels a lot more personal than any email or text message they receive from a college. Many believe a call takes more time and effort, which signals your school has a greater interest. Also, students say that a friendly, helpful call can be a more efficient use of their time instead of going back and forth via email or text.
At this point you might be saying, “So then why don’t they answer the phone?”
Just like you and me, most students tell us they don’t answer calls from phone numbers they don’t recognize. And if by chance they do have your number saved in their phone, or see your school’s name on their caller ID, when you unexpectedly “cold call”, students (who aren’t used to having conversations on the phone) get anxious or worried that one of the following things will happen:
- You’re just “checking in” to see how things are going and want to know if they have any questions, which puts them on the spot.
- You’re going to vomit information and “sell” how great your school is.
- You’re going to tell them they made some kind of mistake on their application or give them bad news about something else.
- You’re going to tell them you want them to apply or submit their deposit to which they don’t know how to respond and many get uncomfortable.
The number one thing you can do to get more students to answer their phone is schedule your call ahead of time AND explain why you want to have a call. Scheduling can be done with a short email or a text message.
When it comes to the why behind your call, students say it needs to be something that is clearly important, urgent, or unexpected good news… otherwise just put it in an email or text.
A good example of something that’s “phone call worthy” would be a call with an admitted student and their parent(s) to discuss something related to the financial aid process. Another one that we continue to recommend is using call campaigns to help with numbers and registration for your admitted student events.
Speaking of parents, unlike students, the majority of them are more accepting of a call – if it’s scheduled ahead of time, and if it’s to discuss something that’s clearly important or helpful for them and their family.
Reiterating something I said earlier, even those students who are comfortable talking to a college rep or student on the phone aren’t used to navigating that type of conversation, which results in many getting anxious.
Here are a few additional tips to improve the quality of your conversation during any phone call:
- Calls should be short and very casual. The majority of your calls can be completed in 10 minutes or less if you’re direct and get right to the point, which by the way is what most students prefer. Your tone should be casual and relaxed, not robotic and intimidating.
- Be prepared to lead (but not dominate) the conversation. Because of student’s anxiety, most will need you to guide them during phone calls. Focusing on making the conversation all about the student (or parent). Be prepared to ask some direct questions to get information back that then allows you to give additional relevant information that keeps a back and forth conversation going. It should always feel like you’re speaking with the other person, not at them.
- Be enthusiastic, authentic, and confident. We can all tell when someone is doing something because it’s their job or because they truly want to understand us and/or help with something. Without authenticity and enthusiasm, getting the student (or parent) to engage becomes a lot harder. Same thing goes for your confidence. If you sound unsure of yourself or timid, your chances of having a successful call decrease significantly.
- Your pace matters. Slow down, pronounce things clearly, and take pauses between thoughts or before you answer a question. It doesn’t have to sound perfect and rehearsed. Again, it just needs to be authentic and helpful.
- At the end, clearly explain and confirm the next step. Every conversation should end with a next step – one thing, not multiple things. Make sure you clearly define it, and it’s also good practice to have the other person repeat it back to you.
If you get a student’s voicemail (because it’s actually set up or the mailbox isn’t full), your message should be 20 to 30 seconds max. Tell them who it is, explain why you’re calling, and tell them how they can get back in contact with you. Then, soon after the voicemail, send a very short text message or email alerting them to your voicemail.
Last but not least, if you utilize student callers throughout the year, everything I just outlined still applies. The majority of prospective students tell us that random cold calls from current students who sound robotic and ask how they’re doing and what questions they can answer isn’t helpful or enjoyable.
Love them or hate them, phone calls still need to be a part of your student recruitment communications strategy in 2023 and beyond.
Want to talk more about something related to phone calls? I’m happy to connect. Simply reply back, or email me here.
And if you found this article helpful, forward it to someone else on your campus who could also benefit from reading it.