Welcome back to Beyond the Tour where twice a month you'll receive practical tips and resources to help you get better at what you do. 

 

Let's get started. 

If You Do One Thing This Week:

1. 👏 Tell them what they need to know. 

 

Keep telling your story and sharing your value proposition. Do not assume that people know your school or know what you do. 

 

Say it over again, and 

again, and 

again, and 

again, and 

again, and 

again, and 

again. 

 

It will take hearing a message at least 7 times before the message sinks in. Don't be shy; don't think you're overselling.  You're not.  Stay consistent with your language around what your school does for students and families. 

 

This week's challenge: Choose one phrase or piece of your school messaging, and use it in 5 communicatons with families this week. 

 

2 Tips to DO MORE:

2. 👹 Take on the gremlins.

 

Every school has myths out there that are rumors killing your image. I think of them as gremlins - sneaky, tricky, little monsters gnawing away at the best you have to offer. 

 

Don't be scared of the gremlins. 

Take them head on. 

Talk to parents about the concerns you know they have. 

 

Here's how I used to deal with it in my school, where we had an integrated religious curriculum with our general studies. I knew that many prospective parents had that gremlin on their back saying “What's the tradeoff here? How will my child get what they need and get ahead with all this time spent on religious studies and another language?” 

 

During my conversation with families, I made a point of taking on that gremlin head on: “If you're looking at other schools, you'll notice we spend about 40% of our time on religious studies and studying Hebrew as a required foreign language. Let me tell you how that sets kids up for success: They have a cosmopolitan worldview from day 1; they are all engaged in foreign language study from 4 years old, which research shows us know is much better for language development and retention; they don't have religious studies as an add-on; it's integrated into their life daily. If I were looking at a school that doesn't do this, I would ask them how they account for everything that we include.” 

 

Turn your gremlin into a strength. If you need help with this, be in touch. I love dealing with gremlins. 

3. 🎇 Keep on spreading the cheer. 

 

Remember that Thanksgiving email we sent to prospective families, sharing how much we value them, and keep-moving-through-the-admission-process?

 

Repurpose that email, and send a note to the professionals at your sending schools from this past year to thank them for the exceptional students who have joined your school from theirs.

 

These small personal touchpoints make a big difference when an outplacement coordinator considers how to advise families in their application process.

 

Bonus points: Add a personal anecdote about one or two of their kids, sharing how well their graduates do at your school.

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Fresh take:

 

From the Thrive Hive Blog Vault, we bring you helpful, concrete examples on how to structure your tuition and tuition assistance pages. Small changes to this page will make a big difference in how families react to the sticker shock of your pricing. 

DON'T just be transactional, only listing the $$$ amount you expect families to pay for your program. 

DO offer something relational - a testimonial, a reminder of your value proposition, photos - to remind families why they're falling in love with your program, and why the investment is worth it. 

 

Read the article, and let me know what you think. 

If this newsletter resonates with you, here are three more ways I can help:

I’m a teacher at heart, and love helping people get better at what they do.

 

Let's get started,

 

Check out previous issues of Beyond the Tour here.