6 Key Ingredients for Effective Admissions Follow-Up

In the competitive world of private school admissions, effective follow-up with prospective parents is not just a courtesy, but a crucial aspect of a successful enrollment strategy. Your goal is to build a relationship, understand the family’s needs, and demonstrate how your school can meet them.

The admissions process is more than just filling seats; it’s about building a relationship and determining the right-fit family.

Some admissions staff fail to effectively convert their leads because they take the “wait and see” approach to follow-up. Instead of continuing to nurture the positive leads, the admissions staff will wait to see whether or not the parent will take the next step. However, we know that a relationship must be nurtured in order to move the parent further on their journey.

Let’s consider six key ingredients for your admissions team after the lead has been generated to enhance your follow-up process:

1—Personalization is Essential

The first step in effective follow-up is personalization. Even in automated emails, include elements that can be customized – such as the parent and child’s name, the program of interest, or a reference to a recent interaction. This approach shows attentiveness and fosters a personal connection. After all, the parent has just completed the inquiry process by giving you their personal data. It is essential to use it! Don’t make the mistake of sending an automated email that is impersonal and doesn’t tell the parent anything about your school.

2—Develop a Compelling Email Sequence

An automated email sequence should guide prospective parents through the decision-making process. Start with a welcome email that thanks them for their interest and, also provides an overview of reasons why parents choose your school. Follow this with emails that provide more information about your school, such as academic program highlights, extracurricular activities, and testimonials from current parents and students. These emails should include a focus on telling the story of your school in a way that will connect to the parent.

3—Timing and Value Matters

Space out your emails, and follow-up contacts, to avoid overwhelming prospective parents. A good practice is to send the initial follow-up on the same day of their inquiry (the 24-hour rule is not relevant today), with subsequent emails spaced a few days apart. You should avoid the extreme of emailing every other day to only once a month. Each email and follow-up contact should offer value, whether it’s an invitation to an open house, a link to a virtual tour, access to an informative webinar, or compelling reasons to take the next step. Always include a clear call-to-action in your emails as well in your personal contacts, inviting parents to take the next step, be it scheduling a visit or applying.

4—Don’t Forget the Human Touch

While automation is efficient and can keep your school in front of the prospective parent, it cannot replace human interaction. Pair your automated emails with personal follow-ups, phone calls, text messages or in-person meetings. This combination ensures that families feel genuinely supported and valued throughout their decision-making process.

5—Be Proactive and Intentional

With a strong automated flow of emails reaching the prospective parent, it is essential for your admissions staff to be proactive and intentional in their personal follow-up. Each admissions staff member should have a list of hot prospects in which personal outreach is focused. The goal of the admissions staff is to be aggressive in recruiting the prospective parent to your school without being pushy. Each contact and response should determine the next step.

6—Utilize All Forms of Communication

Your follow-up communication should involve mailings, personal emails, phone calls, text messages, and home visits as well an automated email sequence. Think about the mix of contacts because you never know how each prospective parent will respond. For example, you could send two mailings to the home that stand out in a mailbox filled with junk mail, send timely text messages to remind the parent of a key deadline or information about the next step, as well as offer to meet the family in their home or at a restaurant to discuss their child’s educational needs.

Remember, the goal of follow-up in private and independent school admissions is to create a welcoming, compelling, informative journey for prospective parents. By blending automated email sequences with personalized touchpoints, you can effectively engage families and showcase the unique value of your school.