Boost Enrolment By Thinking Like A Sales Pro

You’ve probably heard the great news that the Ministry of Education has announced increased funding for experiential learning: Career/life planning, technical skills development, and expansion of SHSM!
 
But, the question remains - how do we get more students involved in SHSM? It’s the teachers, counsellors, and students in the schools - on the ground level - who will actually do the “selling” of SHSM. 
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We teachers don’t often think of ourselves as “salespeople,” but we are! It doesn’t have to be slimy or icky. For us, “sales” is about “helping people with their buying decisions,” and the “buying decision” students need to make is this: “What should I do with my time?”
 
We think SHSM is a worthy product to be sold. So let’s steal a few tips from sales professionals to help boost the SHSM enrolment numbers!

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#1. Focus on the benefits, not the logistics. People buy shoes because they believe they’ll jump like Michael Jordan, not because they’re made with fancy rubber. We need to advertise SHSM not by telling people where to sign up or how long the workshops last, but by sharing the benefits as students experience them. Consider a few potential marketing slogans that are made to speak to the things that matter to students.:

• Do it your way with SHSM! Join us, and customize your high school experience!
• Tired of boring school subjects? Get certified in stuff that matters to you with SHSM!!
• Job-hunting? Get a leg up with SHSM!

#2. Give away free samples! There’s a reason Costco gives away free stuff at lunch time: It makes people buy more stuff! (It also makes us go to Costco at lunch time…). How might your SHSM program give away samples to give people a taste of all that you’re offering? Consider these ideas:

• Run sample events: By inviting prospective students to a sample workshop, they’re see what all the fuss is about! Make sure it’s interactive and meaningful.
• Invite students to attend existing field-trips & reach-aheads: If you’ve got some extra space, bring a few extra people on the trip! Show them a great time!
• Host a Lunch & Learn: Let people sample the “community” aspect of the SHSM program by setting up a chance for new people to experience it first-hand!

#3. Promote like a pro. Great marketers know that people buy on emotion justified by logic - not the other way around. So we need to make it emotional! A few specific tips:

• Make it emotional, not informational. In addition to using the right language (see tip #1), think about how you can amp-up the experience and promotions. Consider things like exciting videos that engage people, heart-warming success stories, and promotional assemblies that inspire (We actually do these - email us if you’re interested).
• Start early: There’s a reason big companies pay a lot to market to children: It works. While selling Coca-Cola to 3-year-olds is ethically questionable, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be talking up the SHSM programs with students long before 11th grade. Take advantage of emotional transitional moments (like the Grade 8 high school tours), or school assemblies. Consider a “Pre-SHSM program” with a few special perks for junior students. People need to plan space in their schedules, so if the first time someone learns about SHSM is in Grade 11, it’s too late!
• Make it personal: There’s a reason door-to-door salespeople and street-corner fundraisers still have jobs: Person-to-person selling works. You should invite students to join your SHSM program personally, but the ask will be even stronger if the invite comes from a peer. The power is in the network: Have current SHSM students be your ambassadors. Do you have a reward for students who bring in new SHSM members? Could your current students lead the promotional campaigns? Could THEY host the info sessions or make the videos or invite 10 friends? You set the structure, and they’ll probably jump at the chance.

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