COMMUNICATION DO’S & DON’TS


Current Students Arguing About Policies:


DO:

“We can’t make exceptions for some families and not for others. That just wouldn’t be fair.”

“We have a contract with our teachers that we have to adhere to.”

“This is our policy. We have our policies in place so that our school runs efficiently and effectively for all.”

DON’T:

Don’t ever say “unfortunately” or “I’m sorry” when stating or explaining a policy. Simply state it without emotion.

Prospective Student

DO:

  1. Get to know the prospective student by asking them to tell more about themself/their child. Ask about their goals and what triggered their interest in music/this instrument.

  2. Bond with the prospective student by relating what they are saying. “You know, that reminds me of…” or “we have a lot of students like yourself/your child who are working toward…”

  3. Use bolder words:

    1. “Our instructors are AMAZING”

    2. “We can ABSOLUTELY help with that”

    3. “I would LOVE to give you some more information”

    4. “Taking music lessons is LIFE CHANGING”

  4. Control the conversation and the next point of contact:

    1. “I’ll go ahead and place a hold since you think that time might work for you”

    2. “I’ll check back in with you tomorrow to see if that time will work for you/see if you have any additional questions”

  5. Speak with confidence and enthusiasm at all times.



DON’T

Don’t ask questions about whether they’re interested in hearing more information or checking the schedule. Instead TAKE CONTROL and say things like “I’m going to tell you a little more about how lessons work here!” or “I’ve got the schedule pulled up. Let’s take a look!”

Don’t let them go without setting up a future point of contact! If they want to speak to a spouse or think about it and contact you back, that’s fine, but YOU need to do the contacting. And don’t ASK them if you can, TELL them that you will. Say “Well that sounds great! I’ll go ahead and call you back tomorrow then, and I’ll send you an email in the meantime so you have all the information in front of you. What is your email address?”

Avoid Saying:

  • As I said before…

  • Like I told you already…

  • What?

  • Fair Enough

  • Can you repeat that -

  • Did you know you can do this online (by yourself and not through me) through the portal…

Goal For Every Prospective Conversation:

In addition to collecting as much contact information as possible, every conversation (whether by phone, email, text, or in-person) should result in one of the following:

  1. Enrollment/Trial Lesson booked

  2. Temporary hold on the schedule with a specified time for you to call back

  3. Scheduled phone call or text for sometime in the near future

We communicate via text as a team:

  1. Use the COMM list on M.c (Monday.con) to find common communication topics such as “signups” or “cancellation”

  2. Tailor the text to the client’s name

  3. DO NOT sign a text with your name. All of the admin staff will be working on texts throughout multiple shifts. It is important that our students know we work cohesively as a team. We do not want student requesting to speak with a particular individual.