Admissions Representative Role
When we think about an admissions representative at a for profit school, what is their role? Do they look at themselves as a sales person or do they look at themselves as a consultant to help prospective students make well informed decisions? Of course my opinion is that the term sales has negative connotations, plus may not have the best interest of the prospective students in mind; if you were selling. As an admissions representative your mental make up and understanding of your role affects the way inwhich you assist propsects. The titles, for an admissions rep, are different however the role is the same. You are affecting the livelihood of an individual, their family and friends. It should be important to you.
What are your thoughts?
I am completely new to performing the role as an admission rep. I don’t see myself as a salesman, but I am sure others do because of the manner in which they have conducted themselves. I see myself and hopefully will portray the image of informer. I would like to inform students that there is life after high school and here are your choices. Whether that be at my institution or another will depend upon their research and dissection. I am here mainly to inform student about the opportunities they have to gain training and enter the workforce. I hope I do well!
This information might come in handy if i ever decided to be in the rep position.
There's two sides to every coin. I have been in education and sales prior to being in admissions. It all comes back to the sales concept of value added. Any good salesperson can tell you about a school/product, but the best will make you understand the alue that the school/product can add to your life. If you truly believe in the concept, does it matter which you choose to identify with?
An Admission Rep is a combination of sales person and consultant, it has to be more an advisor than a sales person. As an Admission Representative you need to care about people, about there future, about there live, about there goals, you have to be helpful, kind and very honest to the prospective students.
If one is to be honest, you are a salesperson if you are working at a for profit school. In most cases, there is a number of enrollments that the school is shooting for each admissions period. However, if you are a good, honest, agent, you are doing much more than selling. You are ensuring the school os right for your prospective student and vice versa. You are trying to be sure the student enrolls in a program that is a good fit for him or her. You are not making any promises, but are trying to educate the prospective student as best as possible so that he or she can make a good, informed decision about enrolling or not. This is also helping the school because the students you do enroll are much more likely to stay and make it through the program. It also makes it more likely that employers are going to hire your graduates, which will help the school as well. You CANNOT just sell, sell, sell without educating and trying to help the individual make a good informed choice.
Education is far too valuable (and too expensive!) to approach the same way you would approach selling a pair of jeans to a customer. We are talking about a "product" that will change a person's life, not just wear out or go out of style in a few months. We need to approach every contact with this understanding, as well as a firm understanding of the needs of the school and how our role plays a huge part in the school's success. These are not opposing forces, they are totally in agreement as long as schools maintain an ethical stance w hen it comes to lead generation, representative performance expectations, rep training and development, and school policy and statistics transparency.
