A link to your free online consultant, a program tailored to educators

30 Days to Successful Student Recruitment Marketing
by Dr. Stephen L. Goldstein
A completely interactive workbook, this program was designed for educators by an educator who became a marketer. Purchase the program and receive free online access to the author/consultant for 30 days after you begin using the book. Below is the book's Table of Contents. Scroll down to the post below for a sample Day 11, Create a "Circle of 10," along with the Success Plan for Day 11.

Day 1-Capitalize on the super-trend reshaping education in America
Success plan
Day 2-Think like a marketer. Act like an educator
Success plan
Day 3-Market around the clock
Success plan
Day 4-Always see the glass as empty
Success plan
Day 5-Discover who is really committed to marketing
Success plan
Day 6-Sell your school’s decision-makers on the 6 powers of paid marketing
Success plan
Day 7-Crown a marketing czar
Success plan
Day 8-Base your budget upon a response-enrollment ratio
Success plan
Day 9-Develop your programs and marketing together
Success plan
Day 10-Find your tsunami
Success plan
Day 11-Create a "Circle of 10"
Success plan
Day 12-Sell your sizzles, not your steak--or go hungry
Success plan
Day 13-Do all your marketing yourself
Success plan
Day 14-Never succumb to monkey-see, monkey-do
Success plan
Day 15-Avoid "marketing anarchy"
Success plan
Day 16-Orchestrate your marketing campaign in 11 steps
Success plan
Day 17-Mix your media--properly
Success plan
Day 18-Take 5 steps to assess your results--before you market
Success plan
Day 19-Eschew technology, robots, and voicemail
Success plan
Day 20-Discover the 5 p’s of marketing
Success plan
Day 21-Use a strong brand name, but don’t be egotistical
Success plan
Day 22-Beyond the Internet: Set the pace in Cyberspace
Success plan
Day 23-Know when to pay, and when to ask for freebies
Success plan
Day 24-Write for enrollment
Success plan
Day 25-Direct your direct mail directly
Success plan
Day 26-Master direct mail campaigns in 10 steps
Success plan
Day 27-Remember 14 tips to market on radio
Success plan
Day 28-Discover the affordable power of cable TV
Success plan
Day 29-Think like a for-profit. Act like a non-profit: 30 free ways to create demand
Success plan
Day 30-"Close your circle"
Success plan
Day 31-Build on your success

30 Days to Successful Marketing Student Recruitment Marketing is only available through Educational Marketing Services, Inc. Request an order form by e-mail to trendsman@aol.com or call 954-772-4455.

30 Days to Successful Student Recruitment Marketing

Day 11
Create a "Circle of 10"

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.
--Linus Pauling

Day 11, Create a "Circle of 10" is excerpted from Dr. Stephen L. Goldstein's latest interactive workbook-program, 30 Days to Successful Student Recruitment Marketing. It is available exclusively from Educational Marketing Services, Inc. For more information and an order form, e-mail trendsman@aol.com or call 954-772-4455.

You may think that you have found one or more compelling marketing ideas. But you can’t just lunge at the world with an idea you think is saleable, on the assumption that others will simply "get it" and enrollments will take care of themselves.

You are only one half of the marketing equation. You need to find others who will give you honest feedback about your program’s marketability. Follow a two-step process to achieve that crucial goal.

1. Do your homework. Research your idea’s timeliness and long-term relevance. In business, such an exercise would be called a market analysis. Find the facts and figures to see if your idea serves a legitimate need. Identify all the potential markets you want to reach--and their hot buttons. For example, it’s one thing to offer a program that people need. It’s even more compelling to point out how a certain credential is likely to translate into career advancement, increased employment options--and higher salary.

Determine if your idea makes enough financial sense so others will "buy" (enroll in) it. As though you were starting a business, size up the competition. (Don’t pretend you’re holier-than-thou and don’t think of other schools as "the opposition." You know as well as I do that, eventually, you will try to beat them in the scramble for students.) Summarize your findings in a one-page, preliminary draft that makes a case for the marketability of your proposal.

2. Create a "Circle of 10." Use it as your personal think tank, swat team, brain trust, or focus group to advise you on the marketability of your ideas. Your "Circle of 10" should consist of knowledgeable people, committed to helping you get the answers to a specific question and to creating strategies that will increase your marketing effectiveness. (Do not include friends and family. You won’t get honest answers--even if they say they are being honest.)
To find out if your school is really marketing itself effectively, establish a "Circle of 10" made up of people who represent each of your school or program’s varied constituencies. For example, if you are a high school, your circles might be made up of (1) teachers, (2) non-academic staff, (3) students, (4) parents, (5) counselors, (6) the media, (7) graduates, as well as representatives of (8) corporations, (9) community agencies, (10) colleges and universities.

Don’t formally invite people to become part of your "Circle of 10." It’s not like a board of directors. It doesn’t have by-laws or meet regularly. (In fact, it’s best to keep members away from each other, informally advising you. People do strange things when they get together. Most important, you want to avoid "group think.")

Get in the habit of bouncing ideas off your "Circle of 10." See where they agree, get a feel for what might work--without asking them to trudge to the same place at the same time. A five-minute phone call now and then may be all you need for someone to help you increase your success big time. Because it’s an informal group, you can add and replace people when you discover they are more or less helpful--without they’re even realizing it.

Aside from having experience or expertise in a certain area, the only criterion for being in your "Circle of 10" should be that each person promises to help you get to 10 other people who share the same qualifications they have and who would be willing to assist you. (See the magic already? That’s 110 pre-selected, informed, powerhouse people helping you.)
Of course, you may have more than one "Circle of 10." The same formula may be applied again and again to getting the information, assistance, and direction you need to develop everything from your current marketing program to your future plans.

A "Circle of 10" is magical, because it is fresh, focused, and flexible. It capitalizes on the strengths of like-minded people. It is organized for a specific purpose, doesn’t waste people’s time, and energizes people to help you reach others--the only way you can truly build an effective network. In a word, it fosters "involvement."
So, if you really want to master educational marketing, try adding zero and going around in circles. It may turn out to be the most rewarding ride of your life.

Your Day 11 Success Plan:
List 10 people who might form your first "Circle of 10" and the constituency or perspective they represent:
1.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
2.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
3.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
4.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
5.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
6.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
7.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
8.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
9.________________________________ Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
10.________________________________Representing: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________
Phone(s): _________________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________