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: ____________________________