Selling Education and Educating Sales

3. Know Your Clientele:

Teachers…Open that Cumulative student’s file before the first day of school!

I personally do not care that the child had a few discipline issues during the previous year. They are my student now. A couple of summer months and (hopefully) parental intervention can often initiate change and maturity from school year to year.

However, the final grade card, notes from previous teachers and secretaries can be telling. They may have struggled both personally and academically due to: moving 3 to 4 times during the school year; parents are divorcing and the student is in the middle of a custody battle; one parent is deceased and the other is in jail, leaving the student living with family members or in foster care; the family is homeless and living in a shelter; this could go on forever.

What you need to realize is that some students’ priorities are completely different than others. This goes for students who live in the same town or in different states. How you teach a student from inner city New Jersey will probably differ from a student living in the bayous of Louisiana. And, both of those students may have moved to your city and are now next door neighbors…do you teach them the same way? You might, if you didn’t do your due diligence first. Save yourself the headache.

You may be one of those teachers who require homework every night. That’s great if this is a priority of both the student and their family. While Susie goes home to her house on the back nine of the local golf course, and has a designated homework time at the dinner table with mom (after her snack and a little family time to talk about her day), Billy goes home to an empty apartment. He is the oldest of 3 children in a single family home where the parent works 2nd shift and will not be home until after 9 pm. He arrives home to an empty apartment, has to make food for his younger siblings, figure out ways to keep them busy and out of trouble, prepare dinner (if food is available), and make sure everyone is cleaned up and ready for bed at the end of the day. He may even live in an area where having the light on after dark makes them a target for the occasional drive by, so they live in the dark except for the glow of the television (which has become the babysitter for so many children over the years). While academics and family are the priority for Susie, day to day survival has become the priority at Billy’s house.

Billy will probably need to do as much work as possible (abbreviated homework?) during the school day in order to keep up with the rest of the class. Have a conference with both the parent and student in order to come up with a plan, keep the parent involved and the line of communication open, and let them know you care and are accommodating. Most parents will appreciate it more than you know. They are doing the best that they can and usually feel very much alone. However, be careful when initiating the conversation. Keep it professional and sell them on a customer service level. If at all possible, try not to bring conversations that you have had with their student into the equation. Keep it a fact finding mission that tells the parent they are not your only call…you just want to have a successful year with all of your students. One off-handed comment (that you usually didn’t mean to say) during a phone conversation or even face to face, can turn an involved parent into an indignant nightmare that will haunt you for the rest of the year because you stepped out of line and onto their pride.

Lastly, show that you care, and are interested in them as not only a student, but as a human being. Maybe a family member is sick, having a baby, etc.… Jot a quick note on your calendar and have a “side-bar” conversation with them in a couple of days. Asking how ________ is doing, or that you hope ________ is doing ok, places you into a mental location outside of the classroom and humanizes you. Most students will put forth that little bit of extra effort for someone that they have some kind of personal relationship with.

On a side note, one way I keep communication open with my students is this. As students pass me in the hall, enter or leave the classroom, they will either give me a high five, or low five. This is a non-verbal communication stating how their day is going. High five equals “I’m having a good day”. Low five equals “Things are not going well, either here or at home”. Low five students know that the option of coming to see me privately to talk is there. This method also gives me an idea of why and how I should approach the student during my lesson.

*Sales Timeout:

Zig Zigler – “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!” This quote goes with customers, students, parents, other staff and quite simply anyone you interact with. Just don’t be calculated with your conversations, be more spontaneous and sporadic. Adults pick up on false intentions (even when unintended) much quicker than students. However, adults still crave involvement and praise. When it comes to your customers, do your research. The style of selling a refinance mortgage, for instance, will vary from state to state (and even more internally). The rules and regulations are obviously different, but so are your clients. Sell yourself through a customer service approach. Find out their needs and priorities before you start your pitch. Don’t assume the refinance is just to save money. They may have the money, but want to get out from under their current mortgage in a shorter time period because of a parent with health issues, and they are planning ahead (and willing to pay more). Know your area, the market, and again, your client.