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July 29, 2008
| Attracting the best and the brightest by Herschell Gordon Lewis In a competitive admissions environment, among schools who are seeking students who are well above borderline, a local newspaper can provide access to an ongoing stream of high school students worthy of recruitment. Properly crafted and apparently sincere, an admissions director might mail a note of congratulations to a high school student whose recent accomplishment made his hometown paper. The student's accomplishment might be academic, civic or athletic. If it made the newspaper, it's certainly worthy of note. The signatory should be a real person who can be contacted. The note might include a statement like “You seem to be the kind of achiever we’d like to have on our campus.” Included is a follow-up suggestion, but keep it casual and never include a form or application. A direct invitation to visit the campus and discuss the future might be an effort that yields returns. Flattery has power on all levels. Well employed, it can actually change the intentions of a student and the student’s family. Caution: Don’t oversell.
Remember the principles of applied psychology you yourself learned. The effectiveness of flattery is reduced in exact ratio to the “flatteree’s” recognition of the purpose of the flattery. So the message should reek of sincerity, not self-service. And the names to which such messages have been sent should be kept available in an open file, for quick reference should a student or a parent respond. You may be generating outbound communications on an ongoing basis to students in the upper 10 percent of their classes, or other targeted groups. However, a personal communication based on a specific has power well beyond the reach of bulk mail.
Herschell Gordon Lewis writes direct response copy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for clients worldwide. His website is www.herschellgordonlewis.com.
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Event Spotlight
AACSB International Continuous Improvement Conference
Good business schools stick with what works — excellent business schools work on what's next. Continuous improvement is more than just maintaining, it is consistently innovating. Deans, associate deans, department chairs and faculty should attend to learn how to benchmark, plan, and raise standards at your school. Sunday 9/21/2008 through Tuesday 9/23/2008, Atlanta, GA, $845 - $1,245
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