Originally Posted by ColorfulSunburst:
dont rely on phone. it does not serve anyone's interest. Just use it to schedule a tour. People obviously want to know the costs, but without a point of reference by visiting you, your site, and understanding the value of the service, simply knowing the cost has little value. Only the client searching for rock bottom price really cares about it and if this type of person is not your customer then speaking about your prices does nothing for you unless you know you are the rock bottom provider.
Your script:
Thank you for your interest in considering us for caring for your child. We offer a number of services and customized care packages, and are available to share this information with each evening from Monday - Friday at 6:30pm during a scheduled tour.
That's it. If they don't want to schedule a time for a tour, you probably would not get them anyway. Why commit yourself to someone over the phone you cannot see or evaluate? Remember, you are interviewing them just as they are interviewing you.
Kids are almost never the problem, its the parents!
in the beginning, I fell into the trap of answering phone questions, it went no where. Once I stopped and offered the tours, about 70% of all calls accepted the offer of the tour. Once they start coming, then you need to develop the skills to quickly size up people to determine if they are a good fit for you and the program so you end the tours quickly for those folks not appealing to you and give the time to the best candidates.
best of luck
I disagree. Scheduling a tour is a complete waste of my time if the potential client is a flaky no-show, and you can usually tell from a couple of minutes on the phone if they're serious about considering your program.
Scheduling a tour is a complete waste of my time if the potential client expects unreasonably low rates, needs hours outside of mine, needs care for a child whose age group I don't have space for, needs care for a child who's allergic to my pets, or needs care for a child who's not immunized.
I always screen with that information. My time is too valuable to block out a tour for someone who could have been ruled out in a five-minute phone call.