5 Ways You Can Invest in Building a Team That Enrolls

When you have the right people on your team and they know what to do, your business works better and makes more money. 

This is why investing in building a great team is a must if you want your early childhood business to thrive.

When you trust your team, you can delegate tasks to them — such as enrollment tasks —. 

Doing so means having more time to focus on the things you truly enjoy working on and the things that will grow your business.

And who wouldn't want that?

So, how do you invest in building team members that enroll?

I answer this question in today's episode of Early Childhood Business Made Easy, so tune in now to find out!

Ready?

Let's dive in!

Let’s Talk About Enrollment

When your early childhood business has a full or almost full program, you can spend less time enrolling, marketing, and trying to attract new families, and more time nurturing your customers, leading your team, and growing your business. 

Early childhood business owners and leaders understand they cannot do this on their own and maintain any sense of work-life balance. So, having a great team is crucial!

When you have the right people on your team and they know what to do, your business works better and makes more money. And that gives you the time to focus on the things you truly enjoy working on. 

Having a strong team matters. And even more important in our industry is having a team that can help us share what we do with our potential families in a way that excites them and makes them want to be part of our programs. 

And that’s exactly why, today, I’ll be discussing how you can build a team that helps you grow your enrollment. 

Building a Team That Enrolls

There are five things you can do to invest in building a team that enrolls. What are they? Keep reading to find out!

Mentor With a Vision

Leaders who can communicate effectively have a distinct competitive advantage. When our words are heard and understood, people take action. 

Your number one job as a leader is to wake up every morning, point to the horizon, and ensure everyone on your team knows where your business is going. As the leader, it's also your job to explain in clear and simple terms how your team can meet your business objectives. 

Why is this important? Well simply because if your team members are not united around your overall vision, they end up wasting time, energy, and money moving in random directions.

When you help your team understand your objectives and remind them of them daily, you set your business up for future success. 

Plus, once you have a clear set of guiding principles, you'll gain confidence in the work you're putting in. You will see that achieving your business goals and making the world a better place is within reach. 

All in all, when you have a clear vision and a set of guiding principles, you are able to create alignment and unity, increase engagement, enhance your recruiting, increase productivity, and finally, have a team that enrolls. 

Encourage and Empower

One of the easiest and most personal investments you can make in your team is your time. Unifying your team around your vision and setting guiding principles will increase engagement and productivity. 

When you begin implementing your vision and guiding principles right away, you empower your team. Encourage them to be intentional and be intentional with your encouragement. 

It’s also crucial to remember that every one of your team members has specific intrinsic needs. Tap into those and try to understand what else motivates them. 

Mentoring with your vision will be a powerful way to motivate, but also look for individual ways. Team members can be successful and leverage those as well. How long has it been since you've written a sincere note of thanks or given a specific positive feedback? After all, a word of encouragement can make a tremendous difference. 

As leaders, it is our responsibility to motivate in a manner that resonates with each team member. 

And remember, encouraging someone goes beyond just words; your actions will be more impactful. 

Provide a Plan

You will need to invest some time to analyze the skills and abilities of each team member and identify what role they can play in whatever process you are working on. 

For this blog, we're talking about the enrollment process. So think of these three questions: Who's comfortable speaking to parents? Who’s comfortable engaging with children? Who best represents my business vision? 

When you've identified the key team members that will be part of the enrollment process, create a plan for who will do what. Every person on your team should know what their responsibilities are and how to perform them. 

So, you’ll have to decide who will greet the new families, who will give tours, who will speak about the curriculum and learning objectives, who will introduce the extras your school offers, and finally, who will interact with the child on the tour. 

There might be other things that are important to your school or center. Think about that and who can best articulate those, and then, provide them with training and a plan. 

Connect for Consistency

Now that you’ve designed a strong foundation and created a plan, it’s time to talk about how you will make sure your team members will implement it. This is where you will start seeing a return on your investment. 

Be sure to check in with your team to see what is working and what isn't. What are they comfortable with? What are they not comfortable with? Do they have any questions about the process or their role in it? Are they feeling successful? Are they struggling? 

If they are feeling successful, that’s great! Be sure to keep an eye out for other areas where they can help support your early childhood vision plan. Your team members who excel here are usually your best resource for helping you find more time in your day to work on the things you want to focus on. 

Taking the time to sit down with team members who are struggling is a worthwhile investment as well. When you reach out to check in, ask if everything is okay, and see what they feel would make a difference.

Sometimes, as business owners or team leaders, we believe we know best. However, that’s not always the case. So, listen to your team members, because doing so will establish a level of openness that will make them feel even more invested in the journey!

Cultivate a Growth Mindset 

The key to this final step is to remember that growth is not an event, but a process. This is true for your team, and it's true for you. 

If you're not growing as a leader, you will lose the vision and confidence needed to lead your team, as well as the ability to effectively challenge them towards personal and professional growth. 

This is a mindset you will need to have to ensure your team can execute your enrollment process strategy. Having the ability to grow and change will keep your team moving forward and in the right direction. 

Investing time and energy in your team members has two profound effects:

1. Your team members are going to feel appreciated and capable in their role, which keeps them inspired and encourages them to stay with you. It keeps productivity high as your team is familiar with existing structures, processes, systems, marketing methods, etc…

2. Your team members will be at the top of their game. And through consistent professional development and good leadership, they will also share their enthusiasm with prospective families. 

I discuss all of this in more depth in the episode above, so make sure to tune in to learn more!

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Resources

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You will learn how to spend less time on small details and daily tasks. You can spend more time doing the things you truly enjoy. Focusing on the things that really matter, your top priorities, your key relationships, your most important projects, all the things that will bring you more joy and your business more success.

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