3 Steps To Successful Website Marketing

Hello,

In Vancouver we’re settling into another season of Canuck hockey. As many of you know, I’m a fair-weather hockey fan. I’m a great supporter when they’re winning; and right now they are at 6 and 0 (though it’s only preseason). It’s a nice mix as we head into wonderful fall weather here of clear blue skies and +75 F weather.

The splendid fall season has translated into a plethora of new clients for HEG in Central America, Mongolia, Vancouver, and China. We thank you for your support and your confidence in our services. Many times, people ask what HEG can do for their school. In a nutshell, our team of experienced school leaders specialize in developing new private schools or helping school leaders of established private school improve their school’s operation and leadership through strategic planning, board governance workshops, school evaluations, and more.

Today I’m going to talk about how your school can use your current web site to market your school better. I’m going to share with you a newsletter article I received from a master marketer, Charlie Cook, who shares 3 steps to successful website marketing.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group Inc.

>> TWITTER: Receive our updates by clicking here.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our secure Online Store for our Strategic Planning or School Start-Up Toolkits.

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IN THIS ISSUE

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1. In The News

2. Useful Services

3. 3 Steps To Successful Website Marketing

4. Products At Our Online Store

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1. IN THE NEWS

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>> FAME SCHOOLS STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE RECESSION

ABC News: arts schools and endowments have lost value, said Roger Shoemaker, associate head for the arts at the boarding school Walnut Hill in Natick, Mass...

>> NEW DAY DAWNS IN PORT TOWNSEND WITH PRIVATE SCHOOL

Peninsula Daily: By Jennifer Jackson PORT TOWNSEND -- When Maxine Peirson, Gabriele Babik and Sheri Moore decided to start a new Christian private school, they looked for…

>> AT TONY BENNETT’S $78M SCHOOL, ARTS EDUCATION TRUMPS FAME

USA Today: At 83, Bennett has become an unlikely but eloquent advocate for public schools in general and arts education specifically. And he has put his money...

>> VANCOUVER SCHOOLS HIRE PRIVATE EYE TO CHECK PARENTS FOR GANG TIES

Canada.com: By Sam Cooper, Canwest News Service September 9, 2009 VANCOUVER - Several Vancouver private schools are screening applicants to determine if their families…Click on the following link for the full story:

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2. USEFUL SERVICES

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(A) STARTING A SCHOOL

Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression. That’s why you need a firm with experience starting schools in USA, Canada, and Internationally. Click on the following link for more info:

(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING

We can lead the development of your school’s Strategic Plan, which will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities for your Board and Administration for school improvement.

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our informative online self-assessment survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus priorities.

(D) SCHOOL EVALUATION

A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. As a board member, are you sure your school is doing the best it can? Get the whole picture with our “In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan.”

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3. 3 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE MARKETING

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For many schools, they don’t have a focus for their school’s web site. They want it to provide information for their current parents, engage new parents and students, and connect their current staff and/or parents with back-end information ports. And most of the time, they do all of it poorly. Today I want to provide you with some pointers from a master marketer, Charlie Cook, who shares with you the 3 steps to successful website marketing for new parents and students.

He has identified 3 steps to improve your web site:

1. Get More People to Your Site

Your first objective is to get the greatest number of people to visit your site. If you use pay-per-click ads such as Google Ads, take a look at your click through rate. Are you getting at least 1.5 to 2% of the people who see these ads to click through to your site? The purpose of any and all of your web advertising is to get people who might be interested in your services to click on the link to your web site. If your ads don't prompt at least 1.5% of viewers to respond, test alternative headlines and subheads. You'll have the most success with headlines and subheads that focus on your prospects' problems and concerns. Changes in the wording of headlines and subheads make a huge difference in response rates. You can double the number of people who click on your ads -and double the number of potential clients visiting your web site - by changing a few words in your ads.

2. Convert More Web Site Visitors to Leads

Let's say a hundred people a day visit your website. How many leads do you generate? With the right copy (headlines and text), sales offer, and page layout, you could motivate 15 to 25% of the people who visit your web site to contact you. Instead of a handful of inquiries from site visitors each week, you could have dozens. At the beginning of this article, I asked you what the main function of his web site is. This is it. The primary purpose of your web site is to get the greatest number of visitors to email you or call you with their contact information. Your site may be the best looking site in the world, but if it doesn't motivate your prospects to contact you, you've lost them and won't get their business. Few people enrol their child the first time they visit a web site. Most look at dozens of options. Before another prospect leaves your site and forgets your business, start using a free offer and your site layout to prompt at least 10-20% of all site visitors to contact you.

3. Convert More Qualified Leads to Clients (Enrolled Students)

If you've taken the first two steps above, you'd have more people responding to your ads and more people contacting you. You've probably guessed; the next step is to follow up and convert the greatest number of prospects to clients – students enrolled at your school. Depending on the type of school you have, your follow up process may include a phone call, a mailing, a series of emails, or some combination of these. Whichever system you use (you have a system don’t you?), you want to increase the percentage of people who enrol at your school. It sounds obvious to both you and me, but this is where 80% of new students are lost.

Ready to stop wasting time and money on your website and start attracting more prospects and clients? Take action now. Is your web marketing system leaking more than New York City's water system?

Take this Quick Quiz

1. Is the click through rate for your pay-per-click ads 1.5% or better?

Yes – No

2. Do 15 to 20% of all unique visitors to your site contact you?

Yes – No

3. Do you have an automated system for following up with leads generated from your web site that generates enrollment from 4% or more of your prospects?

Yes – No

If you answered "No" to one or more of these questions, you're in the same boat as most other schools using the web. Your web marketing is full of leaks and with a few changes you could be collecting a lot more leads and converting more of them to students. Discover how to get a better response to your ads and get more people to contact you. Your sales could skyrocket within weeks.

To find out more about our firm’s school services and how we can help provide you solutions, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs in more detail.

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4. PRODUCTS AT OUR ONLINE STORE

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Here are 2 popular Toolkits that’ll help you to start your own school or develop your own strategic plan, step-by-step.

(A). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all here to help you develop your own plan.

(B). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share how they started their own school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your strategic plan.

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To your success,

Douglas Halladay

President and CEO

Halladay Education Group Inc.

Does Your School Have A Crisis Plan

Hi,

I hope that you and your family have had a great summer. Right now we’re winding up 2 weeks at our family cottage in Point Roberts, Washington. I’ve been cheating a bit coming back to my office to work; but our cabin is only 20 minute drive away (though it seems like another time and place…American wine does that!). I find it a great place to unwind; no TV, Internet, computers, or phone. It can be a bit a technology decompression, but I spend more time connecting with my family and friends (and swimming in the freezing ocean!!!). It’s also nice to relax from all the travel I’ve had to do this summer with trips to Korea; New Hampshire; Boston; Washington, DC; and now Panama.

As I read the latest news on H1N1 flu and its impact on schools, it reminds me of when I was Head of an International Girl’s Boarding School in Canada and had to deal with SARS. I was in Hong Kong recruiting students and fundraising at the time it broke out there, but no one knew it at the time. Two months later while I’m on holidays in California at Spring Break, SARS is beginning to spread around the globe and alarm bells are ringing. Over the next few months, the illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. However, since this was a new disease there was very little information available on how to deal with it at our school (with about two dozen students returning from Asia). I’m sipping wine in Napa and 800 miles away, and our school is preparing to receive our boarding students in the next 5 days. Yikes!!!

At this point we needed to switch in to our crisis plan. Fortunately, we’d prepared a flow chart for school response to any crisis (e.g., personnel, environmental, attack, illness), so we had a plan in place to deal with the situation. Does your school have a crisis plan ready for situations like the H1N1 flu outbreak?

Today I’m going to talk about how your school can develop your own crisis plan and how to proactively deal with emergency situations as they arise.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President
Halladay Education Group Inc.

>> TWITTER: Get my updates by signing in @ www.twitter.com/halladay

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. In The News

2. Useful Services

3. Do You Have A Crisis Plan?

4. Products At Our Online Store

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1. IN THE NEWS
==================================

>> ENROLLMENT UP
The Newark Advocate; By SETH ROY • Advocate Reporter • August 27, 2009 NEWARK — Licking County private schools have seen their enrollments both rise and fall this year..


>> GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS BRACE FOR H1N1
Greenwich Time - Like private schools, the public schools are taking most cues from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that call for schools to stay open...


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2. USEFUL SERVICES
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(A) STARTING A SCHOOL

Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a second chance to make a first impression. This is why you need a firm that has experience starting schools in USA, Canada, and Internationally.

(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING

We can lead the development of your school’s comprehensive Strategic Plan, which will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities for your Board and Administration for continued school improvement.

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our interactive online survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus priorities.

(D) SCHOOL EVALUATION

A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. As a board member are you confident that you’re making the right decisions? Are you sure that your school is doing the best it can? Get the whole picture with our In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan for immediate improvement.

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3. DO YOU HAVE A CRISIS PLAN?
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Our local newspaper was filled with stories about H1N1. I know that newspapers need to write about bad news stories to sell papers, and the likelihood of getting the flu is 1 in a million, but do you have a plan if your school is the one?

Schools are encouraged to prepare a Crisis Management Plan with basic information about those situations that face schools. Most of these events are rare, but preplanning offers a thoughtful response during periods of stress. Annually updating your school’s Crisis Management Plan encourages discussion during non-pressured times and creates an even more useful resource. If kept in a notebook, new policies can be easily added yearly to make this a useful resource.

Your crisis plan should cover situations like:

• Abduction/Missing Person
• Assault/Battery
• Bomb Threat/Threatening Call
• Bus Accident
• Chemical/Hazardous Material
• Classroom accident
• Community Crisis
• Dangerous animal on campus
• Evacuation
• Field trip/student travel trip incident
• Fights
• Fire/Explosion
• Food Poisoning
• Gang Fight
• Grief/death
• Hostage Situation
• Kidnapping of child from campus
• Lockdown
• Natural Disaster/Weather Emergency
• National catastrophe
• Rape on Campus
• School Family Tragedy – death of child, parent, teacher
• Suicide
• Teacher Down or Incapacitated
• Toxic Waste/fumes
• Trespasser/Intruder
• Threats
• Utility/Energy Problem
• Vandalism
• Weapon on campus
  

When developing your plan you need to consider the following. Do you have the following in place:

• Crisis Response Coordinator?
• Crisis Response Team?
• Crisis Response Procedure Checklist?
• Directory of Contact Numbers?
• Backup Referrals and Resources?
• Color Code System?
• CODE RED STOP! Stay In Room/Shelter in Place
• CODE YELLOW CAUTION! Stay in School/Shelter in Place
• CODE GREEN GO! Evacuate school
• CODE BLUE LISTEN! Serious Situation
  
• General Administrative duties and Teacher duties?
• Grief/ Death Resources for the Classroom?
• Shelter-In-Place?
• Emergency Supplies?
• School Grounds and Buildings Diagram?
• Security plans?
• Post Communication after crisis
• Post Evaluation Form
• School Accident Report
  

Don’t wait for a crisis to happen to force you into developing a crisis plan; do it now at the beginning of the year with your staff and be prepared.

To find out more about our firm’s school services, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs.

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4. PRODUCTS AT OUR ONLINE STORE
=====================================

Here are 2 popular Toolkits that will help you to start and/or lead your school more effectively.

(A). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all there to help you develop your own plan.
(B). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share with you how to start a school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your own strategic plan.
=======================================================

To your success,

Douglas Halladay
President and Founder

Halladay Education Group Inc.

P: 604.868.0002 / F: 868.472.8737 / Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com

P.S. Do not forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school or non-profit.

Happy Canada Day From HEG

Hello:

Happy Canada Day to those of you back home in Canada. My own family will be enjoying the day at our cabin in Point Roberts; setting up the BBQ and heading down to the beach with their beverages and taking out the kayak and wind surfer.

I’m over in Songdo, Korea until July 4 working with our HEG team and the administration of the International School Songdo to open their new $150 million / 500,000 sq. ft state-of-the art school for this fall. It’s a fantastic administration that’s going full out to prepare their school for operation, offering a K-12 International Baccalaureate program. What makes this school even more unique is that it’s the very first private school in Korea to allow domestic Korean students to attend. Hence, we’re also developing the school’s admissions and marketing package to manage the avalanche of applications for this fantastic school.

If you want to see a series of pictures on the school, you can go to following link at their old web site:

http://www.songdois.org/middhigh.html

On July 11 I will be heading to New Hampshire to work with an independent school district that will be splitting into two separate school districts. We will be developing two sets of strategic plans with their district staff for each new district, including mission, vision, core values, educational philosophy, and goals for their coming years. I find it embracing to help educational institutions to define their vision and help bring it to reality.

So many educational organizations, be it new or established, trundle along without any vision and plan of action to lead their organization. Many put it off or diminish its value. But they’re mislead.

For example, if you’re building your dream home, you wouldn’t bring a crew of workers to your job site without a blueprint and throw their tools and materials on the ground and just tell them to build your house.

You would have blueprint and a contractor to define your vision and have a set of goals for each sub-trait that defines what they do, when they do it, and how you know they’ve done it right. Why would you not do this for your own school?

Carrying on this thought, this is what I emphasize to groups that want to start a school. You need a plan in place before you commit to moving forward. You need a feasibility study and business plan, your “Blue Print”, to define what needs to be done before you move forward.

HEG always advises clients to avoid the “field of dreams” syndrome…building a school and hoping students show up. I think it’s wiser to make the investment at the beginning, determining what market demand is and statistically calculating enrollment against demographics, and then developing the start-up and operation business plan and budget based on hard numbers. This approach provides a crystal clear picture of what your vision will cost and what your donors or investors need to contribute to ensure success.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group Inc.

http://www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

>> TWITTER: Receive our updates by signing in @ http://www.twitter.com/halladay

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school. Here is the link: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/products/products.php

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IN THIS ISSUE

================================

1. In The News

2. Useful Services

3. Feasibility Study and Business Plan

4. Products At Our Online Store

==================================

1. IN THE NEWS

==================================

>> FIRST US BOARDING SCHOOL FOR CHINESE STUDENTS TO OPEN IN MASS.

WBUR - Boston, MA, USA - By DEBORAH BECKER BOSTON — A new school opening in Massachusetts this fall will be the first boarding school for Chinese students in the United States...Click on the following link for the full story: http://bit.ly/iHypm

>> NEW PRIVATE SCHOOL SET FOR EAST SIDE

Montgomery Advertiser - Montgomery, AL, USA - Organizers of the new private school, Three Rivers Academy, plan to lease the former campus of Calvary Christian Academy, which closed its doors earlier...Click on the following link for the full story: http://bit.ly/2W9Zri

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2. USEFUL SERVICES

==================================

(A) STARTING A SCHOOL

Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a second chance to make a first impression. This is why you need a firm that has experience starting schools in USA, Canada, and Internationally. Please click on the following link for more information: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/school_ser_form.php

(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING

We can lead the development of your school’s comprehensive Strategic Plan, which will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities for your Board and Administration for continued school improvement. Please click on the following link for more information: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/strategic.php

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our interactive online survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus priorities. Please click on the following link for more information: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/board_workshops.php

(D) SCHOOL EVALUATION

A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. As a board member are you confident that you’re making the right decisions? Are you sure that your school is doing the best it can? Get the whole picture with our In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan for immediate improvement. Please click on the following link for more information: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/institution_assessments.php

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3. FEASIBILITY STUDY + BUSINESS PLAN

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I’m a strong believer in performing due diligence when starting a school. I believe that you should develop a school based on facts rather than gut instincts. Don’t get me wrong, most schools start over a conversation between parents or investors who are either dissatisfied with the present educational options or have an entrepreneurial drive to start a school in their community that is not yet available, or would be a magnet to their land development. That being said, there are a number of qualitative and quantitative survey tools (e.g., phone, mail, online, focus groups) that need to be utilized to determine the level of demand for the school you envision.

The purpose of the Feasibility Study which HEG utilizes is to provide reliable data that will help answer the following questions:

- What is the level of demand for the school you envision?

- Who is the target market?

- What is the likelihood of parents enrolling their children at your school?

- How many students will enrol (grade, gender, origin, present school-type)?

- What will prevent families from enrolling?

- What level of tuition would they pay?

- Would they need financial aid?

- What is the impact of pricing on enrollment and features or benefits to reduce price sensitivity?

- What is the response to the educational programs?

- What are the critical milestones?

- Does the founding group have the capacity to start and/or operate the school?

- What types of facilities are available and/or needed for the school?

- What are the financial assumptions and costs to start and/or operate the school?

- What are the obstacles that need to be overcome to achieve success?

- What will generate confidence in a brand new, premium priced private school?

- What are the most effective strategies to promote enrollment?

The process allows HEG to evaluate your project’s capacity for success, market for enrollment, and ensure clarity in the development of your business plan and start-up preparation. We view the feasibility study like building the foundation of a house; you need to establish the foundation before you commit to putting resources and capital into building the school. We understand that the study and business plan will be the backbone of discussions with your partners and/or investment group and needs to be comprehensive and compelling.

Once you’ve the hard data for projected enrollment, we then develop your business plan, which includes Proformas for start-up budget and five year operational budget. The plan illustrates the opportunity, program requirements, timelines, facility needs, leadership structure, and investment structure. We focus on:

- Projected resource/facility needs and costs

- Timelines for each stage of school formation

- Competitive market analysis to determine demand and niche segment

- Economic analysis to determine tuition price point

- Marketing/admissions strategies and positioning

- Facilities and location for the school

- Financial and investment framework

- Initial start-up and five-year operational budget

- Construction and Renovation Budget

HEG and our experienced team are well suited and experienced to help assess and lead the development of your school or multiple schools in a major land development or new city. By utilizing our detailed quality controls, it ensures proper planning, development, and operation of your institution, delivery of a world-class curriculum, and assurance that your school will provide sustainable returns.

To find out more about our firm’s school development services, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs or click on the following link: http://bit.ly/Geo2l

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4. PRODUCTS AT OUR ONLINE STORE

=====================================

here are 2 popular Toolkits that will help you to start and/or lead your school more effectively.

(A). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all there to help you develop your own plan. Click here to get more details: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/strategic_planning_toolkit.php

(B). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share with you how to start a school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your own strategic plan. Click here to get more the details: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/start_a_school_toolkit.php

To your success,

Douglas Halladay

President and Founder

Halladay Education Group Inc

.

P: 604.868.0002 / F: 868.472.8737 / Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com

http://www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

P.S. Do not forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school or non-profit. Here is the link:

--> http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/products/products.php

This Marketing Mistake Is Losing You Students

Hi Inner Circle member,

It is a busy time of year for most schools. You’re simultaneously getting ready to wind up the year yet you’re also rushing to complete all of your year-end exams and closing ceremonies.

I’ve noted a rise in demand for our firm’s school performance evaluation services. Many boards recognize that their school is not functioning at optimal levels and need an improvement plan for the coming school. At present, we’re booked until the end of June, but I would recommend that if you’re interested, you contact our firm ASAP to make arrangements for next fall; our dates book quickly. Why not allow our firm to complete an in-depth review of your school strengths and weaknesses, key issues that need to be resolved, and our action plan for improvement. If it’s completed prior to your AGM and your new board joining, your school’s executive committee will be able to prioritize your schools goals for 2009-10, determine what board committees you need, and separate the goals within the committee’s responsibilities.

Our firm spends a considerable amount of time working for groups that want to start new K-12 private schools as well as improving existing private schools. One area that we’re approached on constantly is private school marketing and admissions. When I work with corporations that want to start a school in a new city or land development, they tell our firm that they don’t need help in this area because they do marketing every day in their corporation. I chuckle at this remark and ask them if they’ve any experience with marketing and admissions for private schools – NO. Then I ask if they’ve ever attended a private school – NO. Finally, I ask them if they’re own children attend a private school – NO. When I ask them what qualifies them to develop the highly unique marketing strategies, documentation, systems, and work plan for a K-12 private school, they’re response is simple, we’re good at branding.

YIKES!!! This is the most important element of the school aside from good teachers; attracting and retaining students, yet they want to risk it all over the cost of one student tuition. I shake my head at this naivety and overconfidence.

Today I’m going to talk about a common private school marketing mistake and how to avoid it.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President
Halladay Education Group Inc.
www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

>> TWITTER: Get my updates by signing in @ www.twitter.com/halladay

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school. Here is the link: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/products/products.php

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IN THIS ISSUE
================================

1. In The News

2. Useful Services

3. This Marketing Mistake Is Losing You Students

4. Products At Our Online Store

==================================
1. IN THE NEWS
==================================

>> PRIVATE SCHOOLS TAKE DIFFERENT APPROACHES
Indianapolis Star - United States: Here is a look at how a cross-section of metro-area private schools is dealing with a weak economy. According to the state's Department of Education.

>> PRIVATE SCHOOLS GET CREATIVE ON PAYMENTS
Indianapolis Star - United States: Families such as the Schafers are finding it harder to cover the costs of private school in the face of a sagging economy, so every little bit helps.

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2. USEFUL SERVICES
==================================

(A) STARTING A SCHOOL

Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a second chance to make a first impression. This is why you need a firm that has experience starting schools in USA, Canada, and Internationally.

(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING

We can lead the development of your school’s comprehensive Strategic Plan, which will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities for your Board and Administration for continued school improvement.

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our interactive online survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus priorities.

(D) SCHOOL EVALUATION

A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. As a board member are you confident that you’re making the right decisions? Are you sure that your school is doing the best it can? Get the whole picture with our In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan for immediate improvement.

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3. THIS MARKETING MISTAKE IS LOSING YOU STUDENTS
================================================

Today I'm going to talk about something that could be costing you revenues in your enrollment. It’s one the biggest marketing mistakes I see made, which has caused schools to lose the most revenue in tuition and lost students.

Why a school would spend thousands of dollars to get a parents to their web site or in the door and then let them walk out without getting their name and address and other vital information from them is beyond me.

I can't understand it, but 90% of the schools in America don't ever bother to keep track of their any prospects when they visit their web site or call their school.

Your parent database is your biggest source of lifetime profits. Here's why you should keep track of every parent and every prospect:

1. According to Fortune Magazine, it costs five times as much to generate a new customer than to resell to an existing customer. Existing customers are almost as good as money in the bank!

2. Your existing customers already know and trust you. They enrol their child at your school and (hopefully) had a positive experience with you.

3. They know you'll deliver on your promises, because you've done it before with energy and quality (haven't you?).

SOLUTION:

What you need to do is develop a systematic way of moving those web site and phone inquiries into your database (you do have one?) and keep track of them, and then reach out to them often using your online email newsletter (you do this also I hope). By establishing a long term relationship with your customers and prospects, you can maximize your admissions success.

Do you see how valuable this list can be? When I consult with a school on how to increase their enrollment, one of the first things I ask is if they have a customer list of inquiries. If they do, then I can practically guarantee that they can build their school’s enrollment successfully if they stay in contact via email newsletters. The quickest way to do this is to have an opt-in box on your web site to get them into your database while they’re interested. Do you do this? Why not?

To make this list beneficial, recent studies show that you should contact them once every 21 days. Here are some ideas for staying in touch:

1. Sponsor some kind of information-based event. A workshop, open house, seminar, luncheon with a guest speaker, etc. Anything that would be of interest to your parents and prospects.

2. Send out weekly eNewsletters celebrating past and future school events. This tool has viral power as it can be forwarded to other interested parents.

4. Send an email with problem-solving parenting tips in it for easy, quick reference.

By collecting the names, addresses, and phone numbers of your customers and prospects, you will be in a position to increase the revenues from each customer anywhere from
35 - 200%.

To find out more about our firm’s school marketing services, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs or click on the following link: http://bit.ly/lG92p

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4. PRODUCTS AT OUR ONLINE STORE
=====================================

Here are 2 popular Toolkits that will help you to start and/or lead your school more effectively.

(A). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all there to help you develop your own plan.

(B). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share with you how to start a school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your own strategic plan.

=======================================================

To your success,

Douglas Halladay
President and Founder

Halladay Education Group Inc.

P: 604.868.0002 / F: 868.472.8737 / Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com
www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

P.S. Do not forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school or non-profit. Here is the link:

How To Start A School

Hello,

I’m in Seoul Korea at this moment working with a new private school client. The weather here is much like my home town of Vancouver with cherry trees and their pink blossoms everywhere. I try to get into the local time zone right away, but it never quite works. I’m writing this at 5 am in the morning their time.

I’m in a great mood though as I checked the ‘net and noted that my Vancouver Canucks Hockey team won their first playoff game…go Canucks go!

Our team at HEG have the opportunity to meet with many founders and help them with their interest in starting a K-12 private school or post secondary institution, many of which are in new land development projects and new cities. We are connecting with clients in Libya, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, India, Vietnam, Korea, Africa, Canada, and the US.

Today I want to share with you the fundamental steps you need to consider when starting a school. Starting a school is like building a house, you need to establish a sound foundation to build your school's vision on. Without these fundamental building blocks, and school not have the stable vision to move forward with confidence...creating financially and educational sustainable model...for today's and the next generation of learners. Many founders get lost in creating beautiful building, and leave the other critical elements to establishing a school until the last moment. This is wrong; you need to develop the vision, mission, values, and educational philosophy of your school first, and then everything else follows from there.

Please don't hesitate to contact me or other senior associates at HEG to bounce your project's needs off experienced educational leaders.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group Inc.

www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

>> TWITTER: Get my updates by signing in @ www.twitter.com/halladay

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school.

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IN THIS ISSUE

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1. In The News

2. Useful Services

3. How To Start A School

4. Products At Our Online Store

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1. IN THE NEWS

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>> NOT ALL PRIVATE SCHOOLS FULLY ACCREDITED

Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada - This article provided disturbing information about some private schools in Ontario and is a service to parents and their children.

>> PRIVATE SCHOOLS NOT IMMUNE TO BAD ECONOMY

Kansas City Star - MO, USA -It’s been worse for some schools than others, said Myra mcgovern, spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools.

>> SOME PRIVATE SCHOOLS PREVAIL OVER ECONOMY

St. Charles Sun - Chicago, IL, USA - By ROWENA VERGARA AND ERIKA WURST Staff Writers While enrollment is steady at many private schools in the Fox Valley, others are starting to feel the heat.

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2. USEFUL SERVICES

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(A) STARTING A SCHOOL

Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a second chance to make a first impression. This is why you need a firm that has experience starting schools in USA, Canada, and Internationally.

(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING

We can lead the development of your school’s comprehensive Strategic Plan, which will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities for your Board and Administration for continued school improvement.

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our interactive online survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus priorities.

(D) SCHOOL EVALUATION

A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. As a board member are you confident that you’re making the right decisions? Are you sure that your school is doing the best it can? Get the whole picture with our In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan for immediate improvement.

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3. How to Start a School

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Starting a school is like nothing else you’ll every do. Everything you have in your established school you take for granted, but it had to be developed by someone. However, very few of us have had to develop a school’s systems, plans, programs, and facilities at the same time. However, the fruits of your labour are incredibly rewarding. From the perspective of actually putting together a school and by providing a program to students that was needed in your community. It’s really about serving students and helping them reach their potential.

Step 1: Develop Vision for your School

Determine the type of school your community needs and will support, as well as what you want as parents (e.g., K-7, 8-12, day, boarding, single gender, IB, Montessori, University Preparatory). Ask parents and community leaders for their opinions.

Step 2: Form Steering Committee

Form a small working committee of capable, dedicated cohorts to set in motion the foundational work. Include parents and highly respected community stakeholders with financial, legal, management and building experience to sustain the process. Ask for and get a commitment from each member as this is important work that will demand much of each member's time and energy.

Step 3: Incorporation & Tax Exemption

File incorporation papers with the appropriate Province or State agency. The lawyer on your Steering Committee should be deal with this. By establishing incorporation, it will limit liability in the case of lawsuits, present a stable image, extend the life of the school beyond the founders, and provide an insurable entity for the school. A 3rd party lawyer should always be consulted.

Step 4: Develop Strategic Plan and Feasibility Study

Develop the strategic plan. This of course will culminate in the subsequent development of the business, financial, and marketing plans. This will be your blue print of how the school is going to operate over its first five years. This is your chance to lay out, step-by-step, the process for the sequential development of the school. You will determine the enrollment and financial projections, and prioritize the staffing, programs, facilities, in a methodical, measurable fashion.

Step 5: Develop Budget

Develop a five year budget based on the goals of the Strategic Plan. This is a comprehensive review of the projected revenues (AR) and expenses (AP). The financial person(s) on your Steering Committee should take responsibility for developing this important plan. As always project your assumptions conservatively and factor in a contingency should the financial reality change from the projections. You should also map out the school’s bookkeeping procedures (e.g., record keeping, check signing, disbursements, petty cash, bank accounts, record keeping, reconciling bank accounts, audit committee) and accounting cycles.

Step 6: Fundraise

You need to plan your development campaign carefully so that you build momentum yet are able to keep pace with actual funding needs. Your strategic plan is important at this stage as it provides potential donors concrete evidence of your vision and where the donor can fit it. Of course, it will also drive your enrollment as parent’s see how their child fits in.

Step 7: Select School Location & Resources

Locate a facility to accommodate the school (purchase or rent) or develop building plans if you will be creating your own facility from the ground up. The Building Committee member(s) should spearhead this assignment. Check requirements of local social and health services, building and zoning, health record-keeping, class size, food service, fire code, building code, and teacher-student ratios, etc. You should also take into consideration the learning resources, furniture, computers, etc. needed for start-up. In addition, you will need to begin thinking about the outdoor environment and natural habitat. Rental space for the classroom is frequently obtained from schools, churches, park buildings, community centers, apartment complexes, private school buildings, nursery schools, and estate mansions.

Step 8: Select Key Staff Members

Through a search process select your Head of School and your Business Manager (or sub-contract a local accountant to deal with AP and AR). Conduct your search as widely as possible. Write job descriptions, benefits, and pay scales for your staff and subsequent faculty and administrative positions. You will be looking for self-starters who enjoy building something from scratch. Your Head will drive the enrollment campaign, marketing and promotions, and the initial decisions of classroom-based resources and staffing.

Step 9: Marketing

At this step you need to begin to aggressively market for students. Members of the Steering Committee and Head need to devise a Marketing Plan to promote the new school. This could include: public meetings, newspaper ads and inserts, mail drops, radio, community TV, and coffee sessions. You will also need to design your brochure, communication materials (e.g., business cards, letterhead), web site, and set up a mailing list to keep interested parents and donors in touch with your progress.

Step 10: Open Your Doors

Open the school office and phones, and have the Head of School begin admissions interviews and tours of your facilities. Acquire insurance protection against business interruption, liability, boiler malfunction, building casualties, etc.

Step 11: Select Faculty & Administrative Staff

It is critical to attract capable faculty; in the end it is staff that will make or break the school – reputations can be formed so quickly in a school environment. To attract great staff you need to ensure that they buy into the vision and have a competitive compensation package. Also, you need to develop the Staff Handbook, contracts, and structure for personnel files. While it is still a year from the school opening, line up as many faculty and senior leadership positions as you can.

Step 12: Orient & Train Faculty

Have faculty in place to get school ready for opening. The first year at a new school requires endless meetings and planning sessions for the academic staff. Get your teachers on the job no later than August 1 in order to be prepared for opening day.

Step 13: Opening Day

Welcome your students! Begin your traditions. Explore membership in national, provincial, and state private school associations! Start off with a bang. Have dignitaries there to cut the ribbon, have a family BBQ; make it special.

To find out more about our firm’s helping you to start a school, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs or click on the following link: http://bit.ly/Geo2l

=====================================

4. PRODUCTS AT OUR ONLINE STORE

=====================================

Here are 2 popular Toolkits that will help you to start and/or lead your school more effectively.

(A). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all there to help you develop your own plan.

(B). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share with you how to start a school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your own strategic plan.

=======================================================

To your success,

Douglas Halladay

President and Founder

Halladay Education Group Inc.

P: 604.868.0002 / F: 868.472.8737 / Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com

www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

P.S. Do not forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school or non-profit.