conversational professionalism for financial aid advisors

CONVERSATIONAL PROFESSIONALISM“THE RIGHT WORDS TO DISCUSS THE

NUMBERS”

©2012 COMMUNICATION EXCELLENCE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

CONVERSATIONAL

PROFESSIONALISM

FOR FINANCIAL AID ADVISORS

“THE RIGHT WORDS TO DISCUSS THE NUMBERS”

Presented by:

COSMO WOLLANSTUDENT COMMUNICATIONS EXPERT


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Your Financial

Aid Advisors' JOB

is to

help students

UNDERSTAND and

NAVIGATE the

complexities of

college

financing.


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They rely on only THREE TOOLS to accomplish their task:

KNOWLEDGE of the Process RAPPORT with the Student

WORDS

It is in how they USE those tools that success is

achieved.


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How many first time students will make sense of this:

"Just go to the FAFSA site, get your PIN and email me the EFC on your SAR when you get it ."

??

??


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How IMPORTANT will students feel when they hear:

"Call me back when you're done.

I'm usually very busy, so you may be on hold for a while.."

? ? ? ????


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What your students

THINK

is determined by what they

HEAR.


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What your advisors say = INFORMATION

How they say it =

PERCEPTION


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What is WRONG with the following:

“How much you paying now?”

“Check with the Register's Office …”

“Do you know where your paperwork is at?”


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Would it bother you if you discovered that the guy from the FORD Dealership who sold you your car drove a HONDA?

DO we or DON'T we have more confidence in a product if the person selling it to us also uses it themselves?

? ? ? ? ? ? ?


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The product your Financial Aid Advisors are discussing is

THE VALUE OF

EDUCATION.How can you expect to inspire students to

appreciate the value of their financial investment if your advisors sound as if they failed High School

Freshman English?


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Frequently Heard – Always WRONG:

• “Let me axe you a question…”

• “Just get me the paperwork tomorrow...”

• “…don't be like, all worried and stuff…”


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This is not about being smart or dumb… or whether your Financial Aid Advisors have a master’s degree, a

bachelor’s degree or no degree.

It is simply about using the BEST TOOLS for the task at hand.

Like a thoroughbred racehorse or a top fuel race car,PROPER GRAMMAR IS A TOOL THAT WILL MAKE THEM BETTER AT THEIR

JOB.


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Every time your Financial Aid Advisors answer

questions, provide assistance, offer advice or find

solutions, your students will be making judgments

BASED ON IMPRESSIONS OF WHAT THEY HEAR.

or


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What do want your students to HEAR when they

interact with your Financial Aid Advisors?

It represents your school, your image and your reputation.

or


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A wise man* once said: “YOU NEVER GET A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION.”

Your students look to your Financial Aid Advisors for inspiration.

HOW WILL THAT FIRST IMPRESSION INSPIRE THEM?

*Conflicting sources attribute this quote to Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and Arthur Schopenhauer


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Conversational Professionalism (for Financial Aid Advisors) is available as a stand-alone 2-hour seminar or can be incorporated as a 2-hour segment of a larger scope training program.

Seminar groups should be no larger than 20-25 participants for optimum interaction.

All university Financial Aid Advisors who regularly interact with potential or enrolled students can benefit from this training. Whether on the phone or in person, your students’ experiences at your university are based as much on your people as their progress.

CAN YOU REALLY AFFORD NOT TO PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD?


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THANK YOU. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.

Cosmo WollanStudent Communications Expert

Senior Training ExecutiveCommunication ExcellenceSM

Office: 754.300.9678 Cell: [email protected]

conversational professionalism for financial aid advisors

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