An Overview of the LearningRx Sales Process

The LearningRx system places a big priority on all employees being part of the sales process. It is something that everyone in every center is expected to understand. As a customer it is important to understand how this process works if you aren't going to be manipulated.

Turning Phone Calls into Assessments

The goal of marketing is to get the phone to ring. That means you picking up your phone and calling your local LearningRx center. When you call, your goal is to obtain answers to your questions:

• What does LearningRx do?
• How does it differ from tutoring?
• How much time does it take?
• How much does it cost?

The person answering the phone is usually called the Director of First Impressions (DFI). The DFI has been trained to kindly (without you noticing) take control of the conversation to avoid your questions and help you agree to schedule an assessment. ("The first step in the process is to schedule an assessment. Are you available on Thursday at 9:00 AM or Friday at 10:00 AM?")

Conversion Percentage: 70% and above is excellent. This means that if ten people call, seven of them schedule an assessment.

Turning Cognitive Skills Assessments into Consultations

LearningRx does the Woodcock-Johnson III assessments. In actuality, the center does a small percentage of the battery of tests which can be completed in about an hour. This allows a center to schedule assessments in hour increments.

At this time, you will be asked for the "intake form". This form asks you for a lot of information that will be used in the sales process.

Center personnel are told not to give too much information at the assessment because it lowers the percentage of parents who return for the consultation.

Conversion Percentage: 90% (or even 100%) is not uncommon.

The Sales Video

LearningRx corporate has a video they want all prospective parents to watch.  Supposedly it is educational, but I have seen and heard the video enough to know that it is not educational. It is intended to get you ready to be willing to pay for brain training. The stories, the music, and the words are all arranged to create confidence and hope in you.

Turning Consultations into a Sign-up

Scoring an assessment, entering it into the software, and printing the results takes between 30 to 60 minutes. However, centers will schedule your consultation on a future date, because they want your curiosity to build.

You walk into the sales room wanting to know two things above all else.

1. What were the results of the assessment.
2. How much will it cost to fix the problem. 

The center director leads every aspect of this meeting. The colors of the room, the lighting, the configuration of the seating, the aroma are all determined by the center. If something was known to work, it would be done. But once you are in the meeting, the director directs you about how she does consultations. Almost all people follow her lead -- even if just because it is polite to do so.

The center director wants to delay discussion of results and the costs until you are ready to buy. High priced services aren't easy to sell, so there has to be a lot of motivation on your part to want the product. One of the most important aspects of this is emotion.

By having you express your concerns and your fears and your hopes and your dreams for your children, you are bringing your emotions to the surface.  This often comes out in the form of tears (or both) -- usually by mom.  The saying goes: "When you see mom cry, she's ready to buy."

When the director thinks you are ready, then you will be shown the assessment results and then the costs. And you'll be lead through the signup process which varied a bit from customer to customer even within one center.

At the end of the consultation, you'll be asked to answer a questionnaire.  Everything you say in that questionnaire is read by the center director. If you didn't sign up already, this information is quite valuable in getting you to sign up later.

Conversion Percentage:
* 60% and above is excellent
* 50% and above is good
* 30% is frustratingly bad

Conclusion

At the end of this process, your child is a student of LearningRx. There is still much you need to know at this point in the process, but these things have to wait for another post.