Recruitment meeting
Your first recruitment meeting is your opportunity to introduce your students and their parents to EF and your tour. Although you will host a number of meetings before your tour, the main goals of this initial meeting are to pique your students’ interest in seeing the world and to encourage them to enroll. We have developed a number of interactive materials to help you do just that.
Materials to have ready for your meeting
EF Recruitment Kit
Featuring participant enrollment booklets, insurance pamphlets, information about EF’s monthly payment plan and more, this kit includes everything you need to start recruiting and enrolling travelers.
Traveling with EF PowerPoint and DVD
To give your students and parents a better idea about what an EF tour is like, show them the destination videos, clips of student and parent testimonials. And use the
EF PowerPoint presentation to highlight the benefits of student travel and to explain how students can enroll on your tour.
Detailed price quotes
You should already have a price quote for your tour either printed from our website or emailed to you from your tour consultant. This price quote details the tour you’ve chosen and everything included in the price. This allows students and parents to see the great value they’re getting from their money.
Day-by-day itineraries
These colorful fliers detail the exact itinerary of the tour you’ve chosen. Available online or sent from your tour consultant, these itineraries help generate excitement about all the places you and your students will see along your travels.
Sample meeting agenda
Prior to your meeting, establish an agenda to make sure that you cover all of the necessary information. We’ve developed the following sample agenda to help you get started.
View sample meeting agenda »
Introduction
As students and parents walk in, have them fill out the contact list we’ve included in your EF Recruitment Kit. This way, you’ll have the names, phone numbers and email addresses of everyone interested in traveling. Next, introduce the tour and the date you’ve chosen and explain why you’ve selected it.
Get them excited
Parents will want to know the details. But first, let’s get the students on board and excited for a trip of a lifetime!
- Hand out the day-by-day itineraries and highlight all of the exciting places you’ll see on your tour. Remind them that they’ll be experiencing another culture, trying different foods, participating in unique traditions, etc. Visuals help! Use the Traveling with EF DVD to get students excited about traveling abroad.
Explain the benefits of traveling
Traveling benefits students in so many ways. Highlighting these benefits often encourages parents to provide their children with this unique experience.
- Educational tours make classroom lessons come to life. Students gain new perspective on what they’re learning and on other cultures.
- Students acquire valuable life skills through their exploration and realize their abilities to make a positive contribution to the world.
- Colleges are placing an increased emphasis on international experience when it comes to admissions.
Tell them why you chose EF
Explain to the students and parents why you chose EF as your travel provider.
- Online reviews from travelers: Parents and students can see what past travelers say about their EF tour experience--and your tour in particular. Read traveler reviews »
- Value: EF has guaranteed lowest prices. We want as many students as possible to have the opportunity to travel, and our prices allow that to happen.
- Safety: Backed by more than 40 years of travel experience, EF has hundreds of offices with local staff across the globe. We have 24-hour emergency support should you need anything while abroad.
- Educational: EF is accredited, so students can earn high school credit by traveling with us. We bring education into every aspect of our tours.
Go over the tour specifics
Now that you’ve covered the basics, it’s time to talk about your specific tour details.
- Price: Pass out copies of your price quote. Our prices include just about everything travelers need: round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, breakfasts and dinners, a 24-hour EF Tour Director, guided sightseeing and ground transportation while abroad.
- Not included: We leave lunches open, so students can make their own culinary discoveries. Students are also responsible for their own spending money. Finally, the price does not include gratuities for the tour director or bus driver.
Suggested tipping amounts »
- Payments and insurance: Hand out the enclosed flier about EF’s monthly payment program and traveler’s insurance. EF's monthly payment plan makes EF tours even more affordable by breaking up payments into monthly installments, which are deducted from a checking account or charged to a credit or debit card. Remind parents and students that the earlier they enroll, the smaller their monthly payments will be.
Explain group travel
Make sure that your travelers understand the true nature of group travel. By pairing different groups from around the country, students will make new friends and learn new things. It also ensures that we can offer the lowest prices, regardless of the number of people in your group. It is important to set realistic expectations about group travel.
- Date range: Tell your group the date and date range you’ve chosen. This flexibility allows for EF to match groups that have requested the same tour. Ask parents if there are any conflicts (i.e., graduation, prom, summer school).
- Tour Choice: Explain that since EF has many tours that go to the same destinations, you have given your tour consultant a second and third choice tour in the event that your first choice is unavailable. It is helpful to get the students and parents excited about the destination you’ve chosen. (“We’re going to Italy!” vs. “We’re traveling on this specific tour!”)
Get your students to enroll
Now that you’ve explained the major details of your tour, it’s time to see who is interested and coming with you!
- Enrollments: Take sign ups! The main goal of this meeting should be to enroll students on tour. It helps get the ball rolling and encourages others to sign up as well.
- Set a deadline: Give your students an enrollment deadline to help create urgency. Make sure they know how to enroll and be sure to follow up with them after the meeting.
- Before they go: No one should leave without a copy of the itinerary, price quote, enrollment booklet, payment and insurance flier and your tour number.