How To Give An Amazing Tour Parents Can’t Refuse

We sometimes underestimate the importance of giving a tour. When parents walk through the door of your child care program, they are looking for a 2nd home and a place they can TRUST to take care of their precious little one.  That is why once they come in for a tour, it is crucial that they are provided with a LOVE IT experience that makes them excited and ready to enroll their child before they leave.

To create a LOVE IT experience for families touring your school, use these best practices for every tour you give. You will be amazed to see how smoothly every tour goes, how much more confident you become when giving tours, and how many more children you enroll.

1.    Evaluate the appearance of your center or daycare. We see our facilities on a daily basis and sometimes don’t realize how the normal wear and tear can take a toll. Look at your daycare or center with fresh eyes, as if it were your first time walking through the door. Ask yourself these questions? Does It look clean? Does it smell clean? Is the décor bright and inviting? Does your playground look secure and clean? Does the paint look fresh? How is the curb appeal? First impressions really do matter. Parents arriving for a tour need to be impressed before they even walk in the door.

2.    Be prepared. Have a tour packet or folder ready with tons of helpful information. Include your business card, parent handbook or polices, rates, a daily class schedule (get my daily schedules for free here), enrollment forms, and a family information card for them to fill out. Have everything organized and ready when they arrive. There’s nothing worse than appearing disheveled and unprepared.

3.    Choose the right person to give the tour. Ideally, the person who gives the tour should be friendly with a great personality. For in home daycares, you may be the only one available to give tours, while centers may have several teachers or staff members that can give tours. You do not want a “Debbie Downer” telling the prospective parents all the things that she finds wrong or needs improving. Find someone who loves their job and is very knowledgeable on the center’s operations.

4.    Offer a warm greeting. Upon arrival, offer a warm greeting with a smile and try to make an immediate connection.  Give them your name and share a little something about yourself. You may want to tell them how long you have been in the child care industry, why you love kids, how many children you have, etc. Keep it brief, but sharing a little about yourself will break down any walls ensuring they feel more comfortable and welcome.

 You may want to offer a light refreshment or a bottle of water. If they brought their child along, have a treasure box filled with small toy favors. Let the child choose a toy to walk around with and take home. You can get 200 favors on Amazon for $20 costing only 10 cents each! 200 will last you forever and the kids will love being able to pick a toy!

Get to know them. Ask about their needs and desires. Ask these questions. What goals do you have for your child developmentally? Does your child have any allergies, special needs, or considerations you would like to share with us? What aspects of child care are the most important to you?

5.    Give thorough information.  Parents will want to walk around and see the rooms where the children are cared for.   Make sure to point out specific areas and their uses.  Talk about your curriculum, meal times, hours, and rates. Talk about your daily schedules and routines.  Show the parents where the children eat, sleep and play. Talk about your sick policy, payment policy, and drop off policy. Make sure you cover details for their child’s age. Be honest and transparent. People can tell if you’re not genuine. During the walk through, answer any questions they may have.

Here are a few questions you need to be prepared to answer.

·       How many children attend the childcare facility? What is the ratio?

·       Are meals included in tuition?

·       How much is tuition per age group?

·       What are your operating hours?

·       What are your teacher’s credentials? Is this program licensed?

·       How do you keep parents up-to-date on their child’s daily activities?

·       What security features do you have for your facility?

·       Describe a normal day for a child in your care? What is this daily schedule?

·       What special activities do you offer? (field trip, special guest, etc.)

·       What makes your program different? Why should we choose you?

 While you may not go over every policy for your center, you do want to relay the important information that parents will sometimes claim they “weren’t aware of” a few weeks into enrollment. Be sure and tell them to read the handbook for any details you may have not mentioned.  Communicate that the handbook is extensive and that it would take too much time to cover everything at the moment (when they enroll is a great time to read through the handbook together and have them sign the enrollment forms stating that they have read and agree to the policies).

6.    Don’t be afraid to “sell” your services! If you give amazing care, tell them that! Tell them what makes your daycare better than the competitors. Don’t be afraid to “sell” your daycare or center to your prospective customers. If you have any parent testimonials, show them. If you love what you do, communicate that to them. You are doing THEM a disservice if you undersell your program and they go somewhere else receiving lesser quality of child care.

7.    Offer an incentive to enroll before they leave. Consider offering free registration or $10 off weekly for the first 2 months if they enroll before they leave or within 24 hours. You can decide what incentives work best for you.

 Try the scarcity technique to close the deal. Mention that you only have limited space and that it is first come, first serve. If you have another parent considering enrollment, communicate that. I would not recommend fabricating the truth, but you want them to know that if they walk away, the spot may not be available the next day. Don’t be pushy, but do be confident!

8.    Follow Up.  If the parent does not enroll, use the family information card that the parents filled out upon arrival to follow up with them.  After 2 - 3 days, reach out to the parent by email, phone, or text and ask if they have any questions. I recommend texting something like this… “Hi Mrs. Smith, It’s Dena from ABC Academy. Thank you for visiting the other day. It was a pleasure to meet you and your son, John.  Let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything else I can do for you or your family. Warm wishes!”  Another option is to mail a hand written card expressing your appreciation for their consideration.

Hopefully by now, you have “blown their socks off” with your kindness, wealth of knowledge, and love for what you do! Not every parent will be a good fit for your program, but show every parent that you truly care and you will have a list of people waiting to enroll.

I would love to hear what you do for your parent tours. Leave a comment below on what has been successful for you!