In this post, I’m going to share with you 5 things childcare providers need to secure at every daycare tour. Why?
Well, the fact is not everyone is a good fit for your daycare business. Parents could have needs that you cannot provide and finding that out sooner rather than later is BEST.
So let’s walk through the 5 things I think every provider should ask at a daycare tour. Then we’ll touch on just how to easily get that information without a round of 20 questions.
Here are 5 Things You Need To Get At A Daycare Tour
1. Contact Info
One of the absolute musts is to make sure you get a potential client’s contact info. I probably don’t need to tell you how easy it is to lose a piece of paper with a telephone number on it. So try to have a way to capture the following:
- Name
- Phone number
CLICK HERE TO GET A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW MEMO
2. Childcare Needs
Next, you will want to either during the first contact or at the tour itself find out what are the specific childcare needs of the potential client. Do they need full-time, part-time, half-day, etc.
Also, for how long do they need childcare. Are they seeking a long-term arrangement or something more temporary?
Get These 5 Things At Your Next Daycare Tour.
3. Days & Hours Needed
Finding out the days and hours needed is also a must. Everything else could be a great fit, but if they need days or hours that you don’t provide it probably won’t work out.
4. Who Will Pay
I know this can be a touchy matter but, you need to know who will be submitting payments. In some cases, this might be an agency that subsidizes a portion of the tuition. Finding this out early is a good practice so that if you need to submit paperwork or wait for approval, you know that in advance.
5. Referred By
Lastly, but certainly not least, try to remember to ask or make note of how clients are referred to your business. This can be done when they call, during the tour, or even during the enrollment process.
It is important to know how people are hearing about your business so that you know where and how to market to them.
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How to Get The Information Before, During & After A Daycare Tour
Now I bet you are wondering how you are going to get all this information from a potential client. Well, there are actually several ways to ask a client before, during & after your daycare tour. Here are four I use:
1. During The Call Before A Daycare Tour
Of course, you could log a lot of information during the initial phone call with a potential client. I use a telephone memo to record client info so that I will remember what we discussed later. In fact, I think this form is one of the most important forms in my business.
Related Reading:
2. At Intake
At the beginning of a tour, I have an intake form that I ask parents to fill out. It captures quite a bit of information, including:
- Email address
- Work Days & Hours
- Type of care & hours needed
- Referral info
3. Question Session At A Daycare Tour
Finally, during the tour parents usually will have a lot of questions they will ask. Of course, I am happy to answer their questions, but I have a few I always ask them too.
Early on I realized this was the perfect opportunity to ask clients things that could be very important to know prior to enrolling.
For this I use a checklist so that just in case I didn’t get certain information before the daycare tour, I use this opportunity to ask now.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE CHECKLIST
4. Follow Up After A Daycare Tour
After the tour is over, if I think the client would be a good fit, I make it a habit to reach out to them in an email. Now you can see why getting their email address would be important.
I use a pre-written template for the follow-up email but customize it with the client’s names. In the email, I mention how nice it was to meet them and that I think they would be a great addition to the daycare family. I conclude the email by assuring them that they should not hesitate to reach out to me if they have any further questions or concerns.
Things You Need To Get At Daycare Tours
In this post, I talked about the 5 things I am sure to get either before, during, or after a daycare tour. Getting as much information as you can prior to enrolling a family helps you make sure they are a “good fit” for your program. It also demonstrates to parents what you and your business are about.
