How Colleges Sell a Concept

In my last blog post, I discussed the idea of non-sales selling being a method of selling a concept or an idea to an unintentional prospect. When I think of the idea of selling a concept or idea, the first thing that comes to mind is the sales process of education through a college or university. These institutions don’t necessary sell a product or a service, but rather they sell an idea to their prospects: prospective students. When looking at colleges, every prospective student has a idea of what their ideal situation for a college experience looks like. For every college, different aspects are offered in an attempt to differentiate themselves from other institutions that compete with them. The main idea for these colleges is that they want to sell a confident image of the college experience at their institution to a prospective student who matches that image. Just like non-sales selling, they are selling an idea of an experience, which is much more difficult than simply selling a product or service. The process of selling an idea is all about buoyancy: the process of moving others. Colleges and universities need to move prospective students into wanting the experience they offer, and seeing that experience as something they can see themselves doing. As complicated as this may seem, they are able to achieve it though bringing students on campus, showing them what they have to offer, and helping them through understanding how they can benefit from the offering they can provide. Through doing this they show a genuine interest in the needs and problems a prospective student has in the decision process of choosing a college to attend. It all fundamentally boils down to the same concept of any sales process: focusing entirely on the problems and needs of the prospect, and finding a fitting solution. Whether its a product, service, idea, or experience you are selling, it all comes down to this fundamental principle. Problem-solving is the key to effective selling.