Selling Education

Mary-Jane Copps, the Phone Lady, joins Nicola to explain why so many of us have quietly stopped picking up the phone, when that is ok, and why that's costing schools enrolments. In this episode you'll get a proven voicemail formula with a reverse call to action, the one opening question that gets silent enquirers to respond, and the real difference between pestering and persistence, so you know exactly when to follow up again. If your enquiries have gone quiet, this episode gives you the way to call again with confidence. Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutionshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/ Connect with Mary Jane Copps https://thephonelady.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryjanecopps/  

Amit Mehta didn't plan a career in education.He built ILG from three struggling schools into a group of 35 schools and nurseries, and along the way worked out that the sector's biggest problem isn't marketing or fees, it's the mindset.In this episode we talk about why "admissions" is the wrong word to use, what happens when schools treat enquiries as a favour to the enquirer rather than the other way round, and why he believes attitude matters more than knowledge when building a leadership team.We also get into the wave of school closures nobody wants to talk about, what agents and parents are now checking before they commit, and why, in Amit's words, revenue follows relationships. If you work in admissions, agent relations, or sales for any kind of education business, this one will change how you think about the enquiry sitting in your inbox right now. Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutionshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/ Connect with Amit https://www.inspiredlearninggroup.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-mehta-34b1978/

Most schools and counsellors think they've done their ideal client persona work. hey haven't. This week Helen Tudor (energetic, hard-nosed, slightly woo - her words) joins me to talk stick figures, attracting the right families, red flag parents, and why your prospectus is boring everyone into a "maybe." Spoiler: it's not about the parents. It's about you. Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutionshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/ Connect with Helen Tudorhttps://helentudor.online/abouthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/helentudor/https://www.instagram.com/helentudoronlinehttps://www.facebook.com/helenctudor

Somewhere in your student enquiry pipeline right now, there's a family who went quiet after visiting, an agent whose enthusiasm never turned into bookings, or a student you promised to get back to and haven't. You know exactly who it is. That's your frog, and you've been finding very productive-looking ways to avoid it. Nicola takes Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog and applies it specifically to admissions and education sales: what your "frog" actually looks like in a pipeline, why checking your emails first thing is the most effective way to never eat the damn thing, and the ABCDE method for being brutally honest about which of your tasks are actually moving the needle versus just making you feel busy. Plus the "converter mindset" that separates people who process enquiries from people who convert them.As a start to the 2026 academic year, this is a great listen to get the important stuff done! Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutionshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/

What if the reason your admissions team isn't converting has nothing to do with their skills, and everything to do with the story they're telling themselves about sales? In this episode, Nicola Lutz sits down with Ruth Hughes, founder of Curious Human, coaching psychologist, and former Director of Marketing and Admissions at a leading UK independent school, to explore the concept of the sales self and why so many people in education resist it. They dig into the real cost of being "nice" instead of kind, why information-dumping feels safe but loses enrolments, how to shift an admissions team from admin mindset to commercial mindset, and the psychology behind following up without feeling pushy.You'll walk away understanding: Why limiting beliefs like "I don't want to pressure them" are avoidance, not ethicsHow to guide prospects toward a decision rather than just answering questionsWhy futures, not features, should drive every tour and consultationHow to stop taking rejection personally when you've genuinely invested in a prospect Practical, honest, and grounded in coaching psychology, this one will change how you think about your role in admissions.   Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/ https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutions https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/ Connect with Ruth https://www.instagram.com/curious.humans/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-hughes/ https://curious-human.co.uk/

Getting a "no" feels like a physical injury. Neuroscience proves it. Functional MRI studies show that social rejection activates the same regions of the brain as physical pain. And once you understand that, a lot of behaviour in education sales starts to make perfect sense. The softened sign-offs. The extra brochure instead of a direct question. The meeting that ends with "I'll send you some information and you can let me know." None of it feels like avoidance in the moment. It just feels polite. In this episode of Selling Education, Nicola Lutz digs into the psychology behind why admissions teams struggle to ask for the next step, and what to do instead. In this episode, Nicola covers: The neuroscience of rejection and why the brain treats a "no" like a physical injury Why education professionals avoid closing conversations, and why it's quietly killing conversion rates The difference between silent rejection and visible rejection, and why we're already comfortable with one of them How loss aversion and cognitive overload slow down family decision making after school visits Why asking for the next step actually reduces stress for families rather than creating it How to offer two-option closes that feel natural, helpful, and never pushy Why a "no" in admissions is rarely permanent, and how to keep the pipeline moving after one Two practical things you can do right now to start closing more conversations with confidence If your admissions team runs brilliant visits but struggles to convert enquiries into enrolments, this episode will show you exactly where the momentum is being lost, and how to get it back. Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/ https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutions

Most schools think turning up is enough. Book the meeting, open the deck, present the school. Job done. But according to Basia Salamon, one of Poland's leading education agents and founder of boutique consultancy Excellence in Education, that approach is losing schools agents before the conversation has even really started. With over 15 years of experience advising families on international schooling and boarding school placements, Basia has seen every mistake in the book. In this episode of Selling Education, she sits down with Nicola Lutz to share exactly what schools and agents are getting right, and what they're getting badly wrong. In this episode, we cover: Why launching into a school presentation without asking questions first is an immediate red flag for agents What admissions teams need to do to stay top of an agent's mind, and keep getting referrals What a school visit needs to feel like for a family, and why an extra 15 minutes changes the conversion How Basia scaled Excellence in Education by building a team, a CRM process, and a repeatable sales pipeline Why she started charging for event tickets, and why it dramatically improved lead quality The follow-up framework that transformed her enrolment rates Why your existing leads are your most valuable pipeline asset How referral events became her most powerful business development tool Whether you're an admissions professional, a language school owner, or an education agent, this episode will make you rethink how you're showing up for the families and partners you serve.  Connect with Basia https://www.linkedin.com/in/basia-salamon/ https://eie.pl/ Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/ https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutions  

You've definitely written this in an email: “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call.” It sounds polite. Professional. Safe. But in student recruitment, it’s often where the conversation stalls. It gives no clear next step, no reason to act. Leaving families to not move forward, and instead drift away. Nicola Lutz, from No Fluff, unpacks why this common sign-off is costing language schools, independent schools, and education agents enrolments, and what to say instead to guide families confidently to the next step. If your enquiry-to-enrolment conversion isn’t where it should be, this episode will help you tighten your follow-up and keep momentum with prospective families. Listen now and start turning more enquiries into enrolments.

In this episode of Selling Education, I’m joined by career confidence expert Zena Everett to talk about something most admissions and recruitment teams feel but rarely unpack properly, the “crazy busy” trap. We dig into why capable people end up overwhelmed, how imposter syndrome shows up in our sector, and why focusing on the work that actually moves the needle matters far more than just staying busy. If you work in admissions, student recruitment, or agency leadership, this conversation will feel very familiar.   Connect with Zena Everetthttps://www.instagram.com/zenaeverett1/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaeverett/   Connect with Nicola https://www.instagram.com/nofluff.biz/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/ https://www.facebook.com/nofluffsolutions  

In this episode of Selling Education, I sit down with Ian Aird, CEO of English Australia and one of the most commercially astute leaders in the ELICOS sector. With 25 years across teaching, admissions, marketing, operations and executive leadership, Ian has lived the full sales journey. We dig into the uncomfortable but essential truth that many education teams are presenting, not selling and that this is quietly costing enrolments. We cover: Why “selling” and “presenting” are not the same thing How to find the real tension behind a parent or agent’s hesitation Why most sales teams are undertrained, even when they are experienced The role CEOs should play in the sales pipeline How to check understanding properly instead of asking “Does that make sense?” Whether AI will reduce language travel or make it more premium and experiential This is a practical, honest conversation about sales craft in education, leadership responsibility and what it really takes to improve enquiry-to-enrolment conversion in a changing market. If you work in admissions, recruitment, agency management or sector leadership, this episode will challenge how you think about selling and give you sharper questions to take into your next conversation. Ian's links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianaird/https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/Nicola's Links:https://www.nofluff.biz/https://calendly.com/nicolalutz/quick-chat-with-nicolahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-lutz/