Appointments advice

For many agents and language centres, StudyWorld is the best event of the year. But with a little bit of planning, it can be even more productive. We’ve talked to some industry experts to come up with some useful advice for you:

When choosing who to meet, read the company description on their profile, and if necessary research their website, if they have one. It's important to make sure you are actually meeting organisations that offer/promote the right courses. Have a clear plan of the regions you are interested in. Do not hurry to fill your appointment slots. Participants register right up until the start of the event, so keep some slots free for those who may register later.

Although institutions may be happy to do business immediately, relationships with agents can take time to build. It is not uncommon, for example, for several meetings and several years to pass before agents in Asia and South America begin to send students to institutions.

If you are an institution, identify ways in which you are different from competitor institutions and emphasise these differences. In order to help either institution or agent to remember who you are, it can be a good idea to use business cards that have your photo on, or to take a picture that can be attached to a follow-up email after the event.

Use appointments to meet potential business partners, but also to reinforce relationships with existing partners. If you cannot take notes during your appointments, use refreshment and lunch breaks to record the key points from your meetings and your thoughts. This will help when it comes to following up on meetings.

Finally, review your strategy. Evaluate what worked well and what can be improved, then use this information to help plan for your next visit to StudyWorld.

Thanks to Blair Byfield, head of language travel sales at Bell International, Claire Gossage, Head of International Marketing at the University of the Arts, Dee Roach, Education UK trainer and freelance consultant, and Jodie Gray, international marketing manager of English UK.