Online Guide to Using the Recipe for Success

Follow the Recipe for Success – It Works!

The WorldStrides Recipe for Success takes into account over 50 years of proven advice from our top traveling teachers.  This two-step process practically guarantees the success of your trip while maximizing the number of students joining you for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Follow these steps exactly and watch your sign-ups soar!

• Ingredient 1: Getting the Students Excited for Your Trip
  The success of your trip starts with the students being excited about all they will do and see with their friends.  Showing the students the trip video, sharing stories from prior trips, or talking about your own travel experiences are great ways to build excitement.  Excited students make for excited parents!
• Ingredient 2: Getting the Parents Supportive of and Excited for Your Trip
  With the students excited, the parents are sure to follow.  But parents by nature will have some questions, and the tools of the Recipe provide the right balance of information to answer those questions so that they become supportive of this incredible opportunity.

Read through this information carefully to learn more about how to virtually follow the steps to ensure that your next WorldStrides trip will be a success.

Getting the Students Excited for Your Trip

The key to successful trip promotion is getting the students excited about your trip.  There are many ways to do this but what we’ve found is that the trip video is a must.  The trip video shows the students how much fun they’ll have with their friends.  Once the students are excited, they’ll spread the word to their parents – and to other friends.  At the end of Ingredient 1, you want the students telling mom and dad, “I want to go on this trip!”

	Show the Video:  The students must see how much fun they’ll have on the trip.  You can access your trip specific video at worldstrides.com/video. If you have created a video from a prior trip, feel free to show and share that one, too!
	Send a Registration Letter:  This letter (click here for a sample) provided to you by your WorldStrides Representative has a lot of trip specific information including a day-by-day itinerary of your trip. The letter can be used in conjunction with a destination brochure (click here to see a  destination brochure) which contains more details about the destination.  .

ACTION STEP #1:  Send the Student Invitation Email Template provided to you by your WorldStrides Representative to all the students in the targeted grade.  Attach the Registration Letter along with a copy of the Destination Brochure.  Click here for a sample of this email template.

Getting the Parents Supportive of and Excited for Your Trip:  Promoting Your Meeting

With the students excited, it’s time for you to gain the parents’ support and to also get them excited about your trip.  The best way to do this is by holding a Trip Information Meeting so you can personally share the information about the trip with them.  Use the tools below to inform your families about this meeting – our goal is to have as many families in attendance as possible to ensure the maximum number of student sign-ups for the trip!

	Invite Your Families to the Meeting:   Convey the same level of excitement when inviting families to your Parent Meeting.  Tell them the good news about this incredible opportunity for the students.  Send them the Registration Letter and Destination Brochure.  These have have all the information parents will need:  a day-by-day itinerary of your trip, the trip date/price, details on the resources we have to help parents pay for the trip, and information on the destination the students will be visiting.
	Promote Your Parent Meeting:  Use a Parent Meeting Reminder Flyer to promote your Parent Meeting.  Your WorldStrides Representative will send to you a customized flyer with your meeting date and time as well as the instructions on how to log into the meeting.  This flyer should be emailed out to all students and their parents 24 to 48 hours in advance of the parent meeting.

ACTION STEP #2:  Send the Pre-Parent Meeting Email Template provided to you by your WorldStrides Representative to all the families of the students in the targeted grade.  This email should be sent 7-10 days before your meeting date.  Click here for a sample of this email template.  Then, ensure a huge turn-out at the meeting by sending a Reminder Flyer 24 to 48 hours prior to the meeting.

Getting the Parents Supportive of and Excited for Your Trip:  Holding Your Trip Meeting

With the students excited, it’s time for you to gain the parents’ support and to also get them excited about your trip.  The best way to do this is by holding a Trip Information Meeting so you can personally share the information about the trip with them.  Use the tools below to inform your families about this meeting – our goal is to have as many families in attendance as possible to ensure the maximum number of student sign-ups for the trip!

	Hold a Parent Meeting Virtually:  The Parent Meeting is the best way to get the parents excited and the momentum building for your trip. Parent meetings can be held virtually through applications like Zoom, GoToMeeting, SKYPE, Facebook Live, Google Classroom or whatever other tool you are comfortable using for family communication. At the meeting, play the Parent Presentation provided to you by your WorldStrides Representative.
	Remind Families How to Sign Up for the Trip:  At the conclusion of your parent meeting, send an email to every family in attendance as well as those that were not able to make it.  This email will reemphasize the key points of the meeting and provide families with a reminder about how to sign up for the trip.

ACTION STEP #3:  After the meeting, send the Post-Parent Meeting email to all the families and students in the targeted grade – not just those that actually attended the meeting.  Click here for a sample of this email template.