Everyone Thought the Internet Would Kill the Agency Model

I remember The Internet ‘coming in’. When I started work at StudyTravel, in my second interview I suggested they get a website. I had no clue about websites but it seemed like it was the way forward and I thought it’d be smart to bring it up. It’s a good job they didn’t quiz me further or ask me to build it.

There was a worry at the time that when search platforms and shiny school websites became more accessible , that it was the end of the education agent. 

“Why would anyone need a middle person now?”
“Surely people will just book directly?”

They were wrong, and I’m here for it (little air punch here..!)

Because what the internet delivered in abundance was information. But what it didn’t deliver - and still doesn’t - is confidence. It can try, in the form of reviews and videos but we all know these can be bought, that the shiny insta stories or tiktok videos are edited and show only the good stuff (obviously). 

People don’t just want options and info.
They want help making sense of those options.

Overwhelmed with information isn’t a happy to place to be when you’re trying to invest in your education. It’s a big decision, expensive. So that’s exactly what good agents do. Cut through and get clarity. Tailor the experience.
They don’t just sell schools.
They slice through the overwhelm.

“We’re going to make decisions based on who can look us in the eye, who makes us feel good, or who tells us something we didn’t find online.”
- Lee Warren

Trust beats tech

Families don’t go to agents because they can’t Google.
They go to agents because they can Google ,  and end up with 57 tabs open, a headache, and no clue what’s right for their child.

Agents step in and:

• Translate school-speak into something human
• Ask questions families didn’t know to ask
• Know the behind-the-flashy-photos of schools
• Recommend schools that fit, not just ones that look nice online

They build trust in the market and confidence in the decision.
And they do it faster, and better, than a website ever will.

That’s what people pay for.

The schools that win are the ones that work with this, not against it.

Agents aren’t a shortcut or a necessary evil. They’re a trust bridge.

Yes, you pay them commission. They absolutely earn it, too.
They are an extension of your team - they market you and recommend you. They participate in your training and memorise your selling points. They hold events, network locally and take time to visit you. They deal with the whatsapp messages at midnight, the calls when the kid is homesick and they field the concern that dinner is served at 6.

So if you’re a school that wants more enrolments, it’s not just about sending over a powerpoint or hoping they remember you at that workshop where they met 40 other schools.

It’s about treating your agent communication like the strategy it is:

• Knowing who your strongest agents are
• Giving them the right tools for their audience
• Keeping in touch more than once a year at a fair
• Building a clear follow-up process before and after events
• Helping them position you in a crowded market
• Ensuring you have a wide mix of source countries
• Consistently onboarding quality partners and training them

It’s not just a case of having a nice meeting at a workshop, sending them the stuff (including an agreement) and then waiting for them to send you students. 

And if you need help, where we come in.

We work with schools to help them:

• Build their agency outreach strategy
• Create comms that cut through
• Strengthen their agent relationships in the markets that matter
• Build new relationships strategically and nurture them

We don’t just talk about “agent engagement” ,  we help you turn it into a framework you and your team can actually run - we go through the ‘how and when’ as well as the ‘why’.

If you want to make your agent partnerships more effective and ensure your communications with them are working, get in touch and let’s chat.
No fluff. Just a better way to work with the people who help families choose you.