Latest / ChildCare Conversations / 359: From Sticky Notes to Streamlined Success: Revolutionize Childcare Enrollment with Tech! With Robert Rodriguez

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359: From Sticky Notes to Streamlined Success: Revolutionize Childcare Enrollment with Tech! With Robert Rodriguez · ChildCare Conversations

• 0:00
  Childcare Conversations: Welcome to Child Care Conversations, the podcast where early childhood leaders like you get real-world strategies, honest talk, and a whole lot of support.
• 0:10
  Childcare Conversations: Whether you're running one center or many, we're here to help you lead with confidence and clarity.
• 0:17
  Childcare Conversations: This episode is brought to you by this quarter's sponsor, Playground, the all-in-one child care management software.
• 0:24
  Childcare Conversations: We're all about managing monkeys and saving you time at your center.
• 0:30
  Childcare Conversations: With this platform, you can.
• 0:32
  Childcare Conversations: We're proud to partner with a team that's as committed to your success as we are.
• 0:37
  Childcare Conversations: Learn more at TryPlayground.com.
• 0:40
  Childcare Conversations: Now, let's get into today's conversation.
• 0:43
  Childcare Conversations: One we think you're really going to love.
• 0:47
  Kate Woodward Young: Welcome back.
• 0:48
  Kate Woodward Young: And this week I am so excited to have more conversations with directors and owners all across the country.
• 0:56
  Kate Woodward Young: And this week we are going to have a conversation with Robert Rodriguez with TCP or Texas Christian Preschool out of Brownsville, Texas.
• 1:08
  Kate Woodward Young: I don't know.
• 1:08
  Kate Woodward Young: Can you get any farther south, Robert, than Brownsville?
• 1:12
  Robert Rodriguez: You cannot get any further south than Brownsville.
• 1:14
  Robert Rodriguez: We are as far south as you can get in Texas, yes.
• 1:18
  Kate Woodward Young: I love that.
• 1:18
  Kate Woodward Young: I love that.
• 1:19
  Kate Woodward Young: So that is just to kind of give folks some reference.
• 1:22
  Kate Woodward Young: If you have not ever been to Texas, um, that means that Robert has to go like, he could go like what is it, 16 or 18 hours to get to the panhandle out.
• 1:33
  Kate Woodward Young: So when we say we do everything bigger in Texas, we absolutely do.
• 1:38
  Kate Woodward Young: And so Robert and his sister are owners of three locations.
• 1:42
  Kate Woodward Young: And so, Robert, tell me a little bit about how you guys as a whole got into childcare.
• 1:48
  Kate Woodward Young: Uh, and then how did you end up here?
• 1:50
  Kate Woodward Young: Because this is not just a you and your sister thing.
• 1:54
  Kate Woodward Young: It's been around a little while.
• 1:56
  Robert Rodriguez: Yes.
• 1:56
  Robert Rodriguez: So our mother founded the company back in 1981.
• 2:00
  Robert Rodriguez: She was a teacher at a local childcare center, and she eventually fell in love with it and wanted to open her own.
• 2:07
  Robert Rodriguez: So we started as a registered home.
• 2:09
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, and then she expanded to create a full uh childcare center.
• 2:13
  Robert Rodriguez: And so my sister and I, we grew up in the business.
• 2:16
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, you know, we spent our time there, our free time.
• 2:20
  Robert Rodriguez: I actually attended the center, you know, went through all the classrooms.
• 2:23
  Robert Rodriguez: And um eventually my sister decided to expand.
• 2:28
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, so after college, she came back.
• 2:30
  Robert Rodriguez: She worked for um for a state agency, uh quality uh quality assurance, you would say, kind of Texas Rising Star, if you will.
• 2:41
  Robert Rodriguez: She went out and assessed centers and helped centers um to achieve their rating.
• 2:45
  Robert Rodriguez: And um after that, she wanted to get back into the family business and started expanding our centers.
• 2:50
  Robert Rodriguez: And she launched our second location and then we grew from there.
• 2:54
  Robert Rodriguez: And then we opened a location with our local church.
• 2:57
  Robert Rodriguez: And um I eventually graduated from college, went to New York City and worked for corporate retail um at Macy's headquarters in New York and spent about 10 years working um in that business, and then decided that I wanted to come back and help uh help build our company and grow.
• 3:14
  Robert Rodriguez: And so I joined the company in about uh 10 years ago.
• 3:18
  Robert Rodriguez: So I've been working with my sister for 10 years now.
• 3:21
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, you know, what a fun story.
• 3:23
  Kate Woodward Young: And, you know, it explains part of today's conversation.
• 3:27
  Kate Woodward Young: So you came to childcare with some outside experience, and so you had some expectations of what you knew was available in other industries and you went looking for it.
• 3:40
  Kate Woodward Young: So talk to me a little bit about um one of the things I think every like I hardly ever know people who can't say I couldn't use more staff or more children.
• 3:50
  Kate Woodward Young: And so this was kind of your mission from the get-go, I think, when you came on was, you know, these tools exist in the real world.
• 4:00
  Kate Woodward Young: What can we do to bring them here?
• 4:01
  Kate Woodward Young: So talk to me a little bit about what you saw was the problem, what you kind of went looking for, and we'll get to your solution here in a minute.
• 4:11
  Robert Rodriguez: Sure, yes.
• 4:11
  Robert Rodriguez: So actually, just a little bit of insight.
• 4:13
  Robert Rodriguez: When I I am a finance major, graduated from business school, and I went to work um as a supply chain uh manager with Target initially.
• 4:24
  Robert Rodriguez: So working on a on a supply chain project.
• 4:26
  Robert Rodriguez: Then I moved over to Macy's in their buying program.
• 4:29
  Robert Rodriguez: And so we had a lot of standard reporting, a lot of analysis, a lot of reporting every Monday on our sales over the weekend.
• 4:35
  Kate Woodward Young: So you liked data.
• 4:36
  Kate Woodward Young: Data was your thing.
• 4:37
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay.
• 4:38
  Robert Rodriguez: Data was definitely what I was used to working with on a on a daily basis.
• 4:41
  Robert Rodriguez: So I came back uh to work with my family business and uh come to find out that technology 10 years ago was was lagging behind in the childcare industry.
• 4:51
  Robert Rodriguez: I think it's since caught up.
• 4:53
  Robert Rodriguez: We have a lot of great options now, but early on in about 10 years ago, the industry was changing.
• 4:59
  Robert Rodriguez: And, you know, it was it was right at the launch of e-commerce, um, it was getting big, social media was getting big, the childcare landscape was also changing, and we were having a lot of parents coming in with certain expectations uh technology.
• 5:12
  Robert Rodriguez: And so we we needed some tools to help us keep up with the changing landscape.
• 5:19
  Robert Rodriguez: And so that's kind of when I entered the picture and decided to help with everything from billing to how we capture leads and how we market our center.
• 5:29
  Kate Woodward Young: Yeah, so so as a finance major, you know, it's not really a surprise that data was a thing.
• 5:34
  Kate Woodward Young: Um and I'm sure that most folks listening are thinking, yeah, I don't like data, basically, because most of us assume data with finance.
• 5:43
  Kate Woodward Young: And uh the majority of folks who I meet in the industry are wonderful, big hearts.
• 5:49
  Kate Woodward Young: They love children, they love families.
• 5:52
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, but that other stuff, they just leave it over here.
• 5:56
  Kate Woodward Young: And Eileen is so lucky to have you over here catching all that other stuff.
• 6:00
  Kate Woodward Young: And so um I know that you guys, you know, had a platform and then you explored some non-industry platforms.
• 6:09
  Kate Woodward Young: So talk to me about kind of what that experience was, what you were looking for.
• 6:14
  Kate Woodward Young: What maybe we should start with what is a CRM?
• 6:17
  Kate Woodward Young: I mean, maybe we should talk a little bit about um that specific tool that I know that I'm trying to have our conversation wrapped around.
• 6:25
  Kate Woodward Young: But talk to me a little bit about why you guys have one, what the goal was, even when you set up your non-industry version.
• 6:35
  Robert Rodriguez: Yes.
• 6:35
  Robert Rodriguez: So looking at it from a business standpoint, enrollment is the lifeblood of our program, right?
• 6:39
  Robert Rodriguez: And so we want to be focused on enrollment and we want to be able to provide a quality experience for parents who are searching for childcare.
• 6:47
  Robert Rodriguez: So with that comes the ability to track who's calling us and who's coming uh through our doors and making sure that we're giving them proper information and following up with them in a timely manner.
• 6:57
  Robert Rodriguez: And so a customer relationship management tool, which is what a CRM is, is a platform that helps us organize all of all of those families that are searching for childcare from initial contact, from a phone call or a walk-in, or someone that we meet at an event, uh, we're able to track them in this CRM tool that we software that we use.
• 7:17
  Robert Rodriguez: And it helps us to organize and and plan our approach with our families and make sure that we're giving a consistent approach.
• 7:23
  Kate Woodward Young: Love that.
• 7:24
  Kate Woodward Young: So um, what did you guys use before to keep track of this?
• 7:28
  Kate Woodward Young: Was this like a post-it note method, index card method?
• 7:32
  Robert Rodriguez: Yes.
• 7:32
  Robert Rodriguez: So when I first joined the company, again, we were using post-it notes.
• 7:36
  Robert Rodriguez: If we were that lucky, we would have a post-it note that would make it to the reception desk after a phone call.
• 7:42
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, but you know, a lot of things fell through the cracks.
• 7:45
  Robert Rodriguez: Voicemails uh would fall through the cracks.
• 7:47
  Robert Rodriguez: Sometimes we would lose that post-it note.
• 7:49
  Robert Rodriguez: So I thought I was being very innovative by coming up with a printed out book that we bound together that we had the name, the phone number, the email address, and a little note on the family and what age group they were looking for.
• 8:02
  Robert Rodriguez: So we had a probably about, I would say, 50 pages bound together, and we distributed that to each center.
• 8:08
  Robert Rodriguez: And and we I thought we were being really innovative with that tool.
• 8:11
  Robert Rodriguez: And it helped us actually begin to track who was coming through our doors.
• 8:14
  Robert Rodriguez: And at the end of the month, we'd count and we'd be able to see, okay, we had this many calls, but we still weren't checking to see exactly who came for the tour, and then what was our follow-up after if they didn't come or they did and they were deciding.
• 8:26
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, but it got a little bit better, and then we eventually uh made our first foray into official software.
• 8:34
  Robert Rodriguez: So we started initially with a financial piece, which was QuickBooks, and then we chose a childcare software, and it was working out great.
• 8:41
  Robert Rodriguez: My sister loved it.
• 8:42
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, you know, a little bit hesitant to adopt some technology, but was able to convince her and and and she learned the tool, our staff learned the tool, and uh she fell in love with it, and so it was a big win for us.
• 8:57
  Robert Rodriguez: It it was a newer, I think at that time there was probably one or two big players out in the industry about 10 years ago, and they were barely catching up with the parent engagement side, and so that was a new release from them.
• 9:09
  Robert Rodriguez: So we kind of got into that parent engagement side where we were able to share with families our teachers directly, share photos and updates.
• 9:16
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, but it was missing the enrollment piece, which was paperwork, um, parents being able to digitally fill that out, and then even before that, having parents that CRM component.
• 9:28
  Robert Rodriguez: So that that particular software was missing that CRM and that paperwork component, which really, when you bring it together, is the experience your parents have when they first enroll, right?
• 9:36
  Robert Rodriguez: That parent onboarding experience was a little bit choppier.
• 9:39
  Robert Rodriguez: Um and we so we were still having to use a lot of paper on that software.
• 9:43
  Robert Rodriguez: Um and so once you you once I realized how much paperwork childcare has, I figured, okay, this is a pain point that we can solve and make more efficient.
• 9:54
  Robert Rodriguez: What is out there and available in the in in the industry for us to use?
• 9:57
  Robert Rodriguez: What software and tools?
• 9:59
  Robert Rodriguez: So I began to explore and through my research, I found um a software that we're using now.
• 10:04
  Kate Woodward Young: Um and let's before we get there, because because you miss you missed your uh your CRM solution that was so let's let's so so yes, you started with QuickBooks, you found a um, you went from QuickBooks.
• 10:20
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, so did you keep QuickBooks when you used the parent engagement platform?
• 10:25
  Robert Rodriguez: So we still we still use the QuickBooks, yes.
• 10:27
  Robert Rodriguez: So we still use that separately, but we do all of our billing through our our childcare platform that we use now.
• 10:32
  Robert Rodriguez: So all of that.
• 10:33
  Kate Woodward Young: But but did you when you were on the parent engagement app?
• 10:36
  Robert Rodriguez: Um yes, yes, we did.
• 10:37
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay.
• 10:37
  Kate Woodward Young: All right.
• 10:38
  Kate Woodward Young: So you had QuickBooks, you had a parent engagement app, but you were still operating the the the the phone calls, the inquiries was still being handled very much in paper.
• 10:49
  Kate Woodward Young: And so you went and found a an outside of the industry because again, at that time, so this was probably about 2020, 2021 when you went to Um, you know, yes.
• 10:58
  Robert Rodriguez: So some time had had passed, and we had been using this particular software for a while, and then I went to an outside the industry tool, which major corporations and companies use this tool to build their CRM.
• 11:09
  Robert Rodriguez: And still do.
• 11:10
  Robert Rodriguez: Yes, they still do the huge yeah.
• 11:13
  Robert Rodriguez: And it's a great tool out there, you know, if you have a lot of time to invest as a small business in learning how to use a tool and build your CRM from scratch.
• 11:22
  Kate Woodward Young: Yeah, because this is I think that that is a great point.
• 11:25
  Kate Woodward Young: So I think one of the things that we hear, and I'm gonna apply this to all technology.
• 11:30
  Kate Woodward Young: So whether or not you're thinking about Canva, when Canva came on the scene about five years ago, um, about how everybody's using AI right now.
• 11:40
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, we still have to understand some of those basic concepts.
• 11:44
  Kate Woodward Young: And we we can start with something that gives it to us from scratch, like that CRM platform that you were talking about.
• 11:51
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, I've been using a CRM called Act since it was a software-based, it was not internet-based.
• 11:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Like we're talking, you know, probably before you were born, Robert, um, that, you know, I still had a CD that I had to install in the software.
• 12:06
  Kate Woodward Young: And so there are things like that that you have to understand.
• 12:11
  Kate Woodward Young: Why do you why are you keeping all that information?
• 12:13
  Kate Woodward Young: What are what is the information you want, like child's birthday, child's name, parents' names, phone numbers, emails, all of that.
• 12:22
  Kate Woodward Young: Spreadsheets are not designed for that.
• 12:24
  Kate Woodward Young: So Excel spreadsheets is not a database.
• 12:27
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, if you know what Microsoft Access is, that is a database.
• 12:32
  Kate Woodward Young: But just like the CRM tool that you used, you still have to know what fields to put in.
• 12:37
  Kate Woodward Young: You still have to create them, you still have to get those um fields to talk to each other.
• 12:42
  Kate Woodward Young: So um I I had a previous life as a file maker database developer.
• 12:47
  Kate Woodward Young: So, you know, my brain goes that way.
• 12:50
  Kate Woodward Young: But a lot of folks that are listening probably struggled with things like you are talking about as far as I want a tool, I found a tool, but my tool didn't talk to my QuickBooks, right?
• 13:02
  Kate Woodward Young: So like it didn't talk to QuickBooks.
• 13:04
  Kate Woodward Young: Then people are telling me I need to send out an email newsletter.
• 13:06
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, that's a whole separate list, right?
• 13:08
  Kate Woodward Young: So you're typing in stuff all over the place.
• 13:11
  Kate Woodward Young: Um and what were some of the major pain points that you guys had when trying to go from paper to electronic before you even got to the next level of electronic?
• 13:25
  Robert Rodriguez: Well, uh I I want to talk about, well, yes.
• 13:28
  Robert Rodriguez: So the pain points were us being able to track um who was coming through our doors and measure that accurately and be able to tailor our response uh consistently with those families.
• 13:38
  Robert Rodriguez: And so I realized that we needed some sort of tour booking feature.
• 13:41
  Robert Rodriguez: We had a really nice website up, and I I was looking at all of the major players in the marketplace, and I noticed that they all had tour booking uh options on their website.
• 13:50
  Robert Rodriguez: And I'm talking about the chain daycares that are in major metro areas.
• 13:55
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, they had, I was looking at their enrollment pipelines and how they they market and attain students.
• 14:01
  Robert Rodriguez: And so I wanted to find a tool that we could use to be able to book tours.
• 14:05
  Robert Rodriguez: So that's really how I ended up with that outside of the industry option.
• 14:09
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay.
• 14:10
  Robert Rodriguez: And soon I realized that um it was gonna be I bit off a little bit more than I could show at the time.
• 14:17
  Robert Rodriguez: And I was working with their re account representatives, and they were telling me they were having trouble figuring out our enrollment pipeline and how we, as a center and as a school, how we marketed and how we were able to uh convert enrollments.
• 14:31
  Robert Rodriguez: So it was a little bit of a there was a difference of a language barrier there between our industries.
• 14:36
  Robert Rodriguez: And they kept assuring me, you know, we have all types of industries come in and and they're able to build the tool and tailor it to their needs.
• 14:45
  Robert Rodriguez: But it was it was very difficult and and the months were going by and I stumbled upon this solution um with the software that we currently use now, and they had and what sold me was their ability to simplify the paperwork process for families.
• 15:00
  Robert Rodriguez: And that being such a pain point for our industry was really what caught my attention.
• 15:06
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay, so all right, well, we can let the cat out of the bag.
• 15:09
  Kate Woodward Young: So um you guys went from one platform, you used an off-the-shelf or tried to use a customize an off-the-shelf CRM, and now you found yourself um with Playground.
• 15:21
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, when you came to Playground, you came because of the enrollment paperwork piece.
• 15:28
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, talk to me a little bit about that transition, and then I'd love to hear how CRM came to be because when you came, they didn't have a CRM, correct?
• 15:38
  Robert Rodriguez: Correct.
• 15:38
  Robert Rodriguez: They didn't have a CRM.
• 15:40
  Robert Rodriguez: They had at the time what they called enrollment listings, and you would be able to put your program on an enrollment listing in their software, and families would be able to fill out paperwork using your enrollment listing on using their software and their platform.
• 15:54
  Robert Rodriguez: Parents would be able to go on on and create a uh an account, and they would be able to fill out your program's paperwork.
• 16:00
  Robert Rodriguez: And for us, that was a huge win because tracking the paperwork, you know, it can be difficult.
• 16:06
  Robert Rodriguez: And um I was so happy that it had a tool that we could either use a form or we could actually upload our paperwork and put fields, and parents could actually fill out the paperwork on that platform.
• 16:18
  Robert Rodriguez: And that really helped us.
• 16:20
  Robert Rodriguez: And they did not have the CRM, but it was in development.
• 16:24
  Robert Rodriguez: And so I kept in contact with our account manager.
• 16:26
  Robert Rodriguez: And at that time, I would talk to Sasha and I expressed our need for a CRM.
• 16:31
  Robert Rodriguez: And it was great because um him and Andrew, they they got on a Zoom with me and they said, Okay, well, what are the the needs that you really are focused on obtaining to be able to have a good enrollment funnel for your families?
• 16:43
  Robert Rodriguez: And so I said, We really need a tour booking feature.
• 16:45
  Robert Rodriguez: We really need a way to be able to email or text.
• 16:49
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, we would love automations if we could just put it on pilot, you know, on autopilot and be able to send out these emails and these text messages once we make contact.
• 16:58
  Robert Rodriguez: And um they went to work on on a behind the scenes um building the platform that that we now have, which is the the CRM that they now have.
• 17:06
  Robert Rodriguez: And I think it it is a highly valuable and and beautiful part of Playground.
• 17:11
  Robert Rodriguez: And um, you're able to do everything from track leads to book tours to be able to set automations and be able to text and record phone calls, and that's been a game changer for how we um think about enrollment at our centers and how we're and our abilities to be able to reach families.
• 17:27
  Kate Woodward Young: The things that I just wanted to stress, and and anytime I have conversations, and I've been talking to software users and directors across the country for about three or four years uh since we actually met the guys from Playground initially.
• 17:42
  Kate Woodward Young: And for those of you who haven't listened to our podcast before, um, we have had um Daniel and Sasha um on as an episode.
• 17:53
  Kate Woodward Young: Uh last October we had uh Daniel's mom as an episode uh because she was a director and she was part of the reason why uh they got into this industry and they they saw a solution, a need and a solution.
• 18:08
  Kate Woodward Young: But it sounds like they heard you, they figured out what they could do to help you, and then they created it.
• 18:15
  Kate Woodward Young: And I think that most people I hear talk to, a lot of the other big software platforms that are great for customer or client engagement or parent engagement, miss that piece.
• 18:28
  Kate Woodward Young: And so, how did you feel knowing that somebody actually like heard you and took your suggestions and advice and then did actually did it?
• 18:37
  Kate Woodward Young: Like, how did that feel to you?
• 18:39
  Robert Rodriguez: It it felt great.
• 18:40
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, I know that they were working hard at getting a minimal viable product out initially to help us.
• 18:45
  Robert Rodriguez: And so they were like, maybe we can get this out in a few months, just you know, a simple version that you would be able to put on your website and be able to begin um using.
• 18:54
  Robert Rodriguez: And that made me feel like they were really invested in our business being successful.
• 18:57
  Robert Rodriguez: And so I really appreciated that from them and them taking the time to hear what our needs are.
• 19:03
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, yes, it felt like we had a partner that we were working with.
• 19:06
  Kate Woodward Young: All right.
• 19:07
  Kate Woodward Young: So, roughly how long have you been with Playground then?
• 19:09
  Robert Rodriguez: I think it's been about two to two and a half years that we've been with Playground now.
• 19:13
  Robert Rodriguez: Oh, maybe going on three.
• 19:14
  Robert Rodriguez: Yeah.
• 19:15
  Robert Rodriguez: It's been over two years for sure.
• 19:17
  Kate Woodward Young: So what was it like for your staff and your parents for that transition?
• 19:21
  Kate Woodward Young: And was there a big learning curve?
• 19:23
  Kate Woodward Young: Like, what what did that look like on your end?
• 19:25
  Kate Woodward Young: Because as somebody who like, yes, I am fairly techly technically fluent, but I hate transitioning tech stacks like with a passion.
• 19:39
  Robert Rodriguez: I can understand that.
• 19:40
  Robert Rodriguez: And my sister is is pretty similar and a little bit tech averse, a little bit.
• 19:45
  Robert Rodriguez: And so switching over, she was in love with the original platform that we had that was missing that paperwork and now that CRM piece.
• 19:53
  Robert Rodriguez: So she was very reluctant to transition.
• 19:56
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, but our staff, it was a very seamless process because the engagement piece is it doesn't change all that much.
• 20:02
  Robert Rodriguez: It's very easy to use and intuitive.
• 20:04
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, and we had they all have tablets in their in their classrooms, uh, iPads.
• 20:09
  Robert Rodriguez: And the engagement piece is very much like using social media.
• 20:12
  Robert Rodriguez: So it's very familiar to anyone who has a Facebook profile.
• 20:16
  Robert Rodriguez: Or um, and if they don't, you know, it's it's it's fairly, fairly simple.
• 20:21
  Robert Rodriguez: But um we did have training for all our staff on the on the tablets and and how to use the engagement piece.
• 20:26
  Robert Rodriguez: And then we use that on the back end for all of our staff as well to clock in and out so they get some familiarity with using the app in a personal sense as well.
• 20:33
  Robert Rodriguez: And with the families, we just made sure that we made ourselves available to walk any parents through any of their concerns and and their questions.
• 20:40
  Robert Rodriguez: But they also had been used to using our previous platform.
• 20:43
  Robert Rodriguez: So for them it was it was very similar from that that that uh customer-facing side.
• 20:49
  Kate Woodward Young: Oh, well, great.
• 20:50
  Kate Woodward Young: All right.
• 20:50
  Kate Woodward Young: So if somebody was listening to this episode and they aren't really sure, or maybe they were struggling with the same thing you are, they were they were struggling with how to calculate the data, how to capture the data.
• 21:02
  Kate Woodward Young: They didn't even know what a pipeline was.
• 21:04
  Kate Woodward Young: And they're like, oh, I learned a word.
• 21:06
  Kate Woodward Young: Robert used a word.
• 21:07
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay, so that word is the word I'm supposed to be trying to figure out.
• 21:10
  Kate Woodward Young: So now they've listened to the episode.
• 21:12
  Kate Woodward Young: They now know the phrase pipeline, you know, and the pipeline is, you know, literally from that the first time they see an ad.
• 21:20
  Kate Woodward Young: So it's not even, it's before the phone call, right?
• 21:22
  Kate Woodward Young: So it's they've clicked on the Facebook ad.
• 21:24
  Kate Woodward Young: Maybe they filled out a form, maybe they called.
• 21:27
  Kate Woodward Young: Why should somebody consider what are some things that people need to know, regardless of what platform they're looking at?
• 21:33
  Kate Woodward Young: What might be some things that you're like, oh, we really should have paid more attention to this, or I'm so glad we thought about that.
• 21:42
  Robert Rodriguez: Um, I think that it's important to see the journey that your clients and your customers and your families go through as they're searching for quality care because you want to make sure that you're signaling to them, you're you're signaling to the families that you want to bring in that you're out there and you're you're available for their for their needs.
• 22:02
  Robert Rodriguez: So it makes it very simple when you're working with a CRM like such as Playground, where you can put in your stages of that pipeline and you look at that every day and you can see that first contact that families make with you and where they are on your pipeline.
• 22:16
  Robert Rodriguez: And then you can make steps to better engage them through that and make sure that you um are making yourself uh available to them to be able to share with them the services and the that you provide to the to them, I would say.
• 22:32
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, awesome.
• 22:33
  Kate Woodward Young: So hopefully you have um grabbed a couple of little nuggets, if nothing else, the questions to ask.
• 22:40
  Kate Woodward Young: Uh, we would love for you guys to reach out and connect with the folks at Playground at TriPlayground.com.
• 22:47
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• 22:57
  Kate Woodward Young: And we look forward to talking to you more next week.
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