Free Information Seminars

Rollout Guide

Tax School 2012

 2012 Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. All rights reserved.

Prepared by the Learning Group of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service

To offer feedback or suggestions, please email taxschool@jtax.com.
No part of this manual may be produced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or storage retrieval system, without permission in writing.

2011

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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4
What is a Free Information Seminar? ..................................................................... 5
Whom Should You Invite? ......................................................................................... 5
Planning the Event.................................................................................................... 7
Dates ......................................................................................................................... 7
Times ......................................................................................................................... 7
Location and Classroom Set-Up .............................................................................. 7
Staff ........................................................................................................................... 7
Materials and Equipment........................................................................................... 8
Practice your Delivery ............................................................................................... 8
Event Outline ............................................................................................................. 8
Free Information Seminar Toolkit .............................................................................. 9
Promoting the Event ............................................................................................... 11
Invitations ................................................................................................................ 11
Advertising ............................................................................................................... 11
Confirm Attendance ................................................................................................. 11
Executing the Event................................................................................................ 12
Sign in and Refreshments ....................................................................................... 12
Welcome, Introductions, and Agenda ..................................................................... 12
Icebreaker ............................................................................................................... 13
Presentation ............................................................................................................ 13
Local School Details and Testimonials ................................................................... 13
Enrollment and Payment ......................................................................................... 14
Thank You, Giveaways, and Evaluation ................................................................. 14
Follow-Up ................................................................................................................ 15
Tracking the Results............................................................................................... 15

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Introduction
In the months leading up to the start of your Tax School classes, you
should plan to hold weekly Free Information Seminars. These structured
events take place in your office to give unregistered leads a taste of the
Tax School experience. Attendees can meet the instructor, ask
questions, view the Tax School materials, and meet other potential
students.
The personalized attention you can give Tax School leads at a Free
Information Seminar gives you the opportunity to impress these
prospective students and encourage them to register for your Tax
School. The Free Information Seminar should wow attendees with

your professionalism, the classroom set-up, and the Jackson Hewitt

course materials, as well as provide them with a look at the online
course and a short presentation of tax information they may not already
know. In addition, with the new Registered Tax Return Preparer (RTRP)
initiative, promote the benefits of the Basic Income Tax Course in
helping interested students prepare for the RTRP Competency Test, as
well as to earn continuing education (CE) credit to help meet the annual
IRS CE requirement. The goal is to get attendees excited about learning
tax preparation and how Jackson Hewitt Tax School will benefit them so
you can secure their registrations.
A Free Information Seminar Toolkit is available on the Learning Center.
To access the Toolkit, click Free Information Seminar on the Operate
Your Tax School Page of the Learning Center. The toolkit includes

invitations, confirmation letters, recorded presentations, PowerPoint

presentations, attendance sheets, follow-up letters, and more. This
Rollout Guide describes the Free Information Seminar in detail and
provides guidance on conducting it effectively, including:

2011

Marketing your Free Information Seminars

Planning and scheduling your Free Information Seminars

Delivering Free Information Seminars

Tracking registrations generated by your Free Information

Seminars

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What is a Free Information Seminar?

The Free Information Seminar is an opportunity for prospective students
to:

Visit your office and see your classroom set-up

Meet the Operator, Instructors, and staff

Experience a portion of an actual tax class and learn about

taxes

Review the course materials

Learn about which course options are offered at your office

Learn about the RTRP initiative and how Jackson Hewitt can
help students prepare to meet the requirements

Have their questions answered

Register for courses

This event is designed to be the motivating factor that converts leads

into registered students.

Whom Should
You Invite?
You should invite any unregistered leads who have inquired about Tax
School. In addition to the leads generated by your marketing efforts,
you may receive calls from people who were referred by a friend or who
saw the national Tax School marketing on www.JacksonHewitt.com.
You should have a sizeable group of leads to convert into students.
Regardless of how people hear about your Tax School, some of them
may need an extra push to register. Even after you follow-up with them
via a call campaign, direct mail, or e-mail, sometimes they remain
hesitant to enroll. The Free Information Seminar provides you with a
way to interact directly with them to overcome their hesitation and
impress them in a classroom setting. Much like the Campus Tour is a
valuable tool for recruiting college students; the Free Information
Seminar is your opportunity to showcase your instructional environment.

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and the benefits of the Jackson Hewitt Basic Income Tax Course in
preparing potential tax preparers for the RTRP Competency Test.
All unregistered leads should be invited to attend a Free Information
Seminar. Call or send an invitation to:

Leads in e-Services on JHnet

ProFiler leads

E-mail inquiries

Advertising inquiries

Leads from your posters and banners

Word of mouth referrals

The Free Information Seminar Toolkit on the Learning Center includes

an invitation that can be customized for your office, event date and time,
and contact information. Mail these invitations to all your leads, then
follow up with telephone calls using the Free Information Seminar Call
Scripts Manual for guidance.

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Planning the Event

Dates
The ideal time to offer Free Information Seminars is during the four
weeks leading up to the start of your first tax course. Youll want to hold
multiple seminars each week on the days that you would normally be
holding your tax classes. Continue to hold seminars after your tax
courses start if you are planning to offer additional courses later in the
fall.
If you have enough attendees, hold specific and separate seminars for
the Online Basic Income Tax Course and the traditional classroom Basic
Income Tax Courses. You can target your audience more selectively by
presenting only the version of the course the attendees are most
interested in. However, you can also hold one event for all inquiries and
cover both format options.

Times
Hold the events at the same times that you would typically offer your tax
classes. Schedule Free Information Seminars at different times and
locations to appeal to the different times of day when individuals are
available to attend class.
For example, hold Free Information Seminars on Tuesday from 11:00
AM Noon, on Thursday from 7:00 8:00 PM, and on Saturday from
10:00 11:00 AM. This should ensure that people with a variety of
schedules are able to attend.

Location and
Classroom
Set-Up
Conduct your Free Information Seminars in the locations where you will
be holding your tax classes, and mirror the classroom experience as
closely as possible. Set up the room as you would for a typical tax
class: classroom style with computers, overhead projector, screen, etc.
Position attendees chairs so each can easily see the presentation. See
the Basic Income Tax Course Rollout Guide for more information on
setting up your classroom.

Staff
The Operator, Tax School Coordinator, Recruiter, and Instructor should
plan to attend the Free Information Seminars. Attendees will be more
comfortable if the person they spoke with on the telephone is present at
the event.
In most cases, the Instructor should deliver the presentation. This
allows prospective students to see the Instructor in action and get a
good feel for what their tax course will be like.
If possible, make arrangements for one or two of your employees to
attend the FIS. Select individuals that you know will promote the idea of
working for Jackson Hewitt in a professional manner. They should be
able to discuss Tax School and its benefits. If you have employees who
attended your Tax School, have them provide a testimonial.

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Materials and
Equipment
Before the event, arrange enough seats for all attendees, and set up
each seat with a Basic Income Tax Course Participants Manual, a
schedule of available courses, a course brochure, and a registration
form.
Obtain and thoroughly check all of the equipment you will use, including
LCD projector, and desktop computers, speakers, and headphones if
youre showcasing the online or computerized BIT course. Have an
ample supply of handouts, Tax School schedules and registration forms,
and have extras for anyone who wants to share them with a friend.
When showcasing the Online Basic Income Tax Course, be sure the
course is installed on all computers and that they are in working order.

Practice your
Delivery
No well-run event happens without ample preparation and adequate
practice. Set aside time before the event to conduct a practice-run of
the outlined schedule. Be sure that everyone who will participate in the
event attends the practice. Even if you only run through the outline
once, you will identify a few things that require adjusting before the
actual event. Practicing ensures a seamless delivery.

Event Outline
Free Information Seminars can be tailored to your operations needs.
The following is a suggested outline for planning the event.

Free Information Seminar Outline

Sign-in and Refreshments

Ask attendees to sign in

Distribute nametags

Welcome, Introductions, and Agenda

Introduce the Operator, Instructor, staff, etc.

Discuss the purpose and agenda

Icebreaker

Allow attendees to interact

Icebreaker ideas are available in the Free Information Seminar

Toolkit on the Learning Center

Jackson Hewitt Presentation

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Provide a brief overview of the seminar and Jackson Hewitt

Show attendees the Basic Income Course Tax books and the
online demo

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Use the PowerPoint presentation available on the Operate

Your Tax School page of the Learning Center

About the Local School/Testimonials

Discuss class formats and schedules

Talk about convenience and offer to work with anyone who

does not find a time that works for them

Have staff members who are past Tax School attendees give
testimonials

Open it up for a question and answer session

Present the Enrollment Agreement

Discuss Refer-A-Student Certificates

Thank you and give-a-ways

Make sure each attendee has a brochure

Give out Jackson Hewitt promotional items

Evaluation

Ask attendees to complete the evaluation form (available on

the Learning Center)

Free
Information
Seminar Toolkit
The Free Information Seminar Toolkit on the Operate Your Tax School
Page of the Learning Center contains the following items.

Item

2012

Format

Description

Call Scripts Manual

PDF

Call scripts for inviting leads to

the event, following up with
non-respondents, and people
who attend the event but do
not register.

Confirmation Letter

Microsoft Word document

Customizable template used to

confirm attendance at your
event.

Attendance Sheet

Microsoft Word document

Customizable form used to

track the attendance and
number of registrations at each
seminar.

Ice Breaker Library

PDF

Ideas for icebreakers to use at

your event.

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Item

Format

Description

Microsoft Word document

Send to your local media to

invite the public to the recorded
eSession on the Jackson
Hewitt website, or customize
and use to invite the public to
your local event.

PowerPoint
Presentation

PowerPoint

A slide presentation that

provides an overview of
Jackson Hewitt and Tax
School. Can be customized,
used as a slideshow, copied to
transparencies, or made into a
handout.

Evaluation Form

Microsoft Word document

Customizable evaluation form

for your event.

Follow-up Letter

Microsoft Word document

Customizable template to send

to leads that attend the event
but do not register.

Press Release

In addition, you can access the following items from the Tax School
Marketing Toolkit on JHnet:

Item

Description

PDF

Customizable template used to

formally invite leads to the
event.

Thank You Cards

PDF

Cards to be used for attendees

who register for your course.
Customize with the date and
time of their course.

Flyer

PDF

Customizable template used to

advertise your event.

Invitation

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Format

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Promoting the Event

Invitations
While conducting your Tax School call campaign, invite all inquiries who
have not yet registered for your tax course to your Free Information
Seminar. For leads who do not commit to attending the seminar,
conduct follow-up phone calls on a weekly basis to determine when they
would be available to attend one of your scheduled events. The Call
Campaign Application on JHnet has an initial contact call script, and the
Free Information Seminar Call Scripts Manual contains additional
telephone scripts for following up with leads.
See the Free Information Seminar Toolkit on the Operate Your Tax
School/Resources Page of the Learning Center for invitations that you
can customize and mail.

Advertising
Consider placing notices in your local papers announcing the event and
giving your contact information. You should also place signs and flyers
in your office and local businesses where appropriate.
See the Free Information Seminar Toolkit on the Operate Your Tax
School/Resources Page of the Learning Center for customizable flyers.

Confirm
Attendance
So you know the approximate number of people who will be attending
and can properly plan for the event, mail or e-mail a confirmation letter to
each inquiry who agrees to attend. The confirmation letter acknowledges
the attendees interest in attending the event and provides a final
reminder about the time and location of the event. A sample
confirmation letter template is included in the Free Information Seminar
Toolkit. You can customize the information to provide details about your
office and the Free Information Seminar they are attending.
You can also follow-up with a phone call the day before the seminar to
confirm their attendance, similar to the way most doctors offices remind
their patients of appointments.

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Executing the Event

We recommend that you keep the time to about an hour, but the actual
Free Information Seminar event can be tailored to your operations
needs. Review the outline in the planning chapter of this Rollout Guide
and use the additional information provided in this chapter to plan the
structure of your own event.
Tips to keep in mind:

Put your best foot forward by choosing employees to attend

the event that convey enthusiasm and pride in working at
Jackson Hewitt.

Make sure your office is ready to present to the public.

Remember you are being assessed for your professionalism
and credibility. The publics perception of your business can
be clouded if your office and/or your employees are in
disarray.

Have your most dynamic Instructor keep the audience active

and engaged during the short tax presentation. This should
be a fun and inviting introduction to Tax School.

Make sure you have all your equipment available and tested,
and all of your handouts ready for distribution for a polished
presentation.

Set up for the seminar in the same fashion that you would set
up for a typical tax class.

Sign in and
Refreshments
Have attendees sign in using the Attendance Sheet provided in the Free
Information Seminar toolkit. This is important for tracking the progress
of the event and for effective follow up.
Distribute nametags so you can make a personal connection with the
attendees.
Have refreshments available as people sign in. Allow a few minutes for
mingling before the event kicks off. Have your staff available to speak
with attendees as they arrive. If you are using a brain teaser as an
icebreaker exercise, consider handing out the exercise at this time to
generate discussion among the attendees.

Welcome,
Introductions,
and Agenda
Always start off by welcoming your attendees and thanking them for their
time. Introduce all of the individuals who will be presenting information
to them during the seminar. Explain the purpose of the Free Information
Seminar and set expectations by stating what topics are going to be
covered and the sequence of topics.

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Icebreaker
Encourage attendees to interact using an activity that requires them to
talk with others or provide an opportunity to work individually on a fun
exercise and share answers in a group setting. Icebreakers may seem
trivial and unnecessary, but they are actually important in establishing a
rapport between students, which in turn creates a comfortable,
collaborative, and accepting environment.
See the Icebreaker Library in the Free Information Seminar Toolkit for
ideas. Be prepared to conduct the icebreaker by making sure you have
an adequate supply of handouts or transparencies.

Presentation
Use the PowerPoint presentation in the Free Information Seminar
Toolkit. You can use the presentation as it is, customize it, or use it to
create overhead projector transparencies or handouts for distribution.
The PowerPoint presentation provides you with a framework for the
seminar. It includes the seminar agenda, a brief overview of Jackson
Hewitt, and space to insert the details about your operation and Tax
School. This will help you present your seminar in a polished,
professional fashion.
The presentation promotes the Basic Income Tax Course, as well as the
any intermediate/advanced tax classes youre holding. Customize the
presentation to promote only the course(s) you are offering. In addition,
the presentation should include a small section of the BIT course to
demonstrate an actual tax class. The PowerPoint presentation includes
a suggestion for the BIT session to use, however, you can use any
portion of the BIT course. The tax content portion of the presentation
should be presented by your Tax School Instructor as it would be taught
during a typical class.
If you are offering the online course, be sure to have the classroom set
up with computers that have internet access and headphones. Show
the BIT Demo, and give attendees time to walk through the course on
their own. Remember that the online BIT course has audio; be sure to
have headphones available.
Have a Basic Income Tax Course Participants Manual at each
attendees seat. You may want to consider giving each person who
registers at the event their course materials so they can leave with their
books in hand!
Leave time for the group to ask questions about the tax topic presented.

Local School
Details and
Testimonials
This is an ideal time to present the times and locations of the classes
you will offer. You should provide a schedule of all available classes for
attendees to use to determine the course that will best fit into their
schedule.

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Invite employees who attended your Tax School to be guest speakers at

your event and provide testimonials about their experience as a Tax
School student and now, as an employee. The best advertising for your
Tax School is a happy employee who completed the class and joined
your team.

Enrollment and
Payment
Have a copy of your Enrollment Agreement available at each seat. A
sample Enrollment Agreement that you can customize is available on
the Operate Your Tax School Business Center Page of the Learning
Center. Note: Many states require the use of a specific form of
Enrollment Agreement or mandate that certain subjects be addressed or
included in the Enrollment Agreement. Review your state regulations for
further guidance and make any necessary changes to the sample
Enrollment Agreement. Access to specific Enrollment Agreements for
some states is available on JHnet. Check the JHnet page for your state
and contact the Jackson Hewitt Regulatory Affairs Analyst by emailing
taxschoolregs@jtax.com if you have questions.
Review the Enrollment Agreement with attendees and have them
complete it if they are ready to register. Consider offering a special Free
Information Seminar price or discount. For example, if attendees
register during the seminar, offer a $25 discount or waive the registration
fee and charge only for books. Note: Many states have guidelines
regarding pricing; review your state regulations for further guidance.
Have receipts available as you collect payment for the courses and
provide the course books and materials for registrants to take home.
Lastly, be sure to give your registrants a completed Thank You card. On
the Thank You card you can provide the student with the course name,
date, and time. The Thank You Card template can be found in the Free
Information Seminar Toolkit.

Thank You,
Giveaways, and
Evaluation
Wrap up your event by thanking everyone for their time. Hand out
promotional information, such as course brochures, and distribute
Jackson Hewitt give-a-ways, such as pens, pads, coffee mugs, etc., or
any other item with your local information.
Ask attendees to complete the Free Information Seminar Evaluation
Form. The Evaluation Form is located in the Free Information Seminar
Toolkit. Review these forms for suggested ways to improve the
effectiveness of your sessions.
See the Free Information Seminar Toolkit on the Operate Your Tax
School/Resources Page of the Learning Center for customizable Thank
You cards you can hand out after the session or mail.

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Follow-Up
Following-up with leads is a critical component of this event. If you
managed the Free Information Seminar effectively, you should have
secured some registrations. However, some interested individuals may
still be hesitant to sign up and may require more attention.
Make follow-up phone calls within two to three days of the event. Refer
to the Free Information Seminar Call Scripts Manual in the Free
Information Seminar Toolkit.
Send a personal follow-up letter within one day of the event. Enclose a
brochure, Registration Form, and Refer-A-Student certificates to give
attendees an opportunity to refer students to your school. Remember to
include a phone number for them to call for more information. The
sample Follow-Up Letter template is located in the Free Information
Seminar Toolkit on the Learning Center. See the Tax School Marketing
Tool Kit for the Refer-A-Student coupon link on JHnet.
Also, you may have found that some leads, who confirmed their
attendance, did not show up at the event. Make follow-up phone calls to
these individuals as soon as possible after the Free Information Seminar
to reschedule. Ensure that they are still interested in Tax School, and
encourage them to attend your next scheduled event.

Tracking the Results

Track the results of your Free Information Seminars. For each Seminar,
you should record how many leads you invited, how many attendees
you have, and how many attendees registered for Tax School. Also,
keep track of the results you receive on the Evaluation Forms.
By tracking this information and trying different techniques in your
events, you should be able to formulate an idea of what works well for
your organization. If you have an event that results in a high percentage
of registrations, try to determine what went well about that event. Refer
to the Evaluation Forms, and talk to the attendees about what motivated
them to register.
If you have an event that results in a low percentage of registrations,
determine what you can change or do differently at the next event and
track the numbers of registrations to see what is most effective for your
operation.
Here are some tips for tracking the success of your Free Information
Seminars:

2012

Keep a list of all leads that you invited to the seminar.

Identify which leads attended the seminar.

After conducting all of your seminars, determine the total

number of leads that registered after attending a Free
Information Seminar.

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2012

Use the Attendance Form in the Free Information Seminar

Toolkit to keep track of your leads and registrations. The
footer of the form has space to capture the total number of
event attendees and registrants.

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