Who are sub-agents?

Sub-agent can be an individual or organization who refers the student to other education consultancies on a commission basis for processing. All their activities are based on networking. Thus, it is very crucial to maintain study abroad education consultants for any education consultancy.

What is the role of sub-agents? What are the benefits of having them?

One agent or agency cannot provide all the options, their client demand. Also, it is tough to handle the administrative burden of processing thousands of application at once. Besides, top universities only have a limited number of representatives or overseas agents in the market. The role of study abroad education consultants comes into play when students want to join such universities.

If any student approaches you with a demand for such a university then rather than saying “No”, you can opt to be a sub-agent. This way you will not lose any client and also maintain your study abroad education consultants reputation. Similarly, having a vast network is beneficial for any education consultancy.

Let me explain it to you with an example: suppose Laurence Montana reaches an XYZ education consultancy to join a top university in Australia.

Now, only your study abroad education consultants have a link with that university. So, XYZ education consultancy contacts you and becomes your sub-agent. In this way, a creation of friendly market trend is done. It is a win-win situation for both parties.

XYZ consultancy doesn’t lose its client and maintains its reputation. On the other hand, your consultancy is being able to send more student to your partner (here, top university of Australia).

How do sub-agents work?

Many agents prefer to collect all the document by themselves. They only choose to do processing from another study abroad education consultants. All the activities conducted by sub-agents is based on networking.

Basically, they can be categorized into two parts:

1. Those don’t have any partner institution. This type gathers the student and their document. Later they give it to another study abroad education consultants, who does the processing.

2. Those who have some partner institutions. They do processing for the students who prefer to join that specific university. Whereas, for other universities, they prefer to be sub-agents.

It should be noted that every they work on a commission basis. They may prefer to take their commission at the very beginning. Whereas, others may prefer to collect it on an instalment basis. However, they should work on a regular basis.

What are the qualities that sub-agents should possess?

Having a large number of agents is always beneficial. More the merrier! But remember that they are your business partners. You will be actively sharing income and dealing with financial matters. So, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The following are the qualities that sub-agents should possess:

1. Trustworthy and Loyal

Trust and loyalty is a crucial factor to be considered while choosing a business partner. Agents should be able to create an environment of trust.

They should be loyal to each other. Though this is not a general practice, having a signed contract is always beneficial for both the parties.

Study abroad education consultants have to trust sub-agents to bring the students and manage their document plus finances. Whereas, agents should trust study abroad education consultants with a commission.

2. Self-motivated

Enthusiastic and self-motivated agents are highly valued in this industry. This business is highly competitive. Unenthusiastic ones are nothing but a recipe for disaster. So, it is imperative to have self-motivated agents.

3. Good judgment

Before starting processing, agents should become a part of the client’s student journey and their visa application process. They should possess strong judgment skill when it comes to recognizing student needs. It is not right to give advice based on commission. You should understand the students’ need and demand.

Sometimes an agent may send study abroad education consultants a client that doesn’t intend to complete their university degree. The student may be looking for a midway transfer. If an education consultancy sends such student to their top university partner, they might be disappointed. Resulting in a decrease in your credibility and hampering your relation.

4. Comfortable using automation

Efficiency can be increased instantly with the use of technology. Agents should be able to maintain an enormous database and financials.

If agents are not acquainted with automation, then it can be difficult. Due to the lack of technical knowledge, agents might start maintaining manual logs. Also, there is a great deal of information available on the education portal. They should be able to share this with the students.

But, such activity causes a delay in the work. Moreover, there is also the risk of data and financial loss. Thus, agents should be comfortable using automation.

5. Maintain a robust code of ethics

Everyone should follow a code of ethics. Education agents are familiar with the difficulty of maintaining an ethical business.

It is tough to keep up with the competition and also to maintain an ethical company.

Agents should be able to maintain an ethical business and also a good business competition. Those who like to practice the discount game or any other unethical conduct aren’t much appreciated.

It is suggested to maintain distance with such sub-agents. An unhealthy practice can kill your business. So, it is very crucial to be careful and keep a robust code of ethics.

Sub-agents are a major contributing factor to the global mobility of students worldwide. The reason behind the successful running of education agency is a good human resource and CRM tools. They should create healthy competition and networking between partner agencies.

Sub-agents help the education industry in its overall growth and development.