Conversion Isn’t Just a Goal—It’s a System

We talk a lot about enrollment goals. Application goals. Event attendance goals. But goals are just direction. As James Clear of the NY Times Bestseller “Atomic Habits” puts it:

“You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

That line hit me hard the first time I read it. Because I’ve been there.

Take something simple: my goal at the beginning of this year was to start waking up earlier. I know you early birds won’t get it because this probably feels easy to you. But for my fellow sleep sloths and night owls, you know the struggle. I’ve always had a hard time getting out of bed.

I relied on my alarm clock, hoping that little notification would magically turn me into a morning person. But no matter how much I wanted it, I’d hit snooze. Again and again.

That’s when it hit me. My alarm clock wasn’t a system. And I didn’t have anything in place to actually support the habit I was trying to build (Thanks, Mr. Clear!)

The system didn’t start in the morning, it started the night before.
No new projects past 8 p.m.
A consistent bedtime.
And a morning routine I could actually follow:
Wake up → hygiene → one glass of water → start the coffee → 10-minute walk → journal

It may seem obvious, but this is what made it work.
Not willpower. Not a better alarm.
A system that gets me on a walk first thing. (Some people have dogs for accountability. I just have… me.)

That personal example might sound small, but it’s the same issue I see at community colleges too.

Colleges are setting all the right goals, but falling short because there’s no system in place to support the action.

When I first started outlining the three preconditions for marketing success in community colleges, Reputation, Visibility, and Conversion, I treated conversion as the final step and the main goal for any campaign. The moment someone takes action: applies, enrolls, shows up, signs on.

But here’s what I’ve realized from working directly with colleges across the country (and the beautiful thing about outlining a theory of change):
Conversion has a precondition too.

Conversion doesn’t happen without a conversion system.

That means conversion isn’t just a goal. It’s the byproduct of a system.

What Makes Up a Conversion System?

Most colleges think they have a system. In reality, they have a scattered mix of tasks, tools, and departmental responsibilities.

Colleges split conversion efforts across teams, admissions handles applications, marketing promotes, IT automates, and each stays in their own lane.

Silos might keep things organized on paper, but when everyone’s working in isolation, things fall through the cracks. That’s where you lose people and your best opportunities.

A true conversion system isn’t just about enrollment. It’s any coordinated effort to move someone from interest to action, whether that’s RSVPing to an event, persisting to graduation, securing a job, or deepening a partnership.

To build one, you need five connected components working in sync:

1. 1. Process: A clear map of the actual steps your audience takes, from first interest to follow-through.

1. 2. Data: Key metrics defined and tracked at each step in the process to show where momentum stalls.

1. 3. Technology: These are current tools keeping data, managing tasks and/or facilitating communications. Integration matters more than quantity.

1. 4. Communications: Every message should move someone forward. Align content, timing, and channel to match the audience’s behavior and stage in the journey.

1. 5. People: Define who owns each part of the system, process, data, tech, and comms, and who’s accountable for the full journey, not just their silo.

At most community colleges, one or more of these is out of sync. That’s not a failure. It’s a starting point.

What You Can Do Today: Start With the Process

You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight, you just need to understand what’s actually happening, and where the system is breaking down. Start by mapping what currently exists beginning with the process. 

And map it from your audience’s perspective. What steps do they go through, not just what you think happens internally?

Follow this order:

• • Process → Map the steps clearly
  • Data → Look for where people stall, not just who converts
  • Technology → Identify what tools you use, where they help, and where they don’t
  • People → Clarify ownership and handoffs
  • Communications → Align messaging to behavior, timing, and channel

Once you have a picture of your current system, you can start making targeted improvements through these five components, one piece at a time.

A Real-World Example: “We Thought We Needed Advertising” (We Didn’t)

A community college adult education program once came to me asking for help generating more leads. They assumed it was a visibility problem. So they were ready to spend on ads.

But when we looked at the data, the real problem was between inquiry and assessment, a required step before enrollment.

Half the students were falling off at that point.

Instead of running ads, we focused on the system:

• • Mapping the student process with current data and technology
  • Added communications and a CRM (technology) that created clear, timed follow-ups and active insight into data
  • Trained staff on how to use the platform and when to intervene at key points based on “triggers” in the student journey and supported by the CRM (technology)

In just six months, the conversion rate from inquiry to assessment rose from 50% to 68%, meaning that instead of 5 out of 10 students moving forward, 7 out of 10 were now taking the next step.

The team increased enrollment by 18%, filling both programs to capacity. And they didn’t spend a dime on new ads. They simply made better use of what they already had. Later, when they did bring in more inquiries through digital advertising, they had a system in place to support the follow-through, so those new leads didn’t go to waste.

Every College Has a Conversion System

The real question is: is your system working by design or just by default?

Setting goals without a system to support them leads to scattered efforts and uneven results.
That’s why conversion can’t be treated like a one-time task or a single team’s job.

But when you build a system with clear roles, shared tools, and steps that actually reflect your audience’s journey, you give your college the foundation to make real progress.

This isn’t about doing more.
It’s about working smarter.
Because real results don’t come from bigger goals. They come from better systems.

Start there.

If your college is setting the right goals but not getting the results you expected, I’ll help you audit and create a new system behind it.I help colleges map, diagnose, and strengthen their conversion systems, so you can move from missed opportunities to measurable progress.
👉 Ready to take the next step? Reach out here or send me a message on LinkedIn.