Fixing Duplicate Enquiries Across Three Coaching Branches

This is an illustrative case study. It describes a typical setup we model with institutes during onboarding and shows how multi-branch coaching enquiry management can be fixed with a few clear rules. Details and numbers are representative examples, not a specific customer.

The institute

Imagine a competitive exam coaching institute with three branches in and around a tier-2 city in Rajasthan, preparing students for JEE and NEET. It runs one-year and two-year programmes for Class 11, Class 12 and droppers, plus short crash courses before the exams.

Each branch has a branch admin and one or two counsellors. During admission season, from March to July, the three branches together handle a heavy flow of walk-ins, calls, seminar sign-ups and referrals.

The challenge

Each branch kept its own enquiry register and its own spreadsheet. Families often visited more than one branch, or called one branch and walked into another. That caused predictable problems:

• Duplicate enquiries. The same parent was recorded at two branches, and two counsellors called them about the same course — sometimes quoting different discounts.
• One family, several interests, one row. A parent asking about NEET for one child and a foundation course for a younger one ended up as a single line, and the second interest was lost.
• Forgotten follow-ups. Counsellors kept call-back dates in their heads or on sticky notes. Busy weeks meant warm enquiries went cold.
• No comparable numbers. The owner could not compare branches because each counted enquiries differently.

What they set up in Klass360

Before touching any software, the owner and the three branch admins agreed on a few rules in a one-hour meeting: one lead per mobile number, one counsellor responsible for each enquiry, and no enquiry closed without a recorded loss reason. They also agreed that a family who visits a second branch stays with the counsellor who first spoke to them, unless the parent clearly prefers the new branch. Writing these rules down first made the setup itself straightforward.

The institute rolled out the setup in a quiet week before the season began. In order:

1. Branches and roles. The three branches were created, with the owner as admin, one branch admin per branch, and counsellors assigned to their own branch. Accountants and faculty were added with their own limited access.
2. One lead per person. Every lead was keyed on mobile number. When a counsellor typed a number that already existed, the duplicate check flagged it, and they opened the existing lead instead of creating a new one.
3. Many enquiries per lead. Each course interest became its own enquiry under the lead — for example, "NEET one-year, Branch 1" and "Class 9 foundation, Branch 2" for the same parent.
4. Common stages, sources and loss reasons. All branches used the same enquiry stages and the same list of sources (walk-in, phone, referral, seminar, website) and loss reasons (fees, distance, chose another institute, not ready this year).
5. Old registers imported. Open enquiries from the three spreadsheets were cleaned up and brought in through CSV import, so the duplicate check covered them too.
6. Follow-ups with owners and dates. Every open enquiry got a counsellor and a next follow-up date. Nothing was left without a next step.

How the day changed

Each counsellor now started the day with two lists: follow-ups due today and follow-ups overdue. Calls were made from those lists, the outcome was noted on the enquiry, and a new follow-up date was set before moving on. The institute used a short call script so that every parent heard consistent information about batches, fees and installments.

When a parent walked into a different branch, the counsellor there saw the full history at once — who spoke to them, which courses they asked about and what was offered. Instead of a second, conflicting pitch, the parent got a continuation of the same conversation.

Branch admins checked overdue follow-ups for their counsellors every evening. On Monday mornings, the owner looked at the branch-wise dashboard for enquiries, conversion and loss reasons, and held a short call with the three branch admins.

When an enquiry converted, it moved straight into an admission with the student profile, course, batch and fee already linked, so the accounts side started from clean data.

Results in this example

As a modelled scenario, these are the outcomes this setup is built to deliver rather than measured results:

• No more double-chasing. One lead per mobile number means one owner per family conversation.
• Every course interest is visible. A sibling's foundation enquiry is tracked on its own, instead of being lost in a notes column.
• Follow-ups happen on time. Overdue lists make missed calls visible within a day, not at the end of the season.
• Branches can be compared fairly. Shared stages, sources and loss reasons mean conversion figures mean the same thing everywhere.

The loss reasons were often the most useful output. If, in this example, one branch kept losing enquiries to "distance", that would be a signal about batch timings or transport, not counsellor effort.

Lessons any institute can use

1. Use the mobile number as the key. Check it before creating any new lead, in any branch.
2. Separate leads from enquiries. One family can have several course interests; track each one. Read more in lead vs enquiry for coaching institutes.
3. Never leave an enquiry without a next date. Our guide to the enquiry follow-up process for counsellors includes call scripts.
4. Standardise sources and loss reasons across branches before the season starts.
5. Review weekly, branch-wise. The same few numbers, the same day, every week.

If you are still on paper, start with our free enquiry register template. When you are ready to bring every branch onto one lead database, see Klass360 leads and enquiries or start a free 7-day trial.