Open and set the frame
When to use: Use it as your first response once an enquirer gets in touch.
Script
Hi first name, thanks for getting in touch with institution name -- I am your name, and I help people work out whether studying with us actually makes sense for them.
Before I tell you anything about our programmes, can I ask you a few questions about you? There is no right answer to any of them and nothing you say puts you on a list. At the end I will give you outcome, and if I think this is the wrong path for you, I will say so. That happens more often than you might expect, and nobody has ever been upset about it.
If they agree
Thank you. Let me start with the simplest one -- what made you look into this now?
If they seem hesitant
Take your time. This is a big decision and a lot of money, and you are allowed to be unsure about it on the phone with a stranger.
Why it works
Prospective students have usually been chased by admissions teams before and expect pressure. Naming the possibility of a no, removing the sense of being tracked, and asking about them rather than talking about you changes the whole texture of the call -- and honest answers are the only ones worth having here.