Daily, direct check-ins
Checked in with the chapter president directly, every day, while registrations were surging — catching capacity issues before they became problems.
MEDLIFE Sales Playbook · UK MEDLIFE Case Study
University of Kentucky:
40 travelers to 135 registrations in two seasons.
Over 100 of those registrants locked in during MEDLIFE's first-ever lock-the-price early deposit window — before their chapter coach had even finished onboarding them for the season. Here is exactly what the coach and the chapter did.
0
SLT travelers
FY24
0
SLT travelers
FY25
0
Attended 1st GBM
FY26
0
Registered for SLT
FY26
Based on interviews with Chapter Coach Alesandra Zegarra and UK MEDLIFE chapter leadership.
The plays
Two playbooks running at once
Switch between what the coach did and what the chapter did. Open any play for the detail.
Transparent numbers-sharing
Kept the eboard updated in real time on registrant counts and waitlist size, so they could plan their own communications instead of guessing.
Copy the registrant sheet ↗Deliberate waitlist triage
Flagged returners and eboarders on the waitlist for priority, rather than treating it as strictly first-come, first-served.
Fast escalation to HQ
Looped in marketing and ops the same day the registration system hit capacity, so the chapter didn't lose momentum waiting on a fix.
No extra meeting overhead
Used the chapter's existing weekly meeting rather than adding new check-ins — support fit into their routine instead of competing with it.
SLT officer enablement
Coordinated 1:1 meetings with each SLT officer, provided all the resources, and made sure they had everything they needed to release information to their members.
Their #1 piece of advice
“Word spreads faster through networks people already trust than through official posts alone.”
Asked what they'd tell another chapter chasing similar results, Kentucky's leadership didn't point to a MEDLIFE-run channel at all — they pointed to the communities they were already part of. Members talked about the trip inside their Greek life connections, other on-campus organizations, and their field-of-study cohorts. Even students who don't sign up this year are seeds for next year's chapter.
Why this matters for sales
Three doubts, three answers from Kentucky
“Isn’t this voluntourism?”
The pitch and the photos foreground structured clinical work — mobile clinic days, triage, dental, pharmacy — not just travel.
“I can’t afford it.”
The lock-the-price early deposit is a concrete, repeatable tactic. The deposit is required eventually either way, so locking in early only saves money.
“Will it cost me time or credibility?”
8–9 days over winter break, and up to 160 documented patient-contact hours by senior year. Short calendar, real resume line.