Dan Tudor

A guy named Elmer Wheeler is about to teach you some valuable lessons that you can use to recruit more effectively.

More than likely, you’ve never heard of him.  And that’s understandable, because he made a name for himself back in the Great Depression.

Back then, Elmer Wheeler was paid $5,000 for coming up with nine simple words that proved to be golden for a major oil company.

Here’s the story: Texaco was looking to sell more motor oil to their customers. Too many people, without giving it a second thought, said "No" when a service station attendant asked "Check your oil today?"

Wheeler suggested replacing "Check your oil today?" with "Is your oil at the proper level today, sir?"

Now asking something like "Is your oil at the proper level today, sir?" would seem to make good sense. A line so simple you’d think most gas station owners would naturally come up with it — but few did.

Which is why Texaco paid Wheeler $5,000 for it, which was a small fortune back then.

They got their money’s worth and more. In one week, Texaco attendants got under 250,000 more hoods!

Another Wheeler triumph came when he was asked by the president of Barbasol to help them sell more shaving cream.

The slogan they had tried was "How Would You Like to Save Six Minutes Shaving?"

Wheeler suggested: "Use Barbasol. Just spread it on. Shave it off. Nothing else required!"

When they tested it, they found it increased sales by 102 percent.

A light bulb went off in Wheeler’s head, and he came up with another suggestion: "How would you like to slash your shaving time in half?"

That one increased sales by another 300 percent!

Over the years, Wheeler tested 105,000 selling statements for 5,000 products. He eliminated 100,000 of them.

Here’s how he summed up the philosophy behind what he called "Tested Selling", which is what you need to pay attention to as a college coach who is interested in attracting more recruits.

"Don’t think so much about what you want to say as about what the prospect wants to hear — then the response you will get will more often be the one you are aiming for."

Great advice.  As a college coach, here are the key points you need to remember as you develop your recruiting message, courtesy of good ‘ol Elmer:

"Don’t sell the steak — sell the sizzle."
This just might be the most famous piece of sales advice ever, and it has great applications for today’s college recruiter. So what does it mean? Sell benefits and deeper benefits. Your prospect could care less about the product itself, in this case your college program. Wheeler wrote: "The sizzle has sold more steaks than the cow ever has, although the cow is, of course, mighty important."  As I tell coaches all the time, today’s recruits make their decision with their heart but justify it logically with their head.

"Don’t write — telegraph!"
Back in Wheeler’s day, telegraphs were a popular way for people to send messages. But they were charged by the word. So, to keep the price down, they had to choose their words wisely. By saying "Don’t write — telegraph," Wheeler meant "Make every word count." He often said that the first 10 words of your sales copy are more important than the next 10,000, and you have only 10 short seconds to catch your prospect’s attention with them.  In today’s age of text messaging, the same rules apply to your recruits who have a very, very, very limited attention span

"Say it with flowers."
This simply means that it’s not enough to make a statement to your prospect, you have to prove it. In other words, you say "I love you," and then you prove it by sending flowers. (Of course, you have to be sincere and do it convincingly).  The past year of conducting On-Campus Workshops has revealed that a growing trait that today’s recruits value is honesty.  They look for it all the time.  "Flowers" you send them count for a lot when it comes to attracting recruits.

"Don’t ask if — ask which."
Meaning, always give your prospect a choice between something and something … never between something and nothing. Seventy-plus years ago, for example, Wheeler worked out a way for owners of soda fountains to sell more eggs. Instead of asking "Would you like an egg with that?" the clerk would ask "One egg or two eggs?" while holding an egg in each hand. The result? Seven out of 10 customers added at least one egg to their order.

It works in restaurants, although most waiters and waitresses don’t use this gentle sales technique. Most ask if you’ll be having wine with dinner. Few say, "Will you be having white wine or red wine with dinner tonight?"

"Watch your bark!"
This one came out of Wheeler’s love of dogs — and how much you can tell about how dogs feel by the way they wag their tails and the sound of their barks. By saying "Watch your bark!" Wheeler’s reminding us that it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. For college coaches, that means keeping the tone of their recruiting copy conversational and engaging.

Follow the lead of a guy who invented the concept of "selling the sizzle".  Now, start putting it into practice in your recruiting messages.

The art of conversational recruiting messages can make all the difference in the world.  If you want a team of proven recruiting experts to help you make it happen, click here for more information.