Ever been in a pie eating contest?
Neither had I.
But one day, while minding my business on a family trip to the beautiful central coast of California, I got roped into entering the annual 4th of July pie eating contest in Cambria, California.
I won’t get into too many of the messy details. The pictures tell most of the story.
But in the midst of cramming pie down my pie hole, three very clear – and very important – recruitinglessons for college coaches. And since my previous “lessons from Disneyland” article is now one of the all-time most read on the website, I thought it would be good to write a follow-up article that another real life lesson can teach you about effective recruiting:
Don’t Listen to the Trash-Talkin’ Competition. In my quick introduction to pie-eating contest etiquette, I realized that the mind games started early. Last year’s winner introduced himself to me and immediately proclaimed that he was going to win again. Judging by his size, I wasn’t going to disagree with him. But I didn’t like the trash talking (he made sure all the contestants knew who he was and whathe and his appetite was going to do to the rest of us). Even the TV coverage of the event focused on him (he’s the guy jumping up and down without his shirt on). But in the end, he didn’t even come close.
The point I want to make? As you start this new year of recruiting, don’t listen to the voices that say you can’t get a top recruit. Don’t listen to your own negativity that tells you prospects would never consider a visit to your campus. Trash talking doesn’t deserve your attention this year. Ignore it, and just
get busy recruiting the athletes you really, really want.
Recruiting is all about consistency (so is competitive pie eating, by the way). As I was formulating my strategy on the fly, I figured out that slow and steady would win the race (and would
probably prevent me from throwing up midway through). And sure enough, that was the way to go. Even
one of the judges complimented my deliberate, but consistent pie-eating style. Consistency kept me in the race with guys who had much larger bellies, guys who were much younger and had much faster metabolisms, and the guys who jumped out to early leads by gorging themselves right away and getting sick in the process.
Consistency is so important when it comes to effective recruiting. Make a plan that involves consistent weekly content that is interesting, focused on your prospect, and demands interaction. Those three aspects to an effective recruiting plan have changed hundreds of programs over the past several years. Add your program to the list…by being consistent.
Be o.k. with losing more than you win. Unless I’m paired against a classroom of 5th graders, I doubt I’ll ever win a pie eating contest. But I can tell you this: Following my own advice, I doubt I’ll ever lose one, either.
I realize that bigger, badder pie eaters will beat me most of the time. But I’ll be o.k. with that. Just like most college coaches should be o.k. with losing most of the prospects they recruit. It’s a fact of recruiting life: Most recruits will choose someone else. Don’t let it discourage you. Recruit hard, and get the 1 out of 40 that say “you bet!” to your offer. Need more good recruits to start with? I highly recommend these guys. They’re changing the game when it comes to recruiting on a national scale.
You don’t need to eat three pounds of apple-ollaliberry pie to learn the lessons I did. Just follow these three rules that I’ve laid out as you develop your new recruiting plan for this next class of prospects. It’s proven methodology, and you won’t have to pick pie out of your nostrils afterwards.
Another great tip for developing your strategy for the upcoming year? A little bit of Summer reading: Order “Selling for Coaches” and “What They Didn’t Teach You About Recruiting”, our two popular workbooks that have been updated and expanded for coaches who want to really change the way they recruit this generation of athletes. Click here for more information.