Sounds contradictory, right?
How do you have a “scarce” surplus?
Marketing guru and best selling author Seth Godin outlines a great example that many of us who are old enough to remember rotary dial telephones and having to get up to turn the knob on the television when we wanted to change the channel:
When I was a kid at summer camp, a letter was as precious as gold (or perhaps candy). If you got five letters in a week, you were rich. Most of the time, we stood by the mailroom, plaintively waiting to see if there was some sort of message from the outside world–only to walk away disappointed.
Back home, missing a TV show was out of the question. If you didn’t see this episode of Mannix or Batman, it was likely you’d never get a chance, ever again.
Information, entertainment and communication was scarce way back when I was a kid walking in the snow uphill both ways to school everyday. It was scarce. And, therefore, quite valuable.
Today, scarcity has been replaced by surplus. Godin observes:
A new generation, one that grew up with a data surplus, is coming along. To this generation, it’s no big deal to miss a tweet or ten, to delete a blog from your reader or to not return a text or even a voice mail. The new standard for a vacation email is, “When I get back, I’m going to delete all the email in my box, so if it’s important, please re-send it next week.”
This is what always happens when something goes from scarce to surplus. First we bathe in it, then we waste it.
So the trick, then, is to turn the tables on this generation. Most coaches who skip past this article, or who are convinced that just overwhelming a recruit with “more” is the key to earning the relationship, are going to add to the surplus of information that a recruit is subjected to…information that routinely sounds the same as the other coaches’ communication, with the same sales message that this generation has long since learned to ignore.
“Surplus”, by the way, doesn’t necessarily refer to the number of emails or letters that you send. True, you can go overboard and completely bury a prospect in so much messaging that he or she will simply choose to ignore it. But I am also speaking of the type of messaging that is in surplus today…long, information-heavy letters and emails that jumps too quickly to selling a program instead of building a relationship. That’s the kind of surplus no coach should aim to accumulate.
What is scarce in the world of recruiting messaging? Here are five of the ten most common opportunity areas, in no particular order of importance, that we’ve identified for our clients heading into this next recruiting cycle:
- It’s rare to find a coach who makes a claim about their program, and then backs it up with facts. Most coaches have the “facts” part down cold, without a doubt. What we find missing is coaches that will make a bold claim, and then back up that headline with interesting facts that they can personalize to the recruit.
- It’s rare to find a coach that will connect the dots in a line of reasoning and give their prospects an answer to their primary question, “What’s In It for Me?” For some of you who have had us walk you through this aspect of your recruit’s needs during the recruiting process, you know that this question should be front and center in your mind as you communicate with your prospect. As you plan your recruiting strategy for the class that you are currently messaging, here’s the big question: Do you clearly tell them what’s in it for them personally at your school if they choose to compete for you? If the answer is anything but a resounding “yes!” then go back and re-work the wording in your recruiting letters and emails.
- It’s rare to find a coach who uses Facebook and Twitter for anything more than just another place to post results and news releases. The greatest revolution in communication – social media websites – have been turned into another avenue to post statistics and news. And, your recruits don’t like it. Most of us use social media to interact and deepen relationships with those that are close to us, so are you surprised when you don’t get a lot of traction on your team’s Facebook site from the prospects you’re wanting to engage? You shouldn’t be. They aren’t there to read results, they are there to interact with you and get a behind the scenes look at what your program is really like. Instead of posting your next set of results, hand a Flip cam to some of your team and tell them to do a two food review of the fast food place you’re eating at on the road after the game. I promise you’ll get more interaction from that sloppy, unedited video of your recruit’s future teammates than you will be telling them which of your graduating Seniors just made second team all-conference.
- It’s rare for a coach to explain why a prospect should pay their own way and come for an unofficial visit to campus. Our research is showing that most prospects will make an investment in time and money to a campus that isn’t their dream school only if there is a clear and personalized reason that they should do it. Start off your invitation with the words, “I really want you to come here on an unofficial visit because I want to…” and then tell them what you have in store for them: Meet the team to figure out if you like them, let you talk to your business school Dean one-on-one, or sit down face to face with the recruit and their parents to walk them through the offer you want to make them. They need a reason to come, Coach. Gone are the days (for the most part) when families awash in disposable cash from their third home equity line of credit would jet across the country to see if a particular campus was to their liking; today, you need to give them a tangible reason with a pretty solid potential pay-off. That’s very, very rare these days.
- Ask for the sale. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?) More and more coaches are amazed at how this simple idea gets results, but the vast majority still balk at the idea of making a strong plea like this earlier than they are used to doing. Here’s a compromise: Ask for a “soft commitment” from your prospect that will tell you whether or not the time might be right to ask them to come play for you. Click here for an outline of the idea.
I firmly believe that we are entering an age when recruiting messaging will be harder and harder to break through all of the noise that bombards today’s teenage athlete, both from other coaches as well as mass media advertising. If you are a coach who is settling for being a part of the surplus, your challenges will continue to grow as the years go by.
The alternative? Become a program who’s message is impossible to ignore. To achieve that means taking some risks, sitting down and mapping-out a better plan, and quite possibly taking your letters and emails currently being used and starting completely over.
It’s more work, but being “scarce” will have it’s rewards. Trust me.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a magical place that crammed all of the very best recruiting ideas into your head in one fast-paced weekend? A place where you got to listen to other coaches, athletic directors, marketing experts, organizational pros and Dan? That recruiting nirvana exists: The National Collegiate Recruiting Conference! It’s coming up soon and you can find out more – and register to reserve your seat – by clicking here. Don’t miss it!
by Mandy Green, University of South Dakota
Coach, I’m sure you understand the frustration that comes with leaving the office and not feeling like you got the right things done.
One of our 
Will Ferrell’s character Ricky Bobby said it best in the movie “Talladega Nights”:
Yes, it’s stupid.
Even though many college coaches complain about the amount of time and travel associated with scouting athletes during the Summer, it’s an essential part of the job. 