Psychology | Dan Tudor

Struggling Prospects, and What You Should Do to Help Them (and Your Recruiting)Monday, April 9th, 2012

As coaches, you often search for the best stuff to talk about with your prospects.

What’s going right in their lives, what they’re excited about, what they did for fun last weekend.

Generally, coaches search out the line of conversation that will make the prospect smile, laugh and feel comfortable talking. And most of the time, with most your recruits, that’s the right approach.

But there’s another possible conversation that may win their allegiance in a faster, more effective, more meaningful way. And we discovered it by accident! Here’s the story:

In review focus group research we’ve gathered over the past two years working with coaches who have us help them develop their recruiting campaigns and storylines, we noticed something curious that we had previously glazed over. Occasionally, but consistently, prospects would reveal that there was a moment in the recruiting process where the coach that they ended up committing to would stumble upon something the prospect was struggling with – family issues, a tough class at school, a painful relationship break-up – and offer some deep, heartfelt sympathy. In the prospect’s eyes, for both males and females, they achieved a powerful connection with these coaches that “connected” with them and showed them that they cared for them over and above what they could bring to their college sports program.

Three stories stood out as we started uncovering these previously hidden strategic gems, told to you below as direct quotes from the recruits themselves:

“When Coach ____ called me right after my dad left the house, I really didn’t want to talk to her. Two minutes into the call I was just a wreck and was balling and basically sounding like an idiot. It was really embarassing. But she was so kind, and spent a lot of the call just trying to talk me through it. She didn’t try to sell me on her program, she just was a friend. The next day I knew that was the coach I wanted to spend the next four years playing for.”
“I struggled with math my Senior year and I was afraid it was going to ruin my chances for earning a football scholarship. I wanted to pick a place where it wasn’t just all about football day in and day out but still play D1, and the way the coach tried to help me feel better about what I was going through with academics in high school really made me feel like he was the guy who was going to watch out for me and make sure I was successful when I played ball in college. The way he handled that told me a lot about who he was as a person which is why I chose to play here.”
“Most coaches would just email me or call and it was about sports 24/7. I started feeling like I was just a piece of meat almost. I liked the way that Coach _____ made it more that just about the sports side of college. I felt like that’s who I wanted to be around. The way he tried to get to know me and help me through some stuff I was dealing with at home was awesome which is the main reason I came here.”

You see the common thread through those comments, right? The coaches who came alongside the prospects and helped them through a difficult situation, and offered heartfelt encouragement, ended up making an impact and most of the time, earned the commitment of the recruit.

In other words, simply by taking a few minutes to comfort a male or female athlete you are recruiting, you set yourself apart from other coaches.

It works the same outside of sports as well. In the Malcolm Gladwell book “Tipping Point”, it was revealed that doctors who spent an extra three minutes chatting with patients and getting to know them personally had dramatically lower rates of medical malpractice suits filed against them. The reason mirrors the principle I’ve outlined here today: Showing concern and investing even a few minutes of your time with your prospect can help in creating a much deeper, much more meaningful bond with that recruit. Male or female, it works the same.

The most common areas that athletes felt were important were stressful situations with grades, a family crisis, boyfriend or girlfriend problems, or other issues specific to his or her family.

In one respect, it’s a bit odd to be recommending a “strategy” revolving around just being a good person. I’m hoping that any coach would take time to do what we’d all probably agree is “the right thing”. However, analyzing this from a strictly psychological and relationship point of view, cementing your relationship around you offering encouragement to your prospect who is going through a difficult, stressful situation is the smart thing – and the right thing – to do.

As you plan for next season’s recruiting campaign, why not have a team of experts help you behind the scenes? Work with Dan and his team one-on-one and have them put together a strategy and a system that’s proven to get results. You can go to www.dantudor.com for all the details, or email Dan directly with your questions at dan@dantudor.com.

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Four Facts to Focus On That Your Recruits REALLY Care AboutMonday, February 27th, 2012

You throw them around all the time.

You use them to sell your college, and you use them to combat a competitor’s advances.

If you’re a fan of classic television, Sgt. Joe Friday on the old “Dragnet” detective show was famous in asking for only these things.

We’re talking about facts.

But here’s the challenge for savvy recruiters: Which facts are worth talking about, and which ones just take up space in your messages our to your prospects? Moreover, what facts may actually be hurting your recruiting efforts?

We began asking that very question, beginning in 2011, with the athletes of our clients and during focus groups at our On-Campus Workshop. Our theory at the time was that all the facts a coach presented to a prospect played a part in their final decision.

We were only partially correct. Here’s why…

While today’s prospects do rely on facts about a college to form their overall opinion of the place, it is most effective when recruiters tie that fact directly to a benefit the athlete will receive as a result.

This is a very important distinction that coaches need to begin implementing. Again, when you state a fact as a selling point of your program, it is vital that you take the extra step in explaining to your prospect exactly how they will personally benefit from that fact.

The reason is simple, really: Our research shows that prospects won’t “connect the dots” between your points of benefits and what it means for them personally. As we discuss at length in our two recruiting guides for college coaches, your recruits rely largely on their feelings – how they feel about you, your team, and your campus – to make their final decision.

However, when you can add facts that will personally benefit the prospect, and get them to understand those selling points, you win; more often than not, good feelings about your program coupled with these personalized facts are almost impossible to ignore.

To get you started, here are a few of the top facts that we’re finding recruits rating as most important in their decision-making process:

Your on-campus housing. According to the research we’ve conducted, it’s the clear #1 on the list in your recruit’s mind. Interestingly, you don’t always need the newest and biggest dorms or apartments to win. Instead, you need to make sure your recruits understand how they will have fun living there. By the way, your team’s opinions and personal stories go the furthest in selling your on-housing campus to your recruits.
The food on campus. Prove to your recruits that they will eat well, and you’ll have an advantage over most of your competition. Food, and the socialization around gathering together in a community on campus and “breaking bread” together, is one of the biggest comfort areas that your recruits are looking for when they come to visit campus.
The vision for your team. It’s very important that you clearly explain where the program is heading, and how the prospect will play a part in the plan. Make sure you go into as much detail as possible when it comes to your plan. And, if possible, have a separate conversation about that plan with your prospect’s parents.
How a degree at your school will trump a degree at another school. Coaches love to talk about the academic strengths of their college, but talk is cheap. You’d better be ready to prove it to your prospect, and give them real-life examples (personal letters from your former players are great, by the way!) as to how your school is going to give them a better launch into their career after sports is done.

The misuse of facts is a major problem in recruiting. We see it almost daily.

If you’re a coach who commits themselves to taking the extra step of stressing facts that your athletes care about, as well as finding how best to tie that fact personally to your recruit, you’ll most likely gain the upper-hand over your competitors who are content with reading this research and then choosing not to change the way they are telling their story.

Tudor Collegiate Strategies can help you formulate your strategy when it comes to presenting facts about your program that get attention. We can take our research and put it to work for your program, making a big difference in your overall recruiting efforts as you get ready to communicate with your next recruiting class. Want more information on how we can do that for you and your program? Contact Dan Tudor directly at dan@dantudor.com.

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Should You Use Assimilation or Differentiation with Your Next Prospect?Monday, December 19th, 2011

All of us have the need to be included in a group.

Your prospects are no different.

It all goes back to our primary need for two basic psychological drives: Assimilation and differentiation.

Assimilation is our basic longing to be included in a group, while differentiation is the pleasure we derive from being “set apart” as special. Both are important for coaches to keep in mind as they are recruiting.

So, let me ask you a question:

How are you incorporating those two basic psychological principles in your recruiting strategy?

Most coaches aren’t. And those that are usually do so by mistake…getting great results, but not quite sure why.

So, I wanted to share some of the reasons incorporating answers to your recruit’s basic psychological need to be included, or set apart, are so effective in getting them to take a serious look at you and your program.

Here are three fairly common recruiting scenarios, and how this strategy can work to help overcome an obstacle you might be facing with a future prospect:

Designate their uniqueness by location. This works especially well if you’re dealing with prospects from out of state. You can try to make them feel special by telling them that they are “one of only x number of players” you’re recruiting from that area, and that you are specifically wanting to take a serious look at them since they are from an area that you’ve targeted. Sometimes, making them part of a special group you are targeting sets you apart from other programs that are just recruiting them as a regular prospect.
Use assimilation as a method to attract wishy-washy prospects to your campus. As you may have noticed, today’s teenage prospect (and their parents) are sometimes hesitant to commit to a campus visit if you and your program aren’t at the very top of your list. An effective strategy we’ve seen work is to tell your recruit and their family that you need (not want, need) them to visit campus as soon as possible so that you can go over your plan for them, and – assuming it’s an athlete that you’ve decided you want in your program – talk about the offer you’re going to be making them. Including them in a select group, and giving them a specific reason for needing to come to campus, is turning out to be a compelling draw for many recruits. Consider it when you find yourself in the scenario I just described.
Ask for an early commitment so that your recruit becomes part of an exclusive group. We find that a lot of recruits are wary of committing early, especially to a program that hasn’t done well in the past, need an extra push at the end of the recruiting process. Again, turning to those two proven psychological needs might provide you with the answer you’re looking for: Try suggesting that you want them to be one of your recruits that gives you an early commitment so that they can be a part of a select group of your new athletes that you can start preparing early for their upcoming college career. In other words, use the early commitment to place your prospect in an exclusive group that leads them to make a commitment, or explain why they aren’t ready.

You can expand this concept into other areas of your recruiting, as well. The main point here is that more coaches need to try to formulate a strategy to find a way to get your recruit into a group that they want to be in. They have a need to be included, and feel like they belong.

If you can find a way to do that, you’ll find that it’ll make a difference to the recruits you really want.

Want more ideas on how to use the latest research and recruiting strategies to your advantage? We’ve got lots of great resources for serious college coaches. Click here to take a look at what we can do for you, Coach!

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Why a Good “P.S.” Might Just Be What Your Recruiting Message NeedsMonday, December 5th, 2011

Here’s the shocking truth about the letters and emails you’re writing:

They might be missing their most effective ending.

That ending?

Your “P.S.”

Adding a P.S. statement after your main text is one of the most effective selling techniques any coach, at any level, can start implementing as a part of their recruiting campaigns. For our clients, we try to incorporate a “P.S.” into their message on a regular basis. The reason is simple: It works.

Why does it work? There’s actually some science behind the explanation.

We’re naturally “wired” to remember the last thing we read. Whatever the message, we stand a much better chance of recalling the last part of what we were told. Whether its a fictional story, a sales letter that you get in the mail, or a recruiting email read by your prospect, in each instance the thing we say last is remembered the most.

So, if you’re looking to add some punch to your recruiting messages, here are the general rules you’ll want to follow:

Hint at what could be lost. “Fear of loss” is a powerful emotion. Nobody want’s to lose something that could be their’s for the taking. Your prospects, and their parents, are no different. Hinting at a potential loss of attention, a future roster spot, or an invitation to visit campus can be a powerful motivator when it comes to responding to you.
Lay out what they might gain. An even stronger motivator is explaining, in a detailed “P.S.”, what the result of your desired action will be. Give them one or two things that they will gain personally from responding to you as you’ve instructed.
Add some urgency. That could come in the form of a soft deadline of some kind, or at least a date that they need to respond to you by. I am a huge believer in giving recruits direction when it comes to their response to you, and adding urgency is a proven way to do that.
Make it short and to the point. No more than two sentences, three short ones at the most. But since it’s the last thing they’ll see – and remember – in your message, make it memorable!
Make it say “oh by the way”. Write it in a very conversational, oops-I-almost-forgot-to-tell-you way. In fact, if you aren’t sending out very many, one of my favorite recommendations to the coaches we work with is a handwritten P.S. statement. Talk about getting their attention in a memorable way! Keep in mind, however, that doing this will draw their eyes immediately down to the bottom of your message. So make sure it refers to something that you said earlier in your letter or email so that they’ll go back and re-read what they just skipped.

For those of you who have read our two popular recruiting guides for more advanced college recruiters, you’ll remember that you learned all about the motivations behind why today’s recruit choose to either ignore or respond to particular messages. Use that inside knowledge of how prospects’ minds tick when you’re putting together that last memorable P.S. statement.

Think about the idea of the last thing we read being the thing we most remember: Now ask yourself, “What are my recruits thinking as they finish reading my email or letter?”

Ready to have the staff at Tudor Collegiate Strategies come to your campus to work with your coaches? Let us apply our unique approach and cutting-edge research to your specific situation on your campus…click here.

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What Are Prospects Seeing When They Look at YOUR Program?Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

To answer that question, you really need to think of yourself as a box of Fruit Loops. Specifically, the packaging that the cereal comes in.

Ever thought about how you “package” your program?

As a serious college recruiter, you should.

The reason is simple: We all want to know what’s inside the package…we all want to know just who the heck that other person, or that new product, is.

Everything else in this world that you buy as a consumer is packaged very carefully, after a lot of research and study and focus-grouping. Advertisers tweak the font size, change pictures on the cover, worry about what to say on the sides and back of a package. From a DVD to a box of cereal, the packaging is everything.

Why?

• Because much of the time, what you decide to buy depends upon how it is packaged.
• Because much of the time, whether you buy it again depends upon how it was packaged.
• Because much of the time, whether you talk about it with others depends upon how it was packaged.

But as a college coach, you often ask your prospects to suspend their desire to see great “packaging” as you recruit them to your program. Not deliberatively, but by default.

You see, psychological studies of how we decide to buy show that most American teens – having grown up in a culture of branding and over-marketing – need to assign a “story” to whatever the decide to have an emotional connection with.

For example, when deciding what music to listen to, the number one factor in their mind is answering the all-important question, “What does it stand for?” Is it what a tough guy would listen to? Does the singers fashion style match their own? Does the singer’s world-view, politics or religion line-up with what they believe in? In this example, it’s not just about the music: It’s about what the music stands for, and how it’s packaged.

However, like I said a moment ago, I see college coaches all over the country not paying attention to their “packaging” and what the “brand” of their program says to the prospect they are desperate to come and play for them. And then, they get frustrated when the prospect doesn’t seem to be interested and isn’t “connecting” with what they’re saying during the recruiting process.

While your message and “story” are going to be different than your competitions, and every situation is completely unique when it comes to developing a good brand strategy for your individual program at your college, there are a few key ingredients to putting together a winning brand that defines who you are, and why a prospect should be interested in taking a serious look at you. I’ll tell you about them by asking you some questions I’d like you to answer in your mind as you read them:

• How does your prospect define you? In the end, it actually doesn’t matter much what you think of your program. If it’s not being received in a positive way by your prospect, they won’t connect with you. And if they don’t connect, they won’t come. That’s why when I am asked to come and conduct our on-campus workshop at a college campus, one of the priorities for me is to do research with groups of student-athletes on how they define the school, and why they connected with the coach’s message. It’s the first question that needs to be answered to build out the rest of your message and define what the program’ “package” looks like in the mind of your prospect.

• Does your story match their expectations? Generic brands on supermarket shelves are huge money-makers for the store. Their profit margin is much higher than other name brand products. However, it’s hard for the store to sell those brands. Even though they put them at eye level and give you discounts compared to the other name brands, we resist buying them despite the fact that many of them are manufactured by the same people who produce the name brand items. Why is this? Because the packaging often misses our expectations. Not enough color, not the familiar iconic image on the front (where’s my Toucan Sam?!?) or just plain unfamiliarity with how it looks. Inside, it’s a great product (or at least as good as the name brand). Outside, it doesn’t meet our expectations. So, Coach…does your story and your “packaging” connect with what today’s student-athletes are looking for in a coach and a program?

• Do your testimonials tell the story? Do you have athlete testimonials and stories on file? On your website? Are your prospects reading them? If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, you are missing out on an incredible marketing opportunity for your program. On the front of almost every DVD you buy, there’s some critical acclaim quoted by a movie reviewer right at the top for you to see. Look on the back cover of almost every book, and you’ll find praises for the work from other authors or experts in that particular field. Why is so much prominent space reserved for testimonials? Because they work. We trust a third-party verifier’s glowing words of praise more than we’d trust the author saying it themselves. For those of you that have read our two advanced recruiting workbooks for college coaches, you know how to construct believable, recruiting-enhancing arguments on behalf of your program as told by your past and current athletes.

• Do you know what they’re saying behind your back? I remember an experience nearly two years ago when I was unexpectedly “upgraded” to a brand new Toyota Camry at the car rental counter. At the time, I jokingly asked what I did to deserve that, and she replied that a lot of people didn’t want to drive their Toyotas because of the braking and acceleration problems that forced the recall of thousands of cars around the country (I’m guessing she gave me the once-over and figured I was expendable as she assigned my waiting-to-be-recalled Toyota) For my organization, even though we hold our client list in strict confidence and make a point not to publish testimonials, our biggest source of new clients for our Total Recruiting Solution program are other coaches. They are “talking behind my back”, but in a positive way. In Toyota’s case, the public was “talking behind their back” in a very bad way a few years ago, and it dramatically affected their business. But either way, they’re talking. What are they saying about your packaging and your brand behind your back?

Your program’s packaging is so important because it precedes everything else in the recruiting process in your prospect’s eyes. Your first impression when they give you that first look is crucial.

Pay attention to your packaging. Your prospect is.

Perfecting your brand image in the mind of recruits is just one of the session topics we’ll be exploring in greater detail at the upcoming National Collegiate Recruiting Conference. Register now to take advantage of our early registration discount and save big on the cost to attend. And, if you can’t be there, order our conference DVD and notes and see every presentation at this year’s conference. Click here to reserve your copy.

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The Value of Being First in RecruitingSunday, November 6th, 2011

Will Ferrell’s character Ricky Bobby said it best in the movie “Talladega Nights”:

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

O.K., so maybe we won’t go to that ridiculous extreme. However, when it comes to recruiting, we’re finding that being first is a huge advantage for the college coaches who can manage to be the initial contact for a prospective athlete. Especially if you’re a coach who is still at the game as a prospect’s final two or three choices.

Here’s why:

Most of today’s recruits, for some reason, have a strong allegiance to the first program that recruits them. Big or small, winning or losing, close to home or far away from home, it doesn’t matter…recruits have strong feelings for the first coach and program that they have contact with.

We know this because when we conduct research and focus groups on campuses around the country, the vast majority of current college student-athletes talk about making their decision and describe having a strong allegiance to the program that they first heard from, even if it isn’t a program that would be a good choice on paper. In other words, some of the critical filters that a prospect might judge another program through don’t apply to that first program that shows serious interest.

Their comments on why this is true range from the serious to the just plain odd. Here’s a sample from comments we’ve heard in just the past few months:

“I just figured that I the first school that recruited me meant more to me than the others.”
“As I thought about it, I guess I realized that because they saw me first and contacted first, they should be my first choice.”
“My parents said to choose the program that I thought wanted me the most, and so I went with the one who was talking to me the longest and was most persistent.”
“At first it wasn’t really important to me that ____ was the first school that recruited me. But at the end, I came back to them because they were first and I realized that I was comparing everyone else to the them anyway. So I decided it made sense to come here.”
“I was really confused at the end, and started stressing out. So I just figured the coach that talked to me first probably believed in me first, and so I ended up committing to her program. And it’s been great!”

There are a couple of serious points that I’ve settled on over the years when it comes to the whole idea of being a coach who is first to contact an athlete. Here’s why I see this being a strategy that’s worth considering if you’re a coach who wants to put this “tie-breaker” in your favor when it comes to decision time:

Being first is better than being last. This comes from the question I get a lot when we first start working with coaches one-on-one in a client relationship: “Should we jump in early, or wait until later on and hope they don’t like their initial choices?” Easy answer. Be first. By a nearly 4 to 1 margin, we’re finding that athletes trend towards programs who recruit them earlier rather than later.

Consistency matters over the long run. It’s true all of the time with this generation of recruits, but it’s especially important if you want to maintain the advantage of being first. Don’t let-up when it comes to the emails, letters and phone calls. Consistency is something that always wins, and it really underscores the standing you have as the first program to recruit them.

One thing they don’t want early? Pressure. Show excitement early, but avoid talk about a deadline for making a decision or any kind of early pressure to visit campus. Take your time – which you should have the luxury of doing since you are starting early! If you wait until later to recruit a prospect (unavoidable at times, I realize) then you may need to put more pressure on them simply because of deadlines you are facing. But just understand that pressure at the start isn’t a great way to win the majority of recruits.

The other person who really values the first program? Your prospect’s coach. Interesting, but true. We find that coaches have a strong allegiance to the first program to reach out to their athlete, especially if it’s a program that isn’t a traditional power or that hasn’t had a lot of coaches contact their recruits. So, along with your prospect, make sure your recruiting plan has a focus of reaching out and selling your recruit’s coach on your program.

With recruiting calendars continuing to get pushed back earlier and earlier, you have the opportunity to implement this strategy really easily. For some of you that are Division I and II coaches, this is going to become the new standard for successful programs. Make sure you are always on the front end of the recruiting timeline with your prospects.

If you are a Division III coach, I’d encourage you to start actively recruiting Juniors who are on your list at this point. Not enough Division III coaches are recruiting Juniors, so those of you who start now will find yourself having a big advantage while your competition remains stuck in following an older-style recruiting timeline.

And, if you’re a NAIA program, the rules really allow you to contact athletes earlier than anyone else. And, you can use more communication methods to recruit earlier. Are you taking advantage of it?

Whatever your situation, there is a lot of value in being first in recruiting. Make sure you are the one that wins that early battle.

There are outstanding ideas we have for you on video from the 2010 and 2011 National Collegiate Recruiting Conferences! If you want insider secrets on ways to recruit more effectively from fellow coaches and respected national experts, make them part of your coaching library. Click here for all the details.

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One Stupid Thing College Coaches Do To Depress Their New ProspectsTuesday, November 1st, 2011

Yes, it’s stupid.

The good news? It’s easy to fix.

Actually, the fact that it’s so ”easy” is what makes it so stupid, in my opinion.

I’m talking about your new prospects who do what you want them to do by going online, finding your program’s web page, hunting down the recruiting questionnaire link, taking the time to fill out the form, and then click “Submit”.

Many coaches’ reaction to that effort?

Nothing.

No immediate response. No courtesy email. No follow-up phone call or letter. Nothing.

This is starting to come to light through some of our recent focus groups with client athletes on college campuses around the country. What we’re hearing is that at the start of the recruiting process, coaches are dropping the ball by not immediately replying back to those new prospects who take the time to fill out the form that you’ve provided on your website.

As they explain it, they are disappointed because they are excited to have made a psychological commitment to filling out the form and “choosing” the college in a small way. Filling out an online form, which is probably an afterthought for most adults, is a huge choice for a teenage prospect. They don’t fill out forms for fun; it’s a sign of interest. It’s a vote in your favor. It’s a choice they are making.

Coaches, on the other hand, don’t usually show the same enthusiasm in response to that allegiance. On average, it takes college coaches anywhere from two weeks to five month to respond to Junior or Senior athlete inquiries to their programs.

And that’s where we wander into “stupid” territory, Coach…

By not sending some kind of response to your new potential recruit, you run the risk of having them assume you aren’t interested. And why shouldn’t they? Have you tried filling out the form on your website? It takes quite a bit of time, according to your prospects. Anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the sport and the information you are asking them to submit.

So what’s the fix for correcting this stupid oversight, and prevent your prospects from feeling down and depressed about not getting a response? As is usually the case, the answer is simple:

Respond.

A good solution: Include an auto-responder tied to your online web form that they’re filling out. This is the simplest, but least personal, reply that you can use because it’s automated. There is no required interaction on your part. That makes it easy, and also makes it inexcusable not to use.
A better solution: Send a quick personal email to them anytime you get a new inquiry or submission. Nothing fancy, but something that tells the athlete that they didn’t just get an automatic reply message. Let them know that you saw their information, and you’ll be talking to them further. “Hey Chris, just got your information that you sent us in our online recruiting form. I’ll be looking it over and will start telling you about what we’re all about here. Thanks again…talk to you soon! – Coach Johnson” That’s a 20 second investment of your time. The pay-off is huge.
The best solution: In the message above, add two things that you liked about their information that they just gave you. An award they won, a time or mark that they’ve achieved, their grade point average…something that tells them that you actually took a minute to evaluate them, and something that positively identifies some areas where there might be interest on your part. That’s an additional two minute investment on your part, but it will pay big dividends.

So, if you’re a coach that is reading this and you feel like you aren’t taking the right steps towards kicking-off your relationship with these new prospects in the best way possible, here’s a good first step for you: Take the list of prospects that have filled out your online form and create a personal reply to them immediately. Apologize for the time it’s taken to get back to them, and let them know that you’re reviewing their information and will be in touch soon. Then, plug them in to your regular series of recruiting messages that you hopefully have put in place.

Simple as that.

This is a small detail, but an important one for your prospects. When they click “Submit” and send you the information that you say you want from them, the clock is ticking…and they are waiting. What is your response – or lack of response – communicating to them?

Are you looking to get more in-depth knowledge about recruiting, what today’s prospects look for, and how to communicate more effectively with recruits? Join your fellow coaches from around the country at the upcoming National Collegiate Recruiting Conference. Get all the details here, and consider investing some time this Summer to improve the most important part of your coaching career: Knowing how to recruit effectively!

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Facilities: Just How Important Are They to Your Recruits?Monday, October 17th, 2011

There is an important change that takes place at some point between you recruiting your prospect, and that prospect joining your team family on campus.

And the more you understand it, the more you’ll be successful at clearning some important hurdles in recruiting.

It’s a change that many college coaches aren’t conscious of as they build out their recruiting plans, and it ends up hurting their efforts to attract the best prospects to campus. The change I’m talking about probably does more to impede the success of how a coach goes about recruiting than any other factor I have seen in many years of working with college coaches around the country.

Here’s what you need to know:

Your prospects have a change in their mindset when they come on to campus as a new recruit. They aren’t looking for all of the same things that they were as a prospect that you were recruiting. At the same time, once they officially become a member of your team, there are a totally separate set of things that they are now seeking…and their long-term success as an athlete in your program hinges on how you respond to those needs.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about, and why it’s important for success-minded college coaches to pay attention to it…

Our national studies show that a programs facilities – the track, the weight room, stadium, and other areas where they will spend time as an athlete – actually factors very little into their final decision as to whether or not they accept your offer. Yet, facilities and the surroundings are usually one of the things that a coach will primarily focus on in their recruiting; moreover, I’ve seen coaches base their entire recruiting strategy around what they feel those facilities will sell to a potential student-athlete.

However, facilities are important! Especially when that same athlete joins your program and is now a part of the family. When that happen, your facilities take on added importance because the condition of those facilities can directly effect their experience at your school. Once they are on campus as a student-athlete, it matters to them because you they are directly effected by the surroundings that they find themselves in.

The bottom line to the example I’m citing is that there is a change in perspective that is happening in the mind of this athlete. As a prospect, your facilities are not going to be what finally draws them to your program; conversely, all of the facilities might be what makes them stay with your program.

The disconnect I see with coaches is that they are approaching prospects in the same manner that they are seeing their current athletes’ view of their facilities: Some coaches think facilities are what draws the athlete to their program when they are a high school prospect.

For the most part, that’s incorrect.

Now, there might be instances where facilities – or some other aspect of your program – drives them away from seriously considering you. And a new, wonderful facility might be something that they end up listing as a smart reason to have picked your program in the end. But in both instances, facilities are not the overriding reason for choosing a school or a program, according to our research.

There are three other big changes in perspectives that we’ve noticed taking place in the mind of student-athletes once they become athletes at a school versus just being prospects of a school:

The quality of the equipment and uniforms. On their visit while you are recruiting them, this is something that isn’t even on the prospect’s radar of what makes a great program that they would consider. Once they become a part of your team, this one out-ranks facilities as something that will cause dissatisfaction and frustration.
The academic support that they receive during their Freshman and Sophomore years. As a high school recruit, this is something that doesn’t even enter the mind of most prospects. And that’s understandable, since they don’t have any idea of what most college programs do to ensure academic success of their incoming class. Once they are on campus, its something that they cite as one of the most important aspects of their early college athletic experience.
The social integration of the different teams and athletes within the athletic department. Did you know that this is an area that most Athletic Directors and Coaches overlook completely? Afterall, your job is to produce winners not run a cruise ship activities calendar, right? Yes, but I hear over and over again from your athletes that are interviewed when we fly in and do an On-Campus Workshop at schools that they wish there was more of an effort to “connect” all of the athletes within the program and across sports. That’s something that they won’t be looking for as an incoming recruit, but it will be something that they expect once they are a part of your program.

Again, the importance of what I’m telling you exists in the way you approach each set of kids. If you focus too heavily on these issues that I just listed with your prospects, you may not be touching on subject matter that is important to them…yet.

But if you fail to focus on them once they get to campus as one of your athletes, you can expect that you are going to have to deal with frustrated athletes who won’t be afraid to look elsewhere for other opportunities with other programs.

Facilities, uniforms and equipment, team unity and academic support are all things that can make or break the recruiting experience with many of your prospects. The secret to recruiting success is about how a coach balances the two different mindsets between the time that their kids are prospects and when they are part of the team.

This is just one of the topics we’ll be covering at the National Collegiate Recruiting Conference. Click here to get the details and find out why you need to be there with your fellow recruiters!

And, if you want to watch past conferences and take away the material we’ve covered in the past, you can order them here. They come with a complete workbook and a full 3-DVD compilation of everything that was covered. It’s one of the best recruiting learning tools available today! Click here for all the details.

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Why “Relaxed” Prospects Are WAY Better Than “Excited” ProspectsMonday, August 22nd, 2011

You know how you want to create an exciting campus recruiting visit, with wall-to-wall fun and non-stop heart-pumping activities for your guest prospect?

Well, what if I told you there was emerging science that showed it’s actually the calm and relaxed recruit that is more likely to buy what you’re selling at your program?

It’s true.

Researchers at Columbia University did extensive marketing studies that found relaxed subjects in their experiments assigned more value (and volunteered to pay much more) for the same products that “excited” subjects were less willing to pay more for. Overall, the relaxed subjects assigned higher monetary values to the items than the control group. The researchers determined that this effect was an inflation of the value by the relaxed subjects rather than a deflation by the less-relaxed subjects.

That’s, for example, why high end car dealerships have big, comfortable leather chairs and soft music playing. And, it’s why those same dealerships get you to focus on the feeling you’ll have driving that new car, instead of closing the sale with gas mileage statistics and other features. They know that a more relaxed customer is going to be more likely to buy than an excited customer.

This matches the overwhelming comments we hear from current college athletes we interview during focus group sessions as a part of our On-Campus Workshops: They much preferred just “hanging out” with members of a prospective team instead of the highly scheduled itineraries that most prospects are subjected to by some college coaches (if that word “subjected” sounded a little too much like a prisoner being forced to do things outlawed by international accords, good…that’s what I was going for).

Not that excitement doesn’t have a place in the recruiting process, of course. Much of the time, you need to get them excited about what you have to offer before you can reassure them in a relaxing manner as they get nervous in the later stages of the recruiting process. However, there’s a time to focus on relaxation and reassurance, and a campus visit - something many of you are going to be hosting in large numbers over the next few months – is the perfect place to give your important recruits that feeling that will compel them to choose you over your competition.

So, what should you be aiming for in a more “relaxed” and calming interaction with your next recruit? Here are some ideas that we’ve seen work in the past:

Make the planning of their visit to campus more collaborative. In other words, rather than dictating their campus visit from start to finish before they get to campus, let them be a part of the planning process. Ask them what they’d like to do, and what they wouldn’t. Let them feel like they’ve helped design the visit, which should result in them feeling a little more relaxed coming to your campus for the first time.
Have one or two of your team write a short, non-sales note to them prior to the visit. I’d recommend an actual hand-written note versus an email or Facebook message. The more personal, the better. Let them know that there are friends waiting for them that are looking forward to the visit. That little gesture can go a long way in relaxing your recruit.
Start the visit slowly, but with something “big” to think about. This is one of the biggest mistakes we see otherwise savvy recruiters make: They don’t paint a big picture for their visiting recruit to consider while they are on campus. An exact offer, what their plan for them is if they come to compete for that program…something “big”. Why is that part of relaxing the prospect? Your prospects, we find, are looking for more detailed specifics of why you want them, and what their role would be, if they do indeed choose your program. Giving that to them right at the start could enable them to take a deep breath, get their big question out of the way, and let them spend the rest of the visit figuring out if you’re the right fit for them or not. And the more relaxed you make it for them, the better that ”right fit” feeling will come across.
Carve out LOTS of casual time with your team. There’s a growing body of research that we’re putting together that demonstrates one of the most powerful weapons you have as a recruiter is one that you actually choose to bypass as a part of a recruit’s visit: Casual, relaxed “hang out” time with your team. Specifically, I’m talking about time that is non-structured, where your recruit and a few of the younger members of your team can just sit and talk. No coaches, no parents, no structure. Trust me, it works.
Set a reasonable deadline for a decision. What, am I crazy??? A deadline as a part of “relaxing” a prospect? Yes. As you are ending that nice, relaxed campus visit, I’d let them know that you’ve loved having them on campus and (if they are someone you’re ready to hear a ”yes” from) ask them if they’d like to commit. Most of the time, they’ll want to delay that decision. Let them know that it’s not a problem, and then give them a general date that they can take to think about your opportunity that you’ve just presented them. Ideally, two to three weeks unless they’ve already outlined future campus visits that would take them past that point (but you can make it longer, if needed). This tactic achieves two important things: One, it reassures them that you want them and that you’re offering them an opening for making that commitment. Secondly, you appear to be reasonable with the amout of time you’re giving them to consider your offer; most of the feedback we get from prospects after the fact is that a timeline like that seems “fair”. What I like about it is that it puts you in control of the process and gives them some reasonable guidelines for making a decision.

Relaxed prospects are in a better position to make a life-changing decision like this more quickly, and with more confidence.

So, as you begin hosting a new group of recruits on campus, ask yourself (and your team) this important question: “How can we re-tool our campus visit and make it a more relaxing, less hectic experience for all of our upcoming recruits?”

We’re working with our growing list of clients to help them create better (more relaxed) campus visits right now. And, we’re identifying and creating more effective recruiting message content that is resulting in more high-level recruits showing interest in their programs.

Want us to help you? Schedule a time to talk one-on-one with Dan Tudor by emailing him at dan@dantudor.com. It’s more affordable than you may think, and the results are turning heads on campuses across the country. See if it’s the right fit for you, Coach!

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How to Win Friends and Influence People (Including Your Recruits!)Monday, July 18th, 2011

When it comes to selling and interpersonal relationships, the master of them all is Dale Carnegie.

Even if you’ve never read his legendary business books, you probably have heard of one of his most famous titles: “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” It is considered one of the foundational texts of sales and communication best practices in the business world.

Is there a way to apply his principles into your recruiting efforts? You bet.

Here are the first three of his six famous principles, with some slight adjustments for college coaches and their recruiting needs:

PRINCIPLE #1: Become Genuinely Interested in Other People

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? And yet, for many of today’s college recruiters, this is the one that is the most difficult – or certainly the most frustrating.

The primary reason this develops into a rather large hurdle for many coaches is because of the two conflicting points of view: Recruits want to get to know you and aren’t in a hurry to do it. You, on the other hand, have deadlines and decisions you are juggling. You have three scholarships to give, and eight prospects you are recruiting.

These two totally different perspectives make it hard to really invest in becoming genuinely interested. Challenging, but not impossible. Some ways to show that you are genuinely interested in them that they will take note of? One of the biggest ways is to send your recruits short, hand-written notes that are specifically about them. Another way is to spend the first five minutes of your next phone conversation asking them about something personal, but not athletics related. Their dad’s new job…the upcoming vacation their family is going to take…anything that allows you to ask open-ended questions that don’t “sell” your school or sound like the same questions you’ve asked your other twenty recruits.

PRINCIPLE #2: Smile

Why was a smile so important to Dale Carnegie? Because it changes attitudes and affects people’s outlook and opinion of you.

I dug-up some really interesting studies that have been done on “effective smiling” in researching for this article. The most interesting was a study done in 2007 which found smiles that are viewed as authentic tended strongly to be those that were long and sustained. It also found that tilting your head while producing that kind of smile strongly gives the impression that you are genuinely interested in the other person, and you are viewed as more trustworthy by the other person.

The study also found that men who produced long, sustained smiles were judged more authentic than women who did the same. However, females were found to be the better judges of which individuals were “faking” a smile and which ones were genuine.

Minor stuff? Maybe. But when we are asked by athletic directors and coaches to come to their campus and train them on the latest effective recruiting techniques, those staffs are usually interested in the little things that can set them apart from their competition. Consider this one of those little things that might just connect with prospects you are recruiting.

PRINCIPLE #3: Remember That a Person’s Name is to That Person the Sweetest and Most Important Sound in Any Language

The reason? We want to feel important, and hearing your own name from someone else’s lips is satisfying and ego-boosting. Plus, psychologists say that it creates a feeling of connecting with the person that is saying your name back to you.

This principle is simple to put into practice during your recruiting. For example, one of the things we strongly suggest to coaches we are helping plan and execute their recruiting campaigns is to try and use the prospect’s name at least two or three times in every email or letter. When you are speaking with that person – especially over the phone – reply to their questions by starting with their name: “Jason, I think what you are going to like most about our business school is…” Say their name as much as possible.

These three principles are part of the foundation of selling and relating to people developed by the undisputed expert of personal selling and relationships, Dale Carnegie. They’ve been a foundation for successful companies throughout our country, and they can work for you as a recruiter, too.

Another way to master the fundamentals of recruiting this generation of athletes? Read our ground-breaking study of how today’s prospects make their final decision, and our recruiting workbooks for college coaches on mastering the latest recruiting techniques. They’ve helped hundreds of college recruiters become better with their interactions with today’s teenage prospects!

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Dan Tudor

Struggling Prospects, and What You Should Do to Help Them (and Your Recruiting)Monday, April 9th, 2012

Four Facts to Focus On That Your Recruits REALLY Care AboutMonday, February 27th, 2012

Should You Use Assimilation or Differentiation with Your Next Prospect?Monday, December 19th, 2011

Why a Good “P.S.” Might Just Be What Your Recruiting Message NeedsMonday, December 5th, 2011

What Are Prospects Seeing When They Look at YOUR Program?Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

The Value of Being First in RecruitingSunday, November 6th, 2011

One Stupid Thing College Coaches Do To Depress Their New ProspectsTuesday, November 1st, 2011

Facilities: Just How Important Are They to Your Recruits?Monday, October 17th, 2011

Why “Relaxed” Prospects Are WAY Better Than “Excited” ProspectsMonday, August 22nd, 2011

How to Win Friends and Influence People (Including Your Recruits!)Monday, July 18th, 2011

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Dan Tudor

Struggling Prospects, and What You Should Do to Help Them (and Your Recruiting)Monday, April 9th, 2012

Four Facts to Focus On That Your Recruits REALLY Care AboutMonday, February 27th, 2012

Should You Use Assimilation or Differentiation with Your Next Prospect?Monday, December 19th, 2011

Why a Good “P.S.” Might Just Be What Your Recruiting Message NeedsMonday, December 5th, 2011

What Are Prospects Seeing When They Look at YOUR Program?Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

The Value of Being First in RecruitingSunday, November 6th, 2011

One Stupid Thing College Coaches Do To Depress Their New ProspectsTuesday, November 1st, 2011

Facilities: Just How Important Are They to Your Recruits?Monday, October 17th, 2011

Why “Relaxed” Prospects Are WAY Better Than “Excited” ProspectsMonday, August 22nd, 2011

How to Win Friends and Influence People (Including Your Recruits!)Monday, July 18th, 2011

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