Here’s a question for you, coach: How many times have you gone into a home on a recruiting trip with that feeling in your gut that’s telling you, "Here we go again…same old presentation, same old techniques."
Hey, its tough. One of our Premium Members I talked to recently likened it to reciting the same old script, in the same movie, in the same costume day after day after…well, you get the idea.
That got me to thinking: What are some presentation techniques I that haven’t seen from a lot of coaches? I’ve worked with enough over the past two years or so, and when I really thought about what I see working and what I don’t see that probably would work well, the list got pretty long.
So, I’m calling these top choices my "four overlooked secrets" when it comes to persuasive presentations. Four techniques that can shake up your recruiting visits and the way you approach your prospects year around…
- Tell stories about failure. Most home recruiting visits consist of boasting, bragging, and tearing down a competitor. They want to cram as many success stories down the throat of their prospects as possible in the hour or two they have in the home. So, one recommendation that I’ll make is to tell stories of athletes that have failed at your school – IF that failure was the result of a poor choice they made or advice that wasn’t followed during their time under you as their coach. Telling a story about failure can enhance your credibility, and let the athlete know that you’re being honest with them in what mistakes not to make once they commit to your program. One more word of advice: Make sure not to use the real names of athletes that are the subject of your failure stories…your prospect will want to know that you’ll keep their mistakes and failures confidential if they occur.
- Understate rather than Overstate. Instead of making promises of stardom and glory and happily-ever-after, present a range of possibilities that might happen in the athlete’s career at your school. Don’t promise them the starting job; instead, let them know what kind of competition they’ll face along with the promise of an equal shot at the job. In general, promise on the minimum you can deliver. You know what will happen? Your prospect will "add to" your minimum promise in their mind, instead of "discount" your pie-in-the-sky promises that are too good to be true – that’s human nature, coach.
- Never feel bad about taking the "underdog" role. Why? People (even your prospects and their parents) have a tendancy to root for the underdog IF a compelling story is presented that builds the case for them joining your quest to build a champion. Too many coaches I talk to are ready to jump off of the gym roof if they finish last in their conference or take over a struggling program. Instead of shying away from being the underdog, embrace it! But do so with the right approach and the right motivation for your prospect to "join the revolution" and becoming a champion.
- Plant questions you’d like your competitors to address. Attacking your competitors directly comes off as petty and unprofessional (in fact, it causes more lost prospects than you might think). But during your conversation with your prospect, you can bring up issues, questions or topics that would raise doubts about your competitors. This is a good subtle way of planting questions in the mind of your prospect that they’ll want to raise if and when they talk to a competitive school that would recruit them. Done correctly, this is a great technique for raising your stock in the mind of your prospect.
