Here’s a question, coach: Are you wearing trousers? Or are you wearing pants? The question is not asked lightly. The difference between trousers and pants isn’t one of tailoring the fabric. It’s one of tailoring the wording.
College coaches, who are overloaded with work to begin with, often opt for the "one-size-fits-all" into the wording of written information. Instead of tailoring the words to our intended high school prospects, we just hurridly get a recruiting letter done, figuring whoever reads it will get the point.
No.
That isn’t what professionals do, and its not what college coaches – whose very livlihood depends on swaying good student-athletes to come to their school – should do.
Suppose you’re shopping at a mall. You wander into Neiman Marcus. The clerk asks, "You’ns want dese pants?" Of course, you’d never hear that at N-M. At Neiman Marcus, you buy trousers. At the Gap, you buy pants. In each situation, the terminology matches the comfort level and expectations of the prospective customer. Chico’s ran an online promotion titled "The Perfect Pant Event," with styles ranging from "slim fit" to "trouser fit." Right on. I opened a mailing from Haband because the envelope copy said "pants," not "trousers."
So many coaches who write recruiting letters stumble when they project their own experiential backgrounds onto a force-communication message … instead of taking a moment to look in the mirror and ask, both dispassionately and cold-bloodedly, "Are my words hitting home with my teenage readers?" An easy example of what I’m talking about can be found in the editorial content of newspapers, magazines, and cable news channels. The "undocumented immigrant" and the "illegal alien" may be the same guy, but pre-interpretation colors the effect. Which words to use? It makes a big difference to the person reading them.
Words mean things. They’re important, and they can mean the difference between connecting with a prospect, and losing them to the competition who does a better job of communicating with the prospect.
"Connecting" with an athlete is THE key to getting them to commit to your program. Effective writing is just one of the keys in connecting with your prospect. If you want more good ideas on how to connect with the prospects you really, really want at your school, order our new book "Selling for Coaches" today. We have an entire chapter focusing on connecting with your prospects. It might give you some great ideas on approaching your prospects creatively and effectively.
