Gary, a coach who is a SFC Premium Member, had e-mailed me a copy of a letter he was thinking of sending out to his list of prospects.
But this wasn’t an ordinary recruiting letter. You see, Gary hadn’t stayed in contact with many of his recruits because of some turmoil within his program: One coach was on a leave of absense, and Gary was stepping in to oversee her program. Meanwhile, he was starting his practices and spending a lot of time with his new freshmen recruits. Things were chaotic. And he wanted to share that with his prospects in his latest recruiting letter.
Bad idea, in my opinion.
"Why?" he asked. Afterall, isn’t it a good thing to be transparent and open with your recruits you’re trying to build a relationship with?
The answer is two-fold. When it comes to positives about your program and how it relates specifically to your recruit, our recruiting guides definitely recommend that coaches open-up and share details about themselves and their program, whether those details be about positive or negative events. However, you have to first have a foundational relationship built with your prospect before you’re able to share that kind of inside "family" information with them.
Here’s why you want to be careful about when, why and what you share with your prospects when it comes to stuff that might be considered less than positive:
- It might give them a reason not to choose you. Here’s what I mean: Sometimes parents and athletes who are being recruited by multiple programs are looking for reasons not to choose a program. Think of it as choosing their college by process of elimination. Be careful not to share information that would give a prospect a reason to walk away.
- It may be too soon. There’s info that you’d feel comfortable talking about with your spouse that you wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about with a new coach down the hall. It doesn’t mean that the new coach isn’t a great person. Its simply a matter of not talking about something private inside your immediate family that might be viewed negatively by someone who doesn’t really know you. In time, perhaps they will be ready to be on "the inside". But not just yet.
- It might give them the wrong impression. You think you’re being open and transparent, which we talk about in our two recruiting guides as a positive for recruiters. However, you have to be careful…by sharing certain news, are you leaving yourself open to misinterpretation by your prospect? For instance, you share that the new weightroom you’ve been promising recruits isn’t going to be built for another two years. However, its going to be twice as big as originally planned! Good news, right? Maybe not. Maybe your prospect is stuck with the idea that the new weightroom isn’t being built in time for them when they come on campus…maybe they wonder whether it will be built at all…will it ever get built? Remember, they might be getting a different message than the one you’re sending.
- It can bring the conversation to a screeching stop. Your prospect may not be able to get past the turmoil you’ve shared with them. You may find yourself continuing to come back to answering the same questions over and over. What was a nice, flowing conversation before has turned into a 40-foot high hurdle that you can’t overcome.
Am I saying that you should never share intimate details about your program? No. What I am saying is that its extremely important to use discretion when you’re thinking about sharing something that involves inside information that might be perceived as negative by your recruit, especially towards the beginning of a recruiting relationship.
If you have questions about this topic, or would like Selling for Coaches to work with you, your coaching staff, or your athletic department, please e-mail me personally at dan@sellingforcoaches.com so that we can talk about the hurdles you are facing in your quest to bring in the best recruits possible.
