Whether its over the phone, or in person, the type of questions you ask a prospect can determine how well you connect with that prospect, and – ultimately – how good of a chance you have of landing that prospect on your team’s roster. The right questions are essential to successful recruiting.
Not surprisingly, do you know what one of the most requested topics we get when we do one of our famous On-Campus Seminars? You guessed it: How to ask better questions. Without a doubt, its one of the topics that holds the most interest for coaches. Why? Because one area that most coaches struggle with is effective questioning, and probably the number one thing that coaches have never practiced..
So, what are the best types of questions to ask your prospect? The best questions are open-ended questions…ones that get your prospect to explain themselves, open up, and give you some insights as to what is important to them and how to best recruit them. On the other end of the spectrum, the worst questions to ask are “yes-no” questions. Those are questions that cause your prospect to give a simple “yes” or “no” answer to your questions, which doesn’t help you to connect with them and doesn’t get you into their head as to what they are thinking.
To help you with jump-starting your question asking skills, here are fifteen great open-ended questions that are sure to get your prospect talking. Try them the next time you’re face to face with a prospect you want in your program.
What prompted you to consider our program?
What are your expectations of us and our program?
What thought process will you go through to determine how you’re going to choose a university?
How do you see this happening?
What is it that you’d like to see accomplished during the recruiting process?
What other programs are you already talking with or plan to talk to?
Has any other program been crossed off your list as of right now?
Can you help me understand that a little better?
What does that mean?
What are your thoughts right now in terms of where you’ll be playing next year?
What challenges does the recruiting process create for you and your family?
What are the best things about the recruiting process?
What other items should we discuss?
What do you see as the next action steps for us?
What is your timeline for making your final decision?
Do you see a trend in the words I’ve put in bold type? That’s right…they all revolve around you, them and both people together. In other words, these are questions that get personal, and connect their answers with their thoughts and your desires. You can probably come up with even better questions to ask now that I’ve got you thinking. Just make sure they include lots of “you” and “me” and “us” words.
The point of all these questions is simple, really: Make your prospect open up and tell you more. Asking these types of questions will get you closer to really knowing how to approach your athlete.
By the way, we cover more question-asking techniques in our book, “Selling for Coaches“. Hundreds of coaches have ordered the book over the past few months, and many of those individual coaches and athletic departments have become Premium Members of our program, which gives them even more great training and resources to give them the edge in their recruiting duties. Make sure you’re one of those coaches who are staying-up with the latest techniques and training when it comes to recruiting the best athletes!