Not all will apply to you, but most of them will.
- Decide what your brand is all about. Define it.
- List three things you know your recruits don’t care about.
- Stop talking about those things. Immediately.
- Every year, read two books about marketing, sales, communication or branding. Start later today.
- One of those books should be this one. Its an easy read, but it will change the way you recruit.
- When you have an extra 17 minutes, watch the author teach you how to get your idea – and recruiting message – to spread.
- Tell your story in a variety of ways.
- That includes social media, but don’t make the mistake in thinking that’s all kids want or need. Far from it.
- Use Facebook if you want to tell your visual social media story to parents.
- Use TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter to tell your visual social media story to your recruits.
- If you aren’t sending old fashioned mail to recruits, your competition is sending it thanks you.
- In any story you tell, how you construct it matters.
- Listen to our special podcast episode on constructing a smarter, more cohesive, story for your recruits.
- Tell them very little about your school and your program when you first reach out to them.
- Remember: They don’t care about you (yet), and are usually hoping someone else recruits them eventually.
- (Assuming you believe #15, how does that change the tone and focus of your first few messages?)
- They’ll believe what the Freshmen on your team tell them way more than what you tell them.
- Consistency > Volume.
- What would your current team send out to their friends back in high school to get them to come play for you? That might be a worthwhile thing to ask them.
- Ask questions in when you tell your story. But make sure their answers aren’t the “right” ones. (Let me explain).
- Don’t be afraid to talk about the scholarship you want to give, or the cost of your school, early on with parents.
- Outline what’s in it for them if after they verbally commit to you. What would they get to do next with you?
- Don’t give up on kids who don’t seem to be engaged with your story. Many are still listening, just not responding yet.
- Don’t worry if they don’t seem to “love” you yet as you’re telling them your story.
- The campus visit is the most vital aspect of your story. How is it a different feel than your competition’s?
- Your story needs to talk about a deadline. Fair, but firm. Don’t be afraid of establishing one.
- At this point, are you still remembering to center everything around #1? It matters to your recruits!
- Stop making recruiting the last thing you do every day. It should be a priority for you. Schedule time for it.
- Look for objections, and happily and enthusiastically address them with your recruit.
- As it gets later in the recruiting process, continue to tell your story.
- What we said earlier about consistency holds true late in the process: They need you to tell them why to pick you.
- Your goal in telling a great recruiting story is to get them to campus. That’s where the decision is made.
- The later it gets in the process, the more they need you to ask them about their process for making a decision.
- Their decision is the central part of THEIR story. And they need you to play the role of asking them to commit.
- As the recruiting process moves forward, the story should get more and more narrow, focused on them specifically.
- Most parents will vote to have them stay close to home, or go to the school that costs less. UNLESS you tell them why your school is the better, smarter choice.
- Ask for the sale. Ask for the sale. Are you ready to hear them say yes? ASK FOR THE SALE.
- If they say “no”, it most likely just means “not yet”. Now ask them “why not?” That moves the story along.
- If they verbally commit with a “yes”, after the celebration, tell them it becomes official with you when they announce it publicly on social media. (I’ve heard the arguments against having them do that, but I’ve seen exponentially better results by following that course of action).
- Get an answer to this question from your prospect: “What were the three biggest reasons you said yes/no?”
Recruiting, like story telling, is a process. Respect that process, and manage it.
Watch what happens when you do.