This is an opportunity for readers of this newsletter to anonymously ask me a question about any aspect of student recruitment, leadership, and professional or personal development. Each week I’ll post my answer for everyone to read.
Q. An Admissions Counselor asks:
“Can you tell me a recruiting secret that you share only with clients?”
A. Thank you for your question! There aren’t really any recruiting “secrets” that I give our clients that I won’t share with you or anyone else who read this newsletter…you just have to ask.
The biggest thing our clients get from me is unlimited access. I understand that recruiting is very situational and constantly changing so I make myself available 24/7. Throughout the year I help our clients develop all kinds of student or demographic specific strategies and communication pieces, and those are “secrets” that I don’t share.
I guess I would say that one of the biggest things I had a lot of conversations about and tried to hammer home to many of our clients this past year, is the idea of talking to the heart and not the head.
We all know that people buy things for emotional rather than logical reasons. Most of the decisions people make are emotional too. Your prospects are no different and many of them decide with their heart and then justify a decision with facts in their head. Whether you’re talking to them in person on your campus or writing them an email or letter, just remember to speak to the heart, not the head of your prospect. That means less numbers, rankings, and statistics and more personalized content on a topic that helps generate an emotional response and create or further a connection.
Here are three questions you should ask if you’re going to talk to the heart and not the head:
- What emotions is this person feeling about this topic? (Excitement, nervousness, stress, hope?)
- What are this person’s emotional wants and needs? (Money, acceptance, security?)
- How can I satisfy them?
Good luck!
-Jeremy