Many of you just completed the college coaching equivalent of Christmas morning.
A fresh list of new recruits who are eligible to call on the phone: July 1st is exciting! New possibilities, great first conversations, and a lot of first impressions established in the minds of your incoming Senior class of recruits.
The first phone call is in the books.
But what about the next call? And the call after that?
Those phone calls don’t get as much publicity and attention. I get asked all the time – by our clients, as well as other coaches – about what the first phone call should be like. Understandable, since it’s a big way to make a first impression.
However, if you think about it, the phone calls that come next are the most important. The best visual example I can think of is a horse race: Everyone breaks out of the gate at about the same pace, but it’s the 100 yards after the start that determines who is best positioned to establish themselves as the leader.
Which brings us back to phone call #2 and phone call #3. They’re important, and yet I rarely get asked about what kind of approach to take with these calls.
So, let me answer that question for you today. Here are the basic strategies to remember when you’re making phone calls moving forward:
- Look for the signal that it’s o.k. for you to start selling your college and your program. It’s a simple sign: They’ll ask you a question about you, your program or your school. If they haven’t given you that signal yet, you should avoid giving them a laundry list of wonderful things about your program. It will largely fall on deaf ears. They aren’t ready to hear that from you (yet). So, if you aren’t selling, what should you be talking about? Glad you asked…
- Focus on questions about them. The more questions you ask about them, the easier they will find it to talk to you. And if you want them to listen to all of the great things about you and your program down the road, I’d advise you to foster a comfort level with them as you communicate back and forth during these initial phone calls. (If you want more info on asking questions, click here for our list of articles on the topic)
- Keep your phone calls short, especially if you are doing all (or most) of the talking. Our research clearly shows that the length of your phone call does little to strengthen your chances of winning your prospect over. Consistency of your phone calls, as well as topics focused on what your prospect wants to talk about vs. what you want to talk about, are much more impactful in the long run. Try to keep most of your calls under 10 minutes, unless your recruit is driving the conversation.
- Focus on thematic talking points, and stick with them. For example, don’t talk about your coaching philosophy, your facility, how fun the area is, and the history of your program all in the same phone call. It’s virtually impossible for your recruits to take away clear ideas from a conversation that includes so many elements. Instead, pick one topic. Then, use the next two (or three) phone calls to elaborate on that idea, and incorporate questions to your prospect about that particular topic. If you try this approach, you’ll notice a much response from your prospect. It’s one of the approaches that we recommend to our clients who work with us, because its effective.
- Always set up the next conversation. Reveal what you’re going to talk about in phone calls #2 and #3 and beyond. It will keep them tied into the ongoing discussion with you, and get them to stay on track with the themes you’ll be laying out for them. We find that it will also give you the best chance of having them actually pick up the phone and be ready to talk to you in those following phone calls, as well.
- If you’re reading this and you are a client, contact me directly for specific ideas for you and your program when it comes to follow-up phone calls to your recruits. Your strategy needs to be unique, and should be able to stand-out compared to your competition as you begin a new round of phone call contacts with a fresh group of incoming Seniors.
As you get ready to continue your phone calls with your recruits, use these main points as a guide to establishing a foundation for your ongoing communication. You might just find that these next phone calls are like “Christmas morning” all over again!
Getting ready for the start of a new recruiting year with a new recruiting class? Let us help! You can work one-on-one with Dan and his team of experts to bring a better, more systematic approach to your recruiting message. Email Dan directly at dan@dantudor.com or click here for more background on what we do.