by Dan Christensen, Tudor Collegiate Strategies
Say “no”? But, we want them to say “yes”, Dan!
I know. I know.
But, the reality is the majority of the recruits you talk to throughout the process are going to say no.
If you’re a soccer coach looking to bring in eight new players, you might talk to 100 throughout the year. If you’re successful, you got 92 “no’s”.
Ideally, you want to find those eight as soon as you can. One of the most efficient ways to do that is to simultaneously identify the 92 “no’s” as soon as you can.
Here are two ways know it is a “no”:
1) When you stick to your timeline, and they don’t
When it comes to establishing a timeline and more specifically the deadline at the end of it, it is always best to do it in a fair way.
This involves making your prospect aware of how much time they have before you’ll be wrapping up recruiting and moving on.
This also involves sharing the steps of the process and telling a consistent story that explains why that prospect should choose you.
If you do your job by doing all of this and at the end of the timeline, your prospect tells you they need more time to think about it, they’re not upholding their end of the deal.
Almost every single time this happens, the prospect is telling you know without telling you know. They don’t want to definitively tell you they don’t want to come to your school, so instead they tell you they just want more time to think about it. If you give them more time, the answer will probably be the same.
If you don’t set a timeline and aren’t clear in your communication, it can be a lot harder to really identify whether or not the prospect really needs more time or is just telling you “no” without coming right out and saying it.
2) When you ask what their concerns are, offer an opportunity to figure it out, and they don’t take you up on it
I was having a conversation with a Tudor Collegiate Strategies client who was dealing with a prospect that was being very hesitant.
Her concern was that she didn’t already know anyone on the team. And so she wanted to also look at schools that had players she already knows. It was a concern about familiarity with the team.
So, the coach offered for her to both receive a phone call from a current freshman on the team as well as attend an upcoming ID camp where she would have a chance to meet the team.
If the recruit is actually still considering this coach’s school, she would take him up on these offers to figure out how she feels about the team
If she isn’t willing to take these steps though, that is a very strong sign that she really just doesn’t know how to tell this coach “no” and is just coming up with excuses instead of being straightforward.
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Want help being more efficient with how you figure out who is serious about your program and who is not? Dan Christensen and the team at TCS can advise you and teach you the recruiting skills you need to be better at identifying what your recruit is thinking. Email Dan at danchristensen@dantudor.com to set up a strategy call.