by Mandy Green, Busy Coach
You already know that not all recruits are equal. Some are program changers, some will come in and develop, and some are going to be practice players for you.
Hopefully you have adjusted your frequency of communication depending on the group, because it shouldn’t the same.
Most coaches that I talk to, I’d say, are treating every recruit the same and as a result, wasting a TON of time, and usually end up dropping the ball on the best kids because you get sucked into responding to the average kids who have fewer options and so are more responsive.
Here is how I would organize the communication that goes to each group to stay on top of the best recruits for your program.
The program changers need to get a letter and some emails every 6-9 days explaining why they should choose you and why you are the better choice. They also should be getting texts and phone calls from you where you ask really good questions and then listen, so you can hear from them what you need to do to get their commitment. You will never learn anything from a recruit if you are doing all of the talking.
Letter & Email – Sell your program every 6-9 days with calls to action.
Texts & Phone – Build Relationships every week with calls to action.
You don’t need to give them a call to action in every communication, but we need to be creating movement with this group so we can always be seeing if they are trending towards you or away from you.
For your top group, I would also but my attention on their parents to get them on board with what you are doing. You are going to make your job much harder if you don’t sell the parents on your school, division, the cost, or the value you can provide over your competitors,
The less talented kids, who would be more of a walk-on, I believe should get half as much communication from you.
Reuse the same content you sent to the top kids to save time but send only 1-2 emails (no letters because of the time and cost) and change the language from “we want you” to “just keeping you informed as to what is going on here.” Instead of calls to action in both messages, you only have one so they aren’t blowing up your inbox.
The walk-on type kids get no phone calls, very limited texts, and I wouldn’t spend the time contacting their parents until you decide you are interested in asking them to walk on.
You only have so much time in the day. You need to prioritize the time you do have to spend on recruiting with the group that will make the biggest difference in your program and find ways to repurpose the content you’re sending to save time.
Top recruits need more of your time and energy because if they don’t feel the love from you, they are going to take their talent elsewhere.
Be smart with your time.
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