In the beginning, there was Match.com.
And lo, after many years, Match.com begot eHarmony.
But not satisfied with the mass market nature of online dating, the people looking for love started looking for niche dating websites. And that begat websites like ChristianMingle.com and jdate.com.
And lo, over the past many years, dating websites have become ultra-specialized. You’re a vegetarian? Try VeggieDate.org. Are you a clown looking for another clown? Try ClownPassions.com or ClownDating.com. (NCRC speaker and best-selling author John Brubaker has a great twist on this idea that he geared towards businesses in Entrepreneur Magazine here).
There’s a lesson here for you, Coach.
As you sell your program to a new batch of recruits, you’d better specialize.
Here’s what I mean:
We now live in a world that offers us incredible niche products and services. Look at the beer market, for example. There are over 1,500 different brands of beer you could buy, all with their own twist on a very basic recipe. Same for dog food, shoes, soap…you name it.
Your prospects, unfortunately, expect the same from you. They need a very specific story of how you operate, what your brand is, and why they should align themselves with you. I say “unfortunately” because many college coaches don’t take the time to define themselves in a way that specializes them in the eyes of their recruits – the same recruits who have been conditioned through the Internet, television and other forms of advertising, to actively look for specialization.
How? That’s where it gets tricky:
- You have to figure out who you’re wrong for. The temptation for colleges around the country is to try and make themselves vanilla enough so that everyone might have an interest in them. Coaches who do that are finding, more often than not, that they can’t attract prospects as easily as a few years ago if they don’t differentiate themselves from their competition. The easiest way to do that? Define who you and your program is wrong for. Come up with a list, and talk about it with your recruits.
- You have to figure out why you love your school. It’s surprising to me how many times I begin work with a client and it’s obvious that they aren’t sold on their school. The location, the cost, the degree…the whole enchilada. If you aren’t 100% sold on your school, you need to be. Now. Prospects and their parents seem to have an innate ability to figure out whether or not the coach they’re considering is all-in when it comes to the campus where they coach. Are you “all-in” when it comes to your school, Coach?
- You have to figure out your audience. Dating websites each have their specific audience defined. Do you? How do you talk about it with a prospect who’s right for you, and one who’s wrong for you?
There are other questions I could ask, of course. But start with those three. They are the most important, and if you can’t answer those three questions there really isn’t a point in moving on with asking other questions.
It’s vitally important that you develop your niche, Coach. Ask the tough questions, and start telling your story.
You and your coaching staff can learn all of the in-depth strategies that advanced college recruiters are using to win better recruits. There’s a science behind it all, and we’re ready to teach you the process step-by-step. How? By having you enroll in Tudor University. Click here to start.