When we teach coaches to adjust their recruiting strategies, some of the advice we give goes against what they’ve been doing for years and years.
It’s not natural…it doesn’t feel “right”…it’s opposite what they’ve been doing for years and years. Even though their current recruiting methods lack the results they know they should be getting.
There’s a great example of what I’m talking about, and it comes from a coach who we had the chance to work with recently at one of our special Selling for Coaches recruiting conferences. Wendy, a college volleyball coach, was looking for a new way to communicate with her prospects. When we taught her a new way to write shorter, more effective letters, she was (as many coaches are) somewhat skeptical. Could shorter letters with specific language that elicits better responses result in measureable improvements in the responses she would get from recruits?
One week later, Wendy emailed us with the results of her new, re-written recruiting letters that she had started sending recruits:
I sent our brand new recruiting letter to a new 2010 recruit. She received it yesterday and responded by email immediately!!!!!!
I was hesitant about the letter because I was so used to my highly informative letter! With the response I received from the three sentence letter, I’m confident none of my recruits will ever receive the old letter again!!!!!
This was the recruits response:
Dear Coach,
I received your letter in today’s mail. Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me. I am overjoyed to hear the news. I am definately interested in becoming a part of your team! I have inquired about the volleyball program through your website, and pleased and impressed with what the program has to offer. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. Thank you once again for your interest.
Sincerely,
Samantha
This coach followed three very simple principles that we recommend. We teach it in our recruiting workbooks for college coaches, and we teach it at our recruiting conferences like the one Wendy attended. Briefly, here are the principles we recommend coaches follow:
- Keep it short. Especially the initial letters that they receive. Shorter is better.
- Leave questions unanswered. Don’t try to answer everything in one letter. Leave some details and answers out, so that they have a reason to listen to you the next time.
- Give them a call to action. With this generation, you need to tell them specifically what they need to do next for you.
Simple changes can yield big results. Just ask Wendy!
Learn more proven recruiting strategies at our Recruiting Kick-Off Conference coming up in August 2009. It’s our biggest conference of the year, and one of the most valuable two day recruiting conferences we offer. Click here for details, and for information on how to save $50 when you register.