by Dan Christensen, Tudor Collegiate Strategies
How many recruits have you lost this year because of the cost of your school?
If you’re like most coaches, that is one of the common reasons you miss out on prospects. The amount of money they were going to have to spend was just too much. Or maybe it was not too much but there was a less expensive option they chose instead.
If you’re running into the first problem a lot, your problem stems from the beginning of the relationship. Your goal should always be to evaluate early on whether or not that recruit and their family can even afford your school. If there is no way they can, do not continue recruiting them.
Coaches that do this well never lose recruits late in the process because their school costs too much money. But, even coaches that do a good job of this, still need to go a step further. They need to sell recruits on why they should choose to spend that much money, even if it is a higher amount than at other schools.
So, what can you do when you’re competing with other schools that cost less money than you, in order to still get a recruit to choose you?
1) Ask, “if the money was equal, why do you think you still might not choose us?”
This question will get two kinds of responses.
First, the recruit might tell you that if the money was the same, you are their number one choice and they would pick you.
Awesome! Except that the money is not the same.
So, have a conversation around why you are their number one choice. Take note of these positives and use them to show a recruit why that difference in cost is worth it. They have already told you why they value your offer. Now you need to get them to believe it is worth that amount of difference in cost.
The other response a recruit might give you will include some of the reasons they are still hesitant about choosing you. This is an important time for you to get them to expand and really uncover their fears and uncertainties around picking you. Soak in all of what they have to say. Because now, your communication needs to focus on these topics because the recruit told you they are important ones for them.
This question turned the money excuse that so many recruits give, into real and useful feedback that you as a recruiter need to have in order to successfully sell your experience!
2) Paint a clearer picture
This picture you paint, through the recruiting story that you tell is a very important part of the process.
Every coach paints a picture, whether they realize it or not. What helps recruits make a decision is when a specific picture is very clear.
Cost is certainly part of that. They are looking at your financial aid package next to another school’s package. The other school’s cost seems to be cheaper but there are all these weird fees and pieces of it that the recruit does not quite understand. While your final cost appears to be a little more expensive, not only is everything explained in the offer but you or someone in financial aid has take the time to speak with the recruit to further clarify everything. That recruit and their family is much more confident in what they are being offered at your school and that is worth something!
But, the picture includes so much more than just the cost. Is the picture clear as to what the experience will be like? What will it look like to be practicing as a member of your team? What does competition day look like? How will you help that athlete improve? What does life look like after graduation because of their experience as a member of your team?
If you can answer all these questions for that recruit, they will be left with a very clear picture that is much easier to buy into than a slightly cheaper picture that is very vague and fuzzy.
It is like going to the store and paying more for the name brand product that you always buy because you know what you’re getting. Rather than paying for something cheaper that you’re not sure if you’ll like and could end up regretting as a purchase.
Focus on painting a clear picture in your recruiting message and you’ll start to win some of those battles where you are not the least expensive option!
Combating price objections is something most college coaches who can’t offer full-ride athletic scholarships have to deal with on a regular basis. If you want a more comprehensive, personalized solution to the problem, email us at dan@dantudor.com. We can explain a process we’ve used with hundreds of college programs over the past two decades that works on a consistent basis, increasing the quantity and quality of each recruiting class.