by Paul Nemetz-Carlson, Tudor Collegiate Strategies
It’s inevitable, you’ll lose prospects in the recruiting process. That doesn’t mean it won’t hurt.
Especially when you believed your program was the perfect fit for them.
You had everything they claimed to care about – school size, location, academic major, an opportunity to compete right away. You feel you built a strong relationship and they connected with your staff. You’ve searched and searched for a logical reason why they didn’t choose you and can’t find it.
You’re left wondering, simply, “why can’t they see how great we are?”
You’ve shared your strong academic reputation. You explained that your professors care about their students and are active in creating internship and post-collegiate opportunities. You’ve provided stats that demonstrate a tradition of success. You said your team is a family and your staff truly cares about players’ success on and off the field.
And that’s it, that’s exactly why they couldn’t see it. Because all the other schools are telling them similar versions of exactly the same things.
They’re hearing the same vanilla message from all the schools they’re talking to and they’re unable to get what sets you apart. They received five other versions of the “great social media idea” you borrowed from a competitor. They can’t remember who had a more beneficial student:teacher ratio or what percentage of athletes complete an off-campus internship. They can’t recite your win-loss record over the past five seasons. They forget the name of senior you quickly introduced them to as they brushed past in the hall.
So, what can you do about it? Because the truth is you probably DO have a great program with happy student-athletes doing amazing things. You’re immersed in it, building it, living your program’s values every day.
Your prospects are not. They’re trying to find ways to process all the information coming at them. They are looking for what separates you in the recruiting process. And they’re driven by emotion, not the logical process you’re selling.
Your solution is YOUR STORY – and how you’re telling it. Here are three ideas to add substance to your messages and make them stick.
- One of a Kind: Build a series of messages around something unique to you. Can you share something where you are the “only” ones to have this – a specific individual on campus, a nuclear particle accelerator, or that one of kind mascot (think University of Colorado’s Ralphie or the Philadelphia Flyers’ Gritty)? Is your city known as the Home of… say “pizza, the hamburger, and the lollipop?” That’s memorable.
- A Place on Tour: At your school, can you identify a specific place along your tours’ walk-path with amazing visual impact to stop and present a passionate point of difference about your program? Is that place a statue, a unique building, or a jaw-dropping view? Is your point of difference a story about how much you care about your players, your commitment to development, or your program’s championship aspirations? Visual connections have a dramatic impact on memory.
- Creating Personal Connections to the Team: Over and over again, research affirms this generation of recruits prefers to spend time with members of the team and place great value and trust in what they have to say. Can you provide opportunities on campus visits for your team members to deliver those messages about your team culture and the family atmosphere? Is there time for the team members to speak about how much you care about your players?
In order to “see how great your are,” they need to see and understand what makes you special. Time after time, prospects say they make decisions on what individual coaches do to stand out from the rest. Give them something to remember.
Be Distinct. Be Different.
Paul Nemetz-Carlson is a former college hockey coach and Director of Operations, and brings his organizational and recruiting expertise to the Tudor Collegiate Strategies team serving clients and coaches in the New England region of the Northeastern U.S. Contact Paul with questions or needs at pnc@dantudor.com