4 Ways to Find Out if Your Prospect is Probably Going to Tell You "No"
One of your prime jobs in recruiting is to uncover a "no" as early as possible. Here's how to do that...
1. If they aren’t progressing through your process the way most prospects who end up committing do, then they’re probably going to tell you “no”.
What do I mean?
Take a second and think back to your last class who ended up committing to come and compete for you at your program: In each instance, those athletes probably followed somewhat the same course as their fellow commits. They probably all did their campus visits in the same time period, they probably all applied at around the same time, and they were probably interacting with you via text, email and phone calls in about the same manner.
That’s your key. Recruits who are truly interested, and likely to say yes in the end, go through the unique process at your college in somewhat the same way. Why? Because if I’m truly interested in a school, a program, and a coach, I will take actions that give me the best chance for seeing that coach maintain interest in me. Conversely, if I don’t care about that school, program or coach, I’m probably not going to be stressed that I didn’t turn something in on time, or that I missed the last scheduled call with that coach.
Human nature is a fantastic predictor of actual results at the end of the day. Recruits who promise to visit campus, but can’t seem to fit your visit in with all the others they’re doing, are probably going to tell you no. Recruits who swear they’ll finally turn in their application or other paperwork, but don’t, are probably going to tell you no. Recruits who miss scheduled phone calls or text sessions, or don’t reply to your messages via email or other means, are probably going to tell you no. That’s what our research says.
Does it mean you should immediately give up on recruits who miss your first phone call, or didn’t visit campus the first time you invite them, aren’t good prospects? Not necessarily. But it indicates that their focus many not be on your opportunity, which is a signal that you are still at the beginning stages of recruiting, and may need to take them off your priority list, at least temporarily. Always be measuring how each prospect is progressing through your recruiting timeline.
2. If it’s hard to get them excited about your location, then they’re probably going to tell you “no”.
Interestingly, as good as I think Tudor Collegiate Strategies is at telling super-effective recruiting stories on behalf of our clients, and making a logical case to athletes as to why it makes sense for them to come to our client’s campus for the college career, we can’t seem to consistently crack the code in two important areas:
If your school doesn’t have my major, and I am dead-set on having that be my career after college and college sports are over, then I’m probably not coming to your college. I get it, and that’s obviously a wise, reasoned approach for deciding a school isn’t right for recruits, but it still hacks me off a little that we aren’t good enough to change their mind a lot of the time when it comes to that topic.
If your school is rural, and I’m looking for a city setting, I’m probably not coming to your college. If your campus is big, but I really want small, I’m probably not coming to your campus. If your college is in the west, but I really want to go to school in the south, I’m probably not coming to your campus. If I want to go far from home, but your college is close to home, I’m probably not coming to your campus.
Location is a strong filter for interest moving forward. Make sure to ask your recruits, “walk me through why coming that far away from home, and getting your college education in this part of the country, feels like it might be the right decision for you?” Their answers are always really, really instructive.
3. If they are telling you ‘yes, everything sounds good’, then they’re probably going to tell you “no”.
Wait a second…that doesn’t make sense, does it?
It actually does. And it gets to the whole idea of “no”, and why it’s so hard for this generation of athletic prospect to actually tell someone ‘no’, even if it’s what they’re feeling…
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