5 Crucial Steps You Can Take to Get a Jump on Your Next Recruiting Class

Why do so many college recruiters let these early opportunities slip away?...

Got a message from one of our clients the other day, and it struck me as important - mainly because it’s a wonderful contrast in executing a strategy that nets results for coaches, compared to coaches that don’t.

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What leads to this kind of recruiting success? There are a few activities I would definitely list as ‘crucial’ for coaches at any level, and in any sport, if this kind of expedited successful is the goal for your next recruiting class.

I’ll keep it simple and direct for you today, Coach:

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1. Commit to a consistent written communication plan

I’ll keep preaching it until every college coach does it. Primarily because without it, you make it almost impossible to effectively brand your program, and tell your story to your list of prospects.

When you do it, you deploy an effective defense against other programs who might be talking negative about you (and they’re out there doing it, coach…you just don’t know about it most of the time).

What happens when you include written communication as a part of your consistent recruiting strategy? Click here and listen to me outline it for you in a 15-minute podcast we did on the topic. I think you’ll like the way I lay it out for you.

P.S. - our article previous to this one also dives into the importance of variety in the communication mediums you use with recruits. If you missed it, read it here.

2. Put timelines and deadlines in place

Managing the decision-making process on the part of your recruits is crucial.

Too many coaches try to insert timelines or deadlines in a panic towards the end of the process when they’re anxious for a decision, and usually find that their recruit doesn’t respond the way they want.

The answer? Talk about, and agree upon, timelines and decision points at the start of the process, not the end. And, make sure you take the lead and are viewed as the one in control of determining when those need to happen.

Put simply, recruiting timelines dictate the events that should happen within that timeline - not the other way around. I’m passing along two good reference sources for why this strategy works so well:

Do Events Dictate a Recruiting Timeline, or Does a Recruiting Timeline Dictate Events?

Warning to Coaches: This Happens When You Hold Firm

3. Determine if you prospect is looking to commit early

Every year, it seems like we see the percentage of college prospects who want to commit early increase little by little.

It’s important that you understand, as early as possible, which of your prospects that includes. Why? Because it affects the the first two points we just made: Early commits will take less time to soak in your messaging, and timelines change for them compared to other recruits who might take longer.

It’s vital that you take the lead with this process…here’s how: