A Campus Visit Hack That's Working for Coaches
Can't get a recruit to campus? Too far away from some of those recruits? Try this...
It works.
I’m far from being a genius.
Here’s the idea you should try:
We all know how important getting recruits to campus is during the recruiting process. But many recruiters are realizing how hard that is to actually achieve as you are moving them through your timeline, especially now as families are cutting back on spending and trying to move through their decision making without a lot of additional travel and expense when it comes to visiting campuses. Especially if you are a campus or program that doesn’t carry one of those “must visit” brand names that some of your competition may boast.
Here’s where the strategy comes into play:
When the baseball coach who sent this message to me, he had just completed a remote campus visit with a recruit across the country using his phone. The traditional in-person campus visit is the more effective way to showcase what it’s like at your school and with your program, for sure. But as I’ve said, that’s getting harder and harder to execute with many prospects unwilling to make the trip to be at your college at their expense.
This strategy can help overcome that hurdle, and continue to move the process forward:
For those prospects who don’t see you as enough of a priority to visit campus in person right away, this method bridges that gap. It sometimes is even effective enough to replace their need to visit your campus before committing.
Another byproduct of this strategy: Many times, after they’ve seen your campus via your video call with them, it actually prompts them to want to come to campus and see it in person. Far from replacing the need for a visit on their part, it actually peaks their curiosity and prompts them to want to see it all in person.
The how-to aspect of a video campus tour on your phone is simple: Show them a pared down version of your regular campus tour, focusing on the athletic side of campus, the dorms, where your team eats and hangs out, and any other aspect of campus that’d be a priority to show a future freshman in your program. Aim for a call that’s between 20-30 minutes long, unless the prospect is engaged and asking to see more.
The key aspect to the call is you having a conversation with them, and proving that they are important to you. That’s the big impact it leaves.
A genius idea? Depends on whether or not it works for you. Try it, and let me know.