Countdown Is On: How Will You Adjust Your Fall Recruiting Approach?
Simple but important changes can help coaching staffs excel for the last half of 2020
August is the traditional kick-off of new college school years, but I’m sure most coaches are feeling like this year’s traditional recruiting, coaching and education calendar has been scattered to the wind. There’s a feeling like some tune-ups are needed.
This is not a normal year college coaches are facing.
So given all the abnormal aspects to the upcoming year, my question - and it’s a serious one - is this: How will you adjust your fall recruiting approach?
Response to a previous article we just posted was strong, but coaches wanted more detail on changes that would make the most sense to ensure the highest degree of success. Because it stands to reason that if you don’t change your approach, and keep everything the same as years past, you’re not taking into account the unique period of time that marks the start of this year’s college season. It just doesn’t make sense, with everything going on, and with the different attitudes and emotions driving prospect decisions since the pandemic started, to do the exact same things you would have done in previous Fall starts.
Something has to give.
As we approach August 2020, it’s time for a check on your approach. There’s still a little bit of time to tweak things, and it’s important that you do. The good news for you is that many of our clients have already been following some of our prompts to adjust their approach, based on the latest research we have on decision-making by prospects during the pandemic, combined with smart tactical staff strategies that help coaches reach maximum efficiency.
Your message needs to be adjusted. The frequency should remain the same, according to the research - a letter or email that tells your program’s story, every 6 to 9 days, consistently. That schedule shouldn’t be adjusted…in fact, I could make a case that it’s more important than ever.
However, there are critical aspects to the content of your message that you and your staff need to make sure are included in your recruiting story:
Emphasize a feeling of normalcy. Reassure your recruit that at some point in their near future, things will be getting back to normal. I can’t emphasize this critical conversation enough…they need to hear you talk about your season, their role in it, and how it will all happen for them in the near future. With all the uncertainly in their lives right now, a high school student-athlete is looking for someone to calm them, and outline a vision for what ‘normal college life’ will look like on their campus. Click here for an in-depth approach on this specific topic.
Emphasize that you still want them. We’re finding that many recruits are extremely worried about what this crisis is doing to potentially damage their standing with college teams. Be the coach that reassures them nothing has changed in your eyes, your interest in them is strong, and you want the process to move forward just like it would in a ‘normal’ year.
Your conversations with parents needs to be adjusted. If you get the feeling things are a little different on the recruiting front with your recruits, you’re right. And you can double that feeling for the parents of your recruits. They’re stressed and, quite frankly, saddened by what’s transpiring during this moment of their child’s life. There are three areas of focus you and your coaching staff need to make sure to address as you start the Fall recruiting season:
Ask how their family is doing. Sounds simple, but it’s amazing how many coaches don’t start with this. It should be the first thing that you talk about with the parents of a recruit - what they’re worried about, how their family as been affected financially, how the virus has afflicted family members, and what questions they have now as they see the traditional college recruiting landscape changing. Start with this. And if you do, be prepared to be on the phone or Zoom call for a long time…parents are looking for a coach they can talk to.
Ask how they’ll be helping their child make a decision. They’re involved, as we know, but get specifics. We’re finding that they are exerting more influence than ever on the direction of their son or daughter’s athletic decision, centered around a feeling of being wanted and confidence that they’ll be safe on a particular campus. Dig into those topics with them, because their answers are going to tell you how to recruit that prospect’s family moving forward.
Ask about their questions surrounding paying for college. If you’re not a program able to offer full athletic scholarships, this is a question you can’t just hope gets resolved without your involvement. You need to ask about what they see as their budget for college, what their view on college loans are, and what questions they have about the process of determining the real cost for their college experience. Click here for more on this topic.
Your worst-case-scenario campus culture during this crisis needs to be outlined. Here’s what I mean: Assume the worst - extended online learning, their season postponed or canceled, and strict health protocols on campus. With all that as a possibility, why should they come to your school and compete for you? It’s a vital question, and one of the most relevant topics you can explain to them as you start the Fall of 2020. Tell them what your contingency plans are, ask them how it sounds to them, and be the coach to bring up the tough topics early so they can see you’re always going to be honest, transparent and easy to talk to.
Those are the starting points, and they’re important. If you clicked on those links we included, if you’ve read our 2020 National Student-Athlete Coronavirus and Recruiting Study, if you’ve been following the shifts in public attitudes towards college and the overall experience a student-athlete is having, you know that a lot has changed when it comes to decision-making.
Your prospects have made adjustments to the way they choose a college. It’s not logical to think that no adjustments on your part are needed we enter the most turbulent, unique Fall season in college recruiting history.