First Contact Debate: Who Should Call First, Head Coach or Assistant Coach?
There's a clear choice in the mind of your recruits
This is a special training series for college coaches from Tudor Collegiate Strategies, “First Contact Strategies That Create Unfair Advantages.” It’s free for coaches through tomorrow, and is a part of our new Honey Badger Recruiting subscriber package: A daily training message focused on one key training and teaching point for coaches who want an edge in their approach to strategic recruiting against their competition.
Over the last week, here’s how we’ve been getting coaches ready for first contacts with new recruits this fall:
We’ve talked about what prospects say they want to talk about first with a coach.
And we told coaches why they might want to consider contacting parents first (one of most popular posts ever!)
Why college recruiters absolutely need to keep their messages short! (Make sure to listen to the 5-minute podcast included)
In the previous post, we asked college coaches the question, “what if coaches just texted recruits instead of calling on first contacts?”
Now, as you get ready to make your first contacts (or continue to build the relationships you already have started), let’s address this big debate among savvy recruiters:
Should the first contact come from the head coach, or an assistant coach?
Our research shows that more than 8 out of 10 high school recruits strongly prefer a first contact coming from the head coach of a program, rather than an assistant coach.
Why? Primarily, as they receive first contacts from multiple coaches starting the recruiting process, they’re trying to determine who seems to want them the most. They’re trying to break ties, and figure out who to take seriously, and who might be a back-up choice.
That’s not fair to you and your program, I understand. I’m just keepin’ it real, Coach: They really do put some extra weight behind a head coach contacting them first. So why not do it?
If it’s not possible, and an assistant coach is going to be the first to reach out, it’s really important that you mention the fact that the head coach is going to be writing or calling soon, and that he/she knows about the prospect and wanted you, the assistant, to reach out and start the process.
If a head coach wants to give their program a little head start with a new recruit, it’s pretty clear that this is a key way of making that happen. It’s definitely a honey badger way of attacking things quickly, from the word ‘go’.
Like what you’re reading? Want to make sure you continue to get this special daily training from Dan Tudor and the team of experts at Tudor Collegiate Strategies? Invest less than $1 a day into your college recruiting skills, and learn how to dominate through a more strategic approach.