How Long Should Coaches Wait for a Prospect Reply?
End it early, or be patient? Here's our advice
Got this question from one of our Honey Badger Recruiting subscribers - and new client - a Division II track and field coach who is trying to figure out how long to wait for a prospect to reply:
“I’ve sent out a lot of first contact emails, just like I do every year, and every year I come up with the same question: How long should I keep a prospect on my list when they don’t reply? Should I just take that as a sign they’re not interested?
I’m a little hesitant to take them off my list because every year it seems like I see some of them committing to other programs just like us. Am I doing something wrong in my approach?”
(Note: That’s not an actual picture of the coach who asked the question, in case you were wondering)
It’s such a common question, I wanted to quickly share the advice we see working most often. Different situations and philosophies may alter this, but in general we’ve seen the best results happen when this approach is taken:
Prepare for the long haul. As with most recruits you’re hoping to win a commitment from, good things come to those who wait. Have patience. As I’ve said before, recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint.
Assume you aren’t their first choice. When you have that mindset, you set yourself up for that extended approach. It’ll take time for you to make your case, and consistently communicate the reasons they should choose them in the end.
It’s all about the end of the race, not the start. Too many coaches throw in the recruiting towel after the first few weeks after not getting a response that they’re looking for from a recruit. Or, a prospect will tell them “I’m looking at other programs, so I don’t think I’m interested.” Ignore that. Most prospects don’t have the needed perspective on the recruiting landscape to make rational judgements on where they stand with different programs, and what levels they are likely to be good targets for. Be patient, make your case, and focus on the end.
Recruiting is about changing a student-athletes view and opinion of you, your program and your college. Don’t shy away from that minor, achievable challenge. Telling your story and building your brand is the way you begin to define your program, and begin to sway recruits to your program.
So, to directly answer this coach’s question:
How long should you keep them on your list? Until you are done recruiting. You decide when to take them off your list, not them. In other words, keep them on your list through the entire process. There’s no harm in it, only potential benefits via future interest.
Should you take it that they aren’t interested? Absolutely. They probably don’t care about you or your program and college they’ve never heard of, Coach. Put yourself in their 17-year old shoes…would you be interested in your program as a recruit? Maybe not. But again, you don’t need them to love you right away. That’s why it’s called recruiting: Your job is to attract them, over an extended period of time, to what your program has to offer. That’s going to require time. Don’t be offended that they aren’t interested right away…it’s normal, and now it’s your job to make the case why they should be interested in you and your college.
Should you take them off your list? Absolutely not. For all the reasons we’ve spent time outlining, you should keep them on your list and you should be prepared to not have significant contact back from them for five to seven months. They need to let the dream die, in some cases - and have their dream school(s) stop recruiting them (or never actually start recruiting them) - before they’re going to pay attention to you. Taking them off an email list doesn’t save you money, it loses you a possible great future fit.
Be patient, Coach.
Leading that new prospect through the decision process
From start to finish, this is a critical aspect of your role as an effective recruiter:
It’s your job to lead them through the process of deciding you’re the right fit. To help give you ideas as to how to build a plan around that process, we conducted a popular, sold-out webinar series for college coaches that included the topic, “Leading Prospects Through the Decision Process.”
If you’d like to watch a recording of that presentation, we’ve opened it up for everyone to view. Just click here.
How to start the process using effective texting principles
Many coaches like to reach out using text messaging. Maybe you’re one of them.
If you’re looking for the right topics to focus on as you start that process, we’ve put together a quick reference list that should do a good job of helping you use text messaging to build real relationships with new recruits.
Click here for that article we’ve just posted…hope it helps, Coach!