Printed Letters, Printed Letters, Printed Letters

Do I have your attention now? Good. Send printed letters. It matters. Here's why:

Sorry for the email I wanted to share with you…it looks like a redacted FBI classified file, I know, but the last part is significant. And what I want to spend a minute talking about with you today:

“…my handwritten letters did make an impact with both (the prospect) and her parents"

It’s interesting, do you know what we almost never hear coaches talk about when it comes to stuff that their prospects or prospect’s parents say they like from a coach, and made an impact on them?

• Something they saw on social media

• A text a coach sent them

• Information they got on a phone call

• The packet of brochures the admissions department sent them

Once in a while? Sure. And plus, you always have ‘that prospect’ who loves talking on the phone, or reading tons of information they get from an office on your campus…so they’re out there, but they’re the exception, not the rule.

So why do old fashioned mailed letters make such an impact?

Simple: Today’s teenagers have never interacted with that medium.

Texts? They do that constantly in their day…nothing special there.

Phone calls? They like them, but it’s tough to remember what gets discussed after it’s done, and I can’t replay the conversation to go back and check.

But letters get remembered. Paper doesn’t get thrown out. And an unfamiliar medium they look at as special makes an impact. Period.

13 ways recruiters can create great impact-making letters to send their prospects they really want and need:

1. Keep them shorter rather than longer. Half to two-thirds of a page rather than filling up the entire 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

2. Commit to sending a mailed letter at least every 3 to 6 weeks throughout the entire recruiting process.

3. Focus on one topic at a time. Stick with one theme, and expound on it.

4. In between letters, continue the conversation on that same topic through email