Timelines, Deadlines and the Nuance of the Recruiting Process
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Got a great question from one of our Honey Badger Recruiting coaches a few days ago, and wanted to share my feedback I gave him.
We’re entering the time of year when coaches are trying to manage the decision making process, and do what we’ve instructed when it comes to deadlines and timelines with their recruits. But like everything else in recruiting, there are layers and a good degree of nuance when it comes to approaching individual recruits the right way, which is what I want to help define for coaches wanting to control the process the best they can.
Dan,
We have made all of our initial roster spot offers and given them until Nov 1 to decide. My question is how much the data says we should keep contacting/pushing these guys before that deadline?
Not contacting, but keep telling the story of your program, your school, and what you’re all about as a coach. Don't let communication and the story lapse or go silent...that's a bigger negative to prospects, by far, because prospects usually take that silence as disinterest on your part. That’s unfair, of course, because all you’re doing is trying to give them space and not feeling pressured to make a decision, but they tend to read it as a negative. At a time when they most need direction, coaches who back away in the interest of seeming ‘fair’ end up doing more harm than good.
And one other minor point: I recommend outlining a 15-20 day date range for their deadline. So in this case, rather than a hard date of November 1st, tell them that you’ll be wrapping up your recruiting around late October/early November, or early to mid-November. It sounds more fair, especially if you’re giving prospects that timeline and deadline months in advance.
Last important thing I want to mention: The deadline is the latest that they could commit. We want them to commit prior to that, and should be asked beforehand…they can always say ‘not yet’, which is o.k. as long as they understand that your deadline is the latest they can come aboard.
Lots more on timelines and deadlines right here.
I am continuing to send them a weekly email and we are texting them around every two weeks, but we are not necessarily asking them about where they are leaning. Does the data say keep asking or to give them time to decide without us in their ear?
No need to ask in the messaging that you are sending them (emails, letters and other outbound messaging), but it's fine if it's occasionally done in text/phone calls.
You asking where they are leaning is a natural outflow of the process they, and you, are involved in. I also suggest that you ask follow-up questions if they answer ‘not yet’ in your conversation with them:
“What are you still trying to figure out about us and our program?”
“What other programs are you also leaning towards as you come down to your final decision?”
“What are you parents saying about everything right now?”
We also have some of the guys we offered spots to that haven't visited. What are your suggestions to try and make that happen? I realize that not visiting is a pretty good indicator that they are not coming our way, but I want to try and get them here, as the visit sells the school really well.
Having been on campus a few times, I agree - your campus sells itself. It's a big positive. Similar to what I’m suggesting on the deadline and timeline when it comes to a decision, I would give them a general date range that they need to be on campus or else you'll have to move on. And as you do that, ask them why it's been hard for them to schedule a visit up to this point...that'll give you a good indication of what's really going on behind the scenes, and if they’ve had some good reasons for not being able to make the trip to this point, or if it’s just a case of dragging their feet.
The main points you should be taking away from this, in my opinion:
Establish the timeline and deadline for the date range that is the latest they could make a decision and give you a verbal commitment.
Ask them commit using the formula we’ve outlined several times here on Honey Badger Recruiting.
Don’t be afraid to walk away from an uninterested recruit. They’re uninterested…and if you’ve done a good job telling your story through consistent, response-oriented messaging, there’s no reason to think you’ve left anything out. At the end of the day, you will lose most of the recruits on your list. That’s just a mathematical byproduct of this process. The key for successful recruiting is to make sure you know if a recruit isn’t coming sooner rather than later.