What to Do When Your Prospects Are Waiting for the Money Decision
They've visited campus, been accepted, and now...they're waiting to see "who's the cheapest". What should a coach do now?...
Lots of college coaches at every level find themselves in the early winter tradition of waiting for your college to issue their final financial award packages. And, by extension, also find themselves waiting for many of their prospects’ final decision as those prospects wait for those aforementioned financial award packages.
One of our clients found themselves in this position recently and reached out wondering what their next step should be:
I’ve been getting a decent amount of prospects this year that LOVE us, but ultimately still say that finances are the main part of their decision. I know we have told a great story but any advice on how to navigate this with them?
Thanks!
To which I replied,
Great to hear from you.
So to be clear, they are still considering you and your school but are dragging their feet due to figuring out cost? Or have they said "no" and ended it?
Dan
The coach confirmed they’re still considering the college, and “just waiting to hear all of their financial options and are going to go with who is most affordable”.
I lay all of that out simply to let you know that thousands of college coaches all over the country are having the same frustration that you are as you wait for financial decisions that are largely out of your control. It ain’t fun, but it’s reality.
Which leads us all to the next logical question:
Before I roll into several pieces of advice specific to this coach’s question, a few quick articles and resources we’ve done on and around this really important topic in the life of a college recruiter who is looking to overcome this big obstacle:
Why the Story You Tell Insulates You From the Extremes
What to Do When You’re a Toyota Corolla Competing for Recruits with a Mercedes
Questions (That Work) to Understand Your Prospect’s Money Objection
What to Do When You Cost More Than Your Competition
Podcast: FAFSA, Financial Decisions & Guiding Your Prospect Towards a Decision
Those are five great resources to dig deeper into this really important question, but let me offer five more thoughts specific to what this coach is asking:
We need further definition from the prospect. Your recruits like to offer up a lot of non-specific generalities, like they “love” you, or the financial aspect is the “main part” of the decision. What does that mean, exactly? My encouragement for any coach is to immediately follow-up with in-depth questions and statements of your own, such as, “Help me understand all that a little bit better…”, and “it seems like you’re saying you’d go compete at a college that was the cheapest even if you didn’t like the coach, is that right?”, and “so you’re saying that if someone offered you $2000 a year more than we did, you’d choose them?” You can add your own questions, but if any of those three sample questions I just posed made you squirm in your seat a little while you were reading them, it means YOU SHOULD ASK THEM THOSE QUESTIONS. What made you uncomfortable weren’t the
questions, coach; it was the possible answers you’re going to get when you ask them. In other words, you might find out some bad news that would tell you earlier that you aren’t going to be their first choice. Or, they’ll reveal that you’re probably going to be their first choice. Either way, it makes you nervous.
If it’s about money, you’d better be talking to the parents. Having a conversation about the decision their son or daughter is considering, especially when it revolves around the topic of money and finances, should be centered around the
parents. If you’ve done a good job establishing a relationship with them, and recruited them separately during the process, this is where the hard work pays off. Talk with them, and you’ll probably come away with a very clear idea of where you’re headed with that family and your recruit.
Continue to recruit them. If you’ve committed to a consistent, methodical story telling campaign that has your prospects “loving” you, as this coach expressed, don’t stop the flow of your contact and good vibes. Continue to send what you’ve been sending, in the same intervals, and continue to prove that you’re not giving up on them. Some of your competition reading this has already made this mistake, which means prospects all over the country are searching for consistency and examples centered around reasons why they should commit to you and your program, money notwithstanding. Be the coach that gives it to them.
Establish timelines and deadlines. Click the link and listen to me explain how to do it. Your timeline matters, regardless of what they’re waiting to find out from your school. Control what you can control.
Ask them to commit. If you haven’t done it yet, do it before they get their final numbers from your financial aid office. Sometimes, that’s what they’re waiting for. If you want to know how to do it, bring us on campus to teach you how - and, read our A to Z guide on the topic.
Ultimately, it’s the recruits’ decision, of course. But don’t assume it’s a simple binary A or B decision. Money is a driving factor, but it’s not the only factor. And part of the decision they’re making is based on their view of the value and benefits of being a part of your program, or not.
That’s what you have control over, Coach. Focus on that while they’re waiting on the numbers. If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have devoted as much time as I did just now to talk with you about it.