Your First Contact Quick Start Guide
What should college coaches communicate right out of the gate? That depends...
If you’re making a first contact by phone, focus on keeping the call short and to-the-point. The rule that works best is to keep the call under 10 minutes if you are the one driving the conversation (which will be most of the time).
Your goal should be to tell them where you saw them or found out about them, why you’re interested (something specific about them, if possible), that you are now officially recruiting them to come and compete for you, and what you want to see happen next (that helps set up call #2 and #3, and all future contact with your new prospect).
And, since we’re discovering that communication with the parent is so important, before you get off the phone, ask if you can say hi to one or both of their parents before you hang up. If you get to talk to them, repeat what you told their son or daughter, and ask if they have any questions. They will, so be prepared to dedicate a slightly longer percentage of the conversation to them.
If you’re making a first contact by text message, you can use the same strategy as a phone call. Just make sure it’s even shorter and more to the point, if possible.
If you can generate some back and forth conversation with them via text, fantastic. If it doesn’t happen naturally, don’t panic. You’ve told them what’s happening next, so there’s time to develop that.
Since there is no natural transition to talk to the parent, make sure (in a follow-up text) to ask for their parent’s cell phone number and email, and confirm their names.
If you’re making a first contact by email, follow the same guidelines. Write conversationally - just because you’re typing on a keyboard for this one doesn’t mean you turn into Shakespeare…write like you talk, keep it short, and remember the importance of the visual aspect of what you want to convey as a first impression.
Don’t sell the school. Don’t include 8 bullet points. Don’t turn it into the email that every other coach is going to send them…stand out, and create curiosity.
Do ask for a reply. Do tell them you’re excited to talk to them. Do ask them for their cell phone number and mailing address, if you don’t have it. Do ask them for the parent information, like you would on a phone call or text message.
If you’re making a first contact by letter, follow the same rules as you did for an email. There’s something about it being on paper that tends to trigger a coach to think NOW they have permission to turn into Shakespeare and write a long, beautifully worded prose to their new recruit. Resist that temptation.
It needs to sound conversational, but underscore the “official-ness” (or is it “officialality”?) of the start of the process, underscoring what you want to see in the process happening next.
Because it’s on paper, it gives you the opportunity to write a short p.s. at the end. Take advantage of that opportunity…it’s an early signal of your seriousness, in their eyes.
Don’t oversell your school or program.
Don’t give them facts they don’t care about (yet).
Don’t use up the whole page or screen with your message.
Shorter is better than longer. Every sentence you add to your message decreases the chance, proportionally, of you getting a response from your recruit who you’re writing to.
Lastly: What happens after your first contact with them is vastly more important than what you say in your first contact. Keep it simple, be yourself, and don’t sweat it, Coach. You’ve got this.