Every September 1st, coaches mark a new start in recruiting. 

It's the day, of course, when a new batch of Juniors officially pop on to your radar screen and you begin written communication with them.

Making a good first impression is something you don't get a second chance at, so here are some things to keep in mind as you begin communications with your Junior recruits.  Your September 1st letters are probably already out, of course, but your email communication with them is almost equally - if not more - important.  Why?  Because they will most likely get your email before your letter, and email allows back-and-forth communication between you and your recruit.

So hear you go, Coach...here are the six things your prospects want to hear from you today (and everyday) when you are communicating with them:

• Be specific.  Our study on how today's prospects make their final decision tells coaches that today's prospects value specific information about them, or about your program.  What did you like about them specifically?  What do you see as the fit for them in your program specifically?  What are you looking for specifically?  Those are the questions that you need to answer for your prospect.
• Don't oversell yourself.  Kids today can sniff out a fake more quickly than they can bang-out a text message to their BFF.  Be straight-forward and genuine.
• Keep it brief.  Long messages most likely get ignored, and that's not what you want on the first day that you make contact with them.  Keep it short, sweet and to the point.
• Have a call to action.  Give them a "next step" in the process.  They need something to do in order to cement your program in their mind. 
• Create curiosity.  In our recruiting workbooks for college recruiters, we talk about the importance of making your prospect leave your message with unanswered questions.  Something that makes them want to go to the next step in their communication with you.  Something that...well, leaves them with unanswered questions about you and your program.
• Tell them what to do next.  Want them to call or email you?  Tell them that, very clearly.  Tell them when to call, and let them know what you want to talk about.  Want them to reply to your email?  Be crystal clear and instruct them on what you want back from them.

Communication with your prospect should result in one thing, especially at the start of recruiting: A response from your prospect!

To do that, the six things we just outlined are a good start to creating effective communication with your recruits, whether its the first time they are hearing from you or the twenty-first time.  Changing the tone of your messages can change the number of prospects you end up hearing back from this year.

These are the same strategies that Dan Tudor and his team at Selling for Coaches use to create efffective, original recruiting campaigns for college coaches.  Want to take the stress out of coming up with original recruiting messages, and greatly improve your results at the same time?  Email Dan at dan@sellingforcoaches.com and ask to hear more about the Total Recruiting Solution plan.