Give some thought this week to giving yourself away.  For free.

I'm talking about your experience and credibility as a college coach.  You have exactly what your teenage prospects and their parents are looking for as they try to weave their way through the recruiting process: Answers.

With all those answers, and all your experience in terms of what a prospect can do to improve their chances of playing at your level, have you ever gone out of your way to make sure you are the one providing those answers to prospects?  I didn't think so.

But you have the missing piece to their puzzle, and that's valuable information.  In my opinion, you should use it.

At this point, the idea of spending time on the phone or answering emails from dozens and dozens of curious prospects probably asking "So Dan, what's in it for me?"

Lots.

• You set yourself apart from the other coaches (even the one's at a bigger name school) who won't offer to do it.
• You create a conversation with prospects, which is the first step towards recruiting them.  It's one of the core philosophies in what we do daily for our TRS coach clients, and it works.  Big time.
• You come off as someone that is approachable and nice, two traits that are good to have as you move through the recruiting process.
• You are giving them something of value without asking anything in return, other than their attention and interaction.
• If you are a smaller college or coach a team that has yet to build a name for itself in competition, you level the recruiting field by being the coach that is the guide for the parents and the athlete going through a very confusing process for the first time.

How do you do it?  Here are a few ideas:

• In your recruiting letters and emails, offer to answer specific questions for your prospects.  You can be selective in who you offer this to, of course...if your time is limited, you'll probably only want to do this for your top prospect group.  If you need the numbers, offer it out to your second or third tier groups as well.  You will get responses!
• Create your own eBook on how to go through the recruiting process.  Offer your tips and insights out for free, and become known as "the approachable expert" along the way.
• Use free video services like YouTube to create a series of short topical videos on the different aspects of the recruiting process for your sport at your level.  If you have a blog (and what savvy recruiter doesn't?) then post those videos to your blog, as well, and direct prospects and their parents to it.
• When a family visits your campus, make sure you take time for you AND your team to sit down and answer their general questions about recruiting.  Encourage your team to offer their insights and advice based on their experiences, as well as that of their friends at other colleges, and what they would do differently if they had it to do over again.

The point of all this is simple, but important: You need to give before you receive.  Give yourself away as an expert with the answers before you expect to receive serious communication with the prospects you really, really want.

It's a bedrock principle in today's business and marketing world, and as the same terrific results when it is used by coaches who are recruiting athletes.

Now that the recruiting year is getting started, you should take a look at becoming a Total Recruiting Solution program client.  Our staff of recruiting and marketing experts can create your best recruiting plan ever and help you come up with just the right messages.  It's working great for lots of other college programs...(maybe one of your competitors?)  Click here for all the details.  Make this year the one where you finally get the recruiting results you've been promising yourself!