We've just completed delivery of our Total Recruiting Solution program to coaches all over the country who use our team of experts to help create more effective recruiting plans. 

Even for myself and our team of team of experts that create these recruiting plans for coaches, starting with a blank page on a computer screen can be pretty intimidating some days.  It can take a while to get those juices flowing and come up with something creative that will get the attention of a high school kid who is bombarded daily with all sorts of advertising and marketing messages.

Over the years, we've developed some tricks and techniques that help us to break through that occasional writer's block hurdle, and I wanted to share a few of them with you today in case you face the same kind of struggle from time to time. 

Here are six of our break-through secrets that you can try the next time you're struggling to come up with a great recruiting letter:

SECRET #1:  Compartmentalization

Writing an out-of-the-park grand slam recruiting letter or email is a process that consists of many steps, hundreds of actions, and thousands of tiny decisions:

Thinking about who your prospect is and why he needs your product... 

Coming up with your attention-getting strategy - your theme, headline, and lead idea...

Researching what your school offers, your competitors' strengths, and their recruiting strategies...

Organizing your attack - determining the order in which you'll guide your prospect through your reasons why he or she should commit to your program...

Pouring the appropriate research, notes, and ideas into each section of your recruiting plan outline...

Writing your first draft...

Buffing and meticulously detailing each succeeding draft until you know that you couldn't improve it even if someone held a gun to your head - and that any change you consider at this point will actually weaken the copy...

And, finally, sticking a fork in it, because it's done.

Now if you have a lick of common sense, you're going to feel overwhelmed when you contemplate all the steps you have to complete in order to perfect the project at hand. And that's okay. It just means you're in touch with reality.

But you're going to have to get past "overwhelmed" and on to work. And the only way I know to do that is to mentally chop the job into little, tiny, manageable pieces. So you tell yourself something like this: "I do NOT have to write a recruiting campaign today. All I have to do is the research. Or part of the research."

Thinking about the work this way does more than just relieve your anxiety about producing recruiting letters and emails. It blows all that procrastination you're usually guilty of at the beginning of a project right out of the water, and gets you moving forward towards creating a good recruiting letter.

SECRET #2:  Getting into a good flow

Ever have a day when you sit down to work and the next thing you know it's time for dinner... you have to force yourself to stop... and when you reflect on the day, you're amazed by the quantity - and, more important, the quality - of what you accomplished?

That, my friend, is the "good flow" that I'm talking about. And getting into that flow state is my goal every time I sit down at my desk to work on a client's recruiting package.

The fact is, good flow equals better recruits. Because the more flow you experience during planning and writing your recruiting campaign, the faster the project goes and the better your end product is.

But good flow doesn't "just happen." Flow is kind of like hummingbirds: They show up naturally if you just create an environment that attracts them. For me, that means a quiet work area and a good night's sleep. The right background music. No interruptions. No distractions. And every tool I need to do that day's job readily at hand.

That's just me. You'll have to figure out what works for you.

SECRET #3: Constantly visualizing success

Yes, I know. What could possibly be more cheesy than dusting off the decades-old concept of "positive thinking"?

Thing is, like all laws that survive the test of time, positive thinking works.  Good coaches know this, deep down. 

What personally drives me is the phone call I'll get from a wowed coach client when he sees my recruiting plan I've created for them for the first time... the call telling me he had too many recruits reply back to their recruiting email campaign...and, of course, the high fives we do here at Selling for Coaches when a coach gets the athlete they really, really want.

Whatever your motivation, try keeping it in mind as you write.  Make that the thing that drives you and commits you to doing your best. 

SECRET #4 "Know thyself"

Feelings are more intense than thoughts.

So, they can have a way of blanking your mind and freezing you like a biker who just spotted a grizzly in his headlights. That's why you have to understand how negative emotions affect your work.

For example, you may feel overwhelmed at the beginning of a project to come up with new recruiting letters or emails. Discouraged when a solution doesn't come fast enough. And then your inferiority complex kicks into overdrive when you see how you think your competition is doing it a lot better than you and your coaching staff is.

It helped me when I realized that 99.9 percent of all negative emotions are probably not caused by objective truth. And, therefore, the vast majority of all bad feelings are baloney.

So when I experience a negative emotion while I'm working, I pause for a moment and ask myself, "What thought zipped through my mind just before I got bummed out?" After recognizing how ridiculously wrong that thought was, I can almost instantly dismiss the negative emotion and dive back into the work.

Try it. It works.

SECRET #5: Screw the rules!

You've learned too many letter-writing rules. And, frankly, they're getting in the way. If you've hosted SFC for one of our On-Campus Workshops, you know what I think of many of the letters that go out to your recruits (they need total re-working, in most cases).

So instead of worrying about the rules you learned in high school and college, focus on your prospect and be a salesman in print. Think, "If I were in a room with my best prospect and needed to get his attention, engage him, present the reasons why he should come to play for me and my program - what would I say to him?" Then let the conversation flow naturally out of your fingers to the keyboard and into your document, as if you were talking to them one-on-one.  Less formal, more conversational.  That's the key.

There'll be plenty of time in later drafts to think about which rules you broke or didn't follow. The first draft is about speed.

SECRET #6: Do some bedtime reading

Let your last action each day be to read what you wrote to a recruit that day. File it away in your subconscious mind. And go to work the minute you wake up in the morning so the connections your brain made overnight find their way onto the page.  Try it once...you'll see how well it works.

Take advantage of the above six "secrets" from Selling for Coaches religiously on your next recruiting message project, and you'll be surprised by how much more quickly it goes and how much easier the writing feels.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Take a look at the letter, or e-mail text, that you send out to your recruits.  Read it carefully.  Very carefully.

I'll bet it has a lot of big, impressive words.  A lot of proud claims.  A long list of flowery accolades, listing your program's accomplishments, your school's high standing academically, and maybe even a list of prestigious alumni.

Are you impressed? Those letters are loaded with all the right power words that, according to many marketing gurus, will differentiate what you can offer a student-athlete from all your competitors.  The larger the words, the longer the sentences, the better the impression you'll make, right?

Probably not.  Unfortunately these "differentiated" messages have been heard before, by your prospects and by their parents. They're not that impressed by your exciting, leading-edge array of new facilities, experienced coaches, or your list of conference championships.  If you remember our findings in the recruiting study we did earlier this year, there are far more important factors in their decision-making process.

From your prospect's perspective, it's a self-serving "sales pitch". Without even thinking, they immediately erect barriers that might be impossible for you to overcome. If you've heard comments like these before, it's highly likely that you tried to hard to impress your prospects:

• We're already leaning towards...
• I'm not sure your program is really what I'm looking for...
• You know, I'm not sure we're interested in looking at your program seriously...

Simply put, being "impressive" doesn't always work.

So what's the solution? If you haven't had SFC on your campus to give you our training live with you and your fellow coaches, here are some ideas that we present in those workshops on how you change the recruiting message game so that it plays to your strengths.

Cut out the crap
Throw out all those impressive words and phrases that are utterly meaningless to your teenage prospect. They've got to go. Now! They're literally killing your recruiting efforts. Unless you're incredibly diligent, you'll find them sneaking into your voicemails, popping up when you're at an in-home visit, or slipping out during conversations with prospect over the phone.  Look at all your written material, too. While you may not be able to influence the recruiting materials done by your athletic department, you certainly can control what's in your own emails, letters, PowerPoint presentations or other prospect communication.

Be ruthless in this endeavor. Take out a big red marker and highlight anything that sounds like you're trying to impress your prospect by listing off your amazing highlights and credentials.  If it's your first letter or e-mail to a prospect, try to eliminate anything that is trying to "sell" you or your program.  It's way too early to sell an athlete in that instance. 

Focus on the impact
After you've cut out all the "crap", you may not have too much to say about your program. That's good! No one cares about it anyway. At least not yet...remember, they don't know you yet.  There's time for your impressive list of all the reasons they would want to play at your school a little later in the relationship.  All they care about right now is the difference you can make for them - which is what we call your "value proposition".

It's time to get to the heart of the matter with your prospect. But its up to you to find out what that is, coach:

What are they looking for in terms of playing college sports?
What effect will your opportunity have on their life as an athlete, and as a student?
What are their hopes, their goals and their vision of what college sports will be like?

Listen to the words they use, Coach. You'll quickly discover that they don't speak "recruiting talk" at all. You'll never hear them rave about your last conference championship, yourr passion for excellence or your school's latest academic ranking. Instead, they'll talk about feeling wanted by their teammates, getting a chance to start as a freshman, making their parents proud, giving them a good chance at a great career after school, and proving to themselves (and everyone else) that they can make it at the next level.

That's their language. It's simple, its direct, and its all about them - not you.  It's time to start using it. Don't get fancy and try to "Wow" your prospects with "highfalutin" language in a slick recruiting letter. Get down and dirty. Talk like they do. Discuss the problems they face, the challenges ahead, and the personal objectives they must reach. Emphasize how you can help by focusing on them - not your "stuff."  And, when you do it, the shorter the better.  Keep it simple and straight-forward.

When you focus on the impact instead of trying to be impressive, you'll notice an immediate change in their reactions to you. Instead of erecting barriers, they'll actually invite you into the conversation about how you can help them reach those goals. Instead of hurling objections at you (or just plain ignoring you), they'll ask for your ideas, insights and solutions.

Isn't that what you want, coach?

Posted by Dan Tudor at 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's a common complaint I hear from college coaches when I visit their campus as a part of one of our On-Campus Workshops.

"My prospects just don't return very many of my questionnaires."

A problem, of course, because you rely on that information to find out about your prospect - athletic stats, academic accomplishments, and much, much more.  Without that information, it's tough to recruit your prospects.

I've seen a lot of questionnaires as I've traveled to different campuses, and I've identified some common problems that I think every coach should be aware of when it comes to your questionnaires:

• They are way too long.
• They look like every other questionnaire that they get.
• There is no apparant reward for your prospect.
• They are way, way too long.

"Too long" means that they don't want to complete it for you.  It's too intimidating.  And, if your questionnaire looks just like every other coach's questionnaire, its not likely that they are going to be motivated to fill it out and rush it back to you. 

And, when I explain that there is "no reward" for your recruit, I mean that there is no immediate pay-off that they see.  For them, it's just another fifteen minutes of wasted time in their mind.

So here's what I suggest.  Most of you won't follow through on these suggestions, more than likely, so those of you that do will see you set yourself apart quickly, easily and inexpensively.  And, you'll get your newly revised questionnaires back in record numbers:

• Keep the questionnaire length to one half of a page, or less.  The shorter the better.
• Focus on getting key contact information: Their contact information, their parent's contact information (especially their work e-mails!), and the best time to get a hold of them.
• Ask three or four fun questions on the questionnaire.  And that's it.  Make them complete-the-sentence questions, such as "The NBA player I will remind you most of on the court is..." or, "I don't like teammates who..."  Your goal here is to get them to open up.  Have some fun.  And, most importantly, give you their contact information.
• Once they return it to you, now you can call them and "interview" them.  Ask them the questions on your old, outdated questionnaire.  You'll get all of the same information you would have received normally from your prospect.  Plus, you'll have something to talk about on the phone, which is something else I also hear about a lot when I get the chance to find out what coaches struggle with when it comes to recruiting.

It's an insanely simple fix to a real problem.  Shorter forms, the ability to have a quick reply, and a new, creative look that will set you apart from your competition who just read this but won't follow through and make the changes to their form.

When you look at what's not going right with your recruiting materials, I often find that small, simple fixes are usually the best solutions to the problem.  Look at your questionnaires that you send to prospects, and then look at your return rates: Is it where you would like it to be?  If the answer is "no", then make the simple change I just recommended.

By the way, if you're a SFC Premium Member, I'm going to give you another two aspects of this strategy that will allow you to be even more effective when it comes to getting information back from prospects.  Stay tuned Wednesday and Thursday for the information.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ask most prospects what they think about the recruiting letters that they receive, and their response is less than enthusiastic. 

The problem is this: Many recruiting letters havene't changed much over the years.  However, the way your prospects receive messages and what they respond to has changed drastically.

Here's a solution that you might want to try the next time you're looking to revamp your recruiting letters. It's a technique called a "categorial imperative". 

Here's how it works:  When your prospects start knowing where the copy in your recruiting letter is going… when they can predict the next step in your story… they tend to dismiss it - tune it out, just like we do sometimes when we jump ahead and assume an ending to a movie.  Your prospects might still be reading your mail or e-mails, but really, you’ve lost them.

You see, the mind tends to simplify its work by slipping incoming ideas into pre-existing slots ("categories") it has already created. You know, stuff we've read or seen or experienced before - like all those other recruiting letters they received, read and been bored by.  It does this so it can shift its attention to something else (anything else). And it will do this with your recruiting information as well as other experiences.

In order to circumvent this tendency of the mind, strong writing - and, in particular, good sales and recruiting messages - must avoid a straight-line, logical approach.

Instead, use "indirection." Approach the reader in a way, or from a place, he or she doesn’t expect. And then, keep changing things up. The overall effect is to keep the reader from anticipating where the promotion is going and keep their mind from wandering.

Here are six ways to do it:

1. Paint an image in your reader’s mind that shows him all the benefits he can enjoy.

Example: "You look out your dorm room window, past your two new teammates who you're going to the rally with in two hours, who are heading over to talk to two cute girls they met in their Freshman orientation..."  A sentence like that is evoking certain thoughts and feelings in the reader in order to gain his attention. The fact that you're getting him interested in your campus, and that you are selling him on your campus life at your college.

2. Ask your prospect a question or make a statement that challenges them on a subject related to your college, or what you are offering them.

Example: "This invitation isn’t for an athlete who wants it easy, or is looking for something less than the best when it comes to playing college sports." Here, the coach wants to align himself or herself with the emotions of their target audience before they let them know the coach is going to be pushing hard to get them to sign with the coach's school.

3. Raise a threat or warning that begs for a solution (provided by your program and your offer).

Example: "Your education is in imminent danger." This gets the reader’s attention by evoking a whole range of fears. He can’t quite know from the headline what it is the coach is getting at. Something about their education, but what?  It prompts curiosity, which will get them to read more of your recruiting letter.

4. Make a surprising or alarming prediction that leads to your big promise.

Example: "A bank run like no other will hit every major bank on earth in 1999. A worldwide panic is now inevitable…" This prediction of catastrophe forces the prospect to read on to learn what the solution might be.  Is there a surprising or alarming prediction that you could make about your prospect's sport, college scholarships in general, to get their attention and build a letter's them around?

5. Share a new piece of information, which will benefit the reader.

Example: "This may be the most startling college recruiting news you have ever heard…" In order to know if it is the "most startling" (a pretty bold claim), the prospect has to read on.  The thing I like about this particular heading is that it clears a wide path for an interesting recruiting message.

6. Debunk a myth with evidence that demands the reader’s attention.

Example: "Conventional wisdom: You can’t get a big time college experience at a Division III school.  Wrong!  Here are four ways to do it." By contradicting what most people think is true, the coach forces the prospect to listen to the "proof."

Copywriting experts such say that when you use indirection, your copy will be infused with life. Your words will be fresh and thought-provoking. And your reader will keep turning the pages.

Remember, as a coach who is also asked to be a copywriter, you’ve always got to keep your reader from getting ahead of you. If he can anticipate what you’re going to say, he’ll assume he knows what’s coming - and you’ll lose him.

We'll teach you more great secrets to communicating and building a great recruiting message at our new series of workshops around the country.  Come to an intense, information-packed session in Dallas, Los Angeles, Boston or San Francisco in the coming weeks.  Click here for all the information or e-mail Dan directly with the subject line "Workshop registration info" at dan@sellingforcoaches.com.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We're working with our SFC Premium Members the rest of this week on writing better, more compelling, more effective recruiting letters.  Letters, and e-mails, are usually the thing that kicks-off the recruiting process in most coaching offices.  

The problem with most letters?  They're not getting read because they aren't interesting to the reader - remember, your prospects are teenagers!  That's a tough market to crack when it comes to capturing their attention and getting them to pay attention to what you're saying (as you probably already know).  And if you've read our special report, "Inside the Mind of Your College Prospect", you know the drastic drop-off in your mail getting opened and read by those prospects, as well as why that happens most of the time.

One of the secrets to getting your letter open, and read?  It all comes down to what's in the letter.  

No, not the number of bullet-points or stats you've crammed in to that 8 1/2 x 11 inch piece of letterhead stationary.  I'm talking about how you talk to them in your letter, and how it's structured.

I have seven secrets I want to share with you that any coach can use to really enhance your recruiting letters and e-mails.  They work great...athletic departments we work with have started to use them over the past few months, and are realizing better results.  See if any of them sound good to use in your recruiting letters:

1. BE SOMEBODY!  In other words, coach, put your face and voice into the letter.  Make the words connect with your reader.  Take it out of the passive, formal text that normally comprises recruiting letters.  Instead, make the words jump off the page by making it your voice that speaks to the reader.  That "somebody" I want you to be is YOU! 
2. TALK TO YOUR READER.  Avoid "we" and "I".  Instead, make sure your recruiting letter is packed with "you".  I'm headed to Penn State University to work with a few coaches there this coming weekend in one of our On-Campus Workshops we do for athletic departments and coaching staffs, and one message that I try to get across to any coaches I work with is that they don't care about you, your program, or what's important to you.  They only care about themselves, and what makes them happy.  Focus solely on their dreams and goals in your letters.
3. BE PERSONAL.  Pretend you're talking to a friend or fellow coach.  What would you say?  What would they say?  What would you say back?  Avoid wording like, "Here at State University, we pride ourselves in..." in favor of something like, "You know what's really great about playing softball here at State?"  Notice the difference?  Make your letters personal and conversational.
4. IDENTIFY WITH YOUR PROSPECT.  Let your recruit know that you've been there...you understand...you know what they're going through.  Connect with them at their level, and you'll stand a greater chance of signing them. 
5. PUT A FACE ON YOUR COMPETITION.  Whenever you can, in a professional way, point out the short-comings of your competition.  Compare your personal touch with their impersonal touch.  Your commitment to the prospect's future, compared with your competition who only seems concerned with forcing them to commit early.  Bring your competition to life in a way that draws your prospect back to you.
6. PROVE EVERY POINT USING PERSONAL EXAMPLES.  Listing all the great stuff about your program is weak and pointless if you can't relate it back directly to your prospect, and their future.  If you really want to make your point, get a quote from one of your current players that backs up the point you're making.  Your prospects respect (and listen to) their peers more than they'll listen to you.
7. DON'T AFRAID TO GO OVERBOARD ONCE IN A WHILE.  What do I mean by "overboard"?  I mean an outrageously cocky, confident, self-serving statement.  Something like, "Let me just tell you, I think we're the best program in the West" or "I believe, with all my heart, that our athletes get the best college baseball experience of any program in the state."  Don't use them too much, but every once in a while is good.  Athletes want to see that you're confident and passionate about your program.

I've come up with another fourteen tips that I'm going to pass along Wednesday and Thursday to our SFC Premium Members.  And, coming up next week, we're going to have a special conference call on these tips.  There's a lot to this, and I want to make sure you understand how to implement these tips into your recruiting letters and e-mails.

Stay tuned for more on this.  And, try to put these first seven tips into practice right away...you'll notice a difference!

Posted by Dan Tudor at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you could spend a day in the offices of today's most successful businesspeople, you'd find that they rely on a few surprisingly simple secrets to make more sales than their competition.

What you may not know is that you can use the same techniques yourself as a college coach recruiting athletes - not only to make your team better, but also to gain prestige, increased respect from your fellow coaches and peers, and lots more of the things you want out of your professional and personal life.

Today, I'm going to show you how with the help of Katie Yeakle, a respected expert in sales copywriting.  Many of these ideas are rules that she lives by when she's advising business clients around the country.  We also use some of the same philosophies when we work with colleges on an ongoing basis to help them create and manage their recruiting campaigns, and it's what we'll be talkng about at our 2008 Summer Conference in August.

When we teach techniques that help coaches become better college recruiters, most of you probably don't think about using them outside the realm of "work" as a coach and recruiter.  But consider this...

When you want to talk a fellow coach into eating at your favorite restaurant, your spouse into seeing the movie you want to see, or even a neighbor into pitching in on trimming the trees on your property line, you want that person to see things your way. Right? It's a lot like the challenge a salesperson faces when trying to convince you to buy whatever it is that he's selling, don't you think? Well, just like a salesperson, when you use proven marketing techniques to persuade people to accept your ideas, you'll hear that wonderful word "yes" far more frequently.  Even from the prospects you are recruiting.

For example, a local high school girl's basketball coach had the chance to take his team to a tournament in Hawaii. As you can imagine, the kids, parents, and coaches were excited. After all, they were the only team in the whole state that got an invitation. But there was one big problem. Sending the team would cost about $20,000 - and the school wasn't about to foot the whole bill. Neither were most of the parents. It looked like the trip might not happen... until Kevin, the coach, stepped in.

He knew that local corporations often sponsor community events and have a budget just for that purpose. So he decided he was going to get some of those funds for the team. While he could have just asked several companies for the money - and probably would have received some donations -he used two powerful marketing secrets and was far more successful.

Secret #1: Talk to the Heart, Not the Head

Every great marketer knows that people buy things for emotional rather than logical reasons. Most of the decisions people make are emotional too - including whether or not they will buy into someone else's ideas. When you can appeal to their heart by figuring out how doing what you want them to do will make them feel good, they'll follow you just about anywhere... and oftentimes give you exactly what you want.

In the letter Kevin wrote to solicit money for the trip, he didn't say much about the trip to Hawaii. Instead, he talked about the kids on the team. He wrote about their hard work. All the long hours they'd spent practicing just to win that coveted invitation. He also reminded the companies of the great publicity they'd get just for helping.

And thousands of dollars in corporate sponsorships came pouring in!  It's a true story.

While Kevin won accolades from the team members, their parents, and staffers at the school, the companies that contributed money for the trip were just as thrilled with their decision to help out. They not only felt like heroes, they also enjoyed plenty of free publicity.

That's another bonus of using this secret when you're trying to convince someone to do something. Considering their point of view not only helps you get the "yes" you're looking for - they get something out of giving you that "yes." Which means that everyone involved is happy.

Give this technique a try, and you'll see how effective it is. Our SFC Premium Members know the importance of this, as we constantly stress that your recruits make decisions with their heart and then justify them with facts in their head.  Whether you're talking to the other person or writing a letter, just remember to first speak to the heart, not the head. Simply ask yourself three questions to get started:

1. What emotions is this person feeling about this topic? (Excitement, nervousness, stress, hope?)

2. What are this person's emotional wants and needs? (Money, playing time, glory, security?)

3. How can I satisfy them?  (Chance to start, financial security, earning a degree?)

Secret #2: Create a Picture

You probably already know that one of the most important aspects of recruiting is to show your recruit the benefits of your school. And the best way to do that is to paint a dynamic picture for him with words. That's what today's leading marketers do all the time. Well, you can also use this technique to convince your athletic prospect to "see" the benefit of coming to your school and playing for you.

Let's say you want to convince your spouse to head to Europe for the summer. To paint your picture, you might describe what it would be like to spend an afternoon sprawled out on a chaise next to the ocean in Cannes... or dining on freshly baked bread and homemade pasta at a candlelit dinner in a vineyard in Tuscany. Just like an artist, you would add layer after layer of colorful details.

Kevin did something similar in his letter. For example, instead of just saying, "Hey, you'll get some super publicity if you sponsor the team's basketball trip to Hawaii," he showed the companies all the publicity they'd get. He described how, while the team played in this prestigious tournament in front of thousands of fans, they would be displaying a banner with the company's name on it... for everyone to see. And how, when the local newspaper reported the story, they would mention that it was the company's generous sponsorship that made the experience possible for the players from the community.

Getting the "picture", Coach?

Whether you're writing a letter to a prospect or talking to a friend, neighbor, or relative, use the secret of creating a picture to show them - literally - what's in it for them if they do what you want them to do. Start by asking yourself two questions:

1. What's the benefit (or benefits) to this person of giving me what I'm asking for?

2. How can I best illustrate this in a verbal picture?

When you use both secrets together - talking to the heart and creating a picture - you'll see how easy it is to motivate people to take the actions you want them to take... to accept your ideas... and, like Kevin, to make things happen for your team (especially when it comes to landing great recruits).

Posted by Dan Tudor at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The assistant coach writing me the e-mail I opened late last week was excited.  Really excited.

Why?  After she and the rest of her D1 women's basketball staff had gone through one of our SFC On-Campus Workshops about a month ago, she was applying one of the principles that had talked about in our two-day session at her college.  The results are what she was excited about: She received her best response ever to her initial mailing that they did to their group of prospects.  The secret to her success?  Well, I can't reveal everything that we talked about with her staff, but it involved having her prospect reply to her with a physical action.  And it worked great.

Another one of our SFC Premium Members tried the same kind of principle late last Spring, this time with e-mails.  He had never had that great of a response with his e-mail campaigns to his prospects.  However, asking them to do something specific as a reply yielded a great response.  His best ever, in fact, for an e-mail campaign.

What is the secret to their success?  They asked their prospects to do something physical.  They required their recruit to react to their mailing or e-mail with a physical action. 

To many mailings that I see coaches putting together are passive, rather dull, and not requiring any kind of reaction of the receipient.  And some coaches wonder why they don't get good responses to their mailings?  It's because you're not giving your prospect anything to react to.  No required physical reaction, no reply most of the time.  It's just that simple.

Professional sales organizations known for years that when it comes to their marketing campaigns, it's a good idea to encourage your prospects to take some sort of physical action.

For instance, a mail-order marketer of pipes (the kind you burn tobacco in) told his buyers: "If you are not 100 percent satisfied with the pipe, snap the stem off and mail it back to me in an envelope for a full refund."

One reason this worked is that it was dramatic and unexpected: The marketer actually told the customer to destroy his product if dissatisfied. But it also made the guarantee more tangible by linking it to a physical action: The copy creates a mental image of breaking the pipe in two with your bare hands.

One of my all time favorite "take action" marketing campaigns was a magazine ad for a fireproofing compound. The headline of the ad boldly stated: "TRY BURNING THIS COUPON." The copy tells the reader: "Hold a match to this ad. It will start to burn. Now take the match away. It will stop burning, because it is treated with our special fireproofing chemical." (The ad was an insert sheet coated with the chemical, not a regular page of the magazine.)

Coach, how can you add physical action to your mailings and e-mails?  What are some things that you could ask your prospects to do (besides filling out those tedious player questionnaire forms that you send along with your letters) that requires a physical response?  Look at your current letters.  I'll bet there is a lot you could change that would require your prospects to get more involved in a response to the letter they just received from you.

If you're a SFC Premium Member, you'll be getting a series of e-mails this week that will give you some proven ideas on how to bump-up the response rates in the letters and e-mails that you're sending out as you start the new recruiting year.  If you're not a Premium Member, sign-up so that you can receive these ideas we're going to be revealing throughout the week.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May is going to be a busy month here at SFC, as our On-Campus Seminar tour schedule is jam-packed and will have us criss-crossing the country.  I'm excited!

One of the most interesting parts of working with a coaching staff or athletic department is sitting down with them to evaluate their recruiting letters.  Most coaches agree that a good letter, or e-mail text, is essential in getting a prospect interested in their program early on.  Yet few coaches take the time to really analyze those letters for what kind of message they send recruits, and even the "readability" of those letters and e-mails. 

It's very important that the material coaches send to recruits be simple and straight-forward.  You may have heard that most Americans read at a 7th-grade level. Sounds pretty scary to me, but it does show us why we should keep our writing clear and simple. 

Here's a great tip for your office computer to help you quickly and easily determine the readability of your outgoing recruiting message, coach.  If you use Microsoft Word, you can test the "readability" of your writing by clicking on "Tools" then "Options" and then "Spelling and Grammar." Then click the check box at the bottom that says "Show readability statistics."

After you spell-check your document, a box will pop up showing the number of words you used, the number of paragraphs, the number of sentences, the number of sentences per paragraph, the number of words per sentence, and the percentage of passive sentences. It will also give you two indicators that are based on the Flesch-Kincaid formula for readability. These indicators measure reading ease (based on 100 points, with 100 being the easiest) and grade level.

I aim for a readability score of around 65 or higher when I'm communicating with coaches, although lower numbers are acceptable when I communicate with all of you because you're college graduates.  But you need to remember who your letter is being read by: High school students, some of whom tend to be most comfortable when reading at or below their grade level.  Keep that in mind as you're crafting your messages out to student-athlete prospects.

Here are some other tips that we regularly give to coaches when we're On-Campus or consulting one-on-one with them as a SFC Premium Member:

• E-mails need to be very short and to the point, with an easy to follow call to action.  Never write long, detailed e-mails...especially at the start of the recruiting process.
• Have a specific subject or "theme" for a recruiting letter.  Don't be too broad, as it tends to let the reader drift off and not finish the entire letter.  Sticking with one central theme will let you drive home a single, clear message to your recruit.
• Use bold and underlined text to highlight important points.  But don't go overboard with it!  The more it is used, the less effective it becomes in drawing emphasis to your message.
• Tell stories in your letters: How a recruit came in from the other side of the country and found a home at your school.  How an athlete realized their dream of being the first from their family to graduate from college.  What your athletes did during their off-time on that trip to the tournament in Hawaii.  Stories highlight specific events or people, and you can use those people and events to drive home a clearly defined message to your recruit.

Make your recruiting letters effective by making them more readable, and more message-driven.  Be focused when you're creating them, and make sure that each and every communication with your prospect has a purpose behind it.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ed was a college baseball coach who was beginning to think he couldn't write an effective recruiting letter if his job depended on it.

Actually, his job did depend on it.  He had struggled for the past two years to sign higher caliber kids that would equate to winning seasons, and I found out later that his athletic director had started to put the pressure on to sign better recruits, and win more games.

But when it came to writing recruiting letters, he struggled for the right words.  He didn't know which highlights he should focus on in his letters.  He didn't know how to end his letters in such a way that prompted action from the prospect he was writing to.

So when he became a Premium Member of Selling for Coaches, the first question he asked me was not surprising at all:  "Dan, what should I do to learn how to write better letters to my recruits?" 

My answer to him was simpler than he was expecting:  Use some simple techniques to make your recruiting letters more interesting to the kids that are reading it.

That's it?  Yup.  That's it. 

The letters that I see being written by college coaches aren't bad in terms of content.  There are some really interesting facts and information that are buried in them, much of which can be helpful for an athlete as he or she decides which college program to choose. 

The problem I see is with how the information is presented.  I hate to say it, coach, but a lot of it is just plain boring to read.  Deep down, you know its true.  The letters going out are accurate, and full of information, but they aren't going to jump out and grab your attention if you're a kid who's getting letters from every school in the state.

So, I wanted to pass along three "secrets" that professional copywriters have used effectively for years to generate millions of dollars in sales through direct mail.  The same principles can be used (and are starting to be used) by college coaches who want to break through the clutter and grab their prospect's attention through the mail. 

1. Use athlete testimonials.  Your prospects really want to hear about other athletes' experiences at your school.  They want to get to know them as potential teammates, and find out that they may have had the same fears or questions about your program that they now have as your new prospective student-athlete.  Highlight your players' background and "story" of how they found their way to your program.  It's one of the best ways to quickly reach your prospects through the mail.  And, keep them interested by promising more athlete profiles in future letters.  Getting to know their potential future teammates is a great tool for getting your prospect letters read consistently.
2. Historical biographies of important athletes and coaches from your program.  Told in story form, these can really drive home the history and the interesting people that have made your program what it is today.  Stressing the history and tradition of a program is something college coaches love to do, but sometimes it comes across as plain ol' bragging.  Instead, tell a story...about the founding coach, the early struggles, the rise to glory, or an inspirational player.  Bring out the history of your program by talking about it as a story.  Tell it like you would read about it in a facinating history book.  Done right, you can connect with your athlete very effectively.
3. Use news stories about your program as the lead for the letter.  You might even include an actual copy of the headline across the top of the letter.  Then, give them a taste of the article that's positive about your program: A big win, a great player, your recent Coach of the Year honor...whatever!  Actual newspaper articles that are the lead in a recruiting letter are a great way to have someone else say great things about you.  Plus, here's an added bonus: Your prospect gets to see that your teams gets media coverage in your area.

Here's a bonus for our SFC Premium Members:  I'll send you two more letter writing tips on Thursday that will give you even more ideas of how to write effective recruiting letters.  Anyone who isn't a Premium Member, but becomes one this week, will get the same tips sent to them.  Plus, you'll be a part of our Fall "Overcoming Objections" focused training sessions.

One final point about effective letter writing: The lead is vital.  If you don't grab their attention in the first paragraph, they probably won't read the rest of the letter.  Take a look at the letters you're writing, and ask yourself, "What is exciting or interesting about what I'm telling this teenager in my letter?"  If you can't answer that, it's time to revamp your recruiting letter writing strategy. 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's a question, coach: Are you wearing trousers? Or are you wearing pants? The question is not asked lightly. The difference between trousers and pants isn't one of tailoring the fabric. It's one of tailoring the wording.

College coaches, who are overloaded with work to begin with, often opt for the "one-size-fits-all" into the wording of written information. Instead of tailoring the words to our intended high school prospects, we just hurridly get a recruiting letter done, figuring whoever reads it will get the point.

No.

That isn't what professionals do, and its not what college coaches - whose very livlihood depends on swaying good student-athletes to come to their school - should do.

Suppose you're shopping at a mall. You wander into Neiman Marcus. The clerk asks, "You'ns want dese pants?" Of course, you'd never hear that at N-M. At Neiman Marcus, you buy trousers. At the Gap, you buy pants. In each situation, the terminology matches the comfort level and expectations of the prospective customer. Chico's ran an online promotion titled "The Perfect Pant Event," with styles ranging from "slim fit" to "trouser fit." Right on. I opened a mailing from Haband because the envelope copy said "pants," not "trousers."

So many coaches who write recruiting letters stumble when they project their own experiential backgrounds onto a force-communication message ... instead of taking a moment to look in the mirror and ask, both dispassionately and cold-bloodedly, "Are my words hitting home with my teenage readers?" An easy example of what I'm talking about can be found in the editorial content of newspapers, magazines, and cable news channels. The "undocumented immigrant" and the "illegal alien" may be the same guy, but pre-interpretation colors the effect. Which words to use? It makes a big difference to the person reading them.

Words mean things.  They're important, and they can mean the difference between connecting with a prospect, and losing them to the competition who does a better job of communicating with the prospect. 

"Connecting" with an athlete is THE key to getting them to commit to your program.  Effective writing is just one of the keys in connecting with your prospect.  If you want more good ideas on how to connect with the prospects you really, really want at your school, order our new book "Selling for Coaches" today.  We have an entire chapter focusing on connecting with your prospects.  It might give you some great ideas on approaching your prospects creatively and effectively.  

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm helping a college coach develop his recruiting and marketing plan for the next year.  It's always interesting for me to sit down and work on a project like this with an experienced, successful coach.  It's interesting because this particular coach, and her staff, have been doing the same thing the same way for a long, long time.  And lately, they've noticed that their recruiting letters aren't as effective as they used to be.

How important is effective copywriting for college coaches?  Extremely important.  Doesn't matter if we're talking about letters, brochures or e-mails.  Great copywriting can be an essential part of a successful recruiting campaign. 

Here are some of the recommendations I shared with the coach I'm working with.  Can any of these tips help you be a more effective recruiter?

Send mail in different looking envelopes.  I don't usually open "junk mail" but the other day I received a letter and small brochure booklet in a clear, see-through envelope.  It looked cool, I got a glimpse of what was inside, and I opened it.  Getting mail opened is getting tougher and tougher, even if you're a coach talking to an athlete about a possible scholarship.  Another tip that a college I recently worked with is using: A personalized message on the outside of each envelope.  They look great, and they're getting opened.  Be different, coach! 

Ask a question at the beginning.  Make it compelling.  Make them think.  And, most importantly, tie it in to a motivation that your prospect has on their mind.  Getting their attention at the start of the letter or e-mail is crucial.

Use active verbs.  At the risk of sounding like your high school English teacher, let me recommend that you use active verbs throughout any communication you have with athletes.  How?  Be eliminating the verbs "is", "are", "was", "were" and "am".  For instance, if you're talking about your program's great graduation rates, don't say "Our graduation rate for 2005 was 95%".  "Was" is a no-no, remember.  Instead, say "Our graduation rates soared to 95% in 2005."  A minor detail?  Yes.  But, an important one.  Using the right verbs keep your reader engaged.  Using the wrong verbs will drive them away.

Use an active "voice".  Kind of the same theory, except this applies to your overall message.  Never write in the past tense.  Write in the present, active tense.  For example, "Our athletes had the chance to attend the bowl game last year" isn't that exciting.  Instead, how about "Our athletes attened the bowl game last year."  See the difference?  It's subtle, but like using active verbs, it keeps your readers engaged   

Writing effective recruiting letters isn't easy, but it's vital to your recruiting success. 

Want an in-house review of your recruiting materials and outbound marketing pieces?  Bring Selling for Coaches to your campus this Winter or Spring!  We've reduced our costs, and increased what we do during our time on your campus.  If you want to get more information on our popular On-Campus Seminars, e-mail us at dan@sellingforcoaches.com or call us at 661.809.6200.

Book your personal training soon to ensure the dates and times that are best for you...before your competition does!

Posted by Dan Tudor at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm helping a college coach develop his recruiting and marketing plan for the next year.  It's always interesting for me to sit down and work on a project like this with an experienced, successful coach.  It's interesting because this particular coach, and her staff, have been doing the same thing the same way for a long, long time.  And lately, they've noticed that their recruiting letters aren't as effective as they used to be.

How important is effective copywriting for college coaches?  Extremely important.  Doesn't matter if we're talking about letters, brochures or e-mails.  Great copywriting can be an essential part of a successful recruiting campaign. 

Here are some of the recommendations I shared with the coach I'm working with.  Can any of these tips help you be a more effective recruiter?

Send mail in different looking envelopes.  I don't usually open "junk mail" but the other day I received a letter and small brochure booklet in a clear, see-through envelope.  It looked cool, I got a glimpse of what was inside, and I opened it.  Getting mail opened is getting tougher and tougher, even if you're a coach talking to an athlete about a possible scholarship.  Another tip that a college I recently worked with is using: A personalized message on the outside of each envelope.  They look great, and they're getting opened.  Be different, coach! 

Ask a question at the beginning.  Make it compelling.  Make them think.  And, most importantly, tie it in to a motivation that your prospect has on their mind.  Getting their attention at the start of the letter or e-mail is crucial.

Use active verbs.  At the risk of sounding like your high school English teacher, let me recommend that you use active verbs throughout any communication you have with athletes.  How?  Be eliminating the verbs "is", "are", "was", "were" and "am".  For instance, if you're talking about your program's great graduation rates, don't say "Our graduation rate for 2005 was 95%".  "Was" is a no-no, remember.  Instead, say "Our graduation rates soared to 95% in 2005."  A minor detail?  Yes.  But, an important one.  Using the right verbs keep your reader engaged.  Using the wrong verbs will drive them away.

Use an active "voice".  Kind of the same theory, except this applies to your overall message.  Never write in the past tense.  Write in the present, active tense.  For example, "Our athletes had the chance to attend the bowl game last year" isn't that exciting.  Instead, how about "Our athletes attened the bowl game last year."  See the difference?  It's subtle, but like using active verbs, it keeps your readers engaged   

Writing effective recruiting letters isn't easy, but it's vital to your recruiting success. 

Want an in-house review of your recruiting materials and outbound marketing pieces?  Bring Selling for Coaches to your campus this Winter or Spring!  We've reduced our costs, and increased what we do during our time on your campus.  If you want to get more information on our popular On-Campus Seminars, e-mail us at dan@sellingforcoaches.com or call us at 661.809.6200.

Book your personal training soon to ensure the dates and times that are best for you...before your competition does!

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)