Bail-outs,  Bank failures.  Stock losses.  Foreclosures.  Recession.  Depression? 

According to some, we're headed for uncharted territory.  The financial crisis will effect all of us in some way, shape or form.  That includes you, and it includes recruiting.

Here are some things that you're going to start hearing about from your prospects when you talk to them about coming to your school:

• Student loans are starting to dry up.  More parents are competing for less money, and its starting to effect the ability of some students to remain in school (not to mention get into school in the first place).  If you're at a school that offers full ride scholarships, you can breath a little easier.  If you are a non-scholarship, or only offer partial scholarships, this might start impacting you in the near future.
• Students and parents might start turning to credit cards to pay for school.  One study suggests that a weak college student job market, coupled with the tightening private loan market, means that students and parents will turn to alternative financing options to pay for school - like credit cards.
• Is there some good news out there?  Yes: The government will pull out all the stops to protect student financial aid programs.  Just two weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed an extension of a program that funds federally guaranteed student loans.  That's good news, since many schools rely on federal financial aid to help fund the tuition of their student-athletes.

However, even some rays of hope shining here and there, the long and the short of all of this can be boiled down to one simple statement: The topic of money is going to become an even more critical issue to address when you are recruiting athletes.

We're not experts on the economy, and nobody is going to be calling me anytime soon to help negotiate bail-out deals in Washington, but I think I can give you some pretty clear advice on how to take this crisis head-on when it comes to recruiting.

Here are the things you need to know, and some things you need to make sure you do:

• Ask the parents of your recruit how this crisis is effecting them.  That type of question is one of the "15 Great Questions" we usually recommend to college coaches during our On-Campus Workshops.  You need to understand how this crisis is effecting them, and what obstacles it creates when it comes to considering your school.
• Be prepared to talk about money with your prospects.  Get comfortable having that conversation.  It's going to be on the minds of your prospects more and more, especially if you're not offering them a full scholarship.
• Be a guide.  Coaches who take the small extra step of being a guide through this increasingly confusing process at your school will win points with the family they are recruiting.  Your prospects are looking for help, and we don't think you should rely on admissions or your financial aid office to be the one-stop spot for answers and super sweet "customer service" - an attitude that shows you take ownership of the idea of helping them through this area of the recruiting process.
• The coach who proves they have the best "bang for the buck", wins.  Families are still going to place a college education high on their list of things they are willing to invest in.  Unlike a lot of sectors of the market that will go through real struggles over the coming years, college educations - as well as the dream of playing college sports - should remain a high priority in the minds of athletes and parents.  The key to success in the coming months will be making sure you demonstrate to your prospects that you and your program offer the most opportunities for success and the best chance to become a great athlete.  You are going to see families "shopping" more when it comes to choosing a college, especially if you are asking them to pay for part of it.  I hope you are ready to be the master sales professional that I've been begging you to become the last few years...you are about to really rely on those communication and persuasion skills we've been teaching.
• How you communicate what you have to offer counts more now than ever.  Especially your letters and emails, Coach.  If you have a family who is struggling financially, or worried about their job, your average recruiting letter is going to have an even harder time getting through to them and getting their attention.  Communicating clearly, systematically and with some originality is crucial.  This all goes towards proving yourself to be a guide and a leader, which is going to be a valued commodity in the eyes of parents.
• Get to know your school's financial aid officers, and their process for determining who gets what.  Are you a coach who has kept an arm's distance relationship with the people from financial aid and the admissions office?  You can't afford to do that anymore.  Get to know them, what they look for, and how they make their decisions with regards to your incoming prospects.  Coaches who invest the time in these relationships tell me that it has made a tangible difference in the process of getting an athlete they really want.  Personal relationships matter: Invest in those relationships that can make your job as a recruiter easier, and more productive.

 All of us are, in some way, effected by what is going on in the financial markets.  Nobody (that I know, anyway) can predict what is going to happen and what the specific results are going to be. 

However, I do know this: How parents and athletes look at investing in a school is going to change.  Who they listen to is going to change.  How they make their final decision is going to change.

My question for you is, "How are you going to change?"

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Why is recruiting minorities for baseball programs becoming more and more of a daunthing task for college coaches?  Doug Newhoff, a respected sports reporter in Iowa, has a great article that tries to address that question, and looks ahead to what the sport needs to do to increase minority participation. 

David Price was the No. 1 pick in the Major League baseball's amateur draft in June.

Two years ago, Justin Upton was taken first overall.

Both are African-American, and they serve to illustrate an issue that's affecting college baseball dugouts across the country.

Despite the obvious opportunities that baseball offers minority athletes, the numbers of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians are declining quicker than Randy Johnson's fastball.

In fact, minority participation in both college baseball and fastpitch softball is nearly non-existent.

The numbers paint a black and white picture:

- Based on information collected from the Web sites and media guides of the respective conference institutions, less than 1 percent of the baseball and softball players on Big 12, Big Ten and Missouri Valley rosters in 2007 were minorities (African-American, Hispanic or Asian).

- Four of the 29 schools in those leagues offering baseball and seven of the 31 colleges offering softball had no minority players.

- In softball, there were just three African-American women on Big Ten rosters, seven in the Big 12 and three in the Missouri Valley. In baseball, there were 11 black players in the Big Ten, nine in the Big 12 and six in the Missouri Valley.

It's a trend that's been circling the basepaths for several years.

An NCAA survey compiled in 2003-04 showed that only 6 percent of approximately 9,800 Division I baseball players were African-American. In 2006, just 2.6 percent of the athletes in 29 major DI conferences were black.

"I've noticed it for the last 10 or 12 years," said University of Northern Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller, whose 2007 team reflected a diversity unique to the college game today with two African-American players and five additional minority student-athletes.

"The number of minority players in my eyes has steadily dropped. Do I know the reason? No, but somewhere along the line baseball has lost its appeal.

"It's a topic that's been talked a lot about in college baseball the last five or six years."

Heller said two factors are definitely affecting minority participation at the college level.

"One thing I've noticed recruiting in Chicago and even California is that there's not a lot of money in scholarships out there for baseball players," he related. "Everyone's on a partial (scholarship), and with a lot of minority kids I think that hurts."

A fully funded Division I baseball program can offer the equivalent of 11.7 full scholarships. Many programs, like UNI's, aren't fully funded, but like those that are, they still need 25 to 30 players on their roster.

By comparison, Division I men's basketball programs have 13 scholarships to offer and rosters that seldom exceed 15 to 18 players. Football teams at the I-A level work with 85 full rides among 100 or so players. In I-AA football, coaches have 63 scholarships to distribute among 80-90 players.

"Why shouldn't they go with a sport where they're going to have a chance to get a full ride, like football or basketball?" asks Heller. "In baseball, they're going to get a couple thousand dollars or maybe 30 or 40 percent.

"To me, it's crazy that as popular as baseball is and as well as our kids do academically it still seems like baseball is the sport that continually takes the hit."

In addition, Heller continued, professional baseball casts a long shadow.

"If a kid's good enough to play Division I baseball, that means he's probably good enough to be looked at or drafted by the pros, so rather than pay for part of their college they get into the pros right away," he explained. "And in some cases, they'll just go to a junior college where they can go for free and improve their position for the draft."

In softball, the overall minority numbers are better, but still low. In the Big Ten, Big 12 and Missouri Valley, almost 1 percent of the 2007 players were minorities.

The availability of scholarships is still an issue but not as big a factor as it is with baseball. Division I teams are allowed a maximum of 13 full scholarships, which they use to build rosters that seldom number more than 18 to 20 players.

The makeup of the regional population is another factor. Most Midwestern programs like to build their teams around a core group of homegrown players who take ownership in the program. And because the minority population isn't strong in most Midwestern states, there aren't many minority student-athletes participating in either softball or baseball.

"The Big Ten is largely based on where we're recruiting from and what our population is in those areas," noted longtime University of Iowa coach Gayle Blevins. "If you get into different parts of the country, you will see better minority participation."

The recruiting landscape is even more of a factor for college softball coaches. In most states, high school baseball and softball are played at the same time the college seasons are under way. That makes it difficult for coaches to see many prep prospects in their own geographic regions.

So, a significant percentage of the scouting takes place at youth tournaments that occur in the summer months outside the college seasons.

In softball, there are hundreds of "travel" teams based in states like California, Arizona, Texas and Florida where there are significant minority populations and dozens of high-profile, gold-level tournaments around the country.

"We were in Colorado for a 4th of July tournament, and there were tons of students from all over the country," related Blevins. "Geographically, a lot of those teams were from areas with greater minority populations, so there were more minority students participating.

"I had a conversation with one of my assistants while we were in Colorado that we needed to be real sensitive to minority students. It's something we're committed to, and something our university is committed to, as well."

There just aren't many from which to choose. While Blevins and coaches from other top programs can find the occasional diamond in the rough at such events, hundreds of other prospective student-athletes never get that opportunity.

"You have to have some resources to get into travel ball because you have to travel," added Blevins. "If you don't have the resources, maybe that's not even an option. It's unfortunate to think that we have students who simply can't be in our sport because they don't have those resources or don't have access to a team that's relatively close to home.

"In California, it's such a huge state they don't have to go any great distance to have a chance to find a halfway decent travel ball team. That plays to the advantage of the students there. In Iowa, you would have to travel a much greater distance to play."

Blevins suspects that specialization is keeping many Midwestern kids out of sports like softball. Her own niece, for example, is being pressured by both her soccer and basketball coach to focus year-round on their sport.

"I think it's unfortunate that it's evolved to that, but that's probably what's happening," she said. "I'm of the opinion that it helps students to be multi-sport athletes."

Heller pointed out even more potential influences that may be keeping young players out of baseball and, ultimately, out of college programs.

"I see the (Los Angeles) area and a little in San Diego and up the coast," said Heller. "I've had scouts in L.A. tell me that gang issues have really hurt youth baseball because kids are afraid to cross color lines to go play. They can't get kids to go to road games and cross the lines.

"I honestly think the whole Michael Jordan phenomenon has a lot to do with it, too," he continued. "I think a lot of minority kids have turned to basketball.

"I don't think parents are pushing their kids toward baseball, either. Back in the 1960s and '70s, there were a lot of black players in baseball, but it hasn't carried over to their sons. They play a big role because they have to get them to the games and support them."

Both coaches believe their games would be even better with greater minority participation.

"I would love to see more minority students playing in Iowa high school programs," said Blevins. "I think they are missing out."

"We're losing a lot of good athletes," added Heller. "Any time we can get better athletes into our sport, it's going to make it better. I think it's really pretty political and probably much deeper than we could ever get into."

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Coach, we're thrilled that you're going to take part in our upcoming training webinar.

If you haven't attended one before, here's a quick rundown of how they work:

• We try to keep them fast-paced and informative.  We know you're time is valuable, and we'll try our best to cut out a lot of the "fluff" and get straight to the "meat" of the subject.
• You'll have the chance to ask questions at the end, or e-mail us afterwards with any questions or needs that you might have.
• If you haven't read "Selling for Coaches", our special recruiting guide for college coaches who want to dominate their competition in the battle for recruits, we invite you to order the book.  It will give you a good overview for this training webinar, as well as future training webinars.  It's not required, just suggested.
• If you're really serious about becoming a dominant recruiter, but also serious about saving money, we invite you to try a free 30-day trial SFC Premium Membership.  If you want more information on what this is, how it works, and why hundreds of college coaches already are SFC Premium Members, click here. 

Thanks, Coach!  We look forward to having you join us for the training webinar.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now you can try our SFC Premium Membership for FREE!

We'll give you a free 30-day trial of the best recruiting, sales and communication skills training available for today's serious college coach. 

If you don't like what you see during your trial membership, just cancel your account before the end of your first 30 days and you won't be charged anything.  It's quick, easy and secure. 

Or, if you keep your subscription active and continue to pay just $29 a month - less than $1 a day!  You can still cancel your training subscription at anytime if you aren't absolutely, 100% satisfied with the techniques and training that you're receiving.  All of our Premium Membership subscriptions run month-to-month, with no long term commitments or contracts.    

Ready to put Selling for Coaches to the test?  Here's what do:

1. Click here to go to the secure SFC Premium Member sign-up page.
2. Click on the "Add to Cart" button.
3. In the section marked "Coupon or Gift Card", enter in the following free offer code for your one month free Premium Membership trial:  30FREESFC2007    
4. Make sure you enter the code exactly as shown, using capital letters and no spaces between the letters and numbers.
5. Click on the "Update Cart" button, and you should see your total for your order now showing $0.00.
6. Now, smile!  You just got something for free! 
7. If you're done shopping, proceed to checkout.  At this point, if you're a new customer, you'll be asked for your contact and billing information.
8. Do you have questions before buying?  E-mail me at dan@sellingforcoaches.com.

Does the training work?  We asked some of our Premium Members to give us their thoughts, and here's a quick sample of what we received back:

"Our athletic director told me the other day that its the best money he spends every month.  Our whole department has seen positive results from the training your staff has put together for us."   - Terry T, Virginia

"It's training that always makes me think.  The information that's given is easy to understand and very easy to put into practice."  - Pat B, California

"I used to dread recruiting, especially when I had to do it over the phone.  You've taught me two techniques that I now use every day in talking with athletes, and it's made a HUGE difference in my attitude about having to recruit and also how effective I am at recruiting."    - Kimberly N, Florida

"Me and my assistant have been a part of three of the special webinars you have for Premium Members.  We really got a lot out of the one on how to increase attendance by 20%, and how you applied that to recruiting.  It was really interesting." - David T, Washington

"I plan on being a member as long as you offer the service, Dan.  I just don't want you to start working with my two main competitors!  We're starting to see a difference in how we recruit against them, and they haven't figured out what we're doing yet.  We feel like we have a little secret weapon now, and we don't want to share it.  Don't use my name with this, if that's OK."  - Annonymous

That last one is my favorite, and you can probably see why! 

We enjoy helping coaches become better at something that they don't necessarily like doing.  There's a lot of satisfaction for our staff in the difference we're able to make in the coaching lives of our Premium Members, and want you to experience that same level of service.

We hope you take this opportunity for in-depth training that more than 300 coaches and athletic departments have chosen to participate in, and accept our invitation to try our Premium Membership for free for the next 30 days.  There's nothing to lose (except your fear of recruiting, bad communication habits, lack of selling skills, etc).

An Example of Our Work

The coach we'll talk about gave us permission to share this story, and it's a great example of how we work with college coaches and why our training is effective.

A D1 assistant football coach, who we'll call "Greg", became a SFC Premium Member about five months ago after reading our recruiting guide for coaches.  Football recruiting was already underway, and his responsibility as a first year assistant was a specific state that bordered the state his college was located in.  He told us that he needed to "shave about three years off the learning curve" when it came to recruiting, since he and his staff were under the gun to sign a great class.  He wanted our help in doing that.

The first thing we did after he became a Premium Member was to talk with him and get an idea of what kind of strengths and weaknesses he had as a recruiter, and to find out what some other potential hurdles were in his recruiting activities. 

It wasn't long before we uncovered a major problem with his approach: He wasn't asking open-ended questions.  The kind of questions that not only get an athlete to open-up, but to also give a coach key information in how they really want to be recruited.  We worked with him for a few sessions over two weeks, and then had him practice on a prospect that he had been trying (but failing) to make any real progress with.

About a week later, Greg called back.  Using one of the voicemail tips we gave him, he finally got a returned call from his prospect (by his count, he had left about ten messages for the athlete, only one of which had been returned).  They spent a half hour on the phone, where Greg "forced himself" (his words, not ours!) to ask the questions that we recommended asking for that particular prospect.  The result?  Greg got details and insights about the athlete that he wouldn't have dreamed he could have uncovered just a few week earlier.  He even discovered a mistake that one of his competitors made with in approaching the prospect, and that the other program was no longer a serious consideration.  The scary thing?  Greg said that he would have used the same approach if he hadn't uncovered that fact during his questioning!

The end result of it all is that Greg was able to get a verbal commitment from the athlete after a campus visit, and secured the deal on the national signing day in February of 2007.  From start to finish, we were able to do two important things with Greg: Improve his recruiting and sales skills, and specifically help him with an important athlete who will probably start as a sophomore on defense.

Worth the $29 a month?  Greg thinks so!  Since the signing of his prospect, two other coaches on staff with him have become Premium Members.  We just started working with them, and plan to give them the same techniques and training that we gave Greg.

The bottom line:  We're good at what we do, Coach.  And we think it's imperative that you have this kind of training under your belt as you move forward in your college coaching career.

Recruiting is a vital part of college coaching.  If you can't recruit, you can't put a winning product on the field.  We can teach you how to become a dominant recruiter, and give you sales and communication skills you probably have never been trained to master.  We don't tell you who to recruit, or where to recruit.  We come alongside you and teach you how to recruit more effectively.

It's my hope that we get the chance to work with you and the other coaches at your school, and that we become your "secret weapon" in recruiting that helps you build a winning program (we promise we'll let you take all the credit for the great recruiting classes that you'll be signing, coach). 

Again, if you have questions about a Premium Membership, or if you're an Athletic Director and you're interested in having us work with your entire coaching staff at a discount, e-mail me at dan@sellingforcoaches.com or call our office at 661.809.6200

Sincerely,

Dan Tudor, President of Selling for Coaches

Posted by Dan Tudor at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)