This is a rare week when I get to catch-up on work at the office and conversations with coaches.

Last week, I was spending time at two different colleges teaching their coaches how to recruit more effectively.  When I lead those On-Campus Workshops, they usually revolve around the question of knowing how a prospect actually decides on a college that is recruiting him or her. In other words, if two or three schools are actively pursuing an athlete and each school is vying for his or her commitment, how do you as a coach know how your prospect will arrive at a decision?

Here's the shocker, Coach: There's no need to wonder about it. In fact, there's one simple question that can help erase all the mystery when it comes to the decision making process of a prospect.

Here's the question:

"How will you make your final decision?"

That's it?? Yes, that's it.

Cut to the chase and ask the athlete up-front how they will be making their decision on which college to go to and which offer to accept.

After the athlete answers, here's another important question to ask:

"And then what?"

And then they'll tell you more. And then you ask, "And then what?" again.  And they'll tell you more. And on and on until you finally get to the real source of their decision - a school's major, the coach, their parents' input, their coach's input, or even what kind of uniforms you have compared to the competition. The bottom line is, you'll know what the decision rests on.

This past week, I put this strategy to the test with a soccer coach at one of those schools I worked with who was still trying to fill one last opening on her roster.  She was recruiting three players actively, each of whom was not giving the coach any indication of where they were leaning in terms of a program, when they would make their final decision, and how they would make their final decision.  This strategy that I just summarized is what we recommended to the coach, along with some other important questions to ask their prospects. 

The result?  The coach got the answer she was looking from two of her prospects within 48 hours (she e-mailed me this weekend).  She made the offer to the better prospect, and they committed to her program a few days ago.  Why?  Because the coach finally understood how her prospect would be making her decision - a decision that included a lot of influence from a step-father whom the coach had never talked to personally.  Once the coach knew that he played a major role in her prospect's decision making process, she talked with him at length.  After taking about an hour to answer his questions and concerns, he agreed that her program was the best for his step-daughter.

I can't stress how important this series of questions is. It's a key question for business professionals to ask when they seek to understand how a sales decision is going to be made, and it's a great question to ask if you're a coach who finds yourself walking out of personal visit or long phone call with a prospect wondering what the prospect is thinking or where you rank with other colleges who are pitching their program.

Try it. I think you'll like the results. And always remember to ask those follow-up questions until you get to the bottom line and you know how they will be making their decision.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's the core of every good recruiting effort...the single thing that can determine whether you get the prospect, or lose them to a competitor.

Questions.

Especially asking the right ones, the right way, at the right time. 

When you get right down to it, questions drive successful recruiting efforts.  Everything else - all those exciting brochures (not), all those tantilizing one page letters (???) - don't measure up to really effective questions.  Like the ones we talk about in our two recruiting guides for college coaches.

To make sure this ends up as a successful year of recruiting for you and your program, I wanted to give you a few of the right kinds of questions you should be asking your prospects right away.  See if you can incorporate these into your recruiting conversations as you head into recruiting's stretch run:

1. The Who Question

Never, ever assume that the prospect you are speaking with is the real decision-maker.

It sounds strange, but it is true: Your prospect may be only one of a number of individuals who will figure into his or her final decision. Parents, coaches and others may have real influence over your prospect.  Are you coming to our special recruiting workshops in Los Angeles or San Francisco?  If you are, you'll find out how parents and coaches effect all of these decisions.  (There's still time to register...you should come!) 

Know all the players in the game so you can prepare strategies and tactics to deal with them and how they may individually effect your prospect's decision. Your challenge is to find out if there are other participants in the decision without putting your recruit on the spot. If you're too blunt, the prospect might mislead you. Here is a simple question that you can't live without. Use it every time:

"Amanda, apart from yourself, who is involved in your decision?"

Here's a variation: "Kevin, when a player like you has to make a big decision like this, there are usually several people involved. Apart from yourself, who else will help you make your decision?"

2. The When Question

I am amazed at how many coaches and recruiters ignore this powerful and insightful question:

"Kathy, when do you see the final decision being made?" Or, "Chad, if our offer was a go in your mind, when do you see it happening?"

The "when" question helps you to assess your prospect's urgency. A decision that will be made within a week has more urgency than a decision that will be made in three months. Knowing when the recruiting might conclude helps you set priorities, determines the time and effort you devote and dictates your follow up strategy with the prospect you're recruiting.

3. The Scenario Question

Discovering a prospect's needs can be challenging in the early stages of recruiting. When prospects don't know you, they tend to be much more reserved in the information they share. Many are not comfortable telling you about their "warts and blemishes" (i.e., their needs, challenges, weaknesses and concerns) until you've established some rapport. You've probably noticed that by now, right coach? 

To get around this hesitancy, coaches should use a scenario question. As the name implies, the scenario question paints a scenario that addresses a problem or concern without putting the prospect on the spot. Here are a couple of examples:

"Eric, a lot of the prospects we're recruiting this year have said they're interested in committing as early as possible. Let me ask you, is that something you're thinking about also?"

"Jennifer, we are getting more and more feedback from our prospects that are part of our upcoming recruiting class about who they'll rely on to help them make their final decision.  Let me ask you, how would you answer that question?"

The scenario question is based on the premise that "misery loves company". You want the prospect to think, "Gee, if others are experiencing the same thing then it's okay for me to open up." Master the scenario question and you'll get to their needs and inner motivations more quickly, reduce your recruiting cycle and get more recruits committed in less time.

4. The Net Impact Question

Even if you use a scenario question and the recruit opens up to you, it doesn't necessarily mean that the their need for what you're offering at your college is strong enough for him to take positive action. One of the best questions you can ask to determine the depth and breadth of a need your athletic prospect has is the "net impact" question. Here are two versions:

"So what's the net impact of our offer to cover half of your total tuition costs?" Or, "What's the possible net impact of waiting until late March to give us your final decision?"

The net impact forces your prospect to think about the rippling effect of a problem. It gets your prospect to do some analysis. In effect, you want him to say, "Gee, I never thought of it like that." Suddenly, seemingly minor problems become more significant. Or, you learn the net impact is minor in the mind of your teenage prospect. If so, avoid wasting your time. Move on. Because the question is opened-end it gets your client to expand and elaborate. You get information and information is power.

Those four questions alone should generate a lot of insights into the mind of your prospect.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's the core of every good recruiting effort...the single thing that can determine whether you get the prospect, or lose them to a competitor.

Questions.

Asking the right ones, the right way, at the right time.  When you get right down to it, questions drive successful recruiting efforts.  Everything else - all those exciting brochures, all those tantilizing one page letters - don't measure up to really effective questions.  Like the ones we talk about in our two recruiting guides for college coaches.

To help you kick off a successful year of recruiting, I wanted to give you a few of the right kinds of questions you can ask your prospects right away.  See if you can incorporate these into your recruiting conversations: 

1. The Who Question
Never, ever assume that the prospect you are speaking with is the real decision-maker. It sounds strange, but it is true: Your prospect may be only one of a number of individuals who will figure into his or her final decision. Parents, coaches and others may have real influence over your prospect.  Know all the players in the game so you can prepare strategies and tactics to deal with them and how they may individually effect your prospect's decision. Your challenge is to find out if there are other participants in the decision without putting your recruit on the spot. If you're too blunt, the prospect might mislead you. Here is a simple question that you can't live without. Use it every time:

"Amanda, apart from yourself, who is involved in your decision?"

Here's a variation: "Kevin, when a player like you has to make a big decision like this, there are usually several people involved. Apart from yourself, who else will help you make your decision?"

2. The When Question
I am amazed at how many coaches and recruiters ignore this powerful and insightful question:

"Kathy, when do you see the final decision being made?" Or, "Chad, if our offer was a go in your mind, when do you see it happening?"

The "when" question helps you to assess your prospect's urgency. A decision that will be made within a week has more urgency than a decision that will be made in three months. Knowing when the recruiting might conclude helps you set priorities, determines the time and effort you devote and dictates your follow up strategy with the prospect you're recruiting.

3. The Scenario Question
Discovering a prospect's needs can be challenging in the early stages of recruiting. When prospects don't know you, they tend to be much more reserved in the information they share. Many are not comfortable telling you about their "warts and blemishes" (i.e., their needs, challenges, weaknesses and concerns) until you've established some rapport. You've probably noticed that by now, right coach?  To get around this hesitancy, coaches should use a scenario question. As the name implies, the scenario question paints a scenario that addresses a problem or concern without putting the prospect on the spot. Here are a couple of examples:

"Eric, a lot of the prospects we're recruiting this year have said they're interested in committing as early as possible. Let me ask you, is that something you're thinking about also?"

"Jennifer, we are getting more and more feedback from our prospects that are part of our 2008 recruiting class about who they'll rely on to help them make their final decision.  Let me ask you, how would you answer that question?"

The scenario question is based on the premise that "misery loves company". You want the prospect to think, "Gee, if others are experiencing the same thing then it's okay for me to open up." Master the scenario question and you'll get to their needs and inner motivations more quickly, reduce your recruiting cycle and get more recruits committed in less time.

4. The Net Impact Question
Even if you use a scenario question and the recruit opens up to you, it doesn't necessarily mean that the their need for what you're offering at your college is strong enough for him to take positive action. One of the best questions you can ask to determine the depth and breadth of a need your athletic prospect has is the "net impact" question. Here are two versions:

"So what's the net impact of our offer to cover half of your total tuition costs?" Or, "What's the possible net impact of waiting until late March to give us your final decision?"

The net impact forces your prospect to think about the rippling effect of a problem. It gets your prospect to do some analysis. In effect, you want him to say, "Gee, I never thought of it like that." Suddenly, seemingly minor problems become more significant. Or, you learn the net impact is minor in the mind of your teenage prospect. If so, avoid wasting your time. Move on. Because the question is opened-end it gets your client to expand and elaborate. You get information and information is power.

Those four questions alone will generate a lot of insights into the mind of your prospect.

If you're a SFC Premium Member (or sign-up by Thursday) we'll give you another four types of questions, with examples, that you can use to get your prospects to open up and reveal how they need to be recruited. 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)