The Recruiting Problem I Was Actually Happy to Have

Hey Coach, 

I want to tell you where a big part of what I teach through Busy Coach actually came from.

Years ago, when I was still coaching college soccer, I became a Dan Tudor Total Recruiting Solution client because I wanted to become a better recruiter. I needed more recruits to respond. I wanted better messages, better conversations, and a better process for moving recruits toward a decision.

Working with Dan helped me do all of that.

And it worked REALLY well.

More recruits responded. More conversations started. More recruits stayed engaged.

Then I opened my database one day and realized I had 100+ active recruits who all seemed to need something from me.

I remember thinking, This is exactly what I wanted...so why am I so overwhelmed?

Dan had helped me solve one recruiting problem. Success had created the next one.

How was I supposed to personally recruit all these athletes while running practice, watching film, managing my staff, taking care of my players, traveling, sitting through meetings, and hopefully seeing my family occasionally?

That experience was actually part of what eventually led me to create Busy Coach.

And now, working with coaches through Busy Coach and as Dan's Executive Vice President, I love when a coach brings me this problem.

When someone tells me, "Mandy, we're getting more responses, but I can't keep up with everybody," I smile.

Because it means the changes we've put in place to improve how they connect with recruits is working.

Now we need to solve the next problem:

How do you make sure your limited recruiting time is spent on the recruits most likely to move?

Let Behavior Determine Your Effort

The first mistake I had to stop making was treating every interested recruit like a priority recruit.

Someone responds, so you keep texting. Someone is incredibly talented, so you keep chasing them.

Meanwhile, another recruit has visited, applied, involved Mom and Dad, asked about financial aid, and is moving toward a decision.

Those recruits shouldn't get the same amount of your time.

Here's the rule I've learned to use:

Your recruiting effort should follow recruit behavior.

Pay attention to the little commitments. Calls. Visits. Applications. Parent involvement. Consistent responses. Financial aid conversations.

Their behavior is giving you data about where your time is most likely to produce a result.

Stop Managing 100 Different Conversations

Next, stop looking at your database as 100 individual recruiting jobs.

Group recruits by what needs to happen next.

Maybe 12 need a first call, nine need a visit, seven need post-visit follow-up, six need their parents involved, and five are approaching a decision.

You don't have 39 different recruiting jobs.

You have five.

Batch those activities together and personalize the conversation when the recruit responds.

That one change can dramatically reduce the amount of mental switching you're doing all day.

Make Your Database Tell You What to Do

For your serious recruits, you should be able to quickly identify five things:

STATUS: Where are they?
WIN: Why might they choose us?
OBSTACLE: What could make us lose them?
NEXT STEP: What needs to happen?
DATE: When?

That's much more useful than opening a record that says, "Great call. Seems really interested."

Great. Now what?

Don't build a database that helps you remember what happened. Build one that tells you what to do next.

And don't try to reorganize 100 recruits this weekend.

Start with your top 10. Identify their Status, Win, Obstacle, Next Step, and Date. Then group similar next steps and batch the work.

That's the lesson I wish I'd understood sooner.

Becoming a more efficient recruiter isn't about finding a way to cram more recruiting into your day.

It's getting better at deciding who gets your time, what they need from you, and what needs to happen next.

That's how you turn the good problem of more responses into better recruiting results without letting recruiting consume your life.

Hope this helps.  Have a great week. 

Win the Day.

Mandy Green
Helping coaches win at work without losing at home.

If you'd like to book a free 30 minute strategy call with me, book your call here: https://calendly.com/busy-coach

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