Three Early Signs Your Recruit Is Actually Interested in You

by Dan Tudor | Tudor Collegiate Strategies

When you begin recruiting a new class of prospects, one of the hardest things for a college coach to figure out at the beginning of a recruiting relationship is whether the athlete is genuinely interested in going through the process with you, or simply being polite (and not wanting you to get mad at them for not being interested…which, according to our research, happens more than coaches might think).

The thing is, most recruits have learned how to keep a conversation going without saying very much. Of course, they’ll tell you things like “yeah, Coach, your school sounds great”. And then, when you call again three days later, you get sent straight to voicemail (the one they haven’t set up, and never check).

Now look, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re trying to mislead you. Most teenage athletes are still learning how to handle attention from college coaches, and they’ve never made a big decision like this before. They’re not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, they’re just a little afraid of closing off an option too early, and many of them haven’t decided what they’re looking for yet. So all in all, it’s just a big bucket of confusion out there.

The result is that the coaches tend to put too much weight on what a recruit says during those first few conversations.

Instead, I want you to watch what they actually do.

So based on the key signs we look for when we’re helping our clients judge early interest from their top-tier prospects as a new recruiting year starts, here are three early signs that a recruit you’ve started talking to is actually interested in you and your program early-on in the process.

A recruit who is only being polite will usually give you safe, generalized answers that aren’t really specific to anything in particular. Answers that sound positive, but they don’t tell you much or reveal what the prospect is really thinking. Most recruits could send the same response to fifty different coaches, if we’re being truthful.

Real interest usually starts showing up when their answers become much more detailed.

They tell you why they’re considering your school. Or, they mention something they saw on your website or social media. They might ask you about a particular major. Things like that which signal they’re beginning to think a little more specifically about you and your program.

I think that specificity really matters when it comes to a real sign that they might have real interest.

Psychologically, interested recruits begin looking for reasons to justify continuing the relationship. They start gathering information that helps them picture your school as a real option. Instead of simply reacting to your questions, they begin connecting what you offer to what they want.

So, what you want to do is listen for small comments like:

“My dad and I were looking at your business program last night.”

“I saw that your team traveled to Florida last year. How often do you take trips like that?”

“I noticed you have three seniors at my position. Does that mean you’re looking to bring in more than one player in my class?”

Those questions show that the recruit has moved beyond casual curiosity, because it signals that they’re doing some thinking when you’re not on the phone with them.

That’s one of the first key signs that interest is beginning to grow.

As you may have noticed, teenagers you’re recruiting are not always great communicators. I don’t need to give you a bunch of examples of how they fail to communicate well, you already know.

But in contrast, interested recruits usually start finding ways to invest in the relationship they’ve started with you.

They’ll do things like complete the questionnaire you sent them, or pass along their upcoming competition schedule. Those might seem like small actions, but they’re important because very action requires the recruit to give you something. It could be their time, information, or access to someone important in their decision-making process. The point is, the more a recruit invests, the more serious the relationship tends to become. And that’s a key sign you want to look for early in the process.

This is one reason smart coaches should be looking to create small, reasonable next steps early in the process. Don’t end every conversation with, “Let’s stay in touch” or something else that is vague and not action-oriented.

Give the recruit something specific to do.

When you do that, you’re giving them an opportunity to show you whether they’re willing to move forward, which interested recruits usually do. Uninterested recruits usually delay, disappear or give you a steady stream of vague explanations.

One missed deadline doesn’t mean the recruit isn’t interested, but a pattern of avoiding every small next step probably does. So, watch for that!

This may be the strongest early sign of all, but it’s also the sign that is sometimes the hardest to recognize:

We find that when a recruit begins asking questions about what their life would actually look like at your school, they’re starting to mentally place themselves there.

• They ask which dorm first-year athletes live in, and if they get to choose their roommate.

• They want to know where teammates usually eat together after practice.

• They ask how far the athletic facilities are from the academic buildings.

Those questions can sound insignificant if you aren’t specifically listening for them, but they actually tend to reveal something really important because the recruit is no longer evaluating your program only from the outside, they’re beginning to picture themselves as part of it - and it begins to reflect in the questions they ask at the start of the relationship.

In sales, this is sometimes called ‘future pacing’, which is when a person starts mentally experiencing what it would feel like to make the decision before they’ve officially made it.

Teenage athletes often do this indirectly, which is why you need to really pay attention and look for it between the lines of the conversations you’re having with them. They may not come right out and say, “I can see myself attending your school.” Instead, we hear them asking things like, “What do the guys on the team usually like doing on weekends?” Or, “Would I be able to study abroad if I played for you?” Or, “When would I need to decide on housing?”

Pay attention when their language starts shifting from general questions about the school to personal questions about their possible experience there. When you hear it, that shift usually means the recruit is becoming emotionally involved in the decision, and they have already started picturing themselves on your campus - and that’s a great sign of significant early interest.

That emotional involvement matters because recruits rarely choose a school based only on a list of facts. They choose the place that begins to feel comfortable, exciting and believable.

Some recruits are naturally outgoing. They’ll laugh at your jokes, listen to you talk for forty minutes and tell you how much they enjoyed the conversation. Other recruits are quiet, nervous and uncomfortable talking to adults they don’t know.

The lesson here is simple: The outgoing recruit may not be seriously considering you. The quiet recruit may have you at the top of their list, which is why reading tone alone can be dangerous.

You want to look for movement, not just friendliness. Are their answers becoming more specific? Are they taking small actions that move the relationship forward? Are they beginning to picture themselves at your school? Those types of behaviors and actions give you much better information than whether they "sounded excited during one phone call.

And also remember, interest can grow. A recruit doesn’t have to be completely sold on your program after the first conversation. Your job is to recognize whether they’re giving you enough evidence to keep investing your time, while continuing to lead them through a process that helps them understand why your school might be right for them.

The best recruiters watch for the small signs that prove interest. Do that starting right from the start, and you’re going to get a much clearer view of where you actually stand with your new group of prospects.

Are you feeling like you need help when it comes to moving more recruits from mild interest to strong relationships? Our Total Recruiting Solution plan helps hundreds of coaching staffs each and every month evaluate their communication with recruits, and implement specific customized strategies to get them to be more serious about their particular program. It has been working for coaches for more than 20 years, and it can work for you too. Email dan@dantudor.com to schedule a time to talk about the specific plan that could be developed for you and your program.