Don’t be a cry baby! You’ve got to call the parents back at some time.

I know there is a high level of stress and anxiety associated with a follow-up phone call. 

It’s your second go-round with the parents. 

Your thought process is probably ‘will the parents be receptive or will they just blow me up?’

Let’s assume in your first face-to-face meeting or phone call everything went great.

They liked what you had to say, but they needed some time to make a decision.

This is often the scenario during your first encounter. The ‘wait and I’ll get back to you’ game.

Finally, the moment of truth has arrived.

You must make that second phone call. Unfortunately, inexperienced scouts often screw this part up for various reasons.

Preparation is the key ingredient to the follow-up phone call.

I’m assuming the last conversation ended with the parents saying they’ll think it over or something to that effect. 

I’ve been in the business long enough to know that the parents are not sitting around every moment of the day thinking about the previous conversation.

It is safe to assume that, in regards to the parents, the moment the conversation ended they’ve completely forgotten everything you talked about. They forgot your name, the name of your company, and even what was discussed.

Here are the steps you should follow.

Call them back within 5 to 7 days.  

You’re not giving them time to think about it, you’re giving yourself time for preparation. 

The moment the first conversation has concluded that’s the exact moment you start your preparation for the follow-up phone call.

You must know exactly what you’re going to say to the parents before you punch in those phone numbers.

Example: Mr. Jones, the last time we spoke it was regarding Spencer’s football career and the recruiting process. What can we do to get this process moving forward with Spencer today?

The Point: You want to get right to the point without hesitation. You’re not wasting time, or words or any of that. You already know exactly what you’re going to say so be brief, be self-assured, be strong in your voice, and be confident in your approach.

Failure to get right to the point will allow parents an opportunity to cut you off or shut you down; to distract or try to intimidate you, by responding with ‘we’re not interested’. If you allow parents to have that kind of control, you’ve just shot yourself in the foot!

The Objection:  Be prepared for an objection because there’s a high probability it will happen. That’s the normal response from most parents. The real question is, how are you going to handle it? Will you be prepared?

Preparation:  Roleplay possible objections and how you would deal with each and every one of them. Write down the objection and your response to it. Continue to practice until perfection. Continue to practice until all has been committed to memory.

To eliminate confusion. You don’t need a separate rebuttal for every objection, keep it simple. 

Example:  When the parent says we’re not interested, no thank you, or just plain NO or any kind of objection, your response should be the following:

What exactly is it that you’re not interested in?

What exactly are you saying No to?

You’re feeding the objection back to them. Many times, parents don’t even know why they are objecting in the first place. You’re trying to find the hidden objection and, generally, there always is one.

The Hidden Objection:  

If the parent has an objection and they can’t elaborate on it, then I would suspect there’s a hidden objection somewhere. 

Your job is to dig deeper in order to uncover any and all hidden objections.

‘Not interested, no thank you, we’re going to pass on it, or just flat-out no’. These are common objections. 

The strategy is to feed the objection back to them. 

An extraordinarily large number of inexperienced scouts will accept the first objection, or any objection, the parent hits them with. This kind of mindset is a recipe for disaster.

By simply accepting that objection and walking away you could potentially ruin your career and be out of business permanently.

You want to achieve a certain level of financial freedom, but I guarantee you if you do not master the art of the follow-up phone call you will be in financial ruin. 

I’d would like to know what you think of this topic. Please leave a comment in the comment section below. Your comments are the options in we need to grow. 

Trust is a peculiar project.

You go on a date to build trust.

You buy your kid that new toy to build trust.

You show up to work on time and do a great job to build trust.

Trust is simply a peculiar project of ideas that can be seen clearly.

From the parent’s point, of view they don’t trust you because they don’t know you.

They could care less about your recruiting service because they don’t like you.

They don’t want to hear about your successes because, frankly, they don’t give a damn.

We’ve all heard the stories about how bad recruiting services are, how they do nothing but take people’s money and destroy student-athletes’ dreams. 

If you haven’t heard the negativity about recruiting services, then you probably haven’t been in the business long enough.

Trust me, you will hear the hate. 

This post is not about hate, though.

More importantly, it’s about trust.

They Don’t Know You:

When it comes to brand awareness, by just looking at a company’s logo you know exactly who they are and what they do. 

When it comes to your recruiting service, you’re invisible in the eyes of everyone and it’s your fault.

Where do you stand on brand awareness?

Do you attend high school sporting events, camps, exposure events, and tournaments?

Have you built a network of high school and club coaches?

Does everyone in the high school sports community have your business card and do you have their contact information? 

You have to be known in order to gain trust, respect, and likability. 

This business, unfortunately, has a lot of crummy people associated with it. 

These recruiting services only care about money, nothing more. 

The perception is muddied in the minds of everyone that’s why it’s important for you to change their minds and be visible.

Do They Like You: 

We all have that favorite family member.

Maybe it’s an uncle, your grandmother, or your grandfather.

When we see them our faces light up with joy and excitement. 

In your role as college scout, when you walk into a sporting event do people’s faces light up when they see you?

Are they pointing at you with excitement?

They can’t wait to talk to you.

They want to share information with you about players.

They want to sit next to you at the game. Do they like you?

Are the conversations engaging with smiles on their faces, happiness in their eyes?

Are they enjoying talking about sports, your passion, your loves? Do they like you?

Do They Trust You: 

The oddity of trust is it’s all good when you’re just talking.

It’s all good when the conversation is about players.

All of that changes when the viewing public finds out you charge a fee for your services.

The expressions on their faces immediately change as though you called their mother out her name.

They know you and they like you, now you have to climb that mountain of trust which will seem almost impossible to reach the top.

I do believe once the high school sports community realizes you are here to stay and that you’re not going anywhere, the barriers of trust will fall. The doors of opportunity opens and, once you enter the other side, the riches await you, guaranteed!

Closing Thoughts:  

It will be an uphill climb at first to change the viewing public’s perception of recruiting service. 

Maybe that perception of negativity never changes about recruiting services, but the judgement placed on you will change, pointing in a positive direction because of your ability to stay cemented in the high school sports community.

Recruiting services come and go all the time.

Far too often it’s because they never embraced the fundamentals of the process. 

When recruiting services self-destruct the viewing public, with a taste of sarcasm in their voices, will say something like, “ Don’t waste your money on recruiting services.”

It’s critical to embrace the fundamentals.

I’d like to know what you think of this topic. Please leave me a comment in the comment section below. Your comments are the oxygen we need to grow!

I’m a teacher of college scouts, showing them how achieve long lasting success and to make money.

My role is to work with recruiting services and college scouts.

I used to be one of you! 

In August 1989 I started my own college recruiting service from scratch.

I had nothing more than just an idea and the desire to grind-it-out every day because I loved it.

In September 2018 I ended my recruiting service after 29 amazing years.

It basically came to an end because of health reasons. 

Running a recruiting service and managing a team of scouts was more than a full-time job and I no longer had the strength to go at it every day.

There’s a negative stigma attached to recruiting services and college scouts.

The industry is constantly placed in a negative spotlight mainly by haters. 

I understand the reasons because of the bad apples associated with this industry who ruin it for all the good people.

We have to rid the industry of the bad people and support the good and the great ones in this industry.

I totally understand that recruiting services are competing for business.

Who can sign up the most student athletes.

Who can get the most student-athletes placed in college.

I get it.

It’s competition and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I’ve been in this business long enough to know there’s enough business out there for everyone to succeed to their fullest potential.

Youth sports is a gigantic industry with plenty of profit potential.

If you understand how to maximize and capitalize on these opportunities, in addition to profits, you will achieve long-lasting success.

I’ve seen the rise and the fall of many recruiting services.

I’ve often wondered what happened to them; why did they get into business in the first place and what forced them to leave?

Not understanding the basic fundamentals is what I’ve figured out to be the main culprit in the total collapse of recruiting services.

The best analogy is from an athletic perspective.

There are fundamentals in hitting a baseball, shooting a free-throw, catching a pass.

These fundamentals are critical.

The same can be said for recruiting services and college scouts without the fundamentals. Failure is a guarantee.

I’ve done it. The hundred phone calls per week.

Hundreds of follow-up phone calls to parents every month.

I’ve done it all. Long conversations with college coaches about players.

The incredible victories of signing up student-athletes, to the incredible losses and losing streaks.

I’ve done it all.

There’s not too much in this business that I have not seen, heard about, talked about, written about, or been involved in.

I want to see the industry succeed where all college scouts and recruiting services are not thought of as con artists and crooks.

It may almost be impossible to change the viewing public perception of recruiting services and the role they play in the lives of student-athletes.

No matter what I’m going to give it my best shot!

I’d like to know what you think of this topic. Please leave a comment in the comment section below. Your comments are the oxygen we need to grow!

They’re overlooked for a reason.

They’re underexposed for a reason.

Student-athletes have struggled with the recruiting process for a long time.

Some have ended up not going to college, others have gone to college programs beneath their athletic abilities. 

Slipping through the cracks of the process and being unrecognized by college programs is a problem.

Unfortunately, there are a few misguided high school coaches who refuse to lift a finger or offer suggestions with assisting student-athletes and parents through the challenges of the recruiting process.

We live in a world of choices and alternatives.

We can shop at any grocery store.

We can get gas anywhere.

We’re not limited to just a select few.

When it comes to the recruiting process, the old broken-down strategies would suggest that student-athletes have to deal exclusively with the high school coach.

These days, student-athletes and parents have options.

They can seek out the help of recruiting services.

No longer are they handcuffed by limited options.

The old broken-down recruiting strategies are ineffective, useless and downright idiotic.

Recruiting Services absolutely, positively matter! There is no doubt about it.

There are crushing examples where I have seen, first-hand, student-athletes who’ve missed out on going to college.

Their dreams have been crushed and shattered.

The landscape of recruiting is littered with the broken bodies of student-athletes whose lives have been forever destroyed.

When there is no athletic conclusion to a student-athlete’s life, the outcome is meaningless.

You’re thrown off course, pushed off track with no hope and no future.

You’re crushed by disappointment. This is why scouts matter.

I’d like to know what you think of this topic. Please leave me a comment in the comment section below. Your comments are the oxygen we need to grow.

You have to keep yourself upbeat, inspired, and filled with enthusiasm in your role as a college scout. This is critical. 

You’re going to be met with various challenges, run into obstacles, and be hit by one brick wall after another.

Rejection can be crushing at times, pushing you to the limits of quitting.

You’re doing your best trying to get your message across to the parents of student-athletes, but no one is listening because they’re preoccupied with their own agenda.

I have been there personally and on the edge of giving up.

I know exactly how it feels to struggle in this business when you’re running out of motivation. 

This can be a challenging business from top to bottom. Oh, I truly get it! I really do.

Through the jungle of confusion, I found ways to motivate myself to keep going, to not give up, and to get better every single day.

Set short-term goals.

1. Talk to three new parents daily.
2. Sign up five new student-athletes monthly.
3. Write four blog posts a month.
4. Attend one high school game per week.
5. Read motivational and inspiring books daily.

These are clearly goals, but there’s something that can keep you motivated and keep you inspired through the rough and the tough times that, no doubt, are coming your way.

Achieving short-term goals was a huge boost to my self-esteem and my confidence.

The biggest motivational boost was getting that payment from a parent. Receiving a payment was a victory and I wanted to win every single day.

I’d like to know what you think of this topic. Please leave me a comment in the comment section below. Your comments are the oxygen we need to grow.