Announcement: Deferred Recruitment On Your Campus Starts Today!
Many fraternity and sorority communities have a “deferred” recruitment system that requires that they wait until the new calendar year to invite first-year students into their organization. Whether your recruitment system is deferred or not, RIGHT NOW is what will determine your recruitment success in January.
Dynamic Recruitment is AWESOME for deferred recruiting chapters, however there are a few extra tips we would like to share to truly maximize the opportunities that a deferred recruitment process provides.
Here are 4 strategies to implement immediately to build a great Winter new member class:
1. WEEKLY RECRUITMENT CALENDAR: Each week of your calendar during the fall term should include some basic, consistent, repeated activities. At least 1 phone call session, at least 10 small activities with prospects, at least 1 open activity (not at the house — e.g. pick-up sports), at least 1 actual chapter event to which you invite prospects (e.g. service event, brotherhood/sisterhood activity, chapter meeting) , and at least one discussion each week by the recruitment committee or chapter about which of the prospects are qualified for membership. Take these examples: The IFC community at Northwestern University (which has deferred recruitment) has weekly “Sunday Night Dinners” — each chapter hosts freshman prospects at their house every Sunday night in the fall to build long-term relationships prior to recruitment in the winter. Or take the Sigma Rho chapter at Northern Michigan Univeristy — these guys walk dogs at the local humane society every Saturday morning — this gives them a great activity to invite prospects to every week.
2. “JOIN IN” OPPORTUNITIES : This tip is admittedly related to #1, but it is just that important. What chapter events that you are planning for this fall can you include non-Greeks in? Can you host a major philanthropic event that involves lots of students across campus (and meet and build relationships with them during)? If you host social gatherings this fall, will you write down all the names, contact information, and conversation details you can after each event? Do you have 3-5 “open” chapter meetings throughout the semester that you can invite highly regarded prospects to attend? What is your chapter doing that you can ask others to “JOIN IN”? The more times you get prospects to JOIN IN during the fall, the more likely it will be that they will JOIN IN when you give them a bid in the spring.
3. HELP PROSPECTS HELP THEMSELVES: Be a role model for first-year students. Instead of approaching them to get them to join you (and help your chapter), spend the fall term HELPING THEM get prepared to be a great student and future member. Help your top freshmen prospects get involved in other student organizations, help them build great friendships, help them network with student leaders and university administrators. If you spend the fall helping prospects two amazing things will happen: 1) They’ll be thrilled to join a group full of generous people like you in the winter/spring, and 2) They’ll be set up to be fantastic members once they do join.
4. DO YOUR RESEARCH: You have entire term to get to know prospects! That’s great news! On too many campuses chapters feel RUSHed to determine which prospects are qualified for membership in the first week of the fall. You have the luxury of really researching the qualifications for membership of each of the prospects. Get written applications. Interview them. Check references. At least have a few deep zone conversations to make sure you understand the qualifications that each prospect brings to the table. You should know two things for sure come January about your entire prospect list: 1) If you ask them to join, will they (pre-close)? and 2) Are you 100% certain that they represent the values of your organization?
by Vince Fabra
Have you ever heard that expression “Work smart not hard”?
When I work with fraternity men, at least the ones who choose to work at all, they seem to be hard workers when it comes to recruitment. They are planning recruitment events, inviting potential new members to the events, furiously calling and texting their brothers to make sure they are coming to the event, grabbing ice, manning the barbecue pit, talking to guys, GOING CRAZY BECAUSE YOUR CHAPTER BROTHERS ARE EATING ALL THE FREE FOOD AND TALKING TO EACH OTHER. Let’s get smart!
Planning recruitment events sucks.
My suggestion: Part 1. Stop planning recruitment events. It takes so much time, a lot of money (depending on the event) and requires that all of your brothers pitch in and help out (“I think I just saw a unicorn”).
My suggestion: Part 2. Start going to events planned by other people. Every campus has a Campus Activities Council that plans fun and free events for students on their campus. It might be a comedian, a musician, a game show, a video game tournament, a lecture on an interesting topic, or any other event that you probably ignored this semester. The Campus Activities Council is always looking to reach more students with their programming, and you are tired of running yourself ragged by planning and executing your own events. HMMM…! How about you just hitch your wagon to their wheel? Meaning, invite people from the names list, not to your chapter house for the fun event, but to the student union/quad/dorm/auditorium for a free night of fun.
Also, you know all of those brotherhood, service, social, philanthropy, your exoteric rituals and intramurals that already fill your calendar? Those are great opportunities to invite people with whom you have a mutual interest. The best way for potential joiners to learn about the organization is by witnessing the organization in a realistic group setting. Rather than standing around on your back deck eating hamburgers and hotdogs, with every member asking every potential new member “Where ya from,” “What’s your major,” “Did you play any sports in high school,” show them what fraternity looks like in a real way.
Pretty soon you can stop planning recruitment events, wasting time and money and you’ll be working smart not hard.
by Vince Fabra
Quick question… quick but heavy question… quick, heavy and important question…
Why do people join?
Why do people join anything – Fraternities, sororities, church groups, military, sports teams, email chains, cults?
There are so many ways to answer this question about people’s motivation to join organizations. However, I feel the best way to simply answer this question is to simply break down what an organization is – PEOPLE and PURPOSE. Joiners usually are signing up, clicking subscribe, pledging their loyalty because of one of these two things. PEOPLE and PURPOSE.
Here is another quick, heavy and important question…
Are our chapters recruiting with PEOPLE and PURPOSE?
Fraternity and sorority recruitment is most visible when we try to grab the attention of the potential joiners on our campuses. Banners in the student union, sidewalk chalk, A-Frame signs and makeshift bed sheet banners outside of a fraternity house window are just a few manifestations of fraternity and sorority marketing. Is that PEOPLE and PURPOSE?
Marketing is fine. However, marketing is only effective when it is highlighting PEOPLE and PURPOSE:
1. Marketing should help you meet new PEOPLE.
2. Marketing should clarify your PURPOSE to people you already know.
During my presentation training, I share the statement, “People join because of PEOPLE and PURPOSE” and everyone in the audience gives an agreeing nod. My guess is that most members of a values based organization would easily agree that PEOPLE and PURPOSE are the answers. But when I walk around college campuses, notice the common recruitment strategies and have conversations about recruitment, I don’t see much of PEOPLE and PURPOSE. We all agree that PEOPLE and PURPOSE is “where it’s at”, but we can be so easily distracted, spending our time/money/focus on everything but PEOPLE and PURPOSE.
My challenge to you – constantly challenge yourself and your organization to put PEOPLE and PURPOSE at the center of your recruitment efforts. If you are marketing your organization, having an information presentation, hosting a recruitment activity or event, or even participating in rush or formal recruitment, just ask yourself, “How does this reflect PEOPLE and PURPOSE?”
Power to the PEOPLE… and PURPOSE!
by Matt Mattson
This post was on my Facebook Newsfeed yesterday, and it made me smile. Social Excellence DARES us to engage with not only the people around us, but also the society around us. A line in the definition of Social Excellence reads, "The deepest level of societal participation and contribution."
So, at this vital juncture in our time as Americans, will you choose to engage? Will you choose to talk to your neighbors, representatives, family members, classmates, co-workers, and friends about the future of our society?
If you’re new to engaging with people about the important topics of our time, try some of these questions (you’ll note that none of them are, "So, who are you voting for?")
This election feels important, what issues are most important to you?
If you were in charge of the country for a day, what impression would you want to leave?
Who are the political leaders that you really admire?
How can we get more people in our [neighborhood, school, workplace, club, etc.] to vote?
We know it can be a bit scary to talk to people during election season — with all the sharp tones, accusatory mailers, incessant political phone calls, and attack ads, the tone of public discourse is not exactly pleasant — but that’s why Social Excellence matters right now. Will you talk to the people in your life about THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION? Our nation requests your service in this regard. It is what we’re founded upon. Just do it in a Socially Excellent manner.
Go talk to people. It is your civic duty.
by Matt Mattson
You’re busy. Especially if you’re a high performing college student. Especially if you’re a fraternity/sorority leader or recruitment chair. Class, homework, significant other, organizational meetings, call home every once in a while, try to have a social life… Every day is slammed. How do you fit in being SOCIALLY EXCELLENT , or for that matter, DYNAMIC RECRUITING ?
Focus on the "Moments in Between."
It doesn’t take an hour (or even a 1/2 hour) to accomplish important tasks that can result in your organization growing.
It’s amazing how much time is often available in most people’s day to do "results producing activities," but they just don’t know it. That’s because that free time is often found in chunks of time that are two to 12 minutes long. Many organizational leaders who want to recruit don’t have a full hour to devote, (or even a half hour) on many days. But
they do have a handful of something close to 12-minute chunks of time. What can you do with five 12-minute chunks?
Most phone calls to prospects on a Names List (to invite them to small activities or one-on-one meetings) take 90 seconds. THAT’S 40 PHONE CALLS.
Something like this takes no more than 5 minutes, "Excuse me, we have class together and I noticed you’re in a sorority. Can I talk to you for about 3 minutes? I’m trying to identify men on campus who could be considered ‘diamonds in the rough.’ These guys don’t go out hunting for fraternities. I’m looking for guys that someone like you would respect, appreciate, and really think highly of. Who are three to five guys you can think of right now who fit that criteria? I’d like to call them and buy them a cup of coffee to explain what fraternity could really be." If you did that 5 times in your "moments in between," you could add 25 names to your names list a day.
Take advantage of the "Moments In Between." Every moment is a choice… What will you do with your moments?
[P.S. It's o.k. to take a "moment" to breathe every once in a while too. Moments alone, in reflection, or just being playful can re-charge and re-energize you so your moments of results-producing activity are even more effective!]
Phired Up celebrates its 10th birthday this year. We’re pretty excited about that, and it has us reviewing the evolution of our message.
Not too long ago, S.P.A.M. was a centerpiece of our fraternity/sorority recruitment curriculum (we rarely teach it anymore). We thought now would be a good time to share publicly, for the first time on our blog, the S.P.A.M. message. Also, keep an eye out on social media and this blog for some other fun S.P.A.M. themed cartoons, pictures, and more. Just for fun.
Here’s an explanation that can be found in slightly altered form in our books, Good Guys and I Heart Recruitment .
Have you ever had the pleasant opportunity of cracking open an ice cold can of meat? That’s right, we’re talking about canned, spiced, efficient, delicious pork and ham cubes.
What comes to mind when we mention “S.P.A.M?” Go ahead, make your own list of words that you think of when you hear “S.P.A.M.” Don’t just limit yourself to the strange meat product, what about email spam?
Typically, when we ask those questions, we get responses that include the following terms and statements:
Yuck
Disgusting
Canned mush
Annoying
Gelatinous goo
Nasty
Mystery meat
Repetitive
“Not much substance”
Stinky
“Yum, I love that stuff.” (There’s always one person)
“What is it?”
“A can of nothing”
“What do those letters mean anyway?”
“Leftovers stuffed together”
“You could eat it, but you probably don’t want to”
“It’s technically food, but… gross”
“I’d rather eat a steak”
“I’d rather eat my own arm”
Most people have a very clear opinion of S.P.A.M. and, most often, it’s not a good one. Ironically, the overwhelming majority of Americans have never even tried it. They just “know” it’s not for them.
Now, here’s a different question. Do you have anyone on your campus that is anti-Greek? Duh… We know you do.
Here’s a better question. Do you think a few of those words listed above describing salty meat products and billions of annoying emails might be similar to the words that your anti-Greek classmates would use to describe the fraternities and sororities on your campus?
Go ahead and read the list again.
It’s not a fun analogy, but sadly it works. Many of the fraternities you’ll encounter around the country actually are rather disgusting, annoying, canned meat, without much substance, living together in a mysterious box with strange letters on the front that nobody understands.
Now consider how those anti-Greek folks might describe your recruitment efforts: repetitive, in your face, strange, annoying tactics to con people into joining something they don’t actually want. Sounds a lot like email spam, don’t you think?
Now imagine what a dozen S.P.A.M. cans might resemble if we lined them up next to one another… Yep, Fraternity/Sorority Row on your campus. A bunch of houses lined up that all look the same, with strange letters on the outside and smelly gelatinous goo for members on the inside. Similarly, the majority of Americans have never tried fraternity either, and their preconceived notion is that they “know” what it’s all about and they know it’s not for them.
Anyway, it’s just an analogy. The real lesson here is in the acronym with which S.P.A.M. provides us. That acronym describes the reasons for 95% of your organization’s recruitment problems, and consequently, organizational quality problems. Your recruitment results could dramatically increase with improvement in these four areas: Skills, Product knowledge, Audience understanding, and Motivation.
With these four road blocks identified, we can get our arms around the recruitment problem and begin addressing the real issues at hand. The reasons you are not at your peak performance is not because the administration is against you, another fraternity uses dirty rush antics, the Greek Council dropped the ball during formal recruitment week, you don’t have a house, or any other excuse. These are beyond your control. The only reason you haven’t tripled your membership is because your members did not have the Skill, Product knowledge, Audience understanding, or Motivation necessary to succeed. These are things within your control.
P.S. We have always been a big fan of real SPAM . We’ve cracked open "fresh" cans of that yummy stuff with lots of audiences. A couple of us have even visited the SPAM Museum (a must see). Thanks to all our supporters who have enjoyed a can or two of SPAM with us over the years.
by Matt Mattson
“I’m a part of an organization on campus that’s about networking and leadership . Part of our goal is to meet all of the highest performing students on campus. I’m trying to meet the best of the best people here. Who are 3-5 people that you think I should meet?”
That’s what I say to pretty much everyone I meet on a college campus when I’m recruiting for an organization. You should say it too.
by Matt Mattson
I am an introvert . I don’t thrive off of large groups. Spending time alone gives me fuel. Quiet solitude is where I find some of life’s greatest joys. My natural tendency is to separate from the crowd… or at least seek a very small group of people to spend time with. I am an introvert.
Also, I am a professional speaker, trainer and coach. I work with large groups of people nearly every day for a living. I teach people social skills, I urge social engagement, and I co-authored a book on SOCIAL EXCELLENCE . My work requires extraordinary amounts of social interaction, and I love my work.
It seems like those two preceding paragraphs couldn’t both be true about the same person. I promise they are though. 100%. That’s me.
I’m reading a book about introverts title, "Quiet " by Susan Cain (see her TED Talk here, and read a recent NY Times editorial that she wrote here). I’ll reserve my review of this book for another time, but I will share that it really got me thinking that there are probably a lot of "introverts" who hear our message of Social Excellence and assume it’s not for them. "I’m just not a people person," they might think. "I do my best work alone," they might even say.
I would offer, however, that the way we interact socially with the people around us is a) a choice, and b) the determining factor in our level of influence on the world around us. While I might do my best work when I’m alone, I can’t share that work, those thoughts, those insights, with the outside world while I’m in my introverted bubble. No matter the life path, I must eventually engage socially for my work to mean anything. Are there exceptions to this? Probably. But most of us, if we want to change people’s minds, sell our wares, recruit new donors or members, influence others, or BE A LEADER, we must do so through other human beings . We are social animals living in a SOCIETY. Our interactions with each other are the conduit through which that society flows.
I might be an introvert, but I make a choice to be Socially Excellent. Do I take breaks, go quiet, disappear into the safety and warmth of alone time occasionally? Yep. And I’m proud of it. In fact, I would recommend that to everyone who values a little quiet space. But I also deeply understand that the more hands I choose to shake, conversations I choose to have, and relationships I choose to build, the greater my potential to learn from others, be exposed to new ideas and experiences, have more people to support me when I need them, and influence others.
I might be an introvert, but I also want to matter to the world when it’s all said and done. I know that the best way for me to do that, the best way for me to make a big impact, the best way for me to create the change I wish to see in the world is through my relationships with others.
Plus, once I started to choose Social Excellence as a lifestyle, I had better stories, more fun, and more success.
Yes, introverts can be Socially Excellent.
by Josh Orendi
Thursday, 7:30AM, August 30, 2012. I had the honor of attending a membership meeting of Kiwanis International . Special thanks to my friend John Shertzer — who many know from his popular blog “Fraternal Thoughts” — for the invitation. It wasn’t until about 45 minutes into the meeting that I had a light bulb moment — I was being RECRUITED, and this was not the Kiwanis Club’s first recruitment rodeo. I was in a vortex of recruitment excellence. My light bulb moment became a fireworks show of Dynamic Recruitment lessons as I replayed all the little things that were creating my first Kiwanis experience. The moment I got home, I sat down to record the important lessons that I witnessed so that my fraternal friends could benefit from my remarkable experience I just had on the other side of a recruitment handshake.
Part One: How I Ended Up in an O’Charley’s Restaurant with 60 Strangers:
Two weeks earlier I was sitting at a Starbucks on 86th Street in Indianapolis after a meeting with some friends from Zeta Beta Tau’s headquarters. In walks a friend, Paul Lawson, with a guy I don’t recognize. Paul introduces me to Roy Hedeen. In less than 60 seconds Roy figures out that he and I share another mutual friend, John Shertzer. Roy is a member of Kiwanis International and he tells me I should join him and his Kiwanis club for a free breakfast in 2 weeks where John will be a featured speaker. Caught in the moment and the charisma of both Roy and Paul I say, “yeah, that’s a great idea.” We exchange business cards. Later that same day I receive an email from Roy thanking me for the meeting, asking about my business, sharing details about the upcoming meeting, and introducing me to another colleague of his who he thinks I would enjoy talking to (Rhonda). The next day I received a warm, funny email from John that he just heard from Roy that I was attending the upcoming meeting. The following day, Rhonda emails me saying she can’t wait to connect. WHOA-WHOA-WHOA I’ve spent nearly my entire professional life teaching recruitment. This felt so natural – so normal – that I didn’t even make the connection. I was being recruited!!!
Later, I literally had an internal conversation with myself: “Was Roy a sly recruitment master or a passionate gentleman eager to share the gift of his club’s membership with others?” Answer: BOTH! He was thoughtful and intentional. He believes in his organization and he believes that my life will be better through his organization. He cared enough to:
1. meet me by shaking my hand
2. treat me like a friend
3. introduce me to his friends
4. introduce me to his organization
5. ask me to join.
HOLY SH*T! Roy Hedeen just recruited me with the NIC 5 STEP MODEL !!!! I felt like that moment in Karate Kid (Part One) when Daniel-san’s arch rival Johnny Lawrence meets Mr. Miyagi and gets his ass kicked. The star pupil had just been schooled by the master. Roy Hedeen just crept from the shadows of northside Indianapolis and beat me with my own best recruitment moves.
Part Two: 20 Recruitment Lessons I Experienced at One Kiwanis Club Meeting: