Summer
recruitment is pivotal step in the pledge process, yet often chapters overlook
it. Nationally, about 40 percent of recruited men actually end up accepting
bids. Going into the semester with just a handful of potential members will set
you up for a rude awakening come bid night. Many chapters must change their
mindset when it comes to recruitment. Devoted members and future leaders don’t
just fall from the sky. If we recognize their potential, it’s safe to say that
other fraternities do as well. There are countless stories of lives changed
through BYX. We are hindering ourselves and numerous men by not recruiting
well. The outline below should put you in a position to actively recruit men
that will impact your chapter long after you are out of office.
1) Assemble your pledge team
Find the men that you can trust to portray BYX positively during recruitment and help to shepherd your flock during pledgeship. Choose wisely. Know the personalities and gifts of the men in your chapter so that you put them and the rest of the pledge team in a position to excel. Seek the men that will reach out to potentials and make them feel welcome. Developing a rush/recruitment chair that you can entrust with this huge undertaking is recommended. The goal is for you to be able to cast vision, and let him handle the nitty gritty details and events. Let them make recruitment their baby, but remember, recruitment takes the whole chapter, and it never stops.
2) Gameplan
Don't just thrust yourself and your pledge team into this. Formulate a plan of attack. Sit down and ask yourself some questions:
-What's our vision?
1) Assemble your pledge team
Find the men that you can trust to portray BYX positively during recruitment and help to shepherd your flock during pledgeship. Choose wisely. Know the personalities and gifts of the men in your chapter so that you put them and the rest of the pledge team in a position to excel. Seek the men that will reach out to potentials and make them feel welcome. Developing a rush/recruitment chair that you can entrust with this huge undertaking is recommended. The goal is for you to be able to cast vision, and let him handle the nitty gritty details and events. Let them make recruitment their baby, but remember, recruitment takes the whole chapter, and it never stops.
2) Gameplan
Don't just thrust yourself and your pledge team into this. Formulate a plan of attack. Sit down and ask yourself some questions:
-What's our vision?
-Who are the men
we want in BYX? How do we reach those types of men specifically?
-How are we going to make that happen?
-What is the best way to do this? (Not a good way. The best way.)
-Who will we contact?
-How will we contact them?
-How do we get the contact information of someone who isn't on campus yet?
-How do we sell them on BYX?
Be sure to utilize your national advisor early on in this process. This outline will serve as a useful guide, but it’s your advisor that will help you mold and shape the guide into something that will work specifically on your campus.
3) Prepare the Chapter
Go before the chapter during the spring, and brief them on what is expected of them in recruitment. It may be as simple as encouraging them to portray BYX in a positive light at rush events, or they may have more of a hands-on role by meeting with potentials in their area during the summer. Be sure that you get as many names for potentials from your members as you can before they leave for summer. Find out the availability of your members, especially your pledge team, so that you know who you can turn to during the summer. They need to know that you have expectations for them and what they will be.
4) Gather Contact Information
There are a lot of ways to go about this. It's rarely an overnight process, but it can be. Literally. The first step is going to the university. Ask around the administration to try to obtain contact information for incoming freshman. Admissions would be a good start. Greek Life often has a list of men looking to rush. They may not provide that to us, seeing as we aren't IFC, but the worst these people can say is no. It never hurts to ask. We normally have to dig a little deeper for this information. Keep your eyes open for spring recruiting events on campus. Have members on campus recruiting during orientations by setting up tables at activities fairs or by hanging out in a high-traffic area on campus advertising BYX. Advertising isn’t about putting a flyer in someone’s hand that they will likely throw away. Be prepared to engage people. Ask good questions about what they’re looking for out of their college experience. Also, be informative about BYX and the campus. Some chapters have developed relationships with a number of churches by contacting pastors, particularly youth pastors, and getting a foothold there. Start with your members' home churches and maybe even drop some emails to larger congregations you know of. Again, all they can say is no. Don't be afraid of rejection. It's better to get rejected in this stage than later when you have a list of 10 potentials and only four actually take bids. Word of mouth can work well. Encourage your younger members to get contact information for graduating seniors at their high schools. Young members can be a huge asset in recruitment. Help them to see their value and use them well. Be creative. Get contacts any way you can.
5) Start your Facebook Group
Make a public group on Facebook with all the necessary information for rush and summer recruitment such as contact information and schedules. Make sure anyone who drops in on the group can gain an accurate understanding of what BYX is. Monitor it closely, and try to personally contact any non-members that join. Like everything we do, do it with excellence. Generate a rush logo for the picture and write professionally. Post plenty of pictures and BYX videos so that potentials can see the awesome events that you put on and the close-knit brotherhood that you share.
6) The First Touch
Now that you have their contact information, what are you going to do with it? We all know how important first impressions are. It's easy to lose guys here, but in reality, they're lost to begin with more often than not. We have to win them over to get them to rush BYX. The first touch should be relatively professional and informative. A well-written letter on BYX letterhead or a cleanly organized email can go a long way. Perhaps send a postcard their way with a personal note from you on it. Put a good product in their hands, and show that you put effort into getting in touch with them. It's the first step in showing them BYX is indeed a product worth commitment. Be sure that the letter includes your contact information and a fall rush schedule, as well as an invitation to contact you for more information. Encourage them to meet with you or another member in person by getting in touch with you. If you have rush parties over the summer, notify them of those in the letter.
-How are we going to make that happen?
-What is the best way to do this? (Not a good way. The best way.)
-Who will we contact?
-How will we contact them?
-How do we get the contact information of someone who isn't on campus yet?
-How do we sell them on BYX?
Be sure to utilize your national advisor early on in this process. This outline will serve as a useful guide, but it’s your advisor that will help you mold and shape the guide into something that will work specifically on your campus.
3) Prepare the Chapter
Go before the chapter during the spring, and brief them on what is expected of them in recruitment. It may be as simple as encouraging them to portray BYX in a positive light at rush events, or they may have more of a hands-on role by meeting with potentials in their area during the summer. Be sure that you get as many names for potentials from your members as you can before they leave for summer. Find out the availability of your members, especially your pledge team, so that you know who you can turn to during the summer. They need to know that you have expectations for them and what they will be.
4) Gather Contact Information
There are a lot of ways to go about this. It's rarely an overnight process, but it can be. Literally. The first step is going to the university. Ask around the administration to try to obtain contact information for incoming freshman. Admissions would be a good start. Greek Life often has a list of men looking to rush. They may not provide that to us, seeing as we aren't IFC, but the worst these people can say is no. It never hurts to ask. We normally have to dig a little deeper for this information. Keep your eyes open for spring recruiting events on campus. Have members on campus recruiting during orientations by setting up tables at activities fairs or by hanging out in a high-traffic area on campus advertising BYX. Advertising isn’t about putting a flyer in someone’s hand that they will likely throw away. Be prepared to engage people. Ask good questions about what they’re looking for out of their college experience. Also, be informative about BYX and the campus. Some chapters have developed relationships with a number of churches by contacting pastors, particularly youth pastors, and getting a foothold there. Start with your members' home churches and maybe even drop some emails to larger congregations you know of. Again, all they can say is no. Don't be afraid of rejection. It's better to get rejected in this stage than later when you have a list of 10 potentials and only four actually take bids. Word of mouth can work well. Encourage your younger members to get contact information for graduating seniors at their high schools. Young members can be a huge asset in recruitment. Help them to see their value and use them well. Be creative. Get contacts any way you can.
5) Start your Facebook Group
Make a public group on Facebook with all the necessary information for rush and summer recruitment such as contact information and schedules. Make sure anyone who drops in on the group can gain an accurate understanding of what BYX is. Monitor it closely, and try to personally contact any non-members that join. Like everything we do, do it with excellence. Generate a rush logo for the picture and write professionally. Post plenty of pictures and BYX videos so that potentials can see the awesome events that you put on and the close-knit brotherhood that you share.
6) The First Touch
Now that you have their contact information, what are you going to do with it? We all know how important first impressions are. It's easy to lose guys here, but in reality, they're lost to begin with more often than not. We have to win them over to get them to rush BYX. The first touch should be relatively professional and informative. A well-written letter on BYX letterhead or a cleanly organized email can go a long way. Perhaps send a postcard their way with a personal note from you on it. Put a good product in their hands, and show that you put effort into getting in touch with them. It's the first step in showing them BYX is indeed a product worth commitment. Be sure that the letter includes your contact information and a fall rush schedule, as well as an invitation to contact you for more information. Encourage them to meet with you or another member in person by getting in touch with you. If you have rush parties over the summer, notify them of those in the letter.
7) Follow Up
Now that we've contacted the potentials, it's time to follow up. Hopefully the first letter yields the opportunity to meet them in person. It doesn't have to be you that meets with them though. It can be another trusted member that lives near the potential. This is a huge opportunity to sell BYX and build a relationship with someone who may literally know no one else on campus. Members should be prepared for this responsibility. Be sure to follow up any meal or summer rush event with a post card to any of the potentials you meet with. The post cards are a nice personal touch. Have the person that met with the pledge write the post card themselves, but consider having a template for them to follow.
This step will look different if someone hasn't responded to your first contact. Depending on how many responses you get, you'll need to decide if you want to keep pursuing potentials that haven't responded. Think about giving them a call or sending a hand written post card. Recruiting DVDs, like the post cards, are available from Nationals upon request. Just contact your national advisor. Maybe opt for a second informative letter so that you stay on their radar. You can't win them all, but that doesn't mean you don't try. As the summer progresses, send a formal invitation to rush on BYX letterhead with the rush schedule, a link to the facebook group and your contact information.
8) Continued Contact
Stay on top of the potentials. Make sure that you are reaching out to them throughout the summer. Again, stay on their radar. The more meals and events you can get them to the better. Continually remind them of when rush starts and what pre-rush events you'll have right before classes start. Be sure to offer them rides. Often times these potentials aren’t familiar with their new town. It shows you care and helps them a ton.
9) Pre-Rush
Now the potentials are starting to show up on campus without the slightest idea of where they are supposed to be. Many of our current members will tell you they took this opportunity to hit up some IFC pre-rush parties. Some find out the hard way that IFC is not the scene for them, and some get themselves into a little trouble in the process. This largely happens because they are the only show in town. That's why we must have pre-rush events before the start of classes. Throw some house parties, grill out at the volleyball courts on campus or set up an outing to a local attraction to help them get acquainted with the city. Be creative. You know what works at your campus, and if you don't, figure it out. Some chapters help with move in for the freshman. It gives us a chance to recruit, because obviously all members involved will be wearing BYX shirts, and it gives us a chance to live out the Gospel by serving the incoming freshman and their families. This will also give you a time to drop some BYX business cards, which Nationals will provide upon request. From here, it should be a smooth transition into rush. Continue to meet with potentials for meals or any other hang out time. It's these personal interactions that keep men coming back. If they know there will be a friendly face at these rush events, then they'll be more likely to come back. Don't forget to utilize members with these follow up meetings.
Now that we've contacted the potentials, it's time to follow up. Hopefully the first letter yields the opportunity to meet them in person. It doesn't have to be you that meets with them though. It can be another trusted member that lives near the potential. This is a huge opportunity to sell BYX and build a relationship with someone who may literally know no one else on campus. Members should be prepared for this responsibility. Be sure to follow up any meal or summer rush event with a post card to any of the potentials you meet with. The post cards are a nice personal touch. Have the person that met with the pledge write the post card themselves, but consider having a template for them to follow.
This step will look different if someone hasn't responded to your first contact. Depending on how many responses you get, you'll need to decide if you want to keep pursuing potentials that haven't responded. Think about giving them a call or sending a hand written post card. Recruiting DVDs, like the post cards, are available from Nationals upon request. Just contact your national advisor. Maybe opt for a second informative letter so that you stay on their radar. You can't win them all, but that doesn't mean you don't try. As the summer progresses, send a formal invitation to rush on BYX letterhead with the rush schedule, a link to the facebook group and your contact information.
8) Continued Contact
Stay on top of the potentials. Make sure that you are reaching out to them throughout the summer. Again, stay on their radar. The more meals and events you can get them to the better. Continually remind them of when rush starts and what pre-rush events you'll have right before classes start. Be sure to offer them rides. Often times these potentials aren’t familiar with their new town. It shows you care and helps them a ton.
9) Pre-Rush
Now the potentials are starting to show up on campus without the slightest idea of where they are supposed to be. Many of our current members will tell you they took this opportunity to hit up some IFC pre-rush parties. Some find out the hard way that IFC is not the scene for them, and some get themselves into a little trouble in the process. This largely happens because they are the only show in town. That's why we must have pre-rush events before the start of classes. Throw some house parties, grill out at the volleyball courts on campus or set up an outing to a local attraction to help them get acquainted with the city. Be creative. You know what works at your campus, and if you don't, figure it out. Some chapters help with move in for the freshman. It gives us a chance to recruit, because obviously all members involved will be wearing BYX shirts, and it gives us a chance to live out the Gospel by serving the incoming freshman and their families. This will also give you a time to drop some BYX business cards, which Nationals will provide upon request. From here, it should be a smooth transition into rush. Continue to meet with potentials for meals or any other hang out time. It's these personal interactions that keep men coming back. If they know there will be a friendly face at these rush events, then they'll be more likely to come back. Don't forget to utilize members with these follow up meetings.
Meeting with Potentials
Hangouts
Grabbing
a bite to eat is an easy way to sit down with a member and get them acquainted
with BYX. You should, more or less, have their undivided attention, which
allows you to inform them about what BYX is all about and build a relationship
with them that should keep them coming back. If you can afford it yourself or
if you have funds allocated in your budget for paying for pledges, you should
pick up the tab. It shows you care. Rest assured that other fraternities are
doing the same thing. It doesn’t necessarily. Other fun outings allow for you
to show the potential a good time and help them to get acquainted with their
new college town if you’re meeting with them near the start of school. It can’t
hurt to have a couple more members happen to show up at the same time you’re
meeting the potential. That way they get to meet more members and hear more
guys telling them how awesome BYX is. These meetings can be one-on-ones or with
a small group of pledges and actives. Prepare members well for these meetings
because they will become the face of BYX to these potentials.
Parties
Pick
a few cities that are good pipelines for BYX to put on recruitment parties
during the summer. For example, a chapter in Texas would likely want to host
parties in their college town, Houston, Austin and Dallas at minimum. This
gives potentials the opportunity to get to know numerous members at once.
However, we must be aware that it could be uncomfortable for some potentials to
walk into a party where they know no one. That’s why it’s imperative that we
lay foundations for relationships as early as possible with the potentials.
Have a member open up their house for a game, a pool party or to grill out. It
doesn’t need to be anything extravagant. The goal is building relationships.
Orientation
Just
about every incoming freshman will attend an orientation during the summer. And
just about every freshman will be oblivious as to what they are supposed to do
there. That’s where we come in. If we can set up tables on campus or during
activities fairs, then that’s an obvious must. Look into those possibilities
during the spring semester. Waiting until the summer will be too late. Keep
your head up even if you can’t get on campus in a formal way. Have members
hanging around wearing BYX shirts. You should see a recurring trend with the
suggestion of wearing BYX shirts. This is one reason quality shirts are
important. They’re free advertising. Roam the dining halls during meal times
with recruiting materials, as long as the university doesn’t slap you on the
wrist for overtly recruiting at orientation. Organize volleyball games or other
fun events on campus in the evenings. Programming for orientation doesn’t
normally run all night. Freshman will see the fun activities going on and what
to join in. They have nothing better to do and are looking to meet people. It’s
a huge opportunity for you to collect contact information. Find those areas on
campus where you can put on these fun informal events to meet potentials.
Summer Recruitment
Materials
Post cards
Business Cards
BYX Letterhead
Recruiting DVDs
Rush Flyers
Rush Logo or
Graphic
Rush and
Recruitment Budget
Contact List
Rush Shirts
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