This article is Day 14 of the series: 31 Days to Better Fraternity Recruitment.
Follow these 11 tips to improve your fraternity recruitment in short order….
1) Invite a potential to hang out. You can go eat or working out. Or you can just chill out. Remember the building these relationships is key. You build them by getting to know people better.
2) Add to your names list. You have to know someone in your school who isn’t in a fraternity but should be. Get their name on your fraternity’s names list so the rest of the brotherhood is aware. This person will never become a priority to recruit if no one knows about them.
3) Update your chapter website. The first place a rushee is going to go after meeting your fraternity is to your website. If he sees someone from the 90s in cutoff jean shorts, he will probably be pretty disappointed.
4) Practice your recruitment pitch. You know that you will be selling the fraternity to someone during rush. Think about what you are going to say. The key is to think from their perspective. Why would they want to join your fraternity? If you can answer that question, chances are you will get a new member.
5) Discuss rush with other brothers. Rush is important. It is the life-blood of a chapter. You need to be talking about it with your brothers. Bounce ideas off each other. The key here is being sure that everyone realizes the importance of rush. And if everyone is focused on it they will.
6) Be sure you understand your role in recruitment. Everyone plays an important part in making sure the fraternity puts their best foot forward. Talk to the rush chair and find out what his expectations are of you.
7) Offer to help. Chances are the rush chair feels like a one-man band. It should never be that way. Brotherhood is about sharing responsibility and helping each other out. Offer assistance – it is the brotherly thing to do.
8) Show up for the grunt work. No one likes cleaning the house. No one likes hanging up rush flyers. However, all have to be done. Be the brother who shows up because they want to do their part.
9) Have a good attitude. A brother with a pissy attitude can destroy a recruitment period. No one wants to be around a grump. Even if you aren’t having the best day, put it aside for the betterment of the fraternity during rush.
10) Ask for a recruitment referral. Think of someone you know who probably knows guys with high potential. It may be the girl in the sorority that you sit next to in class. It could be your RA. Whoever that person is, ask them if they know any guys who would be a great fit in a fraternity. Once you get that person’s name, send them an email to introduce yourself and your intentions.
11) Mentor the younger brothers. The younger brothers, especially those newly initiated, have no idea how rush works. Teach them. In the same regards, learn from them. They just went through rush and can give you great insight. Pick their brain about why they joined and what turned them off. This is the most valuable feedback you will get.
To learn more, check out our most in-depth article on fraternity recruitment: The Complete Guide to Fraternity Recruitment.