This article is Day 4 of the series: 31 Days to Better Fraternity Recruitment.
Let me tell you about Jonboy, my best friend in school.
Jon and I took every class together for 4 years. He was brilliant, and I road his coattails in a lot of those classes. About the only thing we did apart was sleep and fraternity.
He was actually really good friends with just about all of the brothers in the fraternity. He attended every party we had and many outsiders thought he was a brother. Of course, everyone wanted to make him a brother, me especially. However, he was never going to join.
First off, he had no reason to join. He already attended all our open social functions and was good friends with the guys. He didn’t really see what he would gain by becoming a brother, besides having to pay dues.
On a side note – this is obviously a really poor reflection on my chapter. It is hard to believe that a close friend, who knew the chapter inside and out, did not see the benefit in joining. This shows we could have done a better job in providing value to our members.
Secondly, he was a never-joiner. It just wasn’t his cup of tea. He had other interests and fraternity membership just didn’t fit in his schedule.
That didn’t stop us though. We recruited him about every semester until our senior year. He would come to a few rush events, most of the time for the free food (he was and is a cheap bastard).
We would offer him a bid, and he would uncomfortably decline. Then he’d be relieved because that awkward situation was over for another semester.
The problem here is we were wasting time on a guy who was not going to join. There was no need to recruit Jonboy. If he wanted to be in the fraternity, all I had to do is ask him. There was no need to try to wine and dine him with typical recruitment tactics. He knew the fraternity better than the younger brothers.
This wasted time should have been spent getting to know guys who had the possibility of joining better.
During your upcoming rush period, remember this story. If you have a good friend that knows the fraternity and wants to join, ask him. You have already recruited him due to your friendship. Spend your time meeting new people and getting to know them better. This is a way to maximize your time during a short recruitment period.
To learn more, check out our most in-depth article on fraternity recruitment: The Complete Guide to Fraternity Recruitment.