Archive for February, 2008

The Test (Good Guys)

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

by Matt Mattson

Did you know that there is a FREE resource to test your comprehension of the #1 book on fraternity recruitment, Good Guys?

Sure enough. A few weeks back, we received an E-mail from a campus student life professional who had distributed Good Guys to his students and wanted to offer a test to measure their comprehension. So, we created one.

You can find that test here: http://www.phiredup.com/files/admin/Good_Guys_Test.pdf

Since the release of the book in 2006, literally THOUSANDS of fraternity leaders and educators have read the book and are sharing the lessons from Good Guys with their fellow members. There is truly a recruitment revolution taking place. The horses are gathering together and dramatically increasing the quantity of quality men within the American college fraternity community.

We have a long way to go, but simply sharing this resource with your brothers is a great place to start. We hear of a lot of chapters that buy this book… but they don't put it in their library. They don't put it on their coffee table or in the chapter house study. They set it on the back of a toilet in their chapter house bathroom and then just watch the recruitment results happen. :-) Afterall, this is where we go to do our best reading!

Good luck on the exam. Your grade doesn't matter, it's what you do with your new knowledge that matters.

Go get ‘em.

Nerf-y Recruitment Attack!

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

by Matt Mattson

I've really been impressed lately by the creative ideas that organizational leaders are coming up with to 1) Get names on their Dynamic Recruitment Names List and 2) Get names off their Dynamic Recruitment Names List. We've been hearing great ideas this Spring as we've traveled around the country and worked with fraternity/sorority chapters.

A couple of my favorite recent ideas come from Iowa State University. I worked with the entire fraternity community, and have continued to work, in a coaching relationship with the Alpha Sigma Phi chapter at Iowa State. These two ideas, from Iowa State, work well for both getting names ON your names list and getting names OFF your names list… Plus they're fun, normal, and it probably won't take much to get your members off the couch to do them with you.

1) FRISBEE FRENZY. Many organizations, councils or universities will invest an outrageous amount of money into marketing trinkets. We've seen IFC-branded water bottles, Panhellenic-branded ipod covers, Rugby team beer cozies, Sorority sunglasses, and fraternity flip flops. These are fine if you're interested in spending a lot of money to give cheap gifts to people (first year students) who are already overloaded with cheap crap. 

However, the Iowa State IFC guys had a really cool idea while I was there. They apparently play a lot of frisbee on that campus, and they thought maybe they’d do a fraternity-themed frisbee to give away. But they didn't stop there. These guys talked about planning a FRISBEE FRENZY DAY on campus. They’d take their give-away flying discs and spread out around campus. With synchronized watches, as the clock strikes noon, they’d all suddenly start playing frisbee with strangers. Striking up some frisbee tossing fun, the frenzy is only effective if each stranger they play frisbee with gets a free frisbee and most importantly GETS A CONVERSATION WITH A FRATERNITY MAN. They’d use these discs and the spectacle of frisbees flying everywhere to strike up light-hearted conversations with strangers (potential members).

2) Nerf Gun Ambush. The Alpha Sig guys at Iowa State were planning an ambush. They are planning to meet new propsective members and have some fun along side their current prospects by waging squishy combat on random residence halls. Imagine, 30 guys armed with nerf guns showing up at your residence hall door and waging all-out war. Even better, they planned to share some spare guns with the opposing forces to make it fun for everyone. The whole point is to make some new friends, have some good conversations, get some digits, and hopefully avoid injury. Watch out for a soft projectile recruitment attack!

The Secret Language of Dynamic Recruitment

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

 

Have you participated in a Dynamic Recruitment Workshop from Phired Up? If so, you might understand the secret language of the society of revolutionists that are out to change the fraternity/sorority world. 

There is an underground grassroots movement of fanatical Greeks that are tired of mediocrity, “good enough,” and being the butt of jokes. There is a secret society of recruiters who are gathering their best and brightest members together to storm against tradition and fight the old ways of doing fraternity/sorority life. Are you one of them?

Do you understand this secret language? Can you decipher the hidden meanings of these sacred oaths of greatness? Are you ready to drive a higher quanitity of higher quality members into your fraternity and sorority?

1. I will give my ritual away

2. I will swim in a deeper prospect pool

3. I will screw people everyday

4. I will stop SPAMing my campus

5. I will round up my horses and get to work

6. I will stop scaring people and be more normal

7. I will get the digits

8. I will use the “F” words

9. I will let quantity drive quality

10. I will stop initiating strangers

Make these ten commitments and watch your recruitment results soar. If you don't understand these, or want to learn more, E-mail Info@phiredup.com

Welcome to the society of dynamic recruiters…

Wiki Names List

Friday, February 8th, 2008

by Matt Mattson

Just a quick post here…

You've heard us talk about the importance of a Names List when it comes to recruitment. (see our FREE RESOURCES page for a sample Excel Names List) 

The Theta Delta Chi Chapter at The College of William and Mary taught me a simple way to build a names list that a whole organization can have access to at any time. Using a wiki. Their chapter uses www.wetpaint.com. It is a great resource for building a quick, easy wiki that can provide a recruitment calendar, recruitment names list, and lots more. Of course www.google.com is another simple way to share a spreadsheet containing names, contact information, and other data about your prospect pool.

Just thought we’d share the idea. That Theta Delta Chi chapter is using theirs really well. Kudos!

Handshakin’

Friday, February 8th, 2008

Phired Up teaches “The Screw” and the “Venus Hand Trap.” But a lot of any first impression, no matter what you call it, comes down to a decent handshake. 

The following article is from AskMen.com. Here is the link: http://www.askmen.com/money/successful/success5.html

Handshake
By John Samuel
Success Correspondent - Every other Saturday

You're probably aware of the importance of making a good first impression, right? Once an employer has evaluated the way you present yourself, what's the next thing you will be judged on? That's right, your handshake.

Make sure your handshake is firm and dry; this will allow you to make a good first impression. I have shaken a lot of hands in my career and can now group them into five categories based on different characteristics. Insights will be given on what handshakes project confidence and which ones don't for each of these categories.
 

the wet one

There are many repulsive handshakes, the wet one probably being the worst handshake around, so try to keep your palms dry. People get nervous, especially before an interview, so just remember to keep your hands dry and wipe your sweaty palms.

Here are two tips in order to keep your hands dry.

1. Wash your hands before going to the interview and keep your palms open until the time comes to shake hands with the employer. Make sure not to close your fists, because that's what generates the heat and sweat.

2. Wipe your hands before the handshake. Carry a Kleenex to wipe your hands, as this will help you absorb the excess moisture and allow you to give a dry handshake.
 

the softie

A soft handshake demonstrates weakness, lack of confidence, lack of interest, and lack of masculinity. These are obviously the opposites of power and strength, important attributes in respected and successful people. I would suggest that if you do have a weak handshake, firm it up. This will definitely leave a better impression every time you shake hands. Pay attention to how much pressure is applied by the receiver and notice if your handshake is firm enough, then adjust yours accordingly.
 

the four-fingerer

I am sure this happened to you before. Someone takes your four fingers, not allowing you to really lock your hand with theirs, and then squeezes your hand hard. That is really frustrating and should be avoided. This can happen easily when rushed or simply by accident. My advice to you is to apologize and ask the person for a second handshake. It might sound awkward, but people actually remember this and will appreciate the respect derived from a real quality handshake.
 

the crusher

This type of handshake is classic. You know how guys and their egos are; they have to be the strongest male around. Some guys really like to squeeze your hand as if it was a lemon. Don't get me wrong, I like a sturdy handshake, but it has to be comfortable to the receiver to some degree. Just save your testosterone for the gym and moderate your grip.
 

the oddball

These days, people need a manual to decode some of those weird handshakes. I see kids twiddling, slapping, clicking, and dancing with their fingers, and they actually consider these handshakes. Please grow up and be men. No more hocus pocus; a simple, firm handshake, will do fine.

A handshake is a very simple gesture, but can be a determining factor in interviews and social gatherings. Just make sure you firmly shake the person's hand and look at them straight in the eye. This is a simple, yet effective tip which will hopefully allow you to make a great first impression.

 

SOCIAL Fraternity

Monday, February 4th, 2008

by Josh Orendi 

“… but this is a social fraternity!” 

Ask an ‘old school’ group of fraternity men to eliminate alcohol from their house … to consider quiet hours … to avoid questionable party themes with sorority women … to move to invitation only events … to put a stop to drinking games, never serve minors, disallow kegs of beer, or refrain from alcohol at recruitment events. What do you think their response will be? (by the way, those last 4 are standard policies of every national fraternity and/or federal law)

Almost without fail, someone in the group will make the point … “but this is a social fraternity.” 

Herein lies my point. When did being a “social” fraternity become a synonym for “we know how to party with alcohol and get chicks?” Perhaps I'm a traditionalist, but my understanding of a social gentlemen's fraternity is a group that encourages interaction with others, seeks companionship, builds networks, develops interpersonal skills, makes others feel welcome, proactively develops new friendships, etc.

The word “social” for most of America relates to public service, community, and commradery. Yet somehow the word has been spun on college campuses as a universal code for “bottoms up.” 

The irony of our situation is that many of our brothers are joining our “social” fraternities under the pretenses of becoming better men — a true social gentleman. Yet, these men graduate 2-4 years later with few friends outside the fraternity and subpar social skills. Sure they can hit the clutch shot in a beer pong tournament, but they can't give a firm handshake to a stranger while sober and carry an intelligent, confident conversation for even 5 minutes. 

What kind of “social excellence” is your chapter cultivating?

I guess in a very basic way I would argue that those “old school” chapter members are right. This is a “social fraternity” and it's time to be MORE SOCIAL. I just don't think being more social has anything to do with alcohol, parties, houses, or trying to get laid.