Archive for November, 2008

3000 Dynamic Recruiters Networking on Facebook… Are You?

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

By Josh Orendi

It's crazy to think that the Facebook group we started to share some good recruitment ideas and success stories turned into a home for 3000 people experimenting with Dynamic Recruitment. I guess Facebook is actually good for more than just comparing myself against long lost high school contacts. :)

The link to “Recruitment Ideas & Success Stories” is below. However, consider doing more than joining the group. Do three things. First, spend a little time digging into the discussion boards, checking out the videos, looking at the pictures (the captions on some of them are great), and scrolling the wall comments. You’ll be amazed at some of what you find. Second, invite your students, brothers/sisters, and colleagues. You’ll unleash a powerful force. Third, share
your best recruitment tip or idea with the group. 

This group is like a time bomb of recruitment wisdom. Remember the saying, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” You're providing the lessons that are available when they are ready to hear them. It's education on-demand. It's peer driven. And, it's viral … so they can share the lessons quickly with others.

As a person that makes his living from doing student workshops and writing books, I have to admit that we rarely reach a student that is not ready for the message. This is why I get so excited about on-demand learning tools like this Facebook group. After a few dozen 3 a.m. Facebook messages from strangers asking to add me as their friend, or students from workshops that took place months/years ago resurfacing to ask questions pulled from the group… it became undeniable that this group has a lasting footprint and a meaningful place in providing students with values based, year round, relationships-focused recruitment messages and support. 

I hope you’ll choose to join the group, learn from the content, and most importantly share it with the fraternity/sorority members that you care about. Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2217541386

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Determining Relevancy

Friday, November 21st, 2008

by Matt Mattson

Are fraternities and sororities relevant to today's college students?

This is at the heart of the BIG question being asked by today's leaders of the fraternity/sorority movement. Do fraternities and sororities matter anymore? Do they add actual value to the lives of college students? Are fraternities and sororities outdated anachronisms? Are Greek-letter college student organizations relevant to their communities, schools, and student audiences?

Tough questions. But these questions definitely are being discussed by what has become a movement in itself – The Fraternal Relevance Movement. In May of 2008 a meeting was held in Indiana at which some of the fraternity/sorority industry's leading thinkers gathered to immerse themselves in the question of relevance. In the Fall 2008 issue of Perspectives, the Association of Fraternity Advisor's professional journal, Monica Miranda Smalls and Emily Perlow offered the industry a review of the fraternal relevance movement to this point. The authors of that article provide fraternity/sorority professionals with tips for helping their students create a relevant fraternity experience. But what about fraternities/sororities themselves?

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Fraternity Recruitment DVD Now Available (with Free Discussion Guide)

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Announcement: Phired Up Releases Dynamic Recruitment DVD for Fraternities

The fraternity recruitment experts are now availalbe on DVD to help you drive a higher quantity of higher quality members into your organization. 

Are you a past participant at a Dynamic Recruitment Workshop who wants take the message back to the rest of your members?

Are you an alumni advisor, campus professional, or headquarters representative who wants to lead quality recruitment discussions with your fraternity men?

Are you a new member educator who wants to incorporate recruitment into your curriculum?

Are you a recruitment chairman who wants to offer a refresher session on great recruitment techniques to your chapter members?

Now, for the first time (and for less than $100), you can deliver a 1-3 hour Dynamic Recruitment learning session using this new DVD and the FREE discussion guide. Paired with Phired Up's groundbreaking books, Good Guys and The Names Game, you can now teach your members the secrets of the world's best recruitment system.

“People are always asking us how they can take the Dynamic Recruitment message back to really affect change in their chapter,” said Matt Mattson, President of Phired Up. “Now they've got a great way to do that at a price that is affordable. I know that new member educators, Greek Life staff, headquarters pros, and alumni advisors are going to be thrilled with this product.” 

The DVD includes 16 short video clips the cover the highlights of Phired Up's recruitment training, all delivered via video by the co-founders of Phired Up, Mattson and Josh Orendi.

For more information, visit here. 

Available at www.PhiredUp.com, or through Phired Up's publisher, www.Lulu.com/phiredup. *4.7GB DVD-R format - may not play on all DVD players. Be sure to have a copy of Good Guys and The Names Game, and download the FREE Discussion Guide for a complete recruitment education experience.

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Benefits of Fraternity/Sorority Life

Monday, November 17th, 2008

by Matt Mattson

As fraternities and sororities work to recruit the best and brightest students on campus, they're often challenged by not being able to fully communicate the benefits of being a member. Here are some quick, randomly assorted ideas for communicating benefits. 

Data 

According to the NIC and NPC, fraternity and sorority students overall… have a higher retention rate as college students, tend to make larger gifts when donating to various causes, are more likely to volunteer in their communities, are more likely to be involved with their alma maters after graduation, are more likely to be active in civic affairs, and, are more likely to be responsible citizens during adulthood.

Q/A

Would you agree with this statement? Almost every college student shows up for their first day of college needing or wanting the following things: meaningful friendships, academic support, something to do for fun, leadership opportunities, someplace to live, emotional support, people to be active with, some structure, a way to give back to their community, a trusting environment to grow, and exposure to a variety of people.

Most people would agree with at least part of that statement. Something that blows me away is that the only opportunity to get all of those things on a campus… fraternity/sorority life.

Features vs. Benefits

Focus on the benefits, not just the features of your organization.

Feature: We do philanthropy. Benefit: We get to enjoy that warm, fuzzy feeling that comes along with helping others because after our Philanthropy events we know that we've truly done something meaningful, and we've really rallied around a cause greater than us. Do you know that feeling I'm talking about? This sorority has helped me experience that feeling more than anything else I've ever been a part of, and that is why I'm a proud member.

Feature: We've got an awesome IM Basketball team. Benefit: I've always enjoyed having others around me to make me better than I currently am. I'm a pretty good basketball player, and I love to have a friends to play with all the time, but being a part of this fraternity has actually made me a better player. The guys who are on the IM team are constantly helping each other, and especially me, to improve my game. I love being a member of this fraternity because it helps me become better at everything we do together. Do you get that from living in a dorm?

Personal Stories

Take your communication of benefits to the next level by being a great storyteller. People don't care deeply about data. They don't care deeply about brochures, websites, trophies, statistics, or descriptions of membership. People care deeply, and remember, personal stories. Practice telling someone how fraternity/sorority has made your life better. It is simple, but at the core of being able to communicate the value of your organization to potential members.

Three Question Exercise

Do this exercise with your chapter members to help specify your chapter's unique value. First, have the chapter members spend 3 minutes writing down every response they can come up with for this question: You made the choice, unlike some of your high school classmates, to come to college. What are the benefits you get out of being a college student that your high school classmates that didn't choose to come to college aren't getting? After they've finished that, now spend another three minutes having your chpater members write down every response they can think of for this next question, but THEY CAN NOT REPEAT ANYTHING THAT THEY WROTE DOWN ON THE FIRST LIST: You made the choice, unlike many college students, to join Greek Life. What are the benefits you get out of being a member of Greek Life that other college students who aren't Greek don't get? Finally, after they've finished this second list of benefits, you're going to ask them to spend three more minutes writing down every response to this next question, but THEY CAN NOT REPEAT ANYTHING THAT THEY WROTE ON THE FIRST OR SECOND LIST: You made the choice, unlike other members of the Greek community at your colllege, to join THIS SPECIFIC ORGANIZATION. What are the benefits you get out of being a member of this specific organization that other Greeks don't get? 

Other Ideas

Check out this, this, this, this, this, and this.

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NIC Fraternity Recruitment Standards & Expansion

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

by Matt Mattson

In September the North-American Interfraternity Conference and Phired Up jointly announced a formal partnership. You can read about that partnership here and now… here - in the NIC's Newsletter, THE STANDARD (now available online).

This partnership is very exciting as Phired Up continues to lead the fraternity/sorority community in values-based recruitment education and coaching. 

But the real reason I wanted to share this link is to draw attention to the NIC's Standards — especially regarding expansion. In the lead article of that newsletter, the NIC asks for a re-focusing of campus Interfraternity Councils on those standards as guiding principles in many of the decisions they have to make.

The article states that, “The primary responsibility of an IFC is to be the chief advocate for the fraternity movement on a given campus. This includes supporting students who are trying to start a new fraternity.” 

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Announcement — Mattson to Lead Coaching; ‘Full-Steam-Ahead’

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Matt Mattson (630) 965-1779 or Matt@PhiredUp.com

Mattson to Lead Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. Coaching Model

INDIANAPOLIS — Phired Up Productions is announcing a “full-steam-ahead” approach to its recruitment coaching services. The company is now accepting nominations for new coaching clients that will begin their partnerships as early as Spring 2009 under the direction of co-founder and President, Matt Mattson.

For several months, Phired Up has been piloting a new apporach to fraternity/sorority recruitment education — Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. This process has helped pilot chapter (Beta Theta Pi at Washington State) find recruitment success in terms of quantity and quality. 

Roger Aldrich, the lead alumni advisor for the WSU Beta Theta Pi chapter said, “Phired Up's Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. Program not only saved our Beta Theta Pi chapter at WSU from closing, but we are now within sight of filling the 46-member chapter house by the end of the 2008/2009 academic year!”

Roger continues the success story, “With only 13 members and pledges returning in August of 2008, Beta at WSU was on ‘life support’. Additionally, we had almost no returning recrutiment experience, with a slate of predominantly sophomore chapter officers. The training, mentoring, and coaching Phired Up began last March enabled a core of chapter personnel to develop the confidence and skills necessary to apply the Dynamic Recruitment methods and more than double the size of the chapter. 

“We recruited a class of 19 quality pledges by August of 2008, and their subsequent Phired Up training has institutionalized a successful recruitment attitude and process within our Beta chapter.”

[To read a full case study on this pilot chapter, click here]

To manage the anticipated volume of nominations and ensure expert attention to the newest portfolio of 2009 clients, Phired Up has assigned responsibility of the Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. coaching division to co-founder Matt Mattson. This announcement comes at the end of an extensive search for a Director of Coaching that began in the summer of 2008.

“Because the company is committed to only hiring world-class recruitment experts, we decided to change course,” said CEO, Josh Orendi. “We're putting the M.D. division directly in the hands of the person most capable of driving results for our clients, Matt Mattson.”

“There are a lot of great candidates out there and we've got our eyes open for top talent. As word spreads about this service, we’ll need help. I expect we’ll hire some great coaches really soon,” said Mattson. “But for right now, we believe in this approach so much that I'm putting myself on the front lines to make it happen. Dynamic Recruitment works. I'm willing to stake my reputation on it.”

Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. is a one-of-a-kind service from Phired Up Productions. M.D. clients are year-long partners that receive multiple on-site hands-on training visits, a full distribution of Phired Up recruitment resources, and weekly recruitment coaching calls for a year. This level of mutual commitment between Phired Up and partnering organizations virtually guarantees results.

Mattson, along with co-founder and CEO Josh Orendi and Director of Women's Education Jessica Gendron will continue to deliver Phired Up's Dynamic Recruitment Workshop at conferences and campuses around the country.

To nominate a chapter for Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. services, click here.

To learn more about Phired Up's Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. services, click here.

>Phired Up Productions is an education firm providing recruitment services to membership organizations. Our message is for customers that desire a higher quantity of higher quality individuals involved in their organization(s) ‐ and who are interested in long-term, limitless success.

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Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. Case Study — WSU Beta Theta Pi

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Case Study - Washington State University Beta Theta Pi Chapter - Dynamic Recruitment, M.D.

In March of 2008, Phired Up Productions began its pilot Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. partnership with the Beta Theta Pi chapter at Washington State University. The partnership was based upon a 12-month agreement in which the chapter would receive four on-site recruitment training visits, a full distribution of Phired Up recruitment resources, and weekly recruitment coaching calls.

The chapter re-organized in the summer of 2007 and by the time the M.D. partnership began in full swing with Phired Up, the chapter was made up of 13 second-semester first-year students. The alumni had a serious financial stake in the recruitment success of the chapter as their 46 man house stood nearly empty and each unused bed represented thousands of dollars in lost revenue. The alumni chose to invest in a recruitment solution.

With only 13 returning live-in members, and a minimum of 35 members needed to break even, the alumni were facing an estimated ($165,000)+ of lost revenue for the ‘08-’09 school year. Now, it appears that the alumni will not only break even but likely have a positive financial year even after their investment in Phired Up's services. Not to mention the positive finanical return they’ll experience for the next three years (and likely beyond) with a full house and brothers that know effective ways to recruit a high quantity of high quality members.

Through great partnership with Beta Theta Pi Fraternity headquarters and the local alumni, Phired Up has coached this chapter to tangible recruitment results in the first 8 months of the year-long partnership. Led by Phired Up co-founder, Matt Mattson, and through experiential learning, weekly challenges, and Dynamic Recruitment education, the chapter is experiencing real success. It has grown from 13 inexperienced first-year members to 32 well-trained recruiting members. There is every expectation that the chapter will grow by at least 10 more members by the end of the partnership in March 2009.

Let's let the lead alumnus and undergraduate Recruitment Chairman tell the story: Click Here To Read Their Words.

 

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Recruitment Coaching Questions

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

by Matt Mattson

As Phired Up continues to have great success with its Dynamic Recruitment, M.D. clients, we’d like to share some quick tips for alumni advisors, campus professionals, and headquarters representatives to help you serve as recruitment coaches too.

To re-familiarize yourself with the idea of recruitment coaching, check out these previous blog posts — here, here, and here.

One of the four cornerstones of recruitment coaching is THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. Coaches are question askers. They understand deeply that clients can only really hear themselves when it comes to knowing what they should do to experience peak recruitment performance. As hard as it might be for coaches sometimes, after initial recruitment education has taken place, the coach must focus on helping a client discover for themselves which behaviors lead to their desired results.

We often do coaching through telephone calls, E-mails, and text messaging. You might practice recruitment coaching through one-on-one meetings, committe gatherings, or even chapter visits. No matter the medium, these questions can be helpful as you focus on measurable outcomes, appreciative inquiry (this is a very helpful concept in coaching if you're not familiar with it), and immediate application and accountability.

Try asking your fraternity/sorority members you coach these questions…

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