Book Review: I Heart Recruitment - Know Your Audience

This by far has seemed like the most practical chapter so far. It introduces actual statistics of who you should be marketing to, and gives you a formula to do so. I won't copy to formula here, so you have to read the book yourself. What I'm most interested in are the statistics of how many women on any given campus would consider becoming Greek.

That small 15% of yellow at the top, that is the number of women you'll see walking through your door during Formal Panhellenic Recruitment. Those women come to school knowing they will be Greek. Maybe their parents were Greek, or they have an older sibling who is Greek. Maybe they even saw a movie about Greek life at some point in their high school career and thought it looked cool. If that's the case, they will be terribly disappointed since most of those movies and TV shows completely miss the mark. Regardless, this is your pool of women if you do not have a dynamic, year round recruitment program. 

The 15% of blue, good luck. These women are either anti-sorority, or know there is no way they could commit to the time, money, etc. Of course, remain kind and open minded with these women as you never know what might sway their decision to join or not to join. But, in almost all situations, these women stay far away from the letters. 

What's the giant pool of purple, you ask? Why that is what we call potential. That could be your future legacy. That 70% of purple is packed with women who just aren't sure, but could be convinced. Most women attending a university don't come with their colors picked out and their letter on hold from the Greek store. They come in to school for the academics or scholarships, and are curious about this mysterious system known as Greek Life. 

So what does this mean to you? It means there is some work to be done. How many of these Maybe Joiners do you sit next to in class, live next to in your dorm, or attend study groups with? Take a second to look up from your cell phone and notice people. Is that shy girl in Chem class a blue, yellow, or purple piece of the pie? Is the Vice President of your club a Never, Always, or Maybe? 

All you have to do is... ask.