By Landon Killion, Expansion Consultant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead week has passed, and you have survived your final exams. As you clean out your room preparing to head home or to your internship, there is only one thing on your mind\u2026SUMMER RECRUITMENT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s be honest, you weren\u2019t thinking summer recruitment. Don\u2019t be ashamed, I am sure you are not the only one. There are the family trips, sporting events, holidays, days spent on the lake, and countless other activities that overshadow our thinking. This is ok. We all need a break!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the summer break also comes a great opportunity to take advantage of the down-time and get a jump on recruiting your chapter\u2019s next new member class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Events<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expectations for a successful recruitment season vary within your chapter. Some members might believe that throwing the biggest and best summer events will generate the most signed bids. Others might think that having 40+ men wearing the same shirt might do the trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is this – When it comes to summer recruitment, investing your time and money into the relationship side of recruitment will prove to be much more successful. Having events are necessary, but the sole purpose of summer events is to allow your current members to start building relationships with potential new members well before they arrive on campus this fall. So, rather than focusing all of your efforts on larger events, summer recruitment efforts should also focus on smaller events such as lunches with a small group of brothers and potential new members. On the larger scale, you can also do larger events like lake days or a BBQ. However, these events should be in strategically located areas where you have the ability to attract more potential new members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever your strategy, it\u2019s extremely important to focus on the front-end of the relationship building process. How are you going to know who your referrals are? How are you going to know where they are from? How are you going to make a connection? As you head into summer break, I challenge you to follow my top three steps to a successful summer recruitment strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n