Recruitment issues. HELP!

[Fayefil]

Sisters,
The Alpha Omicron chapter here in Conway, Arkansas is in trouble. We only have 18 members and 5 of them will graduate in May. Another dilemma facing us is that we are notoriously bad at recruitment. If we don't get our numbers up this time national headquarters may say goodbye to our 70 year old chapter. I'd like to know how you ladies in larger chapters go about handling the girls in the first round. I believe it is our first impression with these ladies that will bring them back to the second round. In past years we've usually asked them whether they have any questions about Sigma however, I've heard that the best thing to do is to tell them about how great Greek life is. What do you suggest? HELP! Anything you may have to offer would be greatly appreciated.

SLAM.
Faye

[KSUViolet06]

Hi there! First off, never say you are "bad @ recruitment"-because you'll internalize that and then you will start to creat a self fulfilling prophecy. You aren't bad, it's just that your rushing style needs a tune-up.

Questions:

About how many rushees does your school usually get?
What's total and quota?
How many other sororities do you have and are they at total?

Some advice:

We're not a particularly large chapter, but we do okay. First round is generally relaxed, so do it- RELAX. You don't necessarily have to sell Sigma the first day. Talk about hometowns, majors, why they decided to rush, why they came to your school, etc. Talk about your positive Sigma experiences. Ask them about their HS activities, siblings, hobbies, favorite bands. Try to connect with them on a personal level. Knowing that they clicked well with several Sigmas (through similar hobbies, musical tastes, majors, etc) will make them want to come back and check you out more.

Here @ my school, the sororities have tables filled with scrapbooks, composites, big/lil items,etc.-to use as conversation pieces during first round too. If you have this, it's a great tool if you're having a hard time talking to a girl.

Also just remember to ask open-ended questions. Those questions are more than just yes/no answers and really get girls talking.

Examples:

*What did you do this weekend?
*Why did you choose your major?
*Why'd you decide to rush?
*Why'd you choose this school?
*What other activities are you involved in?

Try to ask questions that will branch off onto other topics.

Generally "Any questions?" is a BAD question b/c that's just a little TOO open, and if the PNM (potential new member) doesn't have any, it can result in awkward silence, so we were told generally not to ask it b/c usually they'll ask questions on their own.

I hope this helps.

SLAM,
Jocelyn