Need ideas for Telephone Recuiting Script

[DenZero]

I'm planning on telephoning the families of all of the boys who will be entering first grade at the School Where We Traditionally Recruit, in a attempt to recruit a Tiger den. Has anyone come up with a script that is effective in persuading parents that the Cub Scouts would be good for their boy?

 

I also want to be prepared with good responses to the likely excuses, such as, too busy with sports, disagreements with BSA "inclusiveness" policy, BSA religion policy, etc.

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

Why?

 

The best recruits are the Cubs themselves. A Pack "fun at school day" ... perhaps right at registration or "Night before School" works lots better. Let the kids themselves be in full uniform having fun and getting recognition by the teachers!

 

KISMIF

[Stosh]

I guess I wouldn't telemarket scouts in the first place.

 

If one is serious about starting a den, then do it seriously. It's easy to hang up the phone, but a lot more difficult to shut the door on a uniformed cub scout standing on the porch telling your kid how much fun he's had in cub scouts.

 

Just a suggestion. There can't be that many kids in the grade that each cub scout could visit with 3-5 prospects one evening.

 

Stosh

[cubbingcarol]

We have never done telephone recruitment. Too impersonel for me. We do the 'back to school night' and 'spring sign-up' nights. During our spring sign-up we had 5 Tigers!! No telling how many we will get next month. I agree that the word of mouth is the best advertisement. As far as the responses you were talking about, being fully trained covers most of the questions you are likely to encounter. We have never (in the past 5 years we have been involved with recruitment) been asked about policies such as you state. Most of our parents just want the boys involved in something wholesome and fun. Four out of the five Tigers were the only boy in the family and the parents wanted them to have time with just the 'guys'!

 

Don't know if that helped or not.

Good luck anyway!

Carol

[DenZero]

Thanks for the advice so far. At this point, telephone recruiting is our best hope. We are a small pack and don't have the ability to spread out the recruiting work over multiple families. We are too small for word of mouth to work, and we need to overcome word of mouth recruiting from the larger neighboring pack. Throughout the school year, the District Exec. helped us by passing out flyers to the boys at school, inviting them to events, but it was unsuccessful (no response).

 

The PTA decided to have a policy not to allow outside groups to set up a table at the school carnival and welcome back barbecue (we were probably the first to ask). At this point, I am planning to call all the first grade families with boys (about 40) and then follow up with the ones that are at least mildly receptive.

 

We can't wait until school starts, or it will be like last year, and the other pack will have beaten us to all the boys who were interested.

 

 

[infoscouter]

I'd start off by introducing your self as a mom of "your son's name" who's a x grader at "your school's name".

 

They say you'd like to invite them to a "back to school" party for first graders. Tell them it's being sponsored by your pack and that one of your goals is give them more information about Scouting, but that they and the boys will have lots of fun as well.

 

Tell them what night you'll be holding your recruiting event. Make sure the event includes games they can play with their sons, and then some time when the boys go off on their own, and you meet with parents to talk about Scouts. Tell them where and when you're holding the event. Can you do it outdoors?

 

Offer to send them a brochure and more information in the mail. Get their address, so you can mail a follow up flyer (and maybe even a reminder postcard, if your budget stretches that far).