- Joined
- May 29, 2010
- Messages
- 1,609
Recruiting. I know, I know. Most of us groan, brush it off, or god forbid, avoid any thread that has this even remotely near a subject title. This is not another of a few dozen ‘we-need-to-recruit-more-members-and-how-to-do-so!” threads already in existence. This is more of a ‘take it or leave it, glean what you want from’ post of how I do my recruiting, how I look at it, and most importantly, how I make it fun. My hope is that those who want to recruit but don’t know where to begin can find a starting point, the seasoned recruiter can add his methods for others to glean from, and to expand our recruiting base from those who have never recruited before and have never really considered it.
We all have gifts. Some of us are gifted gamers. I’m average at best. Some of us are good at people skills. That’s what I am. A lot of people have a stigma about recruiting that it’s a chore, boring and hard work. We enjoy eGO because of our fellow members. We compete together, play together, and give each other as much crap as we can dish out and handle. Still, it’s the people we surround ourselves with that makes eGO what it is to each of us. Recruiting is simply finding those people we want to play with and bringing them into our group. Talk to them as you would your friends. You’re not trying to sell them a product. You’re asking them to hang out with you, almost a date if you will, awkwardness notwithstanding.
In BC2 we lack an infrastructure that Source games have, a method with which to chat and share outside of the game. We have to resort to vent or steam, or even in a few cases yahoo or msn messengers.
There are three basic ways to recruit:
Main Chat: Personally, my least favorite method; but this is more of a personal preference than a mantra, or anything of the sort. Ironically, this is the method from which I was recruited by Altec. The key to this method is sending an all chat, and then following up. Get them on Steam. Get them on Vent. Get them one-on-one somehow. This method recruits people who have never been in the server before, or have never been asked. It’s a whim, an impulse sell.
Squad Chat: This is the one I use the most. A pug who I may have seen once or twice, or been playing with for an hour or so. I simply ask them one of two things. The strong approach, “Hey pug, have you ever considered joining a clan?” The conversation either ends there, or continues on. The subtle approach, “Hey pug, do you have Steam? Can I add you?” In this approach, I suggest always doing the work. Add them, don’t be lazy and ask them to add you. Odds are they won’t until later, and they’ll most likely forget. The goal for either approach is the same. Get them on Vent, Steam or some IM method. Anything to be able to exchange info, links, etc. back and forth.
Friend/Regular: These are the easiest to sell, and the hardest to close. You might take a month cajoling, teasing, pressuring, asking, begging, or what have you for a certain person to join. In my opinion, these make some of the best eGO members. They come back to our server time and time again for a good clean and fun server with people they enjoy playing with. Is this not what we look for in any potential eGO member? And again, get them on steam or vent, anywhere to talk outside of game where you have their full attention.
Once they are in steam, get them to ALT+TAB out so you have their undivided attention. If they’re still playing, they’re not listening to you. I usually tell them I’ll have them back in game in 5-10 minutes with their shiny new =(e)= tags. The first part is easy. “go to edgegamers.org. Create and register an account. Tell me when you’re done, and I’ll link you the application.” This tells them 3 things. That they’ll be e’s, and there is an application beyond just registering an account. I don’t have the numbers, but I’d be interested in knowing how many potentials create an account, but never apply.
Once the account is created and registered (I watch the shoutbox for it), I link them the application link, so they don’t have to search for it: http://edgegamers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=107014 (if you’ve never been here, read it. It’s interesting. I’d never send someone somewhere I don’t know how to navigate). I suggest they read through our rules and regulations, and then to scroll down to the BC2 logo. What I say from there is almost always exactly the same: “Copy the questions, then click the New Thread button. Paste the questions, and answer them. Your division is BC2. Don’t worry about SteamID if it’s the only game you play that we support. And if you’d be so kind, could you put Leftenent as your referral for the last question?” (for some reason that always gets a laugh, I don’t know why, but it works) Then I just tell them to tell me when the app is posted.
There are many BC2 members who are PSC approved. To name a few: Altec, gingertonic, mayhem death, Texas is South, and V-FIN. If you ever have an application question, feel free to ask any of us. If none of us are available, there is almost always someone available in the PSC New Recruit rooms at the top of vent. Most issues are simple and easily fixed.
The main point is a lot of potentials never seem to find their way to the forums to correctly apply. By taking this time with them, it takes a 20-30 minute self-process and shrinks it to 5-10 minutes, especially after you’ve done a few.
I’m quite often on Steam, vent or in game. If anyone has thoughts, questions, ideas, please feel free to get ahold of me. I welcome your input, and would be honored to assist in any way possible.
We all have gifts. Some of us are gifted gamers. I’m average at best. Some of us are good at people skills. That’s what I am. A lot of people have a stigma about recruiting that it’s a chore, boring and hard work. We enjoy eGO because of our fellow members. We compete together, play together, and give each other as much crap as we can dish out and handle. Still, it’s the people we surround ourselves with that makes eGO what it is to each of us. Recruiting is simply finding those people we want to play with and bringing them into our group. Talk to them as you would your friends. You’re not trying to sell them a product. You’re asking them to hang out with you, almost a date if you will, awkwardness notwithstanding.
In BC2 we lack an infrastructure that Source games have, a method with which to chat and share outside of the game. We have to resort to vent or steam, or even in a few cases yahoo or msn messengers.
There are three basic ways to recruit:
Main Chat: Personally, my least favorite method; but this is more of a personal preference than a mantra, or anything of the sort. Ironically, this is the method from which I was recruited by Altec. The key to this method is sending an all chat, and then following up. Get them on Steam. Get them on Vent. Get them one-on-one somehow. This method recruits people who have never been in the server before, or have never been asked. It’s a whim, an impulse sell.
Squad Chat: This is the one I use the most. A pug who I may have seen once or twice, or been playing with for an hour or so. I simply ask them one of two things. The strong approach, “Hey pug, have you ever considered joining a clan?” The conversation either ends there, or continues on. The subtle approach, “Hey pug, do you have Steam? Can I add you?” In this approach, I suggest always doing the work. Add them, don’t be lazy and ask them to add you. Odds are they won’t until later, and they’ll most likely forget. The goal for either approach is the same. Get them on Vent, Steam or some IM method. Anything to be able to exchange info, links, etc. back and forth.
Friend/Regular: These are the easiest to sell, and the hardest to close. You might take a month cajoling, teasing, pressuring, asking, begging, or what have you for a certain person to join. In my opinion, these make some of the best eGO members. They come back to our server time and time again for a good clean and fun server with people they enjoy playing with. Is this not what we look for in any potential eGO member? And again, get them on steam or vent, anywhere to talk outside of game where you have their full attention.
Once they are in steam, get them to ALT+TAB out so you have their undivided attention. If they’re still playing, they’re not listening to you. I usually tell them I’ll have them back in game in 5-10 minutes with their shiny new =(e)= tags. The first part is easy. “go to edgegamers.org. Create and register an account. Tell me when you’re done, and I’ll link you the application.” This tells them 3 things. That they’ll be e’s, and there is an application beyond just registering an account. I don’t have the numbers, but I’d be interested in knowing how many potentials create an account, but never apply.
Once the account is created and registered (I watch the shoutbox for it), I link them the application link, so they don’t have to search for it: http://edgegamers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=107014 (if you’ve never been here, read it. It’s interesting. I’d never send someone somewhere I don’t know how to navigate). I suggest they read through our rules and regulations, and then to scroll down to the BC2 logo. What I say from there is almost always exactly the same: “Copy the questions, then click the New Thread button. Paste the questions, and answer them. Your division is BC2. Don’t worry about SteamID if it’s the only game you play that we support. And if you’d be so kind, could you put Leftenent as your referral for the last question?” (for some reason that always gets a laugh, I don’t know why, but it works) Then I just tell them to tell me when the app is posted.
There are many BC2 members who are PSC approved. To name a few: Altec, gingertonic, mayhem death, Texas is South, and V-FIN. If you ever have an application question, feel free to ask any of us. If none of us are available, there is almost always someone available in the PSC New Recruit rooms at the top of vent. Most issues are simple and easily fixed.
The main point is a lot of potentials never seem to find their way to the forums to correctly apply. By taking this time with them, it takes a 20-30 minute self-process and shrinks it to 5-10 minutes, especially after you’ve done a few.
I’m quite often on Steam, vent or in game. If anyone has thoughts, questions, ideas, please feel free to get ahold of me. I welcome your input, and would be honored to assist in any way possible.
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