Ten Keys to Recruiting Success

The Bastrop area is growing fast as new families move into the Austin area and find our community to be affordable with a great standard of living.  This growth offers the Knights an amazing opportunity to grow right along with the community.  Growth means more creative ideas, more energy, and more hands and feet to carry out our charitable mission of service to one and all.

Effective recruiting is the means by which we can make growth real for our Council.  The Supreme Council asked some of the Knight's most successful recruiters to share their recruiting best practices.  Below are the top 10 best practices for effective recruiting, or -- as we call them -- the Ten Keys to Recruiting Success.

1. Talk about your positive experiences as a member of the Knights of Columbus and share your enthusiasm for your council.

Convey a sense of enthusiasm, excitement and pride when talking about the great things your council accomplishes and the people who are being helped. Offer some personal stories of how volunteering has helped you grow in your faith and what being a Knight means to you.

2. Positive attitude and body language count.

Your facial expressions and body language show about how you feel about being a Knight of Columbus. Maintain a positive attitude, smile often, avoid being negative and always look the prospective member in the eye when talking with him.

3. Talk to the prospective member and his wife about the ways his joining your council benefits their family.

Presenting the good works a man can help accomplish when joining the Knights, the opportunity for spiritual growth and the fraternal benefits offered to a prospective member, his wife and family, can help convince him to join. Point out that volunteering and council social activities, as well as many benefits such as scholarships, the insurance program, and others, are open to the member's entire immediate family.

4. Make sure that your members are visible when conducting a charitable service project.

When members, their families and other volunteers wear Knights of Columbus branded apparel while conducting a charitable service project, it conveys unity and identifies your council to the community. Witnessing your council's unity when conducting service projects will entice prospective members to inquire about joining your council.

5. Presume that a prospect is interested in being a part of the Knights and ask him to join.

Family, friends, co-workers and fellow parishioners all present recruitment opportunities. Ask each of these prospective members if he would like to join your council.

6. Approach recruiting in a different way.

Instead of asking, "Would you like to join my council?" ask a prospective member: "Would you be interested in learning more about the Knights of Columbus and our local council?" This offers the opportunity to explain the benefits of joining to the prospective member in a more flexible way.

7. What to say when the answer is "I don't have time."

Many prospective members, when they are approached to join the Knights of Columbus, comment, that "they are too busy," have "too much work", involved with my "children's hectic school schedule", and similar reasons.  Be prepared with a simple answer, like "the amount of time you put in is completely up to you. Even one or two Saturdays a year would be a big help. Also, with the family oriented activities we offer, you'll have more opportunities to spend time with your family."

8. Promote your council's spirituality.

Place emphasis on your council's involvement in the spiritual life of your parish. Promote council corporate communions, retreats, family Mass, Eucharistic adorations and any other activities conducted by your council that promotes and strengthens our Catholic identity.

9. Involve young people.

Ask young men to join your council.

Recruiting a wide range of age groups will provide your council with greater reach within your community. Use targeted advertising, especially social media, to reach younger prospective members.

10. Follow-up with all prospects in a timely manner.

No matter how the prospective member was initially engaged, it is essential that follow-up communication, by personal contact, needs to occur within a few days at the most. This shows the prospective member that your council cares and places a high priority on meeting his expectations. If a First Degree is not scheduled in the immediate future, or a degree team is not available, use the First Degree Video Production (available on Officers Online or from the Ceremonials Department) to welcome a new member into your council.

© 2015, The Knights of Columbus, New Haven, CT