Need Help!

mcinmn · #1 04-01-2014, 10:02 AM

Hi! When I talk to many guys about joining my school's fraternity, I am often confronted with them stating how they don't want to join an organization where they have to "pay" to have friends. I've tried to explain this is not the case but I'm not sure what else I can say to help show this. Anyone else face this issue or have ideas on what I can say?
THANKS!

DrPhil · #2 04-01-2014, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcinmn

Hi! When I talk to many guys about joining my school's fraternity, I am often confronted with them stating how they don't want to join an organization where they have to "pay" to have friends. I've tried to explain this is not the case but I'm not sure what else I can say to help show this. Anyone else face this issue or have ideas on what I can say?
THANKS!

Greetings Dear Sir,

Frometh thou perspective thou doth recruit. Frometh their perspective thou doth seem desperate and beg for friends.

Very well,
DrPhil

FSUZeta · #3 04-01-2014, 10:54 AM

You can counter with the advantages of fraternity membership, or talk with men who are interested. Whatever you do, don't be awkward or pushy. Think about encounters you may have had with fitness/health zealots or religious zealots (to name but a few)-the conversation(which actually is a lecture by the zealot thinly disguised as a conversation) usually takes a quick nosedive as they launch into their diatribe and you start to feel uncomfortable and want to escape. Don't be that person!!!

FSUZeta · #4 04-01-2014, 04:31 PM

I think the OP is a member of a fraternity, trying to interest men into joining his group.

Kevin · #5 04-01-2014, 05:08 PM

Explain to them how great your dollars:friends ratio is compared to other fraternities.

greekdee · #6 04-02-2014, 01:09 AM

Tell them the money you pay isn't about buying friends. It's about your organization being able to function and operate. There are very few groups that are completely free of charge. Most all require some type of dues.

My husband has told people that IF fraternity membership really was about buying friends, he'd have to count it as one of the best lifetime investments he ever made.

DrPhil · #7 04-02-2014, 05:09 AM

What is the culture of this campus? What are previous practices that this GLO has used to recruit that worked without being preachy?

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This is also where cultural differences across GLOs come into play. When I was nonGreek, and since the NPHC GLOs have a different way of sharing info about their GLOs, nobody had to "tell me" or "explain" anything. I knew about the events and was told to research. If I ever said "you all are paying for friends", the members wouldn't spend much time teaching or persuading me either way.

If they had kept trying to educate and inform me about their GLO I would think they were desperate and in dire need for members AND friends.

DubaiSis · #8 04-02-2014, 10:29 AM

While the recruitment/intake cultures of NPHC and NIC are very different, there is some logic to what Dr. Phil is saying. You don't want to press too hard. Totally changing perception is a slow go, especially with men who need to process information VERY slowly. So you get it out there and move on.

Your best recruitment tool is going to be campus presence, being visibly fun to the outside world, etc; showing your value without having to cram it down anyone's throat. Similar to NPC informal rushing, I would suggest you go after a few really strong guys and let it grow from there. But this is no "pledge 30 guys this semester and be done with it" plan. Depending on the size of your chapter (and what negative perceptions you're dealing with), if you could pledge 2 or 3 quality guys, you could consider that a win. Then hopefully 5 or 6 equally quality guys next semester.

Blue Skies · #9 04-13-2014, 10:59 AM

I would tell potential new members that friendship is no more for sale in your organization than it is in any other organization. They are paying for the experience of being Greek in your particular GLO, not for friends. Somewhere along the line they or their parents have likely paid dues or fees for Scouts, Explorers, soccer/football/baseball leagues or camps, bowling leagues, golf or country clubs, etc. Friends are a welcome bonus of joining such clubs or participating is such activities, but dues and fees are necessary to keep things running. It is the same for your GLO.