Fanatical Military Recruiting

7The More You Prospect, the Luckier You Get

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

—Dale Carnegie, writer and lecturer

The unrelenting daily imperative for every military recruiter is keeping the funnel full of qualified prospects.

Ultra-high performers spend as much as 80 percent of their time on prospecting and qualifying activities for one important reason. A full applicant funnel means less stress and consistent mission contribution.

There are three core laws of prospecting that when heeded will ensure that you are moving a steady stream of new applicants into the funnel:

1. The Universal Law of Need
2. The 30-Day Rule
3. The Law of Replacement

In this chapter, we discuss the implications of these universal laws for success in recruiting. You will also learn why ignoring these laws causes recruiting slumps and how to get out of a slump if you find yourself in one.

Author Note: Throughout this book I use the word pipeline (pipe) and funnel interchangeably to avoid using the same word over and over again. Most often, though, I use pipeline to describe prospects you are working to convert into applicants and funnel to describe applicants who are active and moving toward the floor—the Applicant Processing List (APL).

The Universal Law of Need

It is when funnels are empty that recruiters find themselves face to face with the Universal Law of Need. This law comes ...