First off, definitely start with a rookie league team. Filling out a team in the upper leagues is pretty much impossible unless you've got a big reputation and some folks already on board to help you, and even that's a bit of a stretch. OTOH, there are a lot of agents, even ones who have been around a while and who know which owners they like to work with, who will occasionally see a rookie team recruiting, think it looks like an interesting plan or the owner looks like a bright guy, who will sign up a player or two (that's also a good way to make new connections - create a player for someone you don't know's rookie team, it's a low-risk way to meet new people). And definitely try to fill the team as much as you can in advance of player creation day.
As for recruiting strategy in general (and this isn't just for the OP, others might learn a thing or two considering some of the folks I've run into putting my players on the marketplace)...
Originally posted by bobdakota
Do you send a personal message or just the offer?
I always like to get a PM from the owner that sent the offer.
And get an avatar. Without an avatar you look like a noob or a multi.
Good Luck
More specifically, do what the agent says in their ad (if you're responding to an ad). If they say "no PMs", don't send a PM. If they don't say, or say you must send a PM, send one. Unless the agent asks that you not do so, sending a well-written PM can't hurt. But the value of PMs always takes a backseat to the ability to follow instructions. If you can't adhere to an agent's requests when recruiting their player, it signals to them that you're not likely to listen to their concerns and suggestions when they're on your team.
As for sending PMs, and really recruiting in general, here's my tips:
1. Don't be too brief. If you send a PM that basically just says "yo you shud join my team we rock", you're probably better off not sending one at all. The fact that you're sending the player an offer says you want them on your team, the PM is there to tell them why they want to join your team.
2. Don't be too long-winded either. Nobody wants to hear about how you played football in high school (and presumably scored 4 touchdowns in a single game for Polk High in the championship), or about how you named your cats Mo and Bernard because, y'know what, **** the Patriots, or how you came up with the idea for the team name from the October 1984 issue of Mad Magazine (which is obviously assuming you've decided to name your team Inbanana Jones and the Temple of Goons, which is starting to sound better and better the more I think about it). But things that you should talk about include:
3. Brief descriptions of what you bring to the team as an owner. Now, highlighting every game you've won in dramatic fashion and all your lolgm trophies (if you have any, I certainly do, and they are a blight on my trophy page - a BLIGHT!) is probably not a good idea, but a short outline of your relevant experience can help - and even the admission that you are not especially experienced can work in your favor too. Agents aren't necessarily looking for someone who's owned dozens of championship winning teams, they want to see that you have a certain amount of perspective on your abilities as a future team owner. The worst thing for an owner in the position of the OP, with only a limited amount of experience in the game, to do is to talk up how great an owner he'll be, and how dominant the team will be under his ownership. But on the other hand, if I see a PM from a new owner saying "Hey, I'm new at this, but I'm really looking forward to learning how to operate a team, and I would welcome advice from the more experienced agents on my team," I'm going to give that guy strong consideration, because he sounds like someone who will probably get better as he learns, and someone I'll probably want to know a few seasons down the line when I'm recruiting for my team.
4. Form PMs are NOT bad, despite what some people say, but they have to be handled with a relatively deft touch. Now, a good PM is a good PM regardless, so writing a good form PM can save you a lot of time and a lot of headaches, but you need to connect with the person you're sending it to on some level. That means, while you can copy and paste the stuff that applies to everyone you recruit, you have to do at least some mad-libbing. Stick the player's name in there (and I usually put it in the subject line as well). If you can, say something about the player himself (even if it's just a comment on the player's name). Say something about how the player will be used if it's not obvious (and ESPECIALLY do this if the agent says he wants the player to be used in a certain way). This also leads to...
4a. Don't accidentally send a PM to an agent with another agent's player's name in it. I did that once. Immediately sent a PM apologizing and joking about my use of form PMs. And while you're at it, don't send the same one to an agent when you see they have another player you want. Keep track of the agents and players you're trying to recruit (I use Excel). If you realize they have another player on the market you want to recruit, send them a PM saying "Hey, I sent you a PM regarding _____ earlier, but I just noticed you also have a DT/CB/whatever who is looking for a team. We'd love to sign him as well!"
5. Assuming you're sending a PM, all you really have to put in the offer text box is something saying "Hi, I sent you a PM" and possibly (I do this) "Let me know if you have any questions!" In point of fact, that's a good idea for the PM too. If you extend an invitation for the agent to PM you back with questions, concerns, or statements of interest in your team, they'll be more likely to get back to you. It's a psychological thing - you're signaling that you're open to conversation with them, and not just a faceless recruiting robot. Plus, there's the chance that they'll read that and think "I actually don't have any questions... I guess that means I'm at the 'sign with this team' stage!"
6. Be friendly! Hell, be downright cheerful. Write in a way that sounds like you're smiling as you're talking. Be excited. Why say "we would like to sign your player" when you can say "your player would be a fantastic addition to our team!"
7. Be a bit picky. Yes, if the next season is looming large you may be fine with taking a player who's build you're not enamored with, but if you have a good recruiting pitch and a good plan, you'll do a lot better percentage-wise than you think. If there are, say, 6 players on the marketplace fitting a position & archetype you need, and 2 have builds that are clearly better than the others, just send an offer to those 2. Don't worry that you'll miss out on those 2 and the other 4 will have already signed (unless a few days go by without getting any response from those 2). 90% of the time, those 2 players will get signed first, because they get the most offers. The lousy builds will probably still be there if you get desperate later. And in the case the lousy builds do get signed first, that's also good for you - it means that some other owner out there probably sent offers to all of them and ended up getting one of the bad ones, and thus there's less competition for the good ones.
