Surrounding yourself with well-chosen mentors can dramatically change your life. A mentor is someone with vast experience or unique talents who is willing to share ideas with you on a regular basis. You, as the the recipient of this valuable information, have a responsibility to use it wisely by furthering your career and financial status or by enhancing your personal or family life. It’s like a teacher-student relationship, except that you have the benefit of one-on-one tutoring. And the big bonus is that you normally don’t pay for the lessons. What a deal!
Here’s a proven three-step method to help you enjoy the considerable advantages of mentorship:

1. Identify the target.
Select one specific area of your life that you want to improve. There may be several, but for the purpose of getting started, choose only one.

Here are a few ideas—growing your business, sales, marketing, hiring excellent people, preparing financial statements, learning new technology, investment strategies, accumulating wealth, eliminating debt, eating and exercising for optimum health, being an excellent parent, or doing effective presentations.

2. Select your mentor candidates.
Think about someone who is exceptionally experienced or talented in the area you have selected for improvement. It could be someone you know personally, or it could be a leader in your industry. Maybe it’s someone who is recognized as a top authority on this topic—a well-known writer, speaker or celebrity. Whoever it is, make sure he or she has a proven track record and is truly successful.

3. Create your strategic plan.
If you don’t already know the whereabouts of your proposed mentor, how are you going to locate this unique individual, and when you do, how will you make contact? The first thing to realize is that you are probably never more than six people away from anyone you want to meet, including your new mentor. That’s exciting to know—treat it like a game. There may be six doors you need to open before you have all the information you need. Who could open the first door for you? Proceed from there, and keep asking. You’ll be surprised how quickly the other doors open up once you put the word out.

You may be looking at the name of your proposed mentor and second-guessing yourself with thoughts like, “I don’t even know this person and she certainly doesn’t know me. And if she did, she probably wouldn’t give me any of her valuable time.” Stop right there! The following story is big proof that finding and contacting mentors is well within your capabilities.

One of our core clients is a young man who owns a small trucking business, and he was keen to expand. After attending our Achievers workshop on mentorship, he selected one of the major players in the trucking industry to be his new mentor. This man had started and built a huge business over the years, and was widely respected by his peers and competitors.

Our client, Neil, located the head office in Texas. He made several phone calls and eventually was connected to this successful businessman. (I’ll tell you what to say when you make a call like this in a few minutes, so be patient.) Neil was a little nervous, but he summoned up the courage to ask. The successful businessman agreed to spend twenty minutes every month with Neil on the telephone, sharing his experience and best ideas. True to his word, this arrangement was carried out, and one day Neil received an interesting offer. His new found mentor invited him down to Texas for five days to study every aspect of his business. He could be a fly on the wall, talk to the staff, and observe firsthand why the company had prospered.

Of course Neil didn’t hesitate. The result? Not only was he able to expand his business in many profitable ways, his relationship matured to another level. Instead of a mentor-mentee association, a growing friendship developed. In addition, he was able to share some of his own successful strategies that were not being practiced by his mentor. Over time, a true win-win relationship formed, and Neil’s confidence grew along with his profits.

It all started with that one phone call. So let’s analyze how you can enjoy similar success. The most important thing is to be sincere. Sincerity goes a long way in helping you get what you want in life. Here’s what Neil said when he first got through on the telephone, “Hello, Mr. Johnston (not his actual name), my name is Neil. We haven’t met yet. And I know you’re a busy man, so I’ll be brief. I own a small trucking business. Over the years you have done a fantastic job, building your business into one of the largest companies in our industry. I’m sure you had some real challenges when you were first starting out. Well, I’m still in those early stages, trying to figure everything out. Mr. Johnston, I would really appreciate it if you would consider being my mentor. All that would mean is spending ten minutes on the phone with me once a month, so I could ask you a few questions. I’d really appreciate it. Would you be open to that?”

When you ask that closing question, the answer will usually be “Yes” or “No.” If it’s “Yes,” control your excitement and ask another question. “When would be a good time to call you in the next few weeks?” Then confirm a specific time for your first mentor meeting. Follow up with a handwritten “thank you” note right away.

If the answer is “No,” politely thank the person for his time. Depending on how firm the refusal was, you could ask if it would be okay to call back at a more convenient time to reconsider your request. Otherwise move to plan B—call the next person on your list.

Let’s review the key elements in the phone call. First, get right to the point. Busy people appreciate this. Don’t socialize. Stick to a well-prepared script using a relaxed conversational tone. It only takes a minute. Also, it is important to control the conversation. Say what you want to say, ask the closing question and then shut up. At this point, you allow your potential new mentor to speak. If you follow this sequence, your success ratio will be high. Here’s why: First of all, when you ask someone to be a mentor, it is the ultimate compliment. Second, they are rarely asked. And if you do it with total sincerity, having reminded them of their own earlier challenges, you will often receive a positive response.

Before you make the call, it’s useful to have as much information as possible. Ask the company to send you any promotional material they have, including the most recent annual report.

Remember, you can have several mentors. You can select people for any area of your life that you want to improve. They may live in another city or country, or they may be half an hour’s drive away. So get started and have fun. These relationships can dramatically accelerate your progress in any area of life.

Trial and error is one way to gain experience, but it’s hard work figuring everything out on your own. Tapping into other people’s successful formulas and adapting their ideas is a lot smarter. It’s usually who you know that opens up the doors for bigger and better opportunities. Treat it like a “connect-the-dots” game. Successful people are well-connected. Simply follow their moves.

    
Les Hewitt, author / business coach
(403) 295-0500    www.thepoweroffocus.ca