The Importance Of Having A BusinesMentor!
Have you been struggling in your network marketing business and feeling all alone?
That initial business meeting, you remember, the one where all the big shots from the company came and did a big presentation, all dressed in flashy Armani suits. (and you haven’t seen or heard from them since)
They made it sound so easy and appealing you thought, wow, these guys really have their act together. How can I fail with a business mentor like them?
At the end of the presentation, the big shots tell you to get with the person that invited you and join.
Like most of us, who base decisions on emotion, you sign the dotted line under your buddy Billy, (who only has a weeks worth of experience more than you do) and has never owned a business in his life.
You’re all excited about your new business opportunity and are certain you’ll be a millionaire in just a few months. You go out there clobbering all your friends and family over the head with your newfound business.
You talk to your upline, “Billy” who really has no more of a clue than you do about approaching your warm market. He gives you some advice from a few notes he took the day he met the big wigs, and from his upline “leader”
The problem is, Billy is no more plugged into the system and trainings than you are.
Let’s say that Billy does go to his sponsor for advice, (Shelly) who is also somewhat new. Shelly has gotten advice from her sponsor (Kevin) who has only been in the business for 6 months, (and Shelly is the only one Kevin has ever sponsored).
Kevin has gotten his training from a business mentor and leader, but he leaves out several key points when training Shelly, who in turn, leaves out a few points when training Billy. Who in turn, (you guessed it) leaves out vital information when training you.
Are you starting to see the problem with this scenario? Does it sound familiar at all?
So, it starts out with Kevin who gets 100% of his info from his business mentor, but only passes on 50% to Shelly, who passes on only 25% to Billy, and by the time it gets to you, you’ve gotten about 10 to 12% of the information needed to correctly run your business.
The big wigs that made the initial presentation aren’t available to help, their usually too busy out promoting the business.
So how do you prevent this snowball effect of less and less vital information from happening? If you are serious about building a network marketing business then you need to search and seek out a business mentor of your own.
Someone with a proven track record, been in the business for a few years, and one that has sponsored many in his downline. You need to be learning from a true leader, a 6 or 7 figure earner would be best.
Here are 4 strategies to finding a Business Mentor that are sure to work.
1. Look to the top producers in your own company first.
Many MLM companies send out a monthly email praising recent top income earners. Work you way down the list, it’s quite possible one of them is already a business mentor and would be happy to help out.
2. Ask for a referral
Be sure and ask those you contact who are not available as a business mentor if they might know someone they respect who is.
3. Online Forums
There are hundreds if not thousands of online forums that you can hook up with. Do a google search for MLM Forums and you will be surprised how many are available.
A favorite place of mine is the BetterNetworker . Leaders from just about every MLM company belong to BN. I am sure you can make a great connection here and find a business mentor.
4. Facebook and Twitter
Depending upon your circle of friends on FB & Twitter, you should be able to reach out and make a request by posting on your news feed or with a simple tweet. If you’re not using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in your marketing strategy, then please contact me, I would be happy to lend a hand.
A word of advice, once you do connect with a business mentor, don’t use and abuse them.
A business mentor is there to provide guidance, set you up with a duplicatable system and provide useful resources. They are not they there to answer every thought that pops into your head.
Be respectful of their time. Asking your business mentor about time zones, (don’t laugh, my mentor had that happen once) or some other ridiculous question that can easily be answered by doing a google search, will only make them think twice about returning your calls or emails.
My final thought: A good business mentor can take you and your business to the next level. Be aggressive and take charge with your business. Don’t expect others to do the work for you. Guidance is one thing, but you will need to dig in and research for yourself. Follow your business mentor’s advice to the T. He or she didn’t get to where they are today by not following their own advice.
I would really like to hear your comments so leave me what you did or didn’t like below. Thanks for stopping by, oh and do me a favor. If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.
Are you in search of the right business mentor? If so let’s connect and see if there is a good fit.

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Richard Petrillo
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Hi Phil
Good point Phil. You’ve helped me out tremendously and I appreciate the value you bring to the table.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Richard
Hey Richard- As you know I spend a lot of time helping people. I enjoy it. But there’s just so much time in a day and only so much time I can afford to give away. The best mentors generally are people who will also benefit in some way by the success of the protegee. That is a great reason for someone considering joining an MLM to find an upline who can be that mentor. When I work directly with someone in our business I can afford to give them tremendous attention. You too, I’m sure.
Hi Phil
Good point Phil. You’ve helped me out tremendously and I appreciate the value you bring to the table.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Richard
Thanks Erika,
The names were changed to protect the innocent! lol
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
RichardP
Hey James,
Excellent point about surrounding yourself with the cream of the crop! Being able to answer anything that may come up just makes you that much more valuable to your team.
Thanks James,
RichardP
Hi Richard – I really like this post especially since you added names to make it more relevant and I could really imagine Billy and Shelly. Great information, and very true. We all get caught up in the moment and emotions – wonderful advice!
Erika
Great advice Richard! Having a good mentor and team around you is so important. Luckily I have always surrounded myself with a mentor that I know and trust so have never personnaly had this problem but I do know a lot of people that have experienced this and have pulled out. If you are mentoring someone you first need the experience to be able to help them and also be connected with the cream of the crop so you can still answer all the questions, even if you don’t know them yet yourself 🙂