Connecting With a Mentor
It blows my mind when I meet entrepreneurs who get advice for major decisions from someone who hasn’t achieved success in the area they’re seeking to conquer (ex: parents, friends, business partner). A mentor is someone who’s been there, done that, and is willing to help you out. It’s that simple.
Do Your Homework
Google them, see if they’re on linkedin.com, and if you’re lucky, they may even have a personal blog or twitter account. Read everything you can find. Don’t bring everything up in the meeting, but being aware is VERY important.
Common Grounds
Try to find something you both have in common; a hobby, special interest, an association, maybe it’s a friend. Being able to casually ask about this can accelerate your ability to “connect” with them quickly.
Get an Introduction
If you can (it’s not necessary), find someone who knows the potential mentor and ask for an introduction. If you can’t get a “warm introduction,” then name dropping might be your next best bet.
Ask him if you can stop by his office, and bring coffee for a quick introduction.
Tell him what you are seeking advice on; for example, business growth, partnerships, financing, hiring, even leadership.
Add Value (Important)
If possible, ask them if there’s anything you can do for them. I always try to add value first, before ever asking for anything. One great questions is: “What does your ideal customer look like?” - then, down the road, you can send referrals or relevant news snippets, etc.
Be Persistent
It may take months before you can get a meeting. It doesn’t matter. Keep trying. People are busy, and your not high priority in their lives (yet :-). Passion and persistent are your most important assets, keep trying different approaches, without being annoying, until you get a meeting.
A Few More Tips:
- Create a list of 20-25 mentors you would like to connect with, review it weekly.
- When you send your email, keep it for reference in the future; it’s a template to some degree.
- Keep it short, sometimes saying less is better and won’t make them have to read/think too much.
- Try to show that you’re passionate about your work! Do you have a big goal? Share it.
- Don’t stroke their ego first meeting. Ask open ended questions - don’t act like a fan boy.
Additional Resources
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi
Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders
How to Get George Bush or the CEO of Google on the Phone by Tim Ferriss
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13 Responses for "Connecting With a Mentor"
I had the unlikeliest, but best, mentor for 6 years. The best advice he gave me when I was in my twenties and went at everything at a million miles an hour, he said - “It’s better to be wise than clever”.
As a female in a 95% male dominated environment, I had to fight for everything and the guys didn’t give any slack. So when I caught them out, instead of pointing it out (which was the clever option), I’d rise above it and be wise, satisfied that I’d found their weakness but not feel the need to point it out to them. I use it in my personal and business life, it stops futile fights and puts you in a position of strength for any future conflicts.
Congrats on the new blog, quite liked this post on mentors. I’ll be signing up and following, though I don’t often comment on the blogs I read.
Best regards,
Remi.
Dan,
Great new blog! You are bang on with this mentorship topic.
I’ll be reading regularly…
Jeff
Good to see your new blog, Dan. I hope the valley is treating you well.
Regards,
Marcel
Congrats on your blog Dan
@Flirt Guru - your right re: women, and how tough it is - I certainly wish there were more women in tech!
love the comment.
@Ian, Marcel, Jeff, Remi, much appreciated.
I’m going to continue bringing “the thunder”!
Hi Dan, really loving the new blog, as a would-be entrepreneur myself, I’ll definitely be reading with great interest.
WOW, this is do true. I love this blog.
Dan, nice work on the site. Design is clean and glad that you chose to keep yourself up front and central.
I love the mentoring advise. We rarely stop to think about those we follow until we walk off the same cliff.
I can say with an absolute certainty that my mentors changed my career more than I could have ever done myself.
Point I wanted to bring up is that *true* mentors are doing it because they are paying it forward. They were effected tremendously by someone in their life and they are repaying the favor by helping you. *True* mentor is NOT looking for you to add value for him/her, they just want to help. The almighty Karma balance, you want to keep it in black at all times.
I have several young entrepreneurs I am mentoring and there is no better satisfaction than getting that e-mail from them telling me what is working for them. I know I am repaying for all the help my mentors gave me and continue giving me.
If you see someone who is where you were before, extend your hand and help them climb that ladder of success.
Cheers!
Apolinaras “Apollo” Sinkevicius
The “Be Persistent” part really struck a chord with me. Its easy to think that if someone is less than responsive, it means they’re uninterested in mentoring you. I’ll remember to be just as persistent in getting their attention as I am in achieving other goals.
Love the layout, btw. Cheers!
Dan,
Solid advice. Nicely written. You’ve got a great foundation for your blog here. Can’t wait to read your book
D.
Dan,
nicely put….had a chance to read a few articles on your blog and they hit home as I am in client acquisition mode with my startup. Cheers from Moncton.
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