Mentoring is not for everyone.
You might be surprised to learn a successful mentoring relationship is usually determined before the first conversation ever occurs.
That is because the positive results produced during mentoring are more dependent upon the life situation and goals you bring to mentoring than the mentoring process itself. The key factor to success is how well your needs match the benefits provided by our mentoring services.
In other words, selling business and financial mentoring is a sorting process – not a sales process – based on the needs of the client.
That is the purpose of the free mentoring strategy session – to see if it is right before you make a payment. Clients that match the profile usually pursue a mentoring relationship because the benefit is obvious, while others are directed to more appropriate resources.
Below are the three key criteria we look for during the mentoring test drive to make sure the benefits you experience will exceed the cost of services. Let’s see how well your needs and life situation fit these three criteria.
Criteria 1: How Big Are Your Business and Financial Goals?
The first step in determining if you are the right client for mentoring is the “gap analysis” which is comparing actual performance with potential or desired performance. We are looking at where you are now and where you want to be as a result of mentoring. Then, decide what that goal is worth to you to determine if you will invest in yourself by hiring a mentor and do the work to get there.
In other words, it will cost you money (mentoring fees), time and energy to produce sufficient results to close the gap. Is the goal worth your money, time and focus?
For example, let’s say you have been in business for 8 years now and you are struggling with creating consistent cashflow. You have tried multiple ways, but still feeling stuck. You believe the market will allow you to earn more than $120,000 but you are currently earning $20,000.
In this situation the gap is $100,000, you are highly motivated, and the mentoring fees easily justifies the end goal. You would be a likely mentoring candidate.
However, a prospective client who is $50K in debt and speaking of potential “sponsorships” instead of focusing on a business plan or marketing plan and simply wants a “quick” solution or a “handout,” this person would not be a good mentoring candidate. This person would be better off saving the mentoring fees, using less expensive educational resources, and applying the money saved to pay down the debt. The goal is incongruent with the service costs.
The relationship of goal size to service costs explains why we are selective with the accepting clients into mentorship. It is a huge commitment to the success of each client.
Even with our get out of debt programs, we do not guarantee the end result, but we can provide an estimate based on past performance. However, if the client does something to interfere with progress (i.e., incur additional debt), then that expected achievement date will be extended.
Clients do get excited when they see results with their credit scores, so they are eager to test the results. Often, clients apply for financing and get approved (not surprised), but that creates a trickle effect on the rest of the financial profile. It’s okay. You will still reach that goal to buy your first home, for example, but it will not be delayed possibly 3 to 6 months. As long as clients understand this, then it is not a problem.
The higher-level mentoring services are designed to build wealth because the higher stakes involve more time and commitment and justify the mentoring fees for accelerated progress results. Mentoring becomes a revenue producer instead of an expense.
If your business and financial goals are big enough to support mentoring, we encourage you to apply today.
Criteria 2: What Is Your Personal Path to Wealth?
The next step in determining if you are a good fit for financial mentoring is to examine your life situation for ways that mentoring can add value.
For example, most people work as W-2 employees and follow passive investment strategies. If that defines your life situation, then do not buy one-on-one financial mentoring services. It is a bad value. (See group mentoring here for an appropriate alternative.)
I know this is a bold statement because the vast majority of people earn exclusively W2 income, and a similar majority use passive investment strategy exclusively. The intersection of these two groups – passive investors and W2 employees – defines most people. Therefore, I have just told the majority of people not to buy our one-on-one financial mentoring services.
As mentioned before, personal mentoring does not make business sense for everyone. The reason is because there is not enough opportunity in these life situations to add sufficient value to justify the cost. Anyone who tells you otherwise is more interested in your money than serving you.
(Do not worry if you are part of this group. There are solutions that are perfect for your needs. They are low-cost and straightforward and you do not need to feel suckered into high-priced mentoring packages.
One-on-one mentoring clients have different needs and typically fit one of the following four profiles:
1) Business Owner: You are launching a business, have an existing business (including professionals, attorneys, doctors, and consultants), or you are looking at adding a “side gig” (and later become a business) as part of your wealth strategy. Entrepreneurs and business professionals love financial mentoring for many reasons, and the most obvious justification from a cost/benefit standpoint is they have capital at risk with many potential leverage points for financial gain. It is a fairly simple process for mentoring to help them avoid one mistake, improve one decision, or take the business to a higher level, thus providing a return on investment that multiple time the cost. Entrepreneurs and business professionals frequently experience mentoring as a revenue producing activity, not as an expense.
2) Active Investor: You invest in a portfolio approaching six figures (or more) using real estate or active paper asset strategies (i.e., stocks, bonds, ETF’s, mutual funds, etc.). The key point here is your investment strategy is hands-on (not passive) and you have enough capital at risk that an avoided single bad investment decision or a few improved investment decisions can easily pay for years of mentoring fees with all the other education and growth thrown in for free.
3) Time Is More Valuable Than Money: Successful entrepreneurs, high-earning professionals, and people receiving inheritances find themselves with more money than financial skills to manage it and have little to no time to develop those financial skills. You need specific education delivered with zero wasted time because every investment mistake will be prohibitively expensive, and you can afford to hire an expert to pave the road through all the confusion and detours. Mentoring makes sense because the school of hard-knocks is not an acceptable learning option. It will waste too much time on dead-end paths that will cost too much money in mistakes. In this situation, financial mentoring makes business sense by saving time, providing accelerated learning, and avoiding costly mistakes.
4) More Education Than Results: If you have already attended seminars, taken home study courses, developed great ideas, but got stuck following through and implementing solutions, then your problem is not information. Instead, you need to integrate and apply all that information. No book, seminar, or course will get you over the hump to produce results. Only a highly skilled mentor can help you integrate your knowledge into a personal wealth plan and overcome the obstacles that are holding you back from success (known as process mentoring). Nothing else will produce the results needed as efficiently and effectively making all alternatives more costly in the long-run.
The commonality in each of the above situations is as follows:
1) You are already in the wealth building game in one way or another. You are a business owner, active investor, or actively pursuing financial education.
2) The fact that you are already “in the game” means you have capital at risk and leverage points where improved decisions can make large differences in results produced.
3) This means one mistake avoided, one insight gained, or one improved decision can pay for years of mentoring with all the other education and growth thrown in for free.
In summary, financial mentoring becomes a smart business decision for these client situations because the value exceeds the cost.
The only relevant question remaining is, “Do you fit any of these situations?” You do not need to fit all of them. Only one or more means you are an ideal candidate for mentoring.
Criteria 3: Does Business and Financial Mentoring Fit Your Personal Style?
The third criterion for a successful mentoring relationship is you must be mentor-able. This can best be summarized in the following statements:
1) I am committed to a better life for myself and my family.
2) I am willing to invest a certain amount of time, energy, and money toward achieving financial freedom if I have a legitimate expert with valid guidance to follow.
3) I am not looking for “get-rich-quick” fantasies. I accept that there are no quick fixes. I want a realistic plan. I view business and financial mentoring as a long-term growth process to create the changes I want in my life.
4) I am ready to do the work necessary to produce the results I desire, and I will let the mentor do the mentoring.
5) I accept responsibility for my actions at all times and will not expect the mentor to “fix” me because I know I am the only one who can make change happen.
6) I have adequate funds to pay for business and financial mentoring. I will not regret or lament about the mentoring fee.
7) I see business and financial mentoring as a worthwhile investment in my future and will gladly pay for educational insight that produces results.
8) I will promptly schedule all my appointments with my mentor.
9) I will attend all mentoring appointments on time, speak truthfully, be accountable for the results I produce, and be open to new and different ideas to achieve greater success.
The last question for you to consider in the three criteria set forth, “Are you mentor-able?”
Summary of the Ideal Mentoring Client
There are three criteria to consider when deciding if you are the right candidate for mentoring and should proceed to a strategy session.
1. Is your goal big enough to justify the price you will pay to achieve it?
2. Does your life situation fit one of the four examples described so that you can expect mentoring to produce more value than it costs?
3. Are you mentor-able so that your personal style supports success through the mentoring process.
If you meet these three criteria, then here is the reality. If you are not working with a business and financial mentor, then you are leaving money on the table. You are literally throwing opportunity away because business and financial mentoring has a high likelihood of being a revenue producer for you instead of an expense.
Business and financial mentoring is not right for everyone. For the correct client, it is a “no-brainer” decision because the benefits exceed the costs, making it smart business.
For everybody else, we offer free education and low-cost educational resources designed to match your specific needs. You are not left without help. It only means one-on-one mentoring is not the right fit for your needs.
For the right candidates, you are encouraged to click here for your free business and financial mentoring strategy session so you can experience the benefits first-hand while taking the next step toward working with me as your business and financial mentor. There is no cost or obligation to try a strategy session, so you have nothing to lose by checking it out, and it might just be the breakthrough you are looking for.