8 Tips How to find business Mentor
Contractors looking to step up their game often sign up for any number of business training platforms out there. Some maybe decide to attend a conference that sounds promising. Might I also suggest you consider hiring a mentor.
I have spent probably over $200,000 within the last couple years on mentors and programs on education. When you look online it seems that almost everyday somebody comes out with some kind of book or some other kind of must attend program.
There are a lot of people in the market right now who help with mentoring, for example the guys with the Roofing Academy have an excellent program. They are a great resource and I too also want to be a resource you can use so that you know how to find a mentor that fits perfectly with you.
With so much to choose from out there, here are my eight questions to help guide you to make an educated decision on how to find a business mentor.
Are they a “magician”?
Question number one, ask yourself, who is this person offering the course? Are they just a magician or a real deal successful entrepreneur? There are a lot of guys who are just pure marketers only. They fail their businesses, they close their companies, and they pretty much decided to start fresh by teaching other people.
If you fail a business, you should not be teaching other people how to do business. There are magicians that say look at me I’m number, but they are not showing you the bankruptcy, the debt, and the lawsuits they have.
The magician will be like I started five businesses but he’s not going to tell you that he closed five businesses, that he failed in five businesses and that his mentorship is just another business.
The magician will say I’ve done over 50 million dollars in business but he’s not going to show you that he filed bankruptcy three times. So, I call them magicians. I don’t follow magicians; you have to have real numbers to support your success.
Did they “fake it” or “made it”?
Question number two, have they made it in this industry? The roofing industry is very saturated, there are a lot of scammers, there are a lot of fraudsters, I’ve been scammed myself. So, ask yourself did they really make it.
A real entrepreneur, a real teacher should not be afraid of showing you their tax returns. Should not be afraid to show you the real numbers of the business success. I see a lot of guys buying fancy cars, renting a sports car, just to show you how successful they are. I’m sick and tired of it. It’s not about the car you drive, it’s about, do you have at least three years of real solid success.
Do you like their personality?
Question number three, do they have the type of personality you like? It is very important and here’s why. Because we’re all different which is totally fine. Follow someone you understand what they’re all about. You need to understand what they do, how they do it, and that is the type of person that you want to follow. Someone that you would want to hire because you get them.
Do you like their lifestyle?
Question number four, do you admire their lifestyle. Never hire a mentor who leads the type of lifestyle that you don’t like, what’s the point of that. A lot of guys in our space in the construction industry they travel way too much, they’re never home, some of them don’t have a family.
So, if you don’t like that lifestyle, if you want to work eight to five, if you want to be content with what you have, you’re a family guy, then don’t follow people who are not about those values. So, again, lifestyle is important, you have to understand your lifestyle.
How much does it cost?
Question number five, is the price, right? Some courses are very cheap some are very overpriced. I have seen roofers dropping five six thousand dollars on a course and they never used but thought it was going to make them millionaires.
Couple tips to ask yourself what’s the return on the investment? Do you really think you’ll have your money back?
I actually paid $10,000 to a sales coach that transformed me and my business. I have also paid five thousand dollars to a finance person who came to my office and helped me understand my numbers.
Everything has a price sometimes you can get more for a thousand bucks then you get for ten thousand dollars.
Do they inspire you?
Question number six, I don’t care how popular someone is, don’t ever follow someone who you’re not inspired by. I follow some people who are so mellow nobody knows about them but for me they’re absolute rock stars.
Just because someone is a good marketer and they can make you a really nice promise and tell you how they are going to transform your business doesn’t mean that you have to buy into what they are selling. Buy from people who truly inspire you.
Have they achieved what you want to achieve?
Question number seven to ask anybody who you’re about to hire as a mentor is did, they achieve what you want to achieve? That’s one of the most important questions to ask. If you want to build a business and sell it did, they do it. If they never achieved what you want to achieve and I’m not talking about you know making a million bucks I’m talking about whatever your goals are. If they did not achieve what you want to achieve don’t follow them.
Are you ready to implement?
Question number eight and the last one is actually the most important one, are you ready to implement? Ask yourself that question and be ready to implement. I tell people all the time I don’t care what the system is that you use, what CRM you’re going to use, what sales program you’re going to use, you have to be ready to implement it.
A lot of people make the mistake of not thinking about what they are trying to implement. They sign up here, here, and here, and before they know it, they’re in three completely different systems. You paid for each one of them and you’re not doing any one of them.
I can tell you that almost any sales system that you will find is probably going to work for you if you go all-in on it. But if you’re thinking all you have to do is spend money and think that it’s going to work that’s not happening.
I’ve seen guys paying five six thousand dollars for like a two day session and then they don’t take home the pointers, they don’t apply it, and then they go back home and have no idea what’s going on, no goals, no plan of how to implement.
So, never hire mentor, never sign for online class, I don’t care if it’s my class or not, don’t sign up if you’re not ready to implement. That’s the most important decision.
What do you guys think? Who do you follow, who’s your mentor, I want to hear from you, comment below. I read all my comments I want to know who your mentor is, I want to know about mentors who are influential in the roofing industry today.
By the way thank you guys so much for your support we just hit 21 thousand subscribers recently. I want you to know that I read all my comments when you engage with me. YouTube is probably the easiest way to get a hold of me if you ever have a question. Just comment on one of my videos. If I ignore it or didn’t comment I will in the future so maybe comment again in another video. I notice everything and all the relevant comments get answered. Thank you so much you guys are awesome.
