Network Marketing and mentoring – the perfect combination!  The ancient Greek poet Homer first coined the word “mentor” in his epic poem, “The Odyssey”. A great warrior, Odysseous, knowing he was to be away from his home for many hears on a journey, chose a man named Mentor to be a guardian and tutor for his son.

With its humble beginnings, ‘mentoring’ continues to offer a valuable relationship between individuals who each benefit by working collaboratively.

How I Found Mentoring Or How It Found Me. I never worked in the corporate arena. Except for teaching, my adult life has been and continues to be in the entrepreneurial arena including franchising, network marketing, publishing, direct selling, speaking, writing and creating a women’s networking program called The Joy of Connecting®.  As I look back on my work years, particularly owning multiple franchises and as a network marketer, I realize I spent much of my time and talent helping others. While I didn’t ask for help, I was often asked for ideas, support and resources. Although at the time I didn’t give it a name, I was in fact ‘mentoring’. When asked, I helped. You might say, I simply became a mentor!

The Red Door Opens Its Door

Committed to ‘pay back and pay forward’ for my success, in ’98 I began mentoring women through my own experiences. My pilot program, called "The Red Door” opened the way for women and their business needs to be met. By openly sharing resources, the connections and encouragement among participants accelerated other’s learning curve especially by avoiding costly mistakes. As its facilitator, my role was to keep women focused, in the game and unafraid. This weekly program remained active for 3 years.

So what exactly is involved? Mentoring involves a willingness to share experiences and knowledge and to serve as a role model to someone wanting the benefit of your experience.

Here are some highlights of what the relationship offers from both perspectives.

The mentor’s role is to listen and provide candid feedback.

He or she provides guidance about career goals and how to attain them. The mentor models his own brand of business values and success by sharing information about career, the systems experienced and how business works. In addition, the mentee is exposed to the mentor’s experience in the business world and learns about business models, options and infrastructure. One could say that leaders in the network marketing arena are serving their downline or organization as a mentor by imparting their experience and support. Mentees are team members who are being guided to achieve their own success. What are the mentee’s responsibilities in this relationship?

A mentee must take full responsibility for bringing issues to the attention of his/her mentor.

Preparation is essential and excuses should be kept at a minimum. To increase success, mentees listen to and act upon feedback about their performance. There must exist a willingness to implement strategies, follow a plan and hold one’s self accountable. Promises must be kept and an agreed upon plan must be implemented. For a mentor/mentee relationship to be successful, both parties must respect each other for their roles, time and outcome. Accountability tips to insure a successful relationship. Parties share a willingness to go beyond knowing what to do to taking the necessary action to get it done. There must exist openness, trust and confidentiality and a desire for open and candid communication. A successful mentor/mentee arrangement must demonstrate mutual respect for each other’s talents and a genuine interest in each other’s success. A strong desire for professional development and personal growth are key to growing any business and essential for both parties. A positive attitude along with congruency between what is said and what is done are also critical to a successful relationship.

Network Marketing and Mentoring - The perfect combination!

Mentoring is an effective way to take role modeling to another level by teaching the details of what you’ve learned, why it works and why the business you are both in is worth pursuing. It’s the pairing of a less experienced individual (down line) with a seasoned professional. A mentor is a person who has previously gone through trial and error in business, learned valuable lessons and is committed to sharing them with members of his/her organization. Although most network marketing companies have duplicatable systems, a history on which to rely and performance standards for success, it’s a bonus to have someone whom you can rely on and team members eager to learn what you have to offer. Talk about a great arrangement!

Why Mentoring Works

It works because someone gets to share and someone gets to benefit. Learning is reinforced. There is a sense of great satisfaction knowing that you are playing a significant role in some one else’s success. It will strengthen YOUR organization as well. It doesn’t get better than that! So, what are you waiting for? Examine your down line and choose those individuals who will value you and your time. Giving them an extra push can lead to amazing results. Guess what? Your mentorship will pave the way for them to mentor people in their organization. Until next time, make every connection count.