Anatomy of a Mentor

I have been mentoring people for more than thirty-five years while running my other businesses. Now that I'm retired (sort of), I decided to commit to mentoring on a full time basis. I saw this article recently and found it to be spot on in describing what I provide for my clients. And so, I pass it along to you.

I am frequently asked one or more of the following questions regarding the anatomy of a mentor:

·                            What is mentoring?

·                            Who can be a mentor?

·                            When to get a mentor?

·                            Where and how can you find a mentor?

·                            How to determine fees and related value of a mentor?

Let’s start by defining mentor. A mentor is a seasoned, wise and reliable guide and teacher. Its synonyms are counselor, guide, tutor, teacher, guru, supporter and advisor. This provides important clues to the answers to above questions. This definition also tells us the qualities a mentor needs to posses and what is to be expected of a mentor.

All too often, mentoring is confused with coaching. These two things are not the same. You will notice that coach is not a synonym of mentor. Coaching primarily involves teaching and training. The coach is expected to have a working knowledge of the specific area and an ability to train others in that field.

Mentorship is a fully engaged personal relationship for developmental purposes. A seasoned, more experienced or more knowledgeable person who has attained expertise and wisdom through learning and experience, guides a less experienced or less knowledgeable person on an ongoing basis. True mentoring is more than just answering sporadic questions or occasionally providing informal help. It is an ongoing relationship.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is about an enduring relationship of teaching and learning through ongoing dialog and interaction. Mentoring involves informal imparting of knowledge, strategies and tactics. It entails communication, guidance and support during a sustained period of time, as it is pertinent to work, career, and personal and professional development.

Who can be a mentor?

A mentor is a seasoned, wise and reliable guide and teacher. This simple description spells out the qualifications a mentor must have in order to be able to deliver. Being seasoned and wise is typically a result of formal and informal education and real-life experience gained through the school of hard-knocks. Reliability is a personality trait, as is the commitment to teach. Have a candid conversation with your potential mentor and learn about his or her background, qualifications and general outlook. This will help you ensure compatibility.

When to get a mentor?

You will find having a mentor to be optimally beneficial in one of the two circumstances. First, a mentor can help you become better equipped to meet a specific goal in personal or professional development. Second, when you are faced with an unexpected situation, conflict or crisis, dealing with which appears to be beyond your capabilities.

Where and how can you find a mentor?

Finding a suitable mentor can be a challenge. Even a search on the Internet may not easily lead you to one. A coach is not the same as a mentor. The best way to find one is to use the same methods you use to find other professionals, like doctors, dentists, attorneys etc. Ask for referrals from your network. Most importantly, when you find someone whom you think can be a good mentor for you; it’s time to have a candid conversation. Make sure you understand his or her expectations, method of working and do’s and don’ts. Then spell out your own objectives, expectations and do’s and don’ts. Compatibility is key. It is always a good idea to clearly define the parameters of a relationship, particularly one such as this.

How to determine fees and related value of a mentor?

A thorough evaluation of the benefits you will gain from being mentored is a good place to start. Then determine the dollar value of those benefits and measure that against the fees. You must also factor in the knowledge and long-term benefits that you will receive, even after the mentoring arrangement has ended. It is important to know upfront about all costs, fees and when you are expected to pay those fees.

If reading this article has triggered questions, or you wish to chat about this or any other relevant subject, feel free to connect with me, directly. My contact information is: rmvcard@aol.com  or  702-466-9697

About RadioTrader

Well, it appears I will have to put off airing my show RadioTrader here in Vegas for awhile. Try as I might, finding people who actually want to work is waaaay more difficult these days than ever before. I ran into this problem back in 2010 when I was hiring sales personnel for my other business up in northern Nevada as well. Seems with the economy being what it is, nobody wants to work for straight commission.  It's funny to because, that was always the desired position years ago since there was no cap on how much a person could make. I get it though. People need guarantees these days. Nevertheless, it's frustrating when you hear about all these people out of work.
I could now go off on a tangent and and ask the question "Why doesn't anybody want to work", but that's a whole other area I don't want to get into here. I'm sure you can add to this as well.
So the windup is...look for RadioTrader to pop up here in Vegas at a future date.
Thanks to everyone who was anxiously awaiting the show.
Hang in there.

Bob V

Common Sense?

Common sense....often times I hear someone say."Don't they have any common sense"? The obvious answer is "No"
Because common sense isn't something someone just has.  We're not born with common sense. It has to be taught and shown examples of. For generations now, it simply hasn't been. Why? I really can't answer that except to  conclude that somewhere over time people just got tired of thinking things out and decided to just do whatever was easiest and damn the consequences.  I've related a story countless times to not only my children, but others who have posed that question outlined at the beginning of this piece.
I dated a gal for a short time many years ago who had a young son. His bedroom was an absolute disaster. You basically couldn't see the floor. I being something of a neat freak apparently intimidated this girlfriend into trying to get her son to clean up his room. She would send him in there time after time to clean up but he would inevitably end up sitting on the side of his bed staring at the wall. You know, that deer in the headlight stare. The girlfriend would say to me "I don't get it. By this age you'd think he'd have enough common sense to see how messy his room is and want to fix it"
I finally gave in to my temptation and sat her down one afternoon for a chat. Her own room wasn't anything to shout about either though she tried hard to impress me with her limited domestic abilities.
I asked her if she had ever...I mean EVER gone into his room and showed him HOW to clean his room? After some thought she conceded that "No, not really "showed" him but told him what to do. Of course for most of his formative years he had only to glance into his Mom's room for the example.
Expecting people to behave in a certain way means that you believe that they may have been taught to, yet sadly that is not necessarily nor even commonly the case. So the next time you see young people or even adults behaving badly and you ask " Don't these people have any common sense"?
Chances are they don't and it's not their fault.

Bob Villoria  is an experienced Sales and Marketing consultant with over 45 years experience who helps business owners get more clients through social media marketing. He is also a personal and business development coach/mentor with an online practice available at RMVCARD.com 
Also a writer of horror fiction.

Assumption Junction

Article provided by Bob Villoria - Mentor/ Social Media PublicistJeanna Gabellini Level: Platinum Jeanna Gabellini, is a Master Business Coach who assists high achieving entrepreneurs, corporate leaders & their teams to leverage fun, systems and intentionality for high-octane ...

We've all heard how making an assumption of another person "makes an ass out of you and me." (Ass u me) Yet, people still make assumptions all the time about why a person did or didn't do something and what they will do in the future. Many of the stories that are made up about people are so far off target, but assumptions continue to be made.

You can spend a lot of unproductive time wondering why something happened, especially if you know attraction principles. You assume it was this thought or that thought that created your negative circumstances...again, many times your guesses are far off base.

However, there is great place for assumptions in your life. Assuming that you are going to get exactly what you want leads to consistent results. Assuming that the game of manifestation is never over, even when the rule book says so, will get you everything you want at any time.

Don't assume...

You won't make your financial goal this month or year.

Assume instead…

You will.

Don't assume...

Your health will decline as you get older.

Assume...

It will improve.

Don’t assume

That employees are hard to manage.

Assume

You will attract the IDEAL team.

Don’t assume

That a BIG goal would be a miracle to achieve.

Assume

It's normal for you to achieve it.

Don’t assume

That there is not enough time.

Assume

There is an abundance of time.

Don’t assume

You have to do it all by yourself.

Assume

The Universe has your back.

Don’t assume

You have to sacrifice your own needs for clients.

Assume

Your ideal clients will honor you.

Don’t assume

You are stuck in a rut.

Assume

The time is now for a breakthrough.

Don’t assume

You can't afford it.

Assume

You can and the money will come.

Assumptions are happening hundreds of times a day and you don't even notice. Make it your practice to tune into your assumptions. See if each one serves you or creates a roadblock. A good assumption keeps the door not only open to possibility but ensures success.

If you think it's not as easy as this, you're wrong. But you'll end up being right if you keep assuming things are hard work or impossible. Catch my drift?

No more excuses. No more yucky assumptions. It's time for an assumption revolution within you. Assume that you are worthy of all good things and that by you choosing your own rules that feel good, miracles WILL be an everyday occurrence.

If you would like some help in looking at things with a little different perspective, contact me today at rmvcard@aol.com

Bob Villoria  is an experienced Sales and Marketing consultant with over 45 years experience who helps business owners get more clients through social media marketing. He is also a personal and business development coach/mentor with an online practice available at RMVCARD.com 

Don't chase money...

So very often I hear about this business or that business holding huge receivables for overdue amounts that should have been paid either up front or on time. I saw it in the radio biz when I was on the radio and I've seen it time and time again. Owners lamenting about how they signed up a client who supposedly all with good intent promised to pay their first billing on time, only to have them either string it out for months or not pay at all. Nobody works for free. If you're not collecting at least 50% up front at signing, you're setting yourself up for weeks if not months of possibly chasing money. Never have I seen it as often as I have over the years, with businesses and individuals signing on for someone to do their social media. Because of the realistic time frame for seeing any results from social media marketing, so many individuals and businesses alike think nothing is being done on their behalf. One can spit out all the "jargon" and "analytics" they want, but if the client doesn't see instant gratification in too many cases they believe that not enough if any work is being done. And as I have heard too often, that client tends to not want to pay for the work that has already been done.
If I have a client who balks at paying up front, I simply explain that 
a. Why it takes more time than they may imagine to realize ROI yet I will be working all that time and... 
b. If they are not satisfied and I have to do more work, it's easier for me to make up any additional postings, etc. than it is for me to have to chase money. In most cases, the client understands and agrees.
So my advise is to always collect 30%, to 50% up front when signing a new client. That way if you do have someone go "south" on you, they have at least paid for a solid portion of the work you have completed.

How do you know if it works...

So very often the question arises from clients..."How do I know if my Social media efforts are working"?
I like to say that many of the old methods of tracking it are more effective than not.
To that end, I came across this article which really says what I've been saying for a long time and I would like to share it with you. My thanks and acknowledgment to Kimberly Yuhl for hitting the nail right on the head...

Social Media ROI for Small BusinessSEPTEMBER 16, 2013 BY Kimberly Yuhl

It seems as if every social media expert is advising how to measure the Return on Investment (ROI) with relation to hours and costs associated with marketing using social media. ROI is important to justify the budget for consultancy costs or additional personnel to big business. I contend that social media ROI for the small business owner means something entirely different.

The biggest cost to small businesses using social media as a marketing tool is time. So the question becomes less about money and more about the value of their time. This doesn’t mean that ROI isn’t relevant, it just means it has a different meaning and different metrics to the small business owner than it does to big business.

Measuring Social Media ROI

As a small business owner, measuring Social Media ROI may leave you feeling like you are chasing an elusive number. The reality is you are. Instead of measuring ROI, set goals around things you can actually measure such as:

• How many customers converse with you through your blog or Facebook page?
• How many customers made a repeat purchase last month?
• How many customers reviewed your business or product on Yelp?

Customer engagement is something that is important to the success of your business and is pretty easy to measure – as long as your goals are specific. For instance, the number of likes on a Facebook page are not as important as the number of customers that take the time to like or comment on a post.

Key Performance Indicators

When you measure items that speak to customer engagement you are actually measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This is different from ROI and there is a strong case for the small business owner to use KPIs instead of ROI to measure the effectiveness of their social media efforts. A small business owner is involved in every aspect of the day to day business and as such will be able to make a correlation between an increase in certain KPIs and the value it adds.

As with anything new, it can seem overwhelming and impossible to add another thing to your already over-scheduled day. Tracking this type of information can help you hone your social media efforts to activities and networks that actually add value. After some time, you will see patterns emerge that will prove helpful. Look for information that will point you towards the type of content, time of day and the social networks that increase your customer engagement. With this kind of valuable information, you will know where, when and how to spend your time. In the end, you will know you are getting your money’s worth and isn’t that what ROI is all about?

Your Action Item

Choose three customer engagement measurement goals and track those goals every week for three months. At the end of three months evaluate the data and determine if your efforts are resulting in increased engagement. If not, it might be time to alter your strategy.

If you find that "time" is not on your side in creating a social media campaign for your small business, give me a shout. I will help your small business get more visibility immediately.

Bob V.

This is for the guys out there...

I'm not usually one for coupon clipping or bargain shopping, I leave that for my wife but I found something that we guys should really be aware of that I felt compelled to pass along.
I HATE SHAVING! There, I've said it. But unless I want to eventually look like a neanderthal, I have gone through this ritual every other morning (I will not subject my face to this everyday) of shaving off all the stubble on my face. I tried a mustache once...LOL...hahahaha...no.
So I think it was sometime last year, as I was at Walmart buying my usual pkg. of Mach something blades, mumbling and cursing under my breath at the ridiculous cost for simply 5 blades. especially when time after time they wear out so quickly I usually end up sacrificing a pint or two of blood. (Okay, so I'm prone to exaggeration but you get the idea) Seriously though, one blade might get me two maybe three shaves before it starts tearing at my face. And usually appears rusty. Never a good thing to scrape your face with anything rusty.
On this particular occasion, my lovely wife of near 30 years said to me..."Why don't you try these women's blades. They're Wilkerson, which are better and I found that I get many more shaves per blade than 3 or 4"
I looked at the package...6 blades...around 5 bucks..I though What the heck! I'll try it. Would you believe I'm getting 5 sometimes 6 shaves from these little pink babies every time. Once I even got eight clean shaves before I just figured I JUST HAD to throw it out and reach for another one.
Now I know, some of you guys might have a problem with the pink packaging and all, but if you're serious about

• a. saving money and 
• b. getting more shaves per blade, 

...then you really need to check this out. I mean it's so unnecessary to pay as much as $8 - $9 even $12 for blades that work once or twice. It's called planned obsolescence and we men have been buying into it for years.
Okay so I've deviated sharply from my usual thoughts on sales & marketing, business visibility, my writing, and even my Mentoring practice but really guys, isn't it time we put our foot down and say "I'm not gonna put up with this rip off any longer and if this is a good alternative, I'm gonna take it"
I did and I'm clean shaven and saving a pretty penny each year as a result.
Happy Shaving