Jason was dog-tired. As an entrepreneur, he spent the last 2 years building his small business thinking he’d done all the right things with less-than-desirable results. Then Jason read an article somewhere about how hiring a mentor who had demonstrated significant success could help short-cut his path and eliminate the frustration of doing the wrong things so he began the process of searching for a success coach.

Months later Jason was still without a mentor. When I asked Jason why he had not yet hired a coach he exclaimed, “There are SOOOO many coaches out there! How do I know who to pick? Who can I really trust?”

Knowing HOW to pick a mentor or coach can be the most important decision you make this year. Having someone who can eliminate the guesswork, brainstorm new solutions assist you in prioritizing what to do in what order is essential to accelerating results. But you do want to make sure the person you hire is a good match for you.

Here are five of my personal insights into finding the right mentor.

1. Proof is in the Pudding

The most important tip to finding a mentor is picking someone who has achieved a lifestyle and business you admire. And I don’t just mean financially. Success is also about who they are being, how well they are respected, how they treat people, and what they stand for in the world.

When you are mentored by someone you are linked to them. You want to pick someone you would feel proud to be associated with and desire your life and business to end up like theirs.

2. Coach and Mentor

There is a big difference between a coach and a mentor. A mentor is someone who can teach you how to do what they did. A coach is (hopefully) trained to help you align proven strategies with what’s important to you. If you are lucky, you’ll find someone who is both.

One of the pitfalls I’ve witnessed of working with a mentor who is NOT a trained coach is they do not know how to get you out of your own way. They just know how to tell you how to do what THEY did. It’s why many entrepreneurs who invest in a guru’s miracle system fail. Find someone who has a proven system AND knows how to customize it to your needs, skills and values.

3. Follow Their Work

A fast way to find out if you align with someone is to buy one of their books, read their articles or take a course from them. I’ve found that some of my best clients have hired me on the spot after they took Virtual Team Building or attended a preview call for Fast Track.

During your initial experience, do you find yourself thinking “Wow, they totally get me,” or “They have been exactly where I am now but have achieved the success that I want!” That’s an excellent sign that you’ll be a good fit. But, and this is an important note, don’t select on this one aspect alone! Follow all the tips here to ensure all the elements for a successful coaching relationship are in place.

4. Due Diligence

Check out what other people have experienced from this expert. You never want to rely on hearsay alone cause not everyone is a good fit for each mentor. But if you hear a common theme of “I liked their marketing but they didn’t deliver” or “They were never available to conduct my coaching sessions” then I’d steer clear.

Recently a new client told me, “I’ve searched high and low for dirt on you and impressively, I couldn’t find anything! All I heard was people singing your praises.” Of course, I felt great pride in that and he’s not the first to say something similar. My point is: check references, do google searches, ask former clients. Feel confident in your decision (but hey…don’t drag on with research forever…it’s just another form of procrastination!)

5. Respectful Stretching

Some people get caught up in feeling like they have to really like their mentor. You don’t. I’d suggest you find someone that makes you nervous as all hell. Why on earth would you spend a boatload of money to have a new best friend? Now I don’t mean hire a coach who shouts, puts you down or doesn’t “get” you.

Hire a mentor who will really stretch you to into a new paradigm. You want to be pushed and challenged to be more than you are now. That’s not going to happen if you are all nice and cozy hanging out with your best friend.

6. Invest High

My last tip is to hire a success coach at a level that hurts. You MUST have some serious skin in the game to experience the level of growth you desire. If you aren’t feeling a pinch then you aren’t being charged enough. Here’s why. When you find your stride you’ll be tempted to back off or slow down. When you are dropping some serious change (and this is at whatever level it hurts for you – could be $200 or $20,000 a month) then you will work a million times harder to ensure you get the return on investment.

My personal experience is that having the right mentor is the best investment you can make in your business. I owe a significant amount of gratitude to my coaches over the years. Each and every one of them has contributed to my ability to get people just like you the best results on the planet.

Want to see if we are a good fit? Start with a Reinvention Business Breakthrough here:

http://extraordinaryresultsfasttrack.com/reinvent/

Melanie

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 6:20 am and is filed under Business Goals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.