When a mentor offers direct advice, responding with 'yeah, but...' is a clear sign that the mentee is not truly open to help. This defensive reaction quickly exhausts a mentor's patience and goodwill, causing them to withdraw their time and energy.
Busy, successful people mentor others because they find joy in watching that person grow. Mentees must show they are applying the advice and getting results. This demonstrates a return on the mentor's time and emotional investment, ensuring their continued engagement.
Successful individuals receive endless mentorship requests. Instead of helping everyone or no one, they should focus their limited time on 'multipliers'—people whose position or potential allows them to influence and develop many others. This strategy scales a leader's wisdom and impact.
After setting a 100-year company sales record, a salesperson was harshly rebuked by his manager for letting his future pipeline run thin. The mentor's message, 'This is not acceptable, not from you,' wasn't about numbers but about upholding professional standards, even at the peak of success.
A sales leader was ordered to fire a new team member. Instead of making excuses, the employee immediately admitted his shortcomings and asked for help, saying he wanted to 'soak up everything you got.' This complete surrender transformed the situation, saving his job and making him the #1 rep.
Despite delivering excellent sales numbers, a sales VP was reprimanded by her mentor for being too task-focused and ignoring colleagues. The mentor's message was clear: how you treat people is more important than the revenue you generate. This highlights a focus on long-term character development.
A sales principle—'You can't be more committed than your prospect'—applies directly to mentorship. A mentor's energy should mirror the mentee's. When a mentee stops applying advice, the mentor must pull back to avoid burnout and wasting effort on someone not committed to their own success.