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5 Steps That Will Take The Fear Out of Talking With a Mentor | SaaS Academy

Written by Dan Martell | Mar 6, 2017 12:41:01 PM

After failing twice in business I decided I needed help from a mentor.

The first person I identified was named Larry and he lived 1500 miles away.

After sitting on it for weeks, I finally hit send on the email asking him to meet.

Within 30 minutes he replied and agreed with a recommendation for a spot.

I lied about being in his city in a few weeks assuming that if he agreed that I could buy a flight…

… so that’s what I did.

It was on a Monday at 6:30pm and he was late.

We met in an old seafood restaurant off the highway and I was nervous.

What if he didn’t show up?

What if I say something stupid?

What if he sends someone else in his spot?

Eventually Larry showed up.

What happened over the next 2 hours was embarrassing.

Because I was nervous, I talked for most of the conversation.

Every question I had prepped for him was forgotten.

At the end of the meal I realized I didn’t connect with him at all.

As we got up to leave, I pulled the lame “I need to use the bathroom” trick.

At the very least, I’d spare myself the embarrassment of having him see me crawl into my rented Ford Escort with my tail between my legs.

From that point forward, I realized I need to change my approach.

Since then I’ve reached out and connected with 100’s of advisors, dozen of incredible mentors and have made it one of my superpowers to add value to complete strangers in exchange for words of wisdom.

That’s what I’m going to teach you in this week’s video.

The exact steps I teach my clients when they’re building out their professional network to help them scale their businesses.

 

 

Recently I was helping a friend who was nervous for her first call with an incredible potential mentor.

We got on a call and I walked her through these steps to plan her conversation.

  1. Start with your origin or back story (max 5 mins)
  2. Share challenges + numbers (be transparent)
  3. Be prepared w/ 3-5 questions (max 30 mins)
  4. Offer 1-3 solution per challenge
  5. Ask for feedback on the solution

Using this format she nailed the meeting and had the potential mentor offer to reconnect in the future if she had other issues.

Mission accomplished!

That’s what I want for you.

If you’re stuck, be sure to leave a comment with any questions related to mentorships.

Let me be the first person to support you on this journey.

I’m here for you!