As you develop your mentor program in your sales team, there are some practical steps in communication that should be effective and efficient.
It is important to give and gain information. But it is equally important that you do not micro-manage the process and take too much time out of the mentor’s daily schedule. Regardless of how your compensation program works, to be an effective leader of great mentors, you must lead with the mindset that you are leading a volunteer army. If they are truly the right people for your mentor team, micro-management and too much time in accountability type communications will actually hurt your team more than help it.
Here are some tips to keep your communications on track:
Keep It Consistent:
I recommend weekly group communication with your mentor team. This can be by webinar, conference call, Skype, physical meeting etc. Communicate at the same time each week. These communications should be short, but allow time for praise, activity reporting, and instruction.
Keep It Simple:
Focus only on a few important activities that will bring the proper results. Have your mentor team update you on how those activities are going with the new hires. In your regular communications, avoid spending too much time on results unless you are giving praise. You can do more of that at your quarterly reviews. The results focus should be oriented toward answering this question; “Is the new-hire generating sales and income?” Then the activity focus will be relevant to that question.
Keep It Upbeat:
Thank your mentor team for what they do with your new hires. Keep the group communication on a positive note. Have success stories and best practices shared as a regular part of the call.
You should also have private phone conversations with your mentor team as the week progresses. That one on one time will be helpful in coaching them as needed.
Keep your mentor team accountable for the time they spend with the new hires – not the results of the new hires. Your mentor team in not responsible for the new hire. The are responsible to the new hire. [lightbox link=”http://jeffcwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mentor-team.jpg” thumb=”http://jeffcwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mentor-team.jpg” width=”300″ align=”right” title=”mentor team” frame=”true” icon=”image” caption=””]
QUESTION: How many mentors could you add to your team today?
Recent Comments