A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.
– Bob Proctor
There is often a regular debate that goes on in organizations: the debate to decide which team plays an important role in actually achieving the company goals. While some say it’s the operations and the admin team, most say that it is the sales and marketing team that earns the money for the company. We are not here to address this debate; We are here to help people see the importance of having in place a good mentorship program for the newbies who join the sales team.
Before we actually explain the pros of having a decent mentorship program in place, let us first understand what a mentor is. There are many names by which we know this person. Some call it their role model, some call it their inspiration, and some call them people who they simply look up to. A mentor is all this and so much more.
A mentor is a coach and a trainer who gives the new people a steady plan to stick to. Since the sales team needs to be trained to handle the customers and all their queries, the need for having a strong sales mentorship program is certainly of the essence. As a mentor, one is assigned a team of mentees who actually learn and train under them. As an organization, if you are looking to establish a good sales mentorship program, here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Start with an energizing meeting. A good mentorship program should make clear to the mentors and mentees exactly why the program is in place. Often, such programs fail miserably because no expectations are set. People need to know what’s in it for them. So before you start with the program make sure you hold an energizing meeting, which will act as an ice breaker and will help your teams of mentors and mentees get comfortable with each other.
Format a step-by-step guide. Part of any successful mentorship program is that you already have an idea of what all you want to achieve through the duration of the program. As mentors and managers running the mentorship program, it is necessary to have a practical set of deliverables and objectives in place. Once the program kicks off, it is also essential to conduct weekly meetings to check on the status of the program and conduct a SWOT annalysis for everything.
Train the mentors. There are certain parameters that enable a person to become a mentor or a buddy trainer. As a management team, it is highly advisable that you first zero in on the candidates who can become successful mentors. Once that is done, you need to conduct training sessions for them so they know what they are getting into and what is expected of them. Don’t push anyone into something they are not prepared for.
Celebrate the graduation of the mentees. Every mentee will soon graduate and move to the next level. Once the sales mentorship program is over, it will be a great boost for both your mentors and mentees if you hold a small graduation ceremony. What will make this ceremony better is if you can put together a small reward and recognition part where you award the best mentor and mentee with some award or certificate. Trust us this small gesture does so much.
Have measurable. Post program, it is crucial that you map the performance of all the new mentees. This will help you determine how effective the program was. If you find issues, make sure you address them and get it sorted immediately. Providing feedback is also important for both the mentor and the mentees.
Mentoring is a huge responsibility. If it’s not handled with care, a lot of unforeseen issues can result. Make sure you plan your sales mentorship program carefully, keeping the above-mentioned points in mind.
Henry Jones is a digital marketer/content specialist who loves to write content & help people by providing informational blogs all over the web. He is working in GoDissertationHelp, an academic writing service which provides the best dissertation writing services in the UK.
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