This Is Where to Start

The Book in Three Sentences

• No one wants to be your mentor”.
• “Stop looking for something you love and instead follow something you’re curious about”.
• Ask yourself: “How can I make this person more successful at what they do?”

The Five Big Ideas

• “No one wants to be your mentor”.
• “One must face the reality that attracting a mentor is a long and patient process, but it’s imperative to develop skills and a reputation to create such an opportunity”.
• “Stop looking for something you love and instead follow something you’re curious about”.
• “A key mindset you need to take on is that you are filling a very real void. Your mindset needs to be that you are adding to the party”.
• Ask yourself: “How can I make this person more successful at what they do?”

This Is Where to Start Summary

• “No one wants to be your mentor”.
• “As a general rule, the word ‘mentor’ is to be left alone, and only used in retrospect when you need a convenient label to sum up the relationship you had”.

Three Things to Look for in a Mentor:

• They know how to make money (and show signs of being profitable).
• They have demonstrated ambition to grow.
• There’s potential for in person work.
• “One must face the reality that attracting a mentor is a long and patient process, but it’s imperative to develop skills and a reputation to create such an opportunity”.
• “Stop looking for something you love and instead follow something you’re curious about”.
• “A key mindset you need to take on is that you are filling a very real void. Your mindset needs to be that you are adding to the party”.

Three Things You Need to Be Ready:

• Develop and market hard skills. One way to distinguish yourself to a potential business mentor is to develop skills that will be valuable to their company.
• Read everything the person you’re contacting has ever written. Watch every video. Listen to every interview. Study every page of their website.
• Get inside their head. Regardless of the area you’re looking to help someone in, you must understand their core motivation, as well as the structure of their overall business. What’s getting them out of bed in the morning?

10 Questions to Ask Yourself:

• Why did he/she start whatever it is they’re doing?
• What are the main benefits their followers/clients/customers receive from what they do?
• What are their followers’/clients’/customers’ biggest problems?
• What is/are the biggest frustration(s) of the person you’re contacting in having to provide a solution to this?
• How can you help them? Where is your proof?
• What specifically can you help them with? What can you not help them with?
• What tasty tips/information can you give right away?
• Why wouldn’t they want you to work for them? What objections might they give?
• What is ‘the dream’ for them in what they’re working towards?
• Lastly, what is the nightmare?
• “Your aim when meeting a mentor isn’t to pitch them from out of nowhere. It’s to build an initial level of familiarity and, if possible, to get to know a member of their team or entourage”.
• “When you meet them, try to stand out and distinguish yourself. A safe option would be to get a small gift like a book. I’m talking about an empathetically though-out gift that will help them with a specific problem or issue”.
• “If at all possible, when you go along to meet someone, if they have people with them – friends, co-workers or family – try and get to know one or two of these people as well”.
• “As soon as you’ve met someone, follow up right away with a thank you email. The aim here is simply to open a dialogue you can return to”.
• “If the interaction itself wasn’t enough to justify such a message, reference how their work has helped you, and how great it was to meet them and shake their hand. Be specific in referencing their work, subtly alluding to something that shows you’ve followed what they do for a long time”.
• “Ask for NOTHING in this email”.
• “You want to ensure your message has gotten through, which you can do using an email tracking service like SideKick”.
• “A short thank-you note and some courtesy can go a long way”.
• “An email allows you to demonstrate your talents and expertise, as well as your intimate understanding of their business (which can be hard to do in person without looking like a deranged stalker)”.
• Ask yourself: “How can I make this person more successful at what they do?”
• Dream-Problem-Solution: “What is their dream? What is a problem they currently have in their business? How can you position yourself as the solution?”
• “Add a single line to the top of the message that states your intent. This gives context to the rest of the message, and having a single sentence at the top will make the whole meal more digestible”.
• “Make your offer as low investment as you can. Anticipate objections that might arise and disarm them upfront”.
• “Give away a tasty tip that will help them right away”.

How to Write an Email to a Prospective Mentor:

• Line of Intent
• Dream
• Problem
• Solution
• Overcome Obstacles
• Best,
• [Your Name]
• P.S. Bonus
• “You’ll be excited once you’ve written it, but rather than rushing to hit ‘Send’, I’d encourage you to sleep on it”.
• “The very next day, take a look at what you’ve written and read it back as if you were the person you’re contacting”.
• “Once you’ve spent some time touching it up, put it away for another night to sleep on”.
• “Get feedback on your message from some people around you. Ask two or more smart, trustworthy people to read over the email for general feedback, and, once incorporated, ask one additional person to proof-read the final version for mistakes”.

The Big Mistakes People Make:

• Spelling and grammatical mistakes.
• Using the word “Mentor”.
• Using words like “Lol”, “Hahaha” or anything else that would suggest this is a text message to your best friend.
• Writing too much.
• Attaching your resume.
• Using an uncommon font.
• Having “Sent from my iPad” or “Sent from my iPhone”.
• Including anything that might suggest at some point down the line you will be their direct competition in business.
• “As soon as you’ve sent off your first email, begin working on your next”.
• “Don’t assume just because someone hasn’t gotten back to you it means they’re not interested”.
• “A short one or two line follow up can work in your favour, but always write back as a response to the first message you’ve sent so that it appears in the same thread of their inbox”.
• “If they have a blog, leave a comment on their latest post. Retweet them. ‘Like’ their latest Facebook post. But be aware of overdoing it”.
• “Do no keep persisting or try to argue your way into a position if you get a ‘no’. Thank them for taking the time to respond. If they’ve said ‘no’ because it’s not a good time, ask if they’d be okay for you to follow up in 3-6 months to see if anything has changed or opened up”.

Buy The Book: This Is Where to Start

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