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MENTORS

VOLUME 4
AN IN S P IR ATI O N A L G UI D E
BY S P E N C ER LO D GE 1
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According to the Oxford dictionary a mentor is “an experienced person in

a company or educational institution who trains and counsels new
employees or students”. In my case, my first mentor happened to be much
more than this. A successful mentor has the ability to shape the life of his protégé,
and that’s exactly what mine did.

I was nineteen years old and ready to take on the working world, but I hadn’t
managed to hang onto a sales job for more than a couple of months at the time.
My family had always told me that I’d be good at sales because I had ‘the gift of
the gab’ but finding the right sales job proved to be a challenge. I had a brief stint
as a trainee car salesman but sadly that didn’t work out. I then went for an interview
one day with a well-known office equipment company and was interviewed by a
man named David Shillingis. He gave me a pen and asked me to sell it to him.
I must have said something right because he offered me a job on the spot and the
rest as they say, is history. That day changed the course of the rest of my life.

MENTORS:
TRAINING AND
INSPIRING
TOMORROWS
LEADERS 2
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I’ve spoken before about how my mentor provided training to a group of

us from 6 until 7:30 every morning. The job was in London so it meant
me waking up at 4:30am and leaving my house no later than 5am every
day. If you weren’t there on time you weren’t allowed in, but because I
found the training so inspiring I was always front and centre.

BE PREPARED TO
PUT IN THE EFFORT
The best mentors are the ones that have a vested interest, and Dave
always made a point of checking in on me every day. That’s not to say
that he wasn’t pushing me and working me hard as well. Every day
I had to knock on one hundred company doors and get one hundred
introductions. Then once back at the office I had to call all of them and
try and book a meeting. I was always the first one in the office and the
last one out. This was my life for eighteen months, and at the end of
those eighteen months I was the only trainee still standing. To this day I’m
still very proud of that fact.

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Today, more and more businesses are latching onto the concept of
using mentoring as a professional development tool. By empowering
young staff members, businesses are seeing a dramatic improvement
in productivity and efficiency. I’ve mentored hundreds of young sales
professionals throughout the years and many of them have gone on to
become hugely successful millionaires. I’ve always believed in giving
back, and that’s part of the reason I started “Make It Happen”.
Behind every successful person, there’s a mentor who helped them
along the way, and seeing people succeed makes me happy.

WHY BUSINESSES
ARE EMBRACING
MENTORSHIP
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FAMOUS MENTORS
Some of the most influential people were
mentored by some of the most well-known
people of our time.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was a mentor to Facebook

CEO Mark Zuckerberg. During the early days of Facebook
the two often met to discuss the best business practices for the
company. Oprah Winfrey was also mentored by celebrated
author and poet, Maya Angelou and has often spoken about
the benefits of mentorship saying:

“Mentors are important and I don’t think

anybody makes it in the world without some
form of mentorship,”

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THE MAKING
OF A MENTOR
What makes a good mentor? Well a good mentor needs to be more than
just a successful individual. A good mentor needs the desire and drive to actively
develop other people. If you truly want to inspire other people you’ll have to reflect
and share your own experiences, including your failures. Great mentors are the
people who are constantly trying to better themselves. Other essential qualities for
an effective mentor include:

A desire to develop and help others:

Even though the relationship between a mentor and his protégé is a two way
street, as a mentor you’ve got to be willing to give of your time and resources
without expecting anything back.

Commitment, time and energy to devote to the mentoring relationship:

A mentor’s relationship with his protégé isn’t a quick thing. It’s a relationship that
develops over time. Be prepared to put in the hours.

Current and relevant knowledge, expertise, and skills:

You wouldn’t take parenting advice from someone without a child right? In order
to be a successful mentor, you’ll need to be able to talk the talk and walk the walk.

A willingness to share failures and personal experiences:

Mentors need to share both their “how to do it right” and their “how I did it
wrong” stories. Both experiences provide valuable opportunities for insight and
learning.

A learning attitude:
Because a mentor is more like a teacher than a coach, learning is an important
characteristic in a mentor.

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Just like there are characteristics that make a successful mentor, there are also
certain traits that make a good protégé. What makes a good protégé? Effort,
appreciation, dedication and a whole lot of drive are at the top of my list but
the below will also see you benefiting from your relationship with your mentor:

THE PERFECT
PROTÉGÉ
Willingness to ask for help:
I’ve met a lot of people who want to do things their way and don’t want
to accept advice from others. I was also like this before I met my mentor.
I thought I knew it all, when in fact I was far from knowing anything at the
time. Respect people who have been the field for longer than you. Ask them
questions and learn from their success stories. You won’t be sorry!

Readiness to try new ideas:

It’s never easy stepping out of your comfort zone but don’t expect to get a new
result by doing the same thing. Mentors are there to offer suggestions and
ideas. Try as many new ideas as you can!

The ability to accept constructive criticism:

I’m the kind of person who says it how it is. If you want to grow, then you’ll
have to stop being offended and start using the constructive criticism offered
to you to your benefit- not detriment!

Be personally responsible and accountable:

The only person responsible for you is you! Blaming others will never get you
far in the work force. Be honest with your mentor. No excuses.

Ready, willing and able to meet on a regular basis:

Just like you can’t expect to eat sugar on a diet and lose weight, you can’t
expect to learn from your mentor if you aren’t there to take notes. I met with
my mentor every single day for more than eighteen months. It paid off big
time for me, so imagine what it could do for you? 7
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“SUCCESS OCCURS WHEN

YOUR DREAMS GET BIGGER
THAN YOUR EXCUSES”
SPENCER LODGE

services and sales industry, with over 23 years of experience.

He has personally trained over 500 people during his
career and has helped build some of the largest and most

for clients and investors from all over the world.

Find out more » hi@make-it-happen.com