What it means to be a mentor...

There are a number of fellow network marketing mentors out there with the best of intentions for their business partners, but somewhere along the way they have lost sight of what it means to be a mentor.

Being a mentor to a budding entrepreneur is not about giving them the next best system to plug into or suggesting that they just promote the team and piggy back your marketing efforts.

To be a true mentor you need to be without ego and without self. You need to have the ability to identify the unique qualities that lie within each of your business partners. If you really want to be an effective mentor and see your business partners grow their business, you need to lead them in a way that will allow them to find their voice, their message and their value.

No one wants to be a carbon copy of their mentor. At least, not a true leader or entrepreneur. An leader wants to lead and it is your job as a mentor to provide the tools and the guidance that will allow this to happen.

Systems are important, especially an effective marketing system that will allow a new affiliate or distributor to get out there and learn the ropes of online and attraction marketing as quickly as possible. But, the education cannot end there.

You need to provide your team and business partners with a system that educates on all levels of personal development, niche development, keyword research and time management. It is not all about the "techie" stuff all the time.

Network marketing is just as much about people as it is about marketing. If you don't know WHO you are marketing to then the HOW really doesn't matter all that much. I'm sorry if this seems crass, but it is not just about leads, conversions and sign ups. These are real people we are dealing with. People with real dreams and aspirations.

It is my job as a mentor and leader to be honest and forthright with my prospects. It is my job to make sure that my prospects know what it takes to be successful in this industry and that it is not easy...but it will not always be so hard.

Education, Relationships, Leadership and Guidance. That is what it means to be a mentor.