MENTORINGPITFALLS

If the mentor receives a majority of the compensation for closed or won business, this could lead to a conflict. The primary goal of the mentor is to develop the mentee, yet they are being remunerated for closing business. In these cases, I have seen how a misaligned incentive can lead a mentor to be more focused on closing business than developing the skills of their mentee.

Still, new producers need real-life practice. They need to learn to lead meetings, respond to objections, navigate challenges and gain the skills necessary to compete. They cannot gain that experience if their mentor is always leading.

I'm not suggesting there isn't space to learn by watching. Modeling the right behaviors is important, but when incentives are misaligned, the mentee pays the cost.

Another scenario that often plays out, usually unintentionally, is when a mentor undermines the agency's established sales process. This typically occurs when a new producer is in a formal training

Continued from page 37 program and seeks the advice of a seasoned producer who is not part of the training initiative. In their attempt to help the new producer, the seasoned producer either overtly or otherwise instructs the producer to follow a different process than is being taught. While likely well-intentioned, the outcome is a confused student who is uncertain of which process they should follow.

One of the benefits of an agency-adopted sales process is that it provides a common set of standards and procedures that can be coached. If the approaches are not aligned, producer confusion will ensue.

If an agency has developed a process that is intended for new producers to follow, it is important that all producers utilize that approach when coaching, even if they don't follow it themselves.

Mentors and sales processes bring tremendous value and often make the difference in a new producer's career. Aligning incentives and