Rosalie, not her real name, heard one of my audio programs and decided that I was the mentor for her. Uninvited, she sent me a couple of her marketing efforts and, because they were I uninvited, I ignored them.
But she was smart, real smart! Rosalie kept on following up and sending me her marketing efforts. I kept on ignoring them.
Then one day she followed up by sending me her latest marketing magnum opus… her brochure on which she’d spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. It was too much for me so I picked up the phone and called her. “Look” I said, “If you’re going to keep following me up and sending me stuff like this you’d better get on a plane and come and see me.”
I thought that would get rid of her as plane trips from Brisbane to Melbourne were much dearer then than they are nowadays.
Next day she rang me. “I can come to Melbourne any day next week, which would suit you?”
Defeated by the persistent relentlessness of her follow up, I gave in. “How about Thursday” I said.
Her first meeting with me arrived and flushed with enthusiasm she asked about her brochure. “Its crap” I told her.
We spent the whole day getting it, and her total business plan, together and she retreated (she told me later with her tail between her legs) back to Brisbane. That’d be the last I’d see of her I reckoned.
Three weeks later, she was on the phone with the follow up “I’ve done that what’s next?” she asked.
And so it continued for the best part of the last decade or so… her ritual of getting advice and following up… following up… following up.
Not once have I had to follow Rosalie up (although she does get an occasional “how’s things?’ call from me).
It’s pretty simple. It isn’t the mentor’s job to follow up… its yours.
Oh and what happened to Rosalie? Well she has one of the top 50 fastest growing companies in Australia and is worth millions.
She still follows up, of course!
If you feel you would benefit from my mentoring, please feel free to contact my office on (+61) 3 9803 7555 for rates and to make an appointment in person, via skype or phone.
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