A lot of companies sell new agents on the fact that they are going to be helped along in the business with a Mentor. Maybe this works, but in the offices I have managed and the offices where I was just an agent, I have not seen it be successful. First, it is rarely clear exactly what the mentor is supposed to do.
- Are they the day to day trainer?
- Is the mentor supposed to watch the agent as they cold call?
- Does the mentor sit in on buyer presentations when the new agent meets with their buyer for the first time?
- Does the Mentor let the agent shadow them including meetng with clients
If the answer is not YES to all of these, what are they mentoring. Too often, I have seen a mentor taking a share of the new agent commission (and there is not much to start with) and all they do is coach the agent when they have an issue.
One of the problems that I had as a manager was matching new agents with a mentor. Some of the agentos that I wanted to mentor, were too busy or really not interested in baby sitting a new agent. More importantly, I had trouble matching personalities. It doesn't do much good to have a seasoned agent "role model" the new agent if the role model is not similiar in style or someone that you would not want to be the company image. Without seeming too critical , there are people in our business (and some worked for me), who were people who I would never hire as an agent. But, they were consistently successul selling, while not necessarily a team player.
A new agent is very vulnerable. If you want them to be on time, attend sales meetings, go on tour and do all the things that new agents need to do to find their place in the business, it is probably not a good idea to team them with the rebel in your office who can really sell houses, but rarely thinks about the team effort.
So, if you are the mentor or new agent, make sure you get a clear understanding in writing what the Mentor is and is not to do.
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