Finding a mentor who listens actively can be a game-changer for your technical sales career. Active listening is a skill that helps you understand your customers' needs, build rapport, and overcome objections. But how can you find a mentor who can teach you this skill and give you constructive feedback? Here are some tips to help you out.
Before you start looking for a mentor, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and improve in your technical sales role. Do you want to learn how to ask better questions, handle complex scenarios, or communicate technical features more effectively? Having specific and measurable goals will help you narrow down your search and find a mentor who can help you reach them.
The goals should not only be about what you want to achieve, but also who you want to become. Then ask yourself what do I need to learn, change and adapt in order to become that person.
One of the best ways to find a mentor who listens actively is to ask around your network and see if anyone can refer or recommend someone. You can start with your colleagues, managers, or peers who work in technical sales or related fields. They might know someone who has the experience, skills, and personality that match your needs and expectations. You can also use online platforms, such as LinkedIn, to find potential mentors and reach out to them with a personalized message.
Once you have a list of potential mentors, you need to evaluate their communication style and see if they listen actively. You can do this by having an initial conversation with them, either online or in person, and observe how they interact with you. Do they pay attention to what you say, ask relevant questions, paraphrase your points, and show empathy? Do they give you space to express yourself, or do they interrupt, dominate, or judge you? Do they provide you with honest and helpful feedback, or do they sugarcoat, criticize, or ignore you? These are some of the signs that can indicate whether they are good listeners or not.
After you find a mentor who listens actively, you need to establish expectations and boundaries for your mentorship relationship. You need to discuss and agree on the frequency, duration, and mode of your communication, as well as the topics, goals, and outcomes of your sessions. You also need to respect each other's time, availability, and privacy, and communicate any changes or issues that might arise. Having clear expectations and boundaries will help you avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, and disappointments.
Finally, you need to give and receive feedback throughout your mentorship journey. Feedback is essential for learning, improvement, and growth, and it should be a two-way street. You should not only listen to your mentor's feedback, but also give them feedback on how they are helping you, what you appreciate about them, and what you need more or less of from them. You should also ask for feedback on how you are doing as a mentee, what you can do better, and what you are achieving. Giving and receiving feedback will help you build trust, rapport, and mutual respect with your mentor.
A mentorship is always a two way relationship, consisting of a mentor and a mentee. Not only the mentee learns from the mentorship, but also the mentor observes new aspects of a skill when teaching. The foundation for great mentorship on both side is trust, a respectful interaction and the right amount of challanging when pushing for growth.
Great mentorship starts when a mentor has walked the path already successfully and can lead with confidence his mentee on the right path. A great mentor does not necessarily only look for comfort in the mentee, but know when to push in the right situation beyond the boundaries and into the growth zone. To know when the mentee is still in the flow state, the mentee has to carefully observe to balance between flow state, being overwhelmed or underchallanged. For that, the mentor needs to be fully focused and present during the coaching sessions.