BRANDING Mentoring Handbook by Project results

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK

BRAND BUILDING OF EU ENTERPRISES THROUGH MENTORING

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Project No: 2018-1-HU01-KA202-047759

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

CONTENTS THE HANDBOOK 6

The Branding Mentoring Project

The Partnership

The Erasmus+ Program

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 19

What is branding and extroversion?

Branding and extroversion Basic Definitions

Branding Mentoring professional background materials

Branding and Extroversion Handbook - a Guide for SMEs

Branding and Extrovert Entrepreneurial Attitude Complex Training Program (BRANDING EU training) training materials

BRANDING EU Trainer's Guidelines

Chapter closing thoughts

CHAPTER 2 32

What is mentoring?

Definition of mentoring

Types of mentoring

The role of the mentor

The role of the mentee

The mentoring process

Task and responsibilities of Branding Mentoring

Task and responsibilities of the mentor

Task and responsibilities of the mentee

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

Definition of coaching

Types approaches/methods), tasks and relationships in coaching

Objectives of coaching

Best practice No 2: Online training for Mentors "Art of Mentoring" in Australia

Coach role / elements of successful coaching

The role/needs of the clients

Differences between mentoring, coaching and consulting

Best practice No 3: Generation HR Management Mentoring in Romania

Best practice No 4: Women start-up mentoring program in Poland

Best practice No 5: Association of Mentors PROMENTOR in Poland

Case study from our Experts

Chapter Concluding Thoughts

CHAPTER 3 54

Good practices around the world

Best practice No 1: Marketing mentor and coaching program for entreprenuers in Hungary

CHAPTER 4 67

The Branding Mentoring methodology: A synthesis to achieve a common solid professional background

The Branding Mentoring project methodology

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

The mentoring training

Selection criteria expectations and challenges

Matching events

The Mentoring Schemes

Mentoring schemes Practices implemented by our mentors

Practices: Introductory phase (mentor - mentee get to know each other).

Practices: Setting objectives, priorities, strategies, actions.

Practices: Building a brand.

Practices: Closing phase (summarizing the process, reflection, revision, evaluation etc).

Practices: Other: Continuously throughout all stages of the program.

101 Chapter concluding thoughts.

CLOSINGÂ PARTS 102 Handbook concluding thoughts. 103

Bibliography

105

Useful National Contacts

108

Annex

108

Indicative "Train the mentors" Training Agenda

111

Mentoring working documents/templates

144

Guide "Step by step to the brand"

Andraž Osim, Slovenia “THE BRAND NAME MUST BE UNDERSTOOD IN A WAY THAT IT IS A SORT OF "RELIGION". WITHOUT FAITH IN THE BRAND THAT WE ARE PRESENTING AND WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE STORY BEHIND, WE WILL NOT ACHIEVE GROWTH, RECOGNITION OR THE APPROPRIATELY QUALIFIED STAFF FOR LONG-TERM COOPERATION.”

Lina Tsaltampasi, Greece “BRANDING IS THE REALITY OF THE PRODUCT THAT YOU PROVIDE TO YOUR CLIENT.”

EXPERTS'

QUOTES

PhD Wiesław Talik, Poland “MENTORING IS LIKE A JOURNEY OF A NOVICE WITH AN EXPERIENCED TRAVELER – YOU GET TO SEE THINGS YOU COULD HAVE MISSED OTHERWISE; YOU EXPLORE NEW PLACES YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T REACH OTHERWISE; YOU LOOK INTO INTERESTING NOOKS AND CRANNIES, MOST TOURISTS DON’T KNOW ABOUT; YOU PAY ATTENTION TO NUANCES AND RELISHES NOT INCLUDED IN THE TRAVEL GUIDES – MANY CHALLENGES AND ACTIONS, AS WELL AS EXCITING MOMENTS IN A SAFE AND TRUSTWORTHY ATMOSPHERE”.

Andreas Mesarites, Cyprus “MENTORING IS THE EXPERIENCE, WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE THAT AN EXPERIENCED PERSON HAS ACQUIRED AND TRANSMITS THEM AS A MODEL OF THOUGHT AND ACTION TO THE TRAINEE/‘PLAYER’. MENTORING IS A GAME OF 'SEEING, DOING, LEARNING', WHERE EVERYONE WINS.”

Gergő Berta, Hungary “WHEN CUSTOMERS USE YOUR COMPANY NAME AS A VERB, THAT'S WHAT BRANDING IS ALL ABOUT."

THE BRANDING MENTORING PROJECT The "BRANDING Mentoring - Brand building of EU Enterprises through Mentoring" was a 2-year European project funded under the Erasmus+ program. It aimed to support, mentor and guide new entrepreneurs, self-employed professionals, executives of SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups and members of Chambers of Commerce in cultivating and enhancing their skills and competences related to branding techniques and strategies, marketing of their products and services. In this way, they will enhance their overall extroversion that can lead to successful business results and practices. To achieve the aforementioned, this project organized and implemented mentoring schemes in the field of branding and brand building that will benefit both the mentees and the mentors. Branding Mentoring project is based on a previous successful European project named “Branding EU – Branding and Extroversion of EU enterprises”. While the previous project, Branding EU, focused on brand building as well as the development of a handbook and supportive teaching and learning materials, the Branding Mentoring project focused on the development of mentoring competences through training the mentors who will later help professionals in the brand-building process. BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

7 The project results included: 1. A transnational Comparative Report that describes the current needs of the target groups in regards to branding and mentoring support, relevant literature review and presentation of best practices in the project countries. 2. A Mentoring Handbook for mentors and brandbuilders aiming at introducing the Branding Mentoring Methodology and working model, and 3. Various Mentoring Schemes organized and implemented in the project countries.

In this way, the short and long-term impact of the project over the involved target groups was multifaceted, namely: Enhance the participants’ branding skills and competences, as well as networking capacity; Enhance the mentors training and collaboration potential; Enhance their opportunities for professional development; Create and establish a new paradigm of alternative and innovative training methodology that could be used in any group of people who might have difficulties engaging in more traditional learning schemes; Influence all the formal and non-formal training institutions and organizations that may utilize and mainstream this novel approach in other domains; Increase their organizations’ competitiveness in domestic markets and abroad; Add value to the Open Educational Resources (OER) platform; Contribute in the exchange of best practices from country to country and sector; Add value to the implementation of the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan; Promote scientific branding and mentoring.

THEÂ PARTNERSHIP The partnership consisted of seven partners coming from Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Poland and Slovenia who have long experience in business development and training of professionals. More specifically, the involved partners are: KVA (Hungary, Coordinator) is serving the small and medium-sized enterprises for more than ten years. It builds the proper infrastructure to help the operation of an enterprise and gives them all the information they need in economic, law and other fields; promoting them to get in touch with and create business cooperation with partners. In addition to entrepreneurial consulting, important activities of the organization include domestic and international business support projects and corporate microfinance. Chamber of Commerce and Industry for GyĹ&#x2018;r-Moson-Sopron County (Hungary) started its operations on 1st January 1995. The mission of the Chamber is to improve the business success of member companies, enhancing economic life of the county, promoting international relationships, fostering development and organization of economy, safety of business transactions and fair market practices, as well as manifesting general and joint interests of those carrying out business activities. The Chamber aims to provide services for the whole business community, regardless of sectors or geographical location. BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

9 OECON GROUP (Greece) is a European management-consulting firm, a leading advisor on business strategy, social entrepreneurship, and an adult education and VET provider established in Thessaloniki, Greece. OECON is collaborating with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, transform their organizations and train their personnel. Its customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of SMEs and markets with respect to the needs of society and the respective target groups. This ensures that its clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations and secure lasting results. Chamber of Chalkidiki (Greece) is a Public Legal Entity and it is a consulting and advisory body of the State, aiming at the local economic development and more generally at the National Economic Growth. Its purpose is to protect and develop trade, industry, handicraft and business within the framework of the national economic interests and especially to offer information, protection and development to its members. Eurosuccess Consulting (Cyprus) is a Consulting & Training organization active in the field of project management, training & consulting services. Through a dynamic team of young scientists, it provides a comprehensive package of services addressing the needs of various target groups and organizations, regarding their lifelong learning opportunities, in Cyprus and abroad. Today EUROSUCCESS offers a variety of services to the Public, as well as the Private sector of Cyprus. It also actively participates in international schemes, through a well-established network of partners abroad and it is currently involved in more than 45 Lifelong Learning, ERASMUS+ and JUSTICE Programs.

10 OIC Poland Foundation (Poland) belongs to the leading group of training organizations in the Lublin region. The main aim of the Foundation is prevention of unemployment and fostering economic development by implementation of educational and counseling programs, targeted at inhabitants of the region. It has been attained through two basic streams: 1. Unique enterprises (courses, seminars, conferences, counseling, complex projects) addressed to SME owners, professionals, certain underprivileged groups in the community, aiming at creation of employment and selfemployment opportunities, dissemination of knowledge, good practices and human resources development. 2. Training services both for individuals, interested in acquiring new skills or qualifications and companies/institutions interested in /requesting tailored trainings for their employees. Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia - Institute for Business Education (CPU) (Slovenia) The mission of CPU is to supply business with highquality, modern and applicable knowledge enriched with national and international experiences and good business practice examples according to the “practice to practice’’ principle. CPU is one of the education and training providers with the longest tradition and experience in development, organization and implementation of professional and technical seminars, training courses, workshops, short- and long-term courses and other events for the needs of clients. Orientation towards actual education, training and competences demands on the labor market enabled us to become one of the largest education and training providers in Slovenia. CPU has organized and approximately 10.000 participants. Important part of the institute’s activities is also the validation and certification of national vocational qualifications.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

performed over 500 educational and training events for experts with

THE ERASMUS+ PROGRAM The Erasmus+ is the EU's program to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. The aim of Erasmus+ is to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy for growth, jobs, social equity and inclusion, as well as the aims of ET2020, the EU's strategic framework for education and training. Erasmus+ also aims to promote the sustainable development of its partners in the field of higher education, and contribute to achieving the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy. Specific issues tackled by the program include: Reducing unemployment, especially among young people; Promoting adult learning, especially for new skills and skills required by the labor market; Encouraging young people to take part in European democracy; Supporting innovation, cooperation and reform; Reducing early school leaving; Promoting cooperation and mobility with the EU's partner countries.

WHO CAN TAKE PART? Erasmus+ offers opportunities for both individuals and organizations. Opportunities for people of all ages that help them develop and share knowledge and experience at institutions and organizations in different countries, but it also offers opportunities for a wide range of organizations, including universities, education and training providers, think-tanks, research organizations, and private businesses. Individuals can take part in many of the opportunities funded by Erasmus+, although most will have to do so through an organization taking part in the program. The eligibility of individuals and organizations depends on the country in which they are based.

12 Eligible countries are divided into two groups, Program countries and Partners countries. Although Program countries are eligible for all actions of Erasmus+, Partner countries can only take part in some, and are subject to specific conditions.

HOW IS IT MANAGED? The Erasmus+ program is managed by: the European Commission; the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA); a series of National Agencies in Program countries, and a series of National Offices in some Partner countries. The above-mentioned information is retrieved by the official Erasmus+ webpage. However, the possibilities and opportunities of the Erasmus+ program are enormous and cannot be thoroughly described in this Handbook. Detailed information on these opportunities, including eligibility criteria, is available in theÂ Erasmus+ Program Guide. The Guide is available in 23 languages.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

RESEARCH

ADVERTISING

SOCIAL

IDEA

BRANDING

PRODUCT CREATIVITY

BRAND

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.â&#x20AC;? - Steven Spielberg

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the Branding Mentoring Handbook The purpose of the Branding Mentoring Handbook is to increase mentorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; capacity and knowledge as well as to guide them through the mentoring process and the Branding Mentoring methodology that will be used during the mentoring schemes of the project. In this way, the ultimate aim will be to support new and current entrepreneurs, self-employed professionals, start-ups, scale-ups, etc. in their brand building process.Â The Handbook can serve as the basis of the project learning materials in branding that both mentors and mentees will utilize in view of the newly introduced mentoring approach. Â It clearly describes the innovative mentoring methodology to be followed, the phases of the mentoring schemes, the guiding principles, the working documents and quality assurance mechanisms. The Mentoring Handbook aspires to be a tool of personal and professional development since it incorporates definitions of mentoring, its main benefits and tips for building a successful mentoring relationship. It also includes branding strategies, skills and knowledge to be used as an opportunity for achieving business extroversion, penetration in new markets and increase in sales, etc. All Chapters are enriched with international and national best practices and examples, success stories, references, etc.

16 The added-value of this Mentoring Handbook lays on the fact that it presents a new training model that could be also applied to other topics or purposes apart from brand-building, thus contributing to the general improvement of the specific field under Vocational Education and Training. What is more, project partners anticipate the Mentoring Handbook components to become an integral part of their own training schemes and procedures after the conclusion of the project, adding value to their organizations and members, too. In order to cover the educational needs and purpose of its development, the Handbook is divided in the following chapters.

THE HANDBOOK’S STRUCTURE The First Chapter defines the terms branding and extroversion in small-medium enterprises

while

presents

their

importance

enhancing

SMEs’

entrepreneurial activities, and the ways in which SMEs can differentiate their product or service from their competitors by using branding and extroversion. Under this framework, the Chapter presents the results of the previous European project “Branding EU – Branding and Extroversion of EU enterprises” that constitute the core of the training program during the Branding Mentoring schemes. The presented results are the “Branding and Extroversion Handbook – a Guide for SMEs”, the “Branding and Extrovert Entrepreneurial Attitude Complex Training Program (BRANDING EU Training) – training materials” and the “BRANDING EU Trainer’s Guidelines”.

types of mentoring while presenting the role of the mentor and the mentee and their relationship during the mentoring process.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

The Second Chapter provides insights on the concept of mentoring and the

17 The second part of the chapter describes briefly the term coaching and clarifies misconceptions between mentoring and coaching, thus setting a common understanding of the methodology which will be used by the mentors/endusers of the Handbook during the Branding Mentoring Schemes. The Third Chapter presents a short selection of good practices on branding or mentoring successful entrepreneurial program from different European and non-European countries. The best practices were extracted from the national reports that were prepared by the Branding Mentoring project partners during the identification phase of best practices and target group needs. Pros and cons of each good practice are being presented and a short description about their objectives and target groups. The Fourth Chapter describes in detail the Branding Mentoring methodology that aims to provide entrepreneurs with a common and solid professional background. More specifically, it briefly explains the context and the identified needs that led to the development of the Branding Mentoring project methodology while presenting the mentoring training. Selection criteria of mentors and mentees, expectations and challenges are also included in this chapter. Last, the chapter also provides information about the mentoring schemes, the mentoring process, important phases of the schemes as well as evaluation and monitoring procedures. In the Annex of the Handbook, the readers can also find all the necessary working

documents/templates

that

are

needed

for

the

preparation,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the mentoring schemes. The Handbook with its Annex is also available in the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partner languages, that is, Hungarian, Greek, Slovenian and Polish and can be found on the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official website.

Chapter 1

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mentoring is about listening to people, helping them go over what the issues are and how to clarify ways to deal with any problems that may arise.â&#x20AC;? - Mildred Dresselhaus

Chapter 1 - What is branding and extroversion? Introduction BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION: A COMMON PROFESSIONAL MINIMUM

Among other factors, the survival and successful operation of an enterprise can be greatly enhanced by the awareness of brand building and the environmental and professional openness of the enterprise. As a professional, you may have experienced that these questions can make a significant contribution to your success… The aim of this chapter is to develop a common professional approach, systematic, professional minimum composition for prospective mentors in the field of brand building and extroversion. The review, systematization does not start from the ground up, that considers and builds on the fact that prospective mentors are trained, practical professionals. On the contrary, it is the repetition, systematization of branding and open entrepreneurial behavior that seeks to provide the starting points and nodes of complex thinking for effective mentoring.

BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION – BASIC DEFINITIONS It is essential for mentors to define a common language and professional content in order to develop a common professional approach and professional minimum. To do this, we use the content of the "BRANDING and EXTROVERSION Handbook" developed within the BRANDING EU project. The "BRANDING and EXTROVERSION Handbook" also contains the following definitions that we consider as the most relevant in this topic.

20 Brand Despite the fact that there are many different definitions of the word "brand", they all encompass one main idea: the identification of a product and the differentiation from its competitors. A brand is a more than a logo, a trade name, or a trademark, although such elements are all a part of it. Most importantly, brands refer to reputation, visibility and the ability to attract loyal clients who will further recommend the business. The elements which make up a brand should be simple, clear and easily remembered in order to attract a target audience towards your product or business. Brands are a key element in the company’s relationships with customers - they represent consumers’ perceptions and feelings about a product and its performance. A product or service, regardless of its quality, can be defined by this single concept: their brand and this is exactly the reason why it is so important for entrepreneurs to build on their brand. For more information, see page 4-9 of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook". https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

Branding The process involved in creating a brand for a company in the consumers mind is called branding. The main aim of branding is to create a strong presence in a market

which

attracts

customers

who

will

become

loyal

this

product/company. Branding is a continual process which involves constant creating a cohesive personality for the company and its products going forward. Branding is something that triggers the emotions and minds of people, associated with the creation of the identity of a company: the sense of who you are, who you want to be and how you want others to see the company. For more information, see page 10-15 of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook". https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

attention and consideration of your company’s past and present, and then

21 Branding process

The main areas of the brand building process: Market research Positioning Development Integrated communication Â

Brand building never stops. The brand should be visible and reflected in everything that customers see (and do not see): Online and offline media. Building a strong brand is about having a clear understanding of what the brand stands for, and then making sure everyone else understands it too. Building brand starts with answering some questions about product or business: Who are my customers? What customers do I want to have? Who are my competitors? What is my competitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brand position? What problem does my company solve? Does anybody care? What is my value proposition? Is it distinctive? Is it relevant to my customers?

22 When people think about my company or product, what are the feelings and associations I want them to have? Are they unique? Can we â&#x20AC;&#x153;ownâ&#x20AC;? them? What are the functional benefits that we deliver to our customers? What are the emotional benefits that only we deliver to our customers? What kind of personality will my brand have? For more information, see page 16-29 of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook". https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

Brand protection Building a brand means developing an identity and creating logos and slogans that clearly define your company. Product and trademark piracy are becoming a more and more serious threat to companies in the consumer goods industry. Not only do companies miss sales, but also the image of the company and of the brand is damaged due to counterfeit products that are unrecognized. The term piracy in relation to products and brands refers to the trading of goods that infringe intellectual property rights. Above all, this includes brands and patents, design rights, utility models, copyrights and related industrial rights. There is a list of various aspects for a company to consider and include in its brand protection strategy. Intellectual property can consist of many different areas, from logos and corporate

identity

through

products,

services

and

processes

that

differentiate your business offering. There is no doubt that many businesses increase their visibility at relatively low cost. However, internet has also a negative effect in business world since it has also increased the chances of intellectual property theft. Companies of all sizes are at risk of having their unique ideas, products or services infringed upon, even if they are on the other side of the world, making intellectual property protection more important than ever.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

have been benefit from the mass use of Internet since it helps companies to

23 Intellectual property is protected, in a manner that is not completely the same in each country, by copyright and industrial property law, such as patents, trademarks, design protection, etc., which enables businesses to gain recognition or profit from their inventions or works. For more information, see page 30-35 of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook". https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

Brand equity Brand equity is the value and strength of the Brand that decides its worth. It can also be defined as the differential impact of brand knowledge on consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; response to the brand marketing. Brand equity exists as a function of consumer choice in the market place. The concept of brand equity comes into existence when consumer makes a choice of a product or a service. It occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favorable positive strong and distinctive brand associations in the memory. Factors contributing to brand equity are brand awareness, brand associations, brand loyalty, perceived quality, proprietary brand assets. A company with strong brand equity is positioned for long-term success because it helps a company navigate through macro-environmental challenges far more easily than brands with little or negative brand equity can. For more information, see page 40-42 of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook". https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

Rebranding As mentioned before, branding is a constant process; it does not end when you have created your name and image. It is vital to monitor constantly your product and the market in general. Regular market research and observing existing and new competitors will help you maintain your importance in the market. If you feel your brand or the market in general has shifted then you must to keep up to date, and consider adapting your brand in order to stay in trend.

24 Regularly updating your brand can enhance it and positively shape customer experience. The market evolves and it is important to be aware that re-branding can sometimes give a company a fresh, updated feel. The key when re-branding is to maintain consistency, not to lose your original brand vision and to ensure that you are still recognizable just as the brand image with which you started. Brands can be successfully revamped by updating old styles while celebrating its history. For more information, see page 43-47 of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook". https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

The extrovert entrepreneurial attitude Extroversion is an important and defining factor in the branding process of an enterprise. The personality traits of an entrepreneur are important drivers of emotional bonding between brand and consumer. The personality approach has

three

supporting

themes:

personality,

consumer

and

brand-self

congruence. It draws theory from psychology about the categorization of human personality and it can be a driver of strong consumer-brand relationships. The symbolically charged interaction between the brand and the consumer motivates the latter to choose one brand over another. Because a brand personality sets off a process of social identification between the brand and the self of the consumer, it is assumed in the personality approach that the fulfilment and expression of self is one of the strongest basic driving forces that BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

predispose consumers to act on and consume brands.

25 The personality of the brand generates attention and interest from consumers, who feel that they can use the symbolic benefits of the brand in their construction and expression of self. Therefore, an â&#x20AC;&#x153;extrovertâ&#x20AC;? entrepreneur in branding is the one who manages to establish such relationship with its consumers. The required skills for such an entrepreneur are: Creativity and open mindedness Leadership skills Excellent social skills For more information, see page 51-55 of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook". https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

Branding Mentoring professional background materials To support the branding processes of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, several professional materials have been developed in the framework of the previous project. Reviewing and studying these is mandatory literature for prospective BRANDING mentors. On the one hand, this makes it possible to develop a common professional approach and a minimum professional level. On the other hand, a prospective mentor can gain an overview about the importance of the professional contributors’ role during the complex support process (mentoring process with training program) and the factors that affect the participants who are interested in branding. The complex BRANDING Mentoring professional background-material consists of three related elements from the point of view of the target group. These are: BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION Handbook – a guide for SMEs; Training materials of the BRANDING EU Complex Training; BRANDING EU Trainer’s Guidelines. The materials are available in English, Hungarian, Greek and Spanish.

27 Branding and Extroversion Handbook – a Guide for SMEs In supporting the branding process of micro, small and medium-size enterprises, the first step is the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION HANDBOOK – a guide for SMEs". Those interested in the topic can use it independently and, thanks to the many literary aspects, can educate themselves in an autodidact way. The

handbook

would-be

targets

entrepreneurs,

business

executives to get to know the benefits and importance of branding and building. It should be noted that it is not marketing manual, but a practical, system-oriented "travel guide".

This reference guide is recommended for both prospective mentors and future mentees to review basic definitions, processes, connections, etc. Moreover, in order to develop a common professional approach and a minimum professional background, it is essential for mentors to know the content of the guide. The main chapters of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION HANDBOOK" are: Introduction to branding; Step by step into the branding process; Branding and extroversion – connection and relation; Useful literature and online references. The "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION HANDBOOK – a guide for SMEs;" is available here. https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

28 Branding and Extrovert Entrepreneurial Attitude Complex Training Program (BRANDING EU Training) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; training materials A training program called "Branding

and

Entrepreneurial

Extrovert Attitude

Complex Training Program (BRANDING EU Training)" was developed to provide a better understanding of the basics, connections and processes, which covers the topics of the above-mentioned Guide with help and support of trainers. The training program consists of the following six modules based on each other: Branding and Extrovert Entrepreneurial Attitude - introduction; General overview, basic connections, elevator speech. Marketing for branding; Marketing and branding, brand building strategy and marketing, online marketing. Brand, brand-building process; Branding strategy, brand name, logo, and slogan. Planning process, parts of the business planning, SWOT analysis, CANVAS model. Extrovert enterprise, networking; Networking benefits, criteria for successful entrepreneurs, business network building, ideas. Information and Communication Technology (ICT); ICT systematization, adaptation and business use of the ICT tools.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

Business and strategy planning;

29 The modules include references to previous modules, as well as references to subsequent modules and relevant parts of the "BRANDING AND EXTROVERSION HANDBOOK". In order to establish a common professional basis, it is essential that the prospective mentor is familiar with the content of the complex training modules by reviewing the developed PowerPoints. Therefore, he/she can receive a picture of the professional issues involved and the professional detail of an important element. The training materials are available for free downloading here.

BRANDING EU Trainer’s Guidelines In order to link the mentoring process and the training modules effectively, prospective mentors should also have an overview of the trainers' tasks, goals, tools and the content of the BRANDING EU Trainer’s Guidelines. The Guidelines provide an interesting insight into the training preparation tasks, the objectives of each training module as well as which tools and methods the trainer must use to complete the actual training effectively.

The BRANDING EU Trainer’s Guidelines are available for free downloading here. https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/aada0b7a-192b-4d28-9b37a59a1e6f2dfe/Branding%20EU%20Handbook%20EN%20(A5).pdf

30 Concluding... Â

During the development of the "BRANDING Mentoring" mentoring process, we have analyzed the preparation and implementation of several mentoring practices. In order to provide the most effective "service" to those in need of support in the field of branding and open entrepreneurship, we consider it essential to train prospective mentors. To our knowledge, there is no similar program where prospective mentors receive preparation and training both professionally (branding) and in the mentoring process. The first step in this is the unification of professional knowledge of the prospective mentors, and the development of a professional minimum. This has been done according to the guidelines in the following chapters. The second key point is the preparation of prospective mentors for the mentoring process, the preparation, the implementation and evaluation steps. These aspects will be also discussed in the following chapters. â&#x20AC;Śand the third point is the training of prospective mentors in a special mentoring training framework. Of course, this will be also analyzed in chapter 4. But, first, let's see what mentoring is!

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

Chapter 2

"Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction." - John C. Crosby

Chapter 2 - What is Mentoring? Introduction A Mentor-Coach-ProtĂŠgĂŠ-Mentee relationship is one of the oldest forms of learning and achieving professional development. Most companies agree that theoretical knowledge should be upgraded with practical knowledge. People wit extensive practical experience are also aware that in the modern age, with the rapid changes, with emerging of new technologies, we have to constantly gain further education and acquire new knowledge. In order to be successful and apply ourselves in every minute changing world there is a necessity not only to develop ourselves and our personal skills but also to adjust according to these changes. In this chapter, we will discuss two methods for training employees, namely, mentoring and coaching. The purpose of the chapter is to compare and identify differences and similarities between mentoring and coaching. The final goal of the chapter is to identify the importance (contribution) of mentoring for the professional advancement and personal growth. Both coaching and mentoring are processes that can help individuals or groups in their personal or business lives. They can be focused on a very specific or broader area. However, despite some similarities, there are very important differences between the two approaches. Â

33 Definition of mentoring In order to make as few unnecessary mistakes as possible and to gain appropriate knowledge and experience and above all to reach the goal faster and with better quality, we need advice and guidance. We need someone to help us, guide us along the way with tips, examples and ideas. There are certainly more solutions available. Who could help us to find solutions? One of the options is to have a mentor. At different stages of life, from an early age, we are advised, guided and directed by mentors in different settings (Kermavnar, 2009, pp. 65-76). The European Mentoring and Coaching Council academics David Clutterbuck and David Megginson (Megginson, 2004) define mentoring as "the external assistance of one person to another in a meaningful transition in knowledge, work or thinking". Mentoring actually helps an individual follow the path of older and wiser colleagues who can impart knowledge, experience and new opportunities to him/her. Â

Types of mentoring There are many types of mentoring, we could distinguish between one-to-one mentoring, distance mentoring, group mentoring, peer mentoring, situational, supervisory, resource-based mentoring, training based mentoring, structured mentoring, virtual, etc., we could go on and on. In this text (Buell, 2004), we will distinguish between two types of mentoring, namely informal and formal mentoring. Informal mentoring is the transfer of knowledge from mentor to mentee, in a relationship that is not strictly defined. Formal mentoring is an orderly system of relationships with policies and mentoring programs.

Informal mentoring Kermavnar (2009, pp. 70-71) notes that at the beginning of our life path we gain the most knowledge in the family environment. Thus, often our first informal mentors are family members. Later, we often choose a peer as an informal mentor. All informal mentors are chosen because they make a special impression on us, they are our role models, and they leave a mark in our lives and influence our further decisions and orientations.

34 For an informal mentor, we choose a person who is experienced, has more wisdom than we have, is reliable, patient, understanding, friendly, and is our role model and friend. In short, it has all the qualities that, by definition, should have a good mentor. We respect this person so we are ready to learn and accept new knowledge and advice from him. Often the mentor and mentee are not aware of their roles. We find an informal mentor somewhere along the life path as we usually have similar interests. Relationship develops spontaneously without commitment. Some people take the role of mentor on their own initiative, feeling that they may be able to support and assist other less experienced people, based on their experience and knowledge. Informal mentors are usually older than mentees; they are certainly more experienced and professional in the field of mentoring (Kranjc, 2012).

Formal mentoring Formal mentoring is most often a form of education and training performed in the workplace, for the purpose of career advancement or obtaining a formal mentee education. In formal mentoring, the mentor often receives an appropriate pay-mentoring allowance for his/her work. In most cases, formal mentoring is governed by a contract that clearly defines the obligations of the mentor, mentee and organization. Mentoring is a relationship that affects everyone involved e.g. mentor, mentee/student, and organization. Each side in this relationship gain benefit. Many mentors are of the opinion that their main reward is the knowledge they have gained from their mentees, including bring them new challenges, personal satisfaction, greater reputation, career benefits. The top mentee award is the goal, professional and career advancement achieved at the beginning of the process. In this relationship, the mentee acquires new knowledge, broadens horizons, and expands the network of business contacts (Carpintero, 2015, p. 256).

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

personal and professional growth, assistance with routine tasks that do not

35 Objectives of mentoring Parsloe and Leedham (2009) define mentoring goals as helping and supporting people, who plan their learning in order to maximize their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance, and thus build their professional and personal identity. Zerzan, Hess, Schur, Phillips, and Rigotti (2009) define mentoring as a lifelong process that is particularly relevant to the development of a mentee's business and academic careers. It is essential for the mentee to develop confidence in his/her work. This enables career planning, professional advancement, productive work and the acquisition of financial resources. Mentoring is a symbiotic relationship designed to promote career development and personal satisfaction for the mentor and mentee. Ideally, this dynamic collaboration and reciprocal relationship is focused on the professional and personal development of the mentee. In an academic environment, mentoring can develop spontaneously and is based on common interests (writing articles, developing a prototype, designing a new product, etc.). Often mentoring is defined institutionally, in the form of a contract or arrangement. This should be done especially in cases where the mentoring process is time-limited and may have financial consequences. It is essential to define and agree on the structure of participation in the mentoring process. It is good that a mentor and mentee together set a common goal to be able to complete successfully the process. They realistically set a timetable for accomplishing the tasks that lead to the goal. In this way, they also know what to expect from each other. They must jointly review the implementation of the timetable repeatedly and set milestones. Based on periodic reviews, they can determine whether they are on track. In the case of major deviations, they must agree on a revision of the timetable and the measures that need to be eliminated. The mentoring process is successful if the mentee achieves the goal initially set (Priest, K. & Donley, S., 2014).

THE ROLE OF THE MENTOR The mentor's mission is to bring his/her mentee to the desired goal, which they set together at the beginning of the collaboration. Due to his/her extensive experience, wisdom, knowledge, behavior, professionalism, he/she was either selected for this role by a mentee or appointed by the organization. The mentor should reinforce the feeling that he/she is trustworthy throughout the collaboration. The mentor should use enough time to create a positive atmosphere and a sense of security by offering appropriate advice or assistance to his/her mentee. The mentor has to offer help several times, especially when he or she feels that there is a problem in the work, thus encouraging the mentee to complete the work successfully. The mentor must establish a friendly and not authoritative relationship with the mentee, thus seeking to achieve a relaxed but dynamic work environment. The mentor should be a role model with his/her own work, behavior and reactions for the mentee. Mentees should be able to express their opinions and views on the topic under discussion. To sum up, Carpinter (2015) define the qualities that a mentor must possess in order to be successful in the mentoring process: a genuine desire to direct and help the less experienced, respect for inexperience (young people), an active listener, appropriate empathy, knowledge to find solutions and opportunities, flexibility, openness and accessibility. In addition to the aforementioned qualities, the following factors are also important for a good and

successful

knowledge,

mentor-mentee

communication,

motivation,

methodology,

perseverance,

dedication,

reciprocity, BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

experience and gender.

relationship:

trust,

37 The role of the mentor is to assist the mentee in overcoming administrative and bureaucratic obstacles (within the organization), to provide the necessary professional support and advice if necessary. It is important that mentor enable professional growth for mentee and encourage him/her in personal growth. One of the tasks is to create a positive counseling and maintain a confidential relationship, thereby creating an appropriate climate for open communication. The mentor provides assistance in identifying problems, advising mentees on finding solutions and obtaining relevant information. If mentor cannot provide the appropriate advice or answer by himself/herself, has to refer/direct the mentee to one of his colleagues or associates who will be able to offer appropriate assistance. The mentor challenges/encourages mentee ideas and insights, but at the same time discusses his/her own thoughts on specific problems by giving constructive comments and providing guidance through the transfer of his/her own knowledge and experience. The mentor critically evaluates and realistically values and supports and encourages mentee decisions and achievements (Priest, K. & Donley, S. (2014).

As a Mentor: your involvement will benefit you personally and your organisation to (CIPD, 2017): Develop and practice mentoring skills; Demonstrate your commitment to equality and diversity; Gain a real understanding of diversity issues facing HR; Share the knowledge and experience gained; Take part in an innovative project; Improve job satisfaction, motivation and enhance peer recognition; Encourage self-reflection and develop specific skills.

THE ROLE OF THE MENTEE Zerzan et al. (2009, p. 140) are saying that a mentee is not a person without his or her own knowledge and beliefs who blindly follows the mentor's advice and accept all of his/her wisdom. Mentee is an active participant who forms a mentoring relationship. The ideal mentee will strive all the time to take his own initiative, to self-evaluate his work, to be responsive, and to cultivate a responsible, honest and respectful attitude towards his mentor. The important role of the mentee is to take the initiative in establishing a relationship with the mentor. It is a good idea to inform the mentor of his/her expectations and use the method of communication with the mentor that suits the mentee best. Ideally, a highly motivated mentee manages (leads) the relationship by planning and keeping a job log as soon as he or she encounters a problem with a mentor, is a good listener and tries to memorize or record as many things as possible in meetings with the mentor, completing assigned tasks in a timely manner and requests feedback. In this way, an orderly relationship significantly facilitates the work of the mentor and enables a more successful and satisfying relationship for both of them. The role of the mentee is to show interest and take initiative and responsibility for his/her development and acquisition of new skills. It must prepare his/her plan for meetings with the mentor and perform the tasks agreed upon with the mentor within the agreed deadlines. Mentee should be as independent as possible in his work, creative, thinking with his head, communicating with his/her own thoughts and solutions. Mentee should ask for help and advice, if Mentee should try to apply his acquired new knowledge an skills to his/her work. He/she tries to stay in touch with his mentor even after the mentoring period has ended (Priest, K. & Donley, S. (2014).

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

necessary, and follow the guidance and advice of the mentor he or she receives.

39 As a Mentee: your involvement will benefit you and your organization to (CIPD, 2017): Increase your understanding about yourself and situations; Develop and practice your listening skills; Learn from your Mentor; Improve job satisfaction, motivation and enhance peer recognition; Encourage self-reflection and develop specific skills; Develop a career plan.

THE MENTORING PROCESS The right mentoring process is crucial to the results you would like to achieve from a mentoring. In the literature, one can find infinitive number of suggestions on how the mentoring process should look like. In this document, we choose one that integrates the most important steps that each relation has to follow. The mentoring process adopted by our partnership will be in-depth described in the Chapter covering the Branding Mentoring methodology. Here are the summarized steps: Step 1 — Promote A promotion of a mentoring program is a critical part of building any people relation. Promoting mentoring program can take many forms including dissemination via intranet, emails, or an event. Step 2 — Recruit To have a mentoring program, part of the process must be recruiting mentors and mentees. This part of the process involves meetings where the mentors and mentees match their interests, backgrounds and personal chemistry. Step 3 — Match The most talked about part of the mentoring process: matching. Matching is quite clearly a critical component in the mentoring process. The strategy component involves deciding on the why of your mentoring program (which means matching based on criteria set upon goals that you have described in the mentoring program) while the execution centers on actually matching, whether BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

that be by face-to-face contact or/and email.

41 Step 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Guide Many people assume that the matching step is the end of the process, but it is the beginning of the mentorship. Mentors and mentees usually do not have mentorship experience. You need to supply them with the resources and content required to make their mentorship work. This can include agreements, checklists, logs and subject suggestion at the start and during the mentorship. Step 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Evaluate The final component of the mentoring process is closing the loop on the program and measuring or reporting on success.

EVALUATE Step 5

PROMOTE Step 1

GUIDE Step 4

The mentoring process RECRUIT MATCH Step 3

Step 2

Τask and responsibilities of a Branding Mentoring

Task, responsibilities and rights of the mentor It is important to define the framework for mentoring operation. To do this, it is essential to record the tasks, responsibilities and rights of the mentor. The framework also relates to the mentor-mentee relationship, the mentoring process and the professional content of mentoring.

Tasks: Provision of professional contacts and networking; Assisting in determination of goals; Fostering appropriate mentoring context/setting; Clarification of Boundaries; Designing appropriate mentoring scheme; Provision of training material, supervision; Use feedback for further development; Planning and communication; Organization; Control; Coordination; Supervision; Evaluation; Contact initiative and continuous contact; Documentation. BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

43 Responsibilities: Encouragement for self-discovery; Knowledge in regard to their subject; Encouragement for problem-solving based on individual mentee skills and traits; Creation of opportunities for the mentee; Offering alternative perspectives and sources of information; Be confidential; Draw attention (justified on professional grounds) to situations and circumstances that threaten the enterprise; The mentoring process reaches the goal (if the mentee is cooperative enough); Ensure an uninterrupted mentoring session.

Rights: Receive sufficient training and resources in order to carry out his/her responsibilities; Maintain program focus around the mentee; Justify reasons to decline work with any particular mentee; Be treated with respect; Refuse to do work they deem unethical or inappropriate; Accept or reject the menteeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mentoring requests; Involving an expert and/or advisor; Initiate the closing of the mentoring process.

Task, responsibilities and rights of the mentees Although effective work of a well-prepared mentor can prevent if the mentee is not prepared, not motivated and does not know the mentoring process or the framework. However, it is important to collect the expectations, responsibilities and tasks of the mentees in a mentoring process.

Tasks: Share openly information about their strengths, development needs, ambitions, etc. with his/her mentor; Initiate

their

own

development

and

make

the

most

learning

opportunities; Be open and honest; Ensure confidentiality as agreed with mentor; Provide own experience to aid discussions; Determination of goals; Responsibility for personal and professional development; Provision of feedback; Allow the mentor to take the lead; Consider all advice or suggestions. Responsibilities: Commit to completing agreed development tasks; Define and agree expectations for the relationship; Take responsibility for drawing up their own personal development plans; to aid their Mentor with the provision of advice and support; Be respectful, maintain punctuality; Acceptance of new opportunities; Reflective practice; Ask for help when needed;

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

Provide information, knowledge about organization/occupation and career

45 Maintain contact; Listen, ask questions and follow-up with information provided by a mentor; Do work assign by a mentor; Show up to the meetings, respect each other time; Select mentor/s according to your current needs either spiritual, business, personal; Learn.

Rights: Access other sources of advice and information as appropriate; Accept differing perspectives; Accept support and encouragement; Expectation from mentor to have sufficient expertise in their subject and be professional; Justifications to decline work with any particular mentor; Reception of timely response to requests; Expect confidentiality; Accept or reject the advice or suggestions of the mentor; Initiate the closing of the mentoring process.

Both mentors and mentees must be aware of their rights, responsibilities and tasks.

46 Definition of coaching The coaching process involves a coach - client relationship that does not have to be a client. Coaching is a systematic interactive process, strategy and professional help that is focused on finding solutions and achieving results. Coaching process helps individuals and businesses to increase awareness and take responsibility. It is a transformational process of change that guides, empowers the client and thus helps him from his present to future desired state. The success of coaching depends mainly on the skills and experience of the coach (Cukjati, 2009, pp. 22-25).

Types of (approaches/methods), tasks and relationships in coaching The most common division of coaching is into two approaches, namely personal coaching and business coaching. Personal and business coaching differ in the way you manage the process, the choice of goals (personal or business), the choice of working methods and the choice of areas of work. In both cases, it is a systematic process aimed at achieving results and finding new solutions (Cukjati, 2009, p. 22). Michael Bungay Stanier (Stainer, 2016) suggests seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how by saying less and asking more you can develop coaching methods that produce great results: Kickstart Question ("what’s on your mind?"); Focus Question (focus on the critical problem, not the first problem); Foundation Question (find out what your colleague really wants); Lazy Question (instead of rushing, try asking "how can I help?" to make things happen); Strategic Question (keep the balance of agreeing and disagreeing with your colleague); Learning Question (find out what was the most useful for your colleague during the coaching session).

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

AWE Question (AWE – ‘And What Else?’ used for generating more options);

47 The ideal form of coaching is a process rather than a one-time event. Making change through the process has lasting effects in the life and work of the individual (Ĺ˝irovnik Bocelli, 2010). Coaching performance is strongly influenced by initially established relationships between the client and the coach. Good coach-client relationships are vital because relationships are more important than theories and methods. Even the most experienced coach with a lot of knowledge and different methods can or will not help the client in achieving the goals if he does not establish good relations with him. Coaching is easy to do if a good relationship is established. In the beginning it is often a question whether it will be possible to create a good relationship or it will not be possible to work, such dilemmas are best left off from the coaching process (Rak, 2010, p. 30).

Personal coaching Personal coaching provides insight into the life of the client as a whole. Personal coaching is often attended by clients who do not know exactly what to expect from the coaching process. It is rare for clients to come to coach with a list of clearly defined personal goals that they need assistance to achieve. In coaching, it is necessary to define what changes make sense and lead to process advancement. Therefore, the individual is systematically guided from goal to goal, with an emphasis on awareness of the moment. It is advisable if the client and the coach agree to meet before a coaching session to discuss whether their relationship will be satisfactory. After the pairing, coaching can be done in many ways: through personal meetings, over the phone, via Skype. The cost of a coaching lesson usually depends on the way it is performed. There are three basic models of personal coaching: I can do-model, ACE (action, cognitions, emotions) model and Solution focused-model (Cukjati, 2009, pp. 22-25).

Business coaching The term business coaching (occasionally corporate) is used to encompass all types of organization-related coaching. Coaches in this area are referred to as business corporate-management or management coaches, who may be employees of the organization or hire external experts.

48 Business coaching is focused on the achievements of the individual within the organization or rather focuses on his/her professional development. Business coaching discovers an individual's learning and development skills. It is a modern concept that synthesizes all the best from psychology, philosophy, spirituality, business, communication, mentoring, counseling, finance and sports. In business coaching, attention is paid to the client's professional career and to his/her current position. Business life is not easily separated from personal life, which is why business coaching often addresses other life topics that affect the client's business development.

OBJECTIVES OF COACHING The goal of coaching is to provide meaningful as well as lasting change because it provides continuous insight and feedback through continuous analysis. Coaching is intended to reveal what we already have, the answers to the key questions. The goal of coaching is to challenge the participant with different approaches that he/she would not to think to use them for himself/herself. Coaching is about asking questions and not to give answers, as it is not about learning, consulting or mentoring. Coaching is an art that accelerates the process of achieving goals through conversation (Sanchez, 2011). The goal of coaching is to maximize the client's performance and reduce barriers to the goal by helping him or her to utilize fully their potential (Sanchez, 2012).

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

questions that lead to the goal, but perhaps we did not ask ourselves right

49 Coach role / elements of successful coaching The coaching philosophy is based on the fact that the client is by nature creative and resourceful and has the resources he/she needs in himself/herself. The role of the coach is to provide support and increase or enhance the skills to discover and use these abilities (Sanchez, 2012). What coaching is, how it goes, and what a client can expect from it is presented to the coach before the coaching process begins (Sanchez, 2011, pp. 15-19). Usually only one personal meeting with a client is sufficient if the coach lives and works abroad. Other meetings can be made by phone, video conference or Skype (Anžur Černič, 2009). Coach does not share tips, as he/she is a thinker and not researcher. His role is significantly different from that of an advisor. At the beginning of the coaching process, coach must delineate its role and clearly define its limitations, give up judgment and evaluation, and especially listen and ask, and above all, create the right "chemistry" with the client (Gruban, 2009). The role of the coach is to give the client different a perspective on the solutions so that he can choose the one that he thinks is optimal. He sets the client a mirror and asks him various aspects that he would not have asked himself (Anžur Černič, 2009). A coach is frequently asking "real", sometimes challenging/provocative questions, giving the client a different view of the obstacle, problem or challenge, and encouraging different thinking. The role/needs of the clients When a coach and a client are involved in the coaching process, we are talking about individual coaching. In this case, the process is easier to do. However, often three parts are involved in the coaching process. It is a tripartite relationship between the client, the coach and the organization, who is usually the payer. Each of them has different expectations, different goals and views on coaching. They also have different powers and responsibilities. Bilateral relationships are also developing among all participants, with a significant impact on coaching and its outcomes. Therefore, it is very important that the goals, which must be attained, are agreed (defined) among all participants at the beginning of coaching.

50 It is also important that the client is prepared, that does not take the process as a punishment and responds with disinterest, discouragement and a passive position. This is precisely what damages the process of creativity. Goal setting and measurable results, both qualitative and quantitative, are the basis for good coaching. (Sanchez, 2011, pp. 15-19).

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MENTORING, COACHING AND CONSULTING Though they may seem alike, these two are not the same. Both of them can vary in the level of formality, the length of duration, and desired goals and outcomes (MTD, 2013). While mentoring process is performed with time and includes character determination and mutual interest, coaching, on the other hand, requires complete fulfilment of a set task, does not affect personal character of the participants and is considered finished once the goal has been achieved. A consultant may take the form of mentors and coaches, but the primary difference between a consultant and coaches and mentors is that a consultant is usually paid for the specific task at hand. The focus of a consultant is usually not a specific performance or individual but a complete process or concept, such as customer service.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

Differences between mentoring, coaching and consulting

Aspects

Mentoring

Coaching

Consulting

Setting

Together with mentee.

Client set a goals.

Process

Transfer knowledge and experience; learning, counseling, role models.

Does not transfer knowledge and experience; it is not learning or counseling, it encouraged actions and reflection.

Give exact solution, the ideas and options are developed by the consultant and presented as options to the client.

Expertise

Professionalism in the filed of mentoring; a lot of experience.

No expertise in the filed is required; professionalism (specialist) for the process.

Expert in the field with lots of relevant experiences

Duration

Long term connection.

The agreed duration.

Based on the agreement.

Roles

Listening, counseling for professional and personal.

Questioning, focus on developing a process to.

Counseling, give advise.

Content

To support and guide; warning about errors.

To ask the "right" questions.

Give advice, direction, method, technique and information.

Plan

A plan made together with mentee.

Just a frame of the plan depending on the progress of.

A plan made with the client.

Initiative

Mentee

Coach.

Client.

Thinking

Out of box.

In the box.

Source: adapted from iMentoring. https://mentoringgroup.com/mentor-vs-coach-differences.html

52 Concluding... You need coaching if: Your organization is looking for a professional who can help your employees develop relevant competencies with the help of specialized tools in a short period of time; You have talented employees in your organization but their efficiency does not meet your expectations; Your organization is implementing a new structure or program; There is a subdivision in your organization that requires an increase of certain competencies; The executives of your organization require new knowledge that aims to broaden their fields of responsibilities. You need mentoring if: It is necessary for your company to widen skill fields of both employees and executives; Your organization is willing to overcome the obstacles that do not let to meet the expected success; There is a necessity of complex skill development of your employees by means of improvement of new skills and knowledge; Your organization accepts the idea to preserve inner professionalism of the employees and share it with potential co-workers; The executives of your organization would like to keep the balance of work

You need consulting if: You have to solve the problem; You need an immediate fix; The problem does not have long-lasting value.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

processes taking into account both personal and professional factors.

Chapter 3

"Branding is deliberate differentiation." - Debbie Millman

Chapter 3 - Good practices around the world Introduction In the desk research phase of the project, partners identified the most promising best practices in the field of mentoring schemes and mentors' training in the their countries (PL, SL, HU, GR, CY) and beyond. As a result, 64 best practices were collected and are available for read in the National Country Reports, as well as in the Final Research Report (IO1). The full text of the report is available in the news section here: http://brandingmentoring.eu This chapter looks at the pros and cons of adopting the following five selected best practices based on the Final Research Report (IO1) that worth to be spread out among new companies and mentors. It highlights not only the essential elements of their success but also transferability potential (universal applicability), but also certain disadvantages which should not be overlooked when looking at their adoption. Â

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

55 Best practice No 1: Marketing mentor and coaching program for entrepreneurs in Hungary The first one is personally tailored marketing mentor and coaching program for entrepreneurs which was developed in Hungary. The program is quite short but powerful, it takes only 3 months and it is personally tailor-made program about brand and product strategy, communication and networking. The pros of the program are listed below: it is personally, tailored for each participant; it is worthy for start-ups and young companies; it is based on the knowledge of the owner of he program, who is marketing specialist and has got practical skills in this area; it is perfect for branding. The cons are listed below: you need to pay a certain amount of money; it is located only in Hungary; there are some limitations in the number of participants at the same time.

Reference: (2019). Retrieved 11 December 2019, from https://tolgyessyzsofi.hu/coaching-programok/szeretem-avallalkozasom-coaching-program/

56 Best practice No 2: Online training for Mentors â&#x20AC;&#x153;Art of Mentoringâ&#x20AC;? in Australia The second one is an online training for Mentors. The training uses a combination of instruction, mentoring demonstrations, and interviews with experienced mentors and mentees, reading materials, exercises and tools and forms. It is structured in modules. The pros of the program are listed below: it is worthy for start-ups and young companies; it is based on the knowledge of the owner of the program (a family business from Australia); it is available online; it is perfect for becoming a mentor or mentee and it is an open source course. The cons are listed below: you need to speak English quite well; it is oriented around becoming a mentor, not for branding or marketing purposes; it is not tailored to a person's needs, just pre-prepared instructions, samples and exercises.

from https://artofmentoring.net/

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

Reference: (2019). Retrieved 11 December 2019,

57 Best practice No 3: Generation HR Management Mentoring in Romania The third one is called “Generation HR Management Mentoring” and the program comes from Romania. It is focused to support and develop people who have been working in Human Resources (HR) for a few years or who want to become an HR practitioner. The pros are listed below: it is tailored for HR mentors; it is a dynamic program developed by young people from HR departments; it is good for mentors specializing in organizational culture. The cons are listed below: it is focused on Romanian mentors and HR workers; it is limited in area and time.

Reference: Hobson, A., Castanheira, P., Zoltán Csigás, K., & Clutterbuck, D. (2016). Chapter 13: Next Generation HR Management Mentoring (Romania). In the Mentoring across Professions (Map) Project: What Can Teacher Mentoring Learn from International Good Practice in Employee Mentoring And Coaching?. The Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Retrieved from http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/17051/1/hobson-et-al-2016-mentoring-across-the-professionsfinal300816.pdf

58 Best practice No 4: Women start-up mentoring program in Poland The women start-up mentoring program was developed under the project “Under the wings of a mentor – model of supporting labor market institutions in building competitive advantage of women-led startups”. The project was conducted in partnership with OIC Poland Foundation and the training organization INGENIO and SEED Foundation from Hungary. It is a customized mentoring program for females to become empowered in business. Considering the complexity of this mentoring program and its intense approach (including the recruitment process, mentor training, mentor certification system, implementing and training institutions, session rules, supervisor support, documentation supporting the mentoring process, evaluation, etc.) this model is worthy spreading and suitable for wide implementation. The pros are listed below: mentoring tailored for women starting businesses or at the early stages of running a business; mentoring functions tailored to the needs of female entrepreneurs, suitable for the specific target group; women entrepreneurs realize the value of a mentor to get their business on the right course to long-term growth; complex eligibility criteria for mentors (business experience, qualifications, the value of the developed training program for future mentors (methodological manual for the trainer, detailed scenario of classes).

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

skills);

59 The cons are listed below: the model is limited for specific a target group; it requires amendments to be transferable to other target groups; the model is based on the mentors’ voluntary work and requires mentors to willingly commit time to mentoring responsibilities; an institution implementing the model should have a large number of mentors available so that clients could choose with whom they want to work (in line with their expectations, needs and personality), which may not be an easy task, especially in combination with the voluntary nature of mentors' work. Reference: Pod skrzydłami mentora - Fundacja OIC. (2019). Retrieved 11 December 2019, from https://www.oic.lublin.pl/pod-skrzydlami-mentora_4,101,308.html

Best practice No 5: Association of Mentors PROMENTOR in Poland The association gathers people who have experienced work with a mentor or are mentors themselves, as well as those who, inspired by the method, search for tools to work in the field of scientific development and education. The goal of the Association is to build new standards of mentoring in Poland, search for new tools for mentoring and build a knowledge base that serves others. The Association runs the International PROMENTOR Mentors School. The school's program and methodology has been accredited by the UK's leading management organization - The Institute of Leadership & Management. It also runs a three-day mentoring course, authorized by the Institute of Leadership & Management. The PROMENTOR Mentoring course is the first level of acquiring competences (knowledge and skills) in the field of mentoring processes in business or for organizations.

60 The pros are listed below: there is a rich offer which makes it possible for anyone interested in mentoring to find suitable services and activities; it provides international cooperation in the education of future mentors; there is a wide pool of mentors; there is a wide range of mentoring services and proposals offered by one institution. The cons are listed below: there are training fees; due to copyrights, it is not possible to transfer developed solutions (e.g. training programs) and implement them by other institutions. Reference: Hnat, K., Hnat, K., Hnat, K., & Hnat, K. (2019). Strona gĹ&#x201A;Ăłwna - promentor.pl. Retrieved 11 December 2019, from https://www.promentor.pl/

CASE STUDY FROM OUR EXPERTS Business practice and experience show that there is no room to develop an idea unless it is specific, innovative and new in a fast-growing global economy. This than half a year. The start-up of every business should be based on the assumption that the only constant in the economy is permanent change. The recommended model for a young entrepreneur is to try to locate the market needs for a particular service or product, test the market and then develop a business model. Modern technologies enable testing of services or products at a stage when they are not yet available. Services or products could be tested in the virtual business or on the social networks.

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should be done in a reasonable time-frame, which should not exceed more

61 Examples of good practices can be seen practically everywhere on the Web. We live in a time when we have a series of announced products and services that we are debating and evaluating. Certain services or products catch the light; most of them disappear virtually overnight. Today, building a brand is much easier than it was twenty years ago. The internet is a training ground that conveys practically everything. The reach of your target audience is just a "click" away. The reach of a target audience is financially achievable and it is measurable. Market interaction is established immediately. EXAMPLE - Upgrading a successful real estate company through consolidation of an existing recognizable brand by changing the business model in the same industry by switching to the majority of business via the Web.

The real estate company was founded on the experience of the employees in the industry with a desire for a different market approach. The market has adopted a somewhat corrected concept and rewarded it with the strong growth of the company that is still ongoing. At the beginning, the company was looking for more online work, and especially for the markets of neighbouring countries. Testing different models did not bear fruit until the company created its group on social networks with the desire for people to share experiences and simultaneously publish sales or rentals of their own real estate. The company did not hide the ownership of the group. The owner was revealed to the users in the first contact - the brand under which it operates. The surprising fact for the owner was that the competing companies started using the group as an additional free sales channel and in no way had any difficulty advertising in a group that is visibly moderated by the competing company.

62 The group was also recognized as a good sales channel for the neighboring market as the portal which is used by both agencies and individuals. The fact is that the group has been in existence for over two years and is seeing an increasing growth and advertising of users. Advertising is also on the rise in real estate services - construction companies, furniture offers, legal services, etc. The existing group proves to the owner that his thinking and recognition of the market niche was correct and that the development in the existing direction provides the owner with further growth and a longer-term existence in a competitive environment. A positive collateral consequence of the group for the owner is also that it is contacted by new customers due to the group's moderation. Reasons for Upgrading - Modification of the Business Model and Business A recognizable brand in real estate; Finding solutions for further growth with higher added value; Branding; Filling in the market niche by means of a social media service test; Establishing a new business model based on previous successful operations and market confidence; Expanding operations to the neighboring market and increasing the number of employees; Consolidation of the brand in the wider region. From the above it is evident that even a good brand without a permanent example for understanding the importance of building, consolidating and upgrading the brand through additional content is also that at a time when the harnesses prevailed as means of transport, there were companies that produced the coachman whips. With the industrial revolution and the invention of the automobile, even good and well-established brands in the field of whips began to disappear, since cars did not need whips but fuel.

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upgrade cannot compete in the changing market in an equivalent way. A good

63 No matter how specific a brand is and how the product behind it is technologically sophisticated, the need to add new content or refined business models is a necessity for the survival of the company in the short and long term. The brand name must also be understood in a way that it is a sort of "religion". Without faith in the brand we are presenting and without understanding the story, we will not achieve growth, recognition or the appropriately qualified staff for long-term cooperation. Evidence of brand importance is also shown by a survey conducted in Slovenia among jobseekers in the financial sector. Jobseekers were asked which company they would work for. First company was an established bank that offered full-time job, a fixed salary, unpaid overtime and leave in accordance with the law. The second company was a small private savings bank that offered full-time job with a basic salary, overtime pay and a company vehicle for private purposes. 96% of searchers chose the first company for the following reasons. The company is recognizable - a great brand; A strong brand ensures greater job security; The power of the company brand brings a higher reputation to the employee in the social environment; Strong merchandise provides the employee with proof of their value, since there is an unwritten rule that recognizable companies typically have proactive and capable individuals; A strong company brand also brings to the employee a wider range of potential new jobs with other employers, as they are a more suitable target for "bounty hunters". The answers of the remaining 4% of surveyed respondents were interesting, why the unknown savings bank? Better working conditions; Higher pay plus variable part; Company car;

More free time.

64 The importance of a strong brand in the age of globalization means greater security for the company in acquiring staff. It creates greater trust and loyalty in employees and in the market. It enhances opportunities in international integration as well-known brands seek business alliances with companies of the same rank of trust and visibility.

They connect with partners similar to rating as they enjoy on the domestic market. Due to its strong branding, a system-driven environment is created within the company that optimizes workflows. It enables marketers to communicate more easily as the market knows the brand and makes it easier to choose to cooperate or buy - trust. Also, working with companies with a strong brand brings reference and credibility. Every business relationship or collaboration is based on analytics in terms of what such cooperation brings and how much it can affect better results or consolidate a position in the market. Brand building is not a bypass process for the success and visibility of the company and for this reason brand building is one of the key consulting brand building as something that can be moved indefinitely, do not last on the market for more than two years.

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services. Businesses or individuals who do not understand or even evaluate

65 Concluding... The selection of the above-mentioned five good practices from around the world was made in order to showcase the vast availability of several mentoring programs that are targeting different types of professionals with the use of various approaches, methods and tools. Â Such programs have both benefits and constraints which can be evaluated and adopted by an individual (e.g. mentor, mentee) or an institution (e.g. organization, enterprise) based on their own criteria, needs and particularities (e.g. geographical and economic obstacles). However, in the following chapter, we will analyze the Branding Mentoring methodology and requirements which can be applied by several individuals and organizations despite their field of expertise or their geographical position.

Chapter 4

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." - Warren Buffett

Chapter 4 – The Branding Mentoring methodology: A synthesis to achieve a common and solid professional background Introduction As we explored in the previous chapter, mentoring comes in many flavors and although there are many mentoring programs available on the market, we have struggled to identify customized mentoring program focusing on branding. Hence, the Branding Mentoring project provides an innovative approach to have a designated mentor with extensive business knowledge and branding experience for aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups to assist them in the successful brand building process and master their marketing.

THE BRANDING MENTORING PROJECT METHODOLOGY

The Branding Mentoring methodology has been based on the project “BRANDING Mentoring - Brand building of EU Enterprises through Mentoring”. The Branding Mentoring project aimed – through a multifaceted work plan that included research, identification, recruitment, training and evaluation of participants – to organize and implement mentoring schemes in the field of branding and brand building that would benefit both the mentees and the mentors who participated in the schemes. More specifically, a unique mentoring

approach

was

implemented,

where

experienced

entrepreneurs of the same business domain, of the same region, as well as with other similar social and personal characteristics (for example, age gap, gender, educational level) were matched with younger, or less experienced in the field of branding, entrepreneurs – the mentees. In that way, the project achieved not only a successful mentoring process throughout its duration, but also managed to establish human relationships where the mentor became a kind of “guardian” to the less experienced entrepreneur, and business cooperation carried on even after the project’s official end.

68 This was also a novel approach for many individuals and organizations of the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participating countries, where sometimes the fear of revealing their business secrets had made them more conservative and introvert in their professional handlings in contrast to other, more advanced business environments (like Germany or the USA). In this regard, the participating mentees in such a methodology will have the chance to: Meet, cooperate and job-shadow a more experienced entrepreneur of the same sector; Enhance their branding abilities, develop their overall business skills and achieve better market results; Understand the reality of the business world and redefine their professional goals. On the other hand, the more experienced mentors will have the opportunity to: Develop their mentoring, training and coaching skills and competences, especially in regard to branding; Take a new look and receive fresh feedback over their professional handlings; Establish synergies and networks of cooperation that could last long after the project ends.

The mentoring training In addition, a Mentoring Training program is considered important for the its overall objectives. The aim of the program is to bring the prospective mentors from different backgrounds together, in order to meet, liaise with each other, and exchange best practices and, most importantly, to be trained over the exact mentoring methodology and the specific branding toolkit that should be utilized. In other words, this will be a training of trainers (mentors) activity in order to prepare experienced entrepreneurs, coaches, etc. to act as mentors and cooperate successfully with their mentees. Â

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

fulfilment of the Branding Mentoring methodology and for the achievement of

69 As expected, the mentors will be proven business experts with experience relevant to branding, but this does not mean that they will not work through some common guidelines and instructions set during the training. Additionally, they will have to be taught what a mentoring relationship means at a more personal and psychological level (both for the mentee and for them) and clearly identify their roles and responsibilities for the duration of the project, in line with the specified code of ethics. This will be a necessary step that will add value to the whole process of the mentoring schemes and will help participants keep up to date with the best practices around, while also creating a network of communication to be used for consultation and exchange of experiences that will maximize the quality of their results.

The suggested duration of the mentoring training would be a 3-day program, in order to become more familiar with the exact methodology of the project “BRANDING Mentoring”, the current project’s toolkit (including the Mentoring Handbook at hand) and the overall objectives of the program. Mentors will also have the chance to liaise with similar status experts from other countries and industries, exchange experiences and good practices in relation to mentoring and branding techniques and, eventually, enhance their own skills and competences for the sake of their ventures and their own professional development.

70 To this regard, the curricula to be implemented during the training will involve both “technical” and “social” capacity building, namely: Orientation to the “BRANDING Mentoring” and its resources including useful information and references; Utilizing the “BRANDING EU” learning materials and adding value to them; Identification of what is a mentor, what is his/her duties and tasks, and what is a mentee; Understanding the differences in approach and expected results between a mentor, a coach and a consultant; Learning how to build and sustain a mentoring relationship (i.e. boundary setting, dealing with stressful situations, etc.); Abiding to a certain Code of Ethics; Learning and growing with the mentoring experience (e.g. retaining objectivity, guiding someone without telling them directly what to do); Reinforcing the business and professional network of themselves and their mentees.

The training of mentors should follow a participatory approach, with a suggested duration of 6 hours every day (plus coffee breaks). Furthermore, an organized after the 3-day duration of the training program, in which mentors will have the opportunity to come in contact with a regional institution, organization, or company that will expose them to best practices in the field. The indicative “Train the mentors” Training Agenda can be found as Annex to this handbook. The agenda is available in all language versions. However, the PowerPoint presentations, which were used during the training, are available only in English.

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optional study visit to a relevant external environment is suggested to be

71 Selection criteria â&#x20AC;&#x201C; expectations and challenges Â

The mentors to be recruited should fulfill most of the following criteria, namely:

Good analysis and interpretation skills

Minimum 5 years branding experience or experience in brand development, etc

Managerial background

CRITERIA

Skilled in interpersonal relations

Involvement in voluntary social work

Experience in consultancy

Moreover, in order to provide a multiplier effect and reach as many prospective mentors as possible, the snowball recruitment strategy can be utilized, which consists of the following steps: Identify a person who meets the criteria established for the methodological application of the mentoring schemes; Ask that person to provide the name of acquaintances who meet the criteria in the field of their business or other areas. Usually one person who accomplishes the criteria knows more people like him/her in the same business area or in other areas, so the purpose of this strategy is to ask each person to identify a new prospect, thus getting the snowball bigger and bigger. However, during the process the names might begin to repeat as the number of people selected increases. This will also allow us to identify that all potentially suitable candidates have been detected.

72 For supporting the mentors’ criteria, their selection process as well as for verifying their motivation and interest in the mentoring process, the Branding Mentoring partnership has created the Mentor Application Form (see Annex Mentoring working documents/templates) which can be filled in by the prospective mentors during the selection process. Matching events

One of the most important steps before implementing the mentoring schemes will be the “matching” between the mentors and mentees in each project country, in order to establish the human relationship that we consider vital for the success of the project. The matching will be organized through open events that will include many interested business stakeholders and entrepreneurs. Among them, the prospective mentors will also participate and the prospective mentees will be identified and selected. Prior the matching event, it would also be very helpful for the mentees if you ask prospective mentors to fill in and send you in advance the Mentee Application Form (see Annex - Mentoring working documents/templates). In this way, mentors can study the forms before the matching event, identify potential mentees that demonstrate a true interest in participating in the mentoring schemes as well as approach participants accordingly during the matching event. At since the initial phases of the training program, most mentors will have been In the case that we will also know the field of the potential mentees, we suggest utilizing the mirroring technique, which consist of two phases: Α. Prior to the event: Ask mentors to give you 4 or 5 questions that they would like to be replied by the candidates (mentees) during the matching event. Send the questions to mentees prior to the event so that they can analyze them based on their experiences.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

identified and, thus, we will know to which field of business each one belongs.

73 Create paper name-tags with color based on the field of business. Inform mentors and mentees that the color of their name-tags indicates other people in the room that work in the same field. Î&#x2019;. During the event: During the time for the match, encourage mentees and mentors to talk to people with the same color of name-tags and give them the opportunity to share their replies to the previous questions. TÎż assess common goals and objectives, to share the significance of the mentoring relationship for both sides, and to draw up a common contact point. This will help them understand if they can see themselves in the other person and build a strong mentoring relationship. Note: The Mirror matching comes from practices that some restaurants have; in the USA, in order to help single people to get to know other people with the same habits or interests. They give them five or ten minutes so that they can talk with several people during the dinner. Furthermore, in order to achieve a correlation in professional roles and other personal attributes, there are some more suggestions for matching based on the following factors:

Gender;

Complexity and size of businesses;

Geographical proximity;

Type of entrepreneurial experience;

Educational background;

Age gap;

Other personal characteristics.

74 The Mentoring Schemes When the matching is successful, a mentorship cooperation declaration will be signed between the two parties (mentor and mentee) that will act as a declaration of intents for the duration of the Mentoring Schemes. (See documents Mentor Cooperation Declaration, Mentee Cooperation Declaration, Mentoring Code of Ethics at the Annex - Mentoring working documents/templates).

During the Mentoring Schemes, a set of activities will be organized with predefined tasks and templates, which will aim to make their implementation efficient and valuable for the mentors and the mentees alike. Of course, the fact that the activities will be planned with a specific sequence (selection, matching, training, evaluation, etc.) does not take away the flexibility that a more experienced mentor might introduce, nor diminishes the role of the mentee as the essential “activator” of the relationship.

the recruitment of the mentors and mentees, their training as well as the matching events. The remaining 8 months will be the “pure” mentoring period that will aim to increase the mentees’ branding awareness, teach them different branding strategies and techniques, both from the literature and from previous experiences, and include them in real business practices and communications.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

The whole process will last 10 months, with the first 2 months being used for

75 Mentees will have the chance to job-shadow the mentors and participate in relevant business handlings and branding procedures in order to be benefited by real time experience and learning. At the same time, mentors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; apart from communicating â&#x20AC;&#x201C; will also visit the mentees in their workspace to see their practices and specific challenges related to branding, and provide their feedback and business insights. The overall aim of these schemes will be to learn from similar experiences and to succeed in branding own products and/or services both domestically and abroad. More specifically, the mentees will aim to: Develop and/or correct their branding skills; Meet with entrepreneurs who had already dealt with problems they are now facing; Get help in succeeding in the business world; Better understand their personal goals; Enhance their branding confidence and achieve a high quality of branding strategies. At the same time, the mentors will aim to: Further develop their mentoring and coaching skills; Make their experiences available to help others; Take a new look at their own professional experience; Be involved in a network of new entrepreneurs; Establish synergies that will potentially last long after the end of this project.

76 Therefore, the mentoring schemes will begin with specified monitoring and evaluation procedures that will assure the quality control of the relationships. All of the templates of the documents that should be used can be found at the end of this Handbook as annex, with their goal being to: Assess the relationship (process and model); Assess the feedback loops; Assess the professional/business results; Sustain motivation and commitment to the project; Check and evaluate the mentoring schemes activated; Collect information to plan new mentoring schemes; Improve practices on a case to case basis; Â

In case of serious disagreements between the mentor and the mentee, the supervisors from each country that will be monitoring the relationships from day 1 independently, will be called to act as mediators based on the initial cooperation declarations, the code of ethics and the subsequent feedback received. Finally, at the end of the mentoring schemes, the supervisor, who will have gathered all documents and contacted both sides regularly, will be responsible to prepare a relevant Report assessing each specific mentoring scheme and highlighting any best practices to be transferred in other schemes accordingly.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

77 In a nutshell, the whole mentoring process that is suggested by the Branding Mentoring Partnership can be visualized in the following graph:

78 MENTORING SCHEMES – PRACTICES IMPLEMENTED BY OUR MENTORS After the implementation of the Mentoring Schemes in the project’s participating countries, the consortium in collaboration with the experienced mentors of the partners have selected a number of practices that were used by the mentors during the one-to-one mentoring process. The practices offered to the mentees a holistic experience during the brand-building process and were proven to be successful for the purpose they were chosen. The list of practices, which are mentioned below, are grouped in five categories based on the timing that each practice had been implemented in the one-toone mentoring. These are: A. Introductory phase (mentor-mentee get to know each other) B. Setting objectives, priorities, strategies, actions C. Building a brand D. Closing phase (summarizing the process, reflection, revision, evaluation, etc.) E. Other

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

79 A. INTRODUCTORY PHASE (MENTOR-MENTEE GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER) 1. Title of the practice: “BrandMe!!! via Network”: Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 2-3 sessions, but it can also be an ongoing process Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) When Michael Viraldi trains and empowers people in organizations, he often states that Your Network is your Net worth!!! Being myself a sociable, honest and positive person, right from the beginning of my career I have built a huge Network. Viraldi's definition above though gave me years back the option and opportunity

benefit

hugely

from

this

investment

personally

and

professionally. During my first introductory phase meetings with my mentees, I felt that I should network them right from the beginning with certain relevant people in order to help them develop, grow and succeed with their projects. From our second meeting onwards and through all sessions while setting objectives, priorities, strategies and actions, I tried to help them grow their untapped potential in several areas i.e.: business, academia and most importantly the corporate world. I could detect the lack of opportunities they were facing, unless they were accessing information, knowledge and tools from specific bodies and professionals. Immediately, my efforts concentrated to define the core issues of my mentees’ personalities and competences in both their personal and professional styles towards achieving their goal to brand their specific Service/Product. Subsequently, I have linked/connected them with experts capable to help them manage the challenges facing i.e.: need of the market, relevant technologies etc.

80 Before the menteesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; meetings with these many different people, I have discussed and stressed the importance of their personal Branding when meeting someone from whom you seek free advice or help. The Body language, oral communication skills, etiquette, diplomacy, making a good first impression, enhanced personal impact, professional approach and public speaking were all of paramount importance for myself introducing my mentee as well as for my mentee to earn the maximum from this first encounter. Similar importance we were giving after the conclusion of the meetings where we were measuring the impact of these networking activities. Great seriousness was also given to the recommendations of the experts. I was very happy to witness that each expert always offered very useful and high-end value and contribution towards the goal of each mentee. Opening often these difficult doors and opportunities to the mentees, we created a holistic approach towards the projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; metrics, addressed several pillars i.e.: capabilities, structures, culture, strategy and innovative business model. All these meetings and contacts gave the mentees many tools they needed to develop the Branding of their Service/product to its full potential. The benefits were huge and clear while at the same time difficult paths, traps and unnecessary time were saved. Finally, I feel that offering these networking opportunities to my mentees I have taught them an endless Journey!!!

81 2. Title of the practice: “Product Positioning” Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 1 Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) As a former chef and current culinary advisor, I meet a lot of producers of local products, as well as restaurant owners who truly believe that their products are “the best” and can be uniquely positioned in the market to achieve large margins of sales, and thus establish their brand along with their product. After getting to know each other with my Mentee – who grows and sells her variety of the well-known Chalkidiki olives – I proceeded with a “test” that I often do and aims to reveal the product’s true position in the market, in comparison with other competitors’ similar products. I asked my Mentee to cover her eyes and I put her olives next to 4 other olives of the same variety, but of different producers from different regions, including some varieties of a large supermarket chain. I asked her to taste the olives one by one and tell me which one is her own olive – which until that moment she considered to be the best in the market. When she finished and made her pick, she was very frustrated when I informed her that the one she picked was the one from the large supermarket chain, which was also the cheapest one. This was to her surprise, but she made the Mentee realize some things that will surely help her in her next steps. In regards to the taste for example, she came to the conclusion that her olives may be a little bit saltier than they should be – something that she had not ever before considered! This experience also helped her lower her “entrepreneurial ego” and understand that products are better positioned when their evaluation is objective. Other comments, tips for mentors Of course, this is a method that I have learned in the past as well, and it is also a method that can be performed in a variety of products apart from culinary, even to some services.

82 3. Title of the practice: “Understanding well the scope of the mentees’ profession and business strategy” This practice refers to the Introductory Phase of the Mentoring procedure, in order to minimize misunderstandings between the Mentor and the Mentee regarding the proposed tactics for a possibly existing brand. Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 2 sessions Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) During the introductory phase it was important and essential for me as a Mentor to get and understand the precise business concept and the reason the selected and implemented brand (Valtinger) was important in creating a unique selling point for the company and how this was planned to function in the market. Despite the controversial circumstances in the local small beers brand market, due to the coronavirus pandemic effect and the communication restrictions that followed, it was a must to visit and meet the mentee in his premises, so as to get an objective idea of the business and understand the extent of the already existing and implemented brand. The company’s business plan, that had been elaborated mostly to apply for financing of the business concept, contained specific references both for the Viewing the implementation of the brand on the bottle labels and on the promotional material gave me a direct understanding and view of which points of improvements we could work upon during the training sessions and also verify to which extent the mentee was willing to adapt and proceed with changes.

BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.

origins of the brand, but also for the way this was planned to be implemented.

83 B. SETTING OBJECTIVES, PRIORITIES, STRATEGIES, ACTIONS 1. Title of the practice: Tuning and emphasizing on some branding procedures in accordance with the business plan Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 2 sessions Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) During this phase of the training, the main effort was to identify the fields in which the brand had already been implemented (such as cards, labels, promotional material, packings etc.)

or had been excluded from the

implementation procedure (mainly internet, the non-development of a site page and all electronic correspondence). Thus, the mentee described the profile of his customers and their needs and also the reactions of his clients regarding similar competitive products. The sessions involved setting priorities for specific activities and setting up of promotional events. Also, it was suggested to try and enter in strategic collaborations with local well positioned super markets and other retail food stores (bakeries, etc.) and restaurants. The main idea was to convince local entrepreneurs in the food sector to set up the appropriate promotional material in the most visited areas of their premises. A considerable amount of time was also used to analyze and consider the possibility of penetrating the direct retail sales activity as an alternative in creating a better awareness of the products.

84 Other comments, tips for mentors Mentors should always try to implement the Mentees brand plans expectations and ideas, avoiding promoting and imposing their personal likings and views regarding the business development of the core business. As a Mentor in the specific activity and in a controversial period due to the international pandemic, it was very hard to keep a distance from getting involved in the day to day selling activities of the Mentee, which were severely disrupted and caused a lot of difficulties regarding the future of the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s implementation.

85 2. Title of the practice: “Using Design Thinking Methodology” Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 3 Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) Setting objectives, priorities, strategies and actions is a very difficult task for an aspiring entrepreneur and it often takes months of work, even with the proper help. To support young entrepreneurs, we introduced the design thinking method for setting objectives. Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test. Involving five phases— Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test—it is most useful to tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown.

Design teams use design thinking to tackle ill-defined/unknown problems (aka wicked problems) because they can reframe these in human-centric ways and focus on what’s most important for users. Of all design processes, design thinking is almost certainly the best for “thinking outside the box”. After the introduction of design thinking, we brought up some real-life examples to design thinking, such as: Building an elevator with design thinking Customer journey at UberEATS Reinventing pharmacy experience with PillPact

86 There are different methods in each of the 5 steps of design thinking in order for entrepreneurs to go deeper in defining goals. In the following, we cover some of the methods: Step 1: Exploring Stakeholder interview User interview Competitor analysis Best practice research Observing users Step 2: Defining Persona creation User journey map Empathy map Problem statement Step 3: Ideation Brainstorming Selecting ideas Step 4: Prototyping Low-fidelity prototype High fidelity prototype Step 5: Testing Conducting test We created fictional projects with the participants where they had to go throw each step while using one or two methods to came up with the results. BRANDING MENTORING HANDBOOK.Â

87 3. Title of the practice: â&#x20AC;&#x153;How to start brandingâ&#x20AC;? This practice could be implemented during the below two phases: Setting objectives, priorities, strategies, actions Building a brand Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 3 Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) It is extremely important to lay a good foundation when we decide to create a brand for a new company. This is especially important for SMEs, where a company is set up on the basis of an idea of an individual or a small group of people

with

enthusiastic

approach

about

the

realization

entrepreneurial idea. The direction to get a brand is an evolving process based on a reflection on who we are, what we offer, to whom we want to offer, whether there is a market for our service and what is the difference between us and competitors. We mentored a small company that was founded in 2020 and has just laid the foundations of a service that wants to offer on market. After a discussion with the director of the company, we realized that we need to lay the base of the organization and develop the brand from the foundations.

88 We decided to follow the next steps: Definition of the mission, vision, goals and values Entrepreneurs think about and write down what their purpose is, what they want to do, why and how they want to work. Where will they and their company be in 5, 10 years. Basic market overview (competitors and potential buyers) We reviewed who our main competitors are, what they do, how do they behave in the market and how they are perceived by potential customers. We also checked the profile of potential customers of services that we provide and their characteristics, desires, needs, etc.â&#x20AC;Ś Design of services Based on the results of the research, we designed the service that can be recognized as the most suitable or potentially interesting for customers to whom we want to address. Preparation of a website We designed the website with modern approaches to website design. We included the most important information about the company, we defined the vision, the mission, the evaluation, the contact persons, the basic services and the logo. Unfortunately, the website is currently under development and is not yet available on the World Wide Web.

foundations, if we are different from our competitors and if we are aware that a brand needs to be constantly developed.

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In the end, we believe that a brand could be successful if we build good

89 4. Title of the practice: â&#x20AC;&#x153;How to start branding 2â&#x20AC;? This practice could be implemented during the two below mentioned phases: Setting objectives, priorities, strategies, actions Building a brand Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 3 Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) The first group meetings, where we made the presentation of the project, revealed that many entrepreneurs do not understand exactly what a brand means and how to create it. Most of them imagine that this is a logo of the company, a beautifully designed business card and a transparent and likable website. This was shown even more in the one-to-one conversations that we had with the selected mentees. Their expectations were very different. Even the idea of what mentoring means was very different. During the introductory meetings, we first clarified what a brand means and what mentoring means. We have noticed that, we will need to guide mentees very precisely through the process of creating a brand. We also needed to respect the specific wishes and needs of mentees. Once again, we adapted our plan to their wishes and needs within the available time. We wished to stick to a certain direction as much as possible to achieve the mentoring goals. To help the mentees, we have decided to use the mentoring guide for SMEs, which was created within the project BRANDING EU. We also decided to write down a short guide or reminder. With the help of the guide, we found it easier to achieve our goals and desired results.

90 The guide contains the following steps: Step 1 - Basics Step 2 - Business plan Step 3 - Market research and marketing mix Step 4 - Creating brand Step 5 - Trademark protection Step 6 - Brand integration Step 7 - Monitoring in rebranding In conclusion, we realized that the guide was very useful and had a real addedvalue as a great reminder of every necessary element for creating and maintaining a brand. For the guide (available only in English), please refer to the Annex of the Handbook.

5. Title of the practice: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The preparation of an effective professional branding mentoring" Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: at least two contacts Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) All mentees involved in mentoring were committed to optimizing their branding business was suitable for this. Therefore, we have incorporated an intermediate step before setting precised goals and starting professional mentoring. Before defining the goals and priorities for action, we explored whether the current situation of the enterprise was suitable for the conceptual start of branding processes.

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processes. But in some cases, they were not fully aware of whether their

91 Mentors and mentees reviewed and, if necessary, defined and redefined the basic elements of the marketing mix in relation to the current and future plans of the enterprise: What is the exact offer: product or service? Maybe both? Who is the target audience, where is the target market? Considering offer(s), target group(s), sales channel(s) what is the pricing concept? Is there any and if yes, what brand image elements are available and what marketing communication and promotional activities have been taken place in the life of the enterprise so far? The mentees and their enterprises prepared in this way became able to: take advantage and the potential benefits of branding, effectively implement the steps of the branding process, work effectively on branding with a professional mentor. Thus, the activities of the mentors were not only about branding issues but were extended to general business development issues as well.

Other comments, tips for mentors The knowledge of the target group and its needs and problems, as well as the target market and sales channels is essential for developing a good brand and branding strategy. Based on our practical experience, it was very useful to have a general overview of menteesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; companies before starting the branding mentoring itself, so we advise the mentors to spend some time on general business development issues before starting the branding part of the mentoring program.

92 C. BUILDING A BRAND 1. Title of the practice: “Setting a brand strategy” Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 3 Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) Due to the recent pandemic, we held online meetings so that our mentees could join them. At the beginning, we had a quick introduction into the Branding Mentoring Project and then, we started with the one-one meeting with the entrepreneurs. What we realized during the individual meetings was that entrepreneurs had no clear vision about their brand and how to create one in a systematic way. Thus, we introduced them into the essentials of creating their own brand. In the brand strategy, it is important to note that a strategy that might have worked in the past might not be a reliable method today. In the old times, a company created a brand so that it would attract customers, so in this way it sustained the company. However, today a company creates the customers and then builds a brand so that in this way it will continuously sustain the company.

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93 When creating a brand strategy, it is important to answer the following questions: What is our vision? Who do we offer our service? Who is our competition? How do we win? How do we grow? To answer the above questions, we introduced the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Build Development Processâ&#x20AC;?. In order to find the brand foundation, it is crucial for entrepreneurs to find the so-called brand identity that creates the brand atmosphere which is supported by UX/UI design. These steps are a forever iterative process in order to enhance the outcome of each steps.

94 2. Title of the practice: “Exploring branding case studies” Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: 1-2 Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) An interesting solution for new entrepreneurs is to learn from case studies, explore branding examples and see how brands achieve success through digital means. It would be ideal to choose an example of a young company or a company operating in a similar sector to a mentee’s company. Moving forward, a mentor should pay attention if a new company is acquainted with the basic risk analysis in building a successful branding strategy. One should consider these few basic principles as a good practice for people engaged in mentoring in the field of branding: Current state analysis – what is the current true state of the business, human resources, partners, possibilities of business operations Direct and indirect competitive analysis Analysis of legal reservations (logotype, uses, colors) Need analysis in visual communication, what target audience do we want to reach, how to understand your audience preferences and expectations, choose suitable communication channels, how to reach your audience interest, if branding is useful to achieve these goals, what can be the impact of brand actions on maintaining your customers legal reservations and competition Financial analysis - what are branding needs of a company and what financial capacity does it have to cover these needs

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Opportunity analysis in terms of used shapes, colors, restrictions caused by

95 In our point of view, mentoring should be based on facts and not virtual charts or promises. It is important to show real-life examples of other companies or projects so as to engage a mentee into analysis of business operations, what has been done well and what needs to be improved, and what factors were critical for a given example. What would they improve themselves and what was the evaluation of case studies by experts in the field or people engaged in branding in these companies so as to hear with hindsight, what would they have done differently? The use of case studies and mentoring should not be done in a training form, but based on full collaboration in conducting specific elements, thoughts sharing, picking up right behaviors and cultivating them. It is also important to stop unwanted thoughts and actions.

Other comments, tips for mentors Use real-life examples, case studies of new companies Use questions to guide discussion and reflections See mentoring as collaboration, not training!

96 D. CLOSING PHASE (SUMMARIZING THE PROCESS, REFLECTION, REVISION, EVALUATION, ETC.) 1. Title of the practice: “From Mentor to Business Angel!” Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: Indefinite Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) During the development of our business relationship with the Mentee throughout our meetings and discussions on how to improve his branding (and his clientele) of a third-generation honey producing company that wants to take the next step in the market, something else came onto the table. There was an alignment of our opinions about the current status of the company, there was understanding about the suggestions that I had to offer based on my experience and, most importantly, there was common ground about what the objectives of the company should be going forward.

angel” of this company, meaning that I will invest a certain amount in the company’s budget for branding and marketing purposes and, if this is investment is successful, I will receive a relative amount of the earnings that this new strategy might bring.

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Therefore, we discussed the possibility that I can become what I call a “business

97 At the same time, I will maintain my mentoring role and try to advise my former Mentee and current potential partner in the field of my expertise, for the benefit of both of us. Other comments, tips for mentors It is crucial to remember in such cases that I will be an “outsider” of the company, without any involvement with the day-to-day management of the company – or any other company in which I decide to invest like a business angel.

2. Title of the practice: “Closing of the mentoring process" Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: Two contacts Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) An effective mentoring process cannot be imagined without a closure phase. It is important for both the mentor and the mentee that the mentoring process is completed from both a professional and human perspective. In many cases, this means completing a simple questionnaire that is much less than expected. We have placed highlighted emphasis on this stage, both in terms of professional and human aspects. The mentors were already prepared for the planned penultimate mentor mentee meeting in such a way that they could review the common journey from the starting situation to the closing with the help of the mentee.

98 Together they revived (collected) the most important steps of the process, recalled the problems and solutions that arose. This meant concluding the professional part and also identifying the next possible steps to be taken in the future. At the end of the meeting, the mentors asked their mentees to complete and then send back the evaluation questionnaires until the next, last time. During the last mentor-mentee meeting, the responses described in the evaluation questionnaire were evaluated and discussed together. With this step the formal mentor-mentee relationship had been closed. In most cases, both parties agreed as they wish to keep their professional relationship. If so, the mentor assured his/her mentee that outside the formal framework he/she will be available for further consultations and discussion in the future. Other comments, tips for mentors The Branding Mentoring program includes only the evaluation questionnaires as closing method. The closing protocol we used proved successful based on the feedback received by mentees. Due to this fact we recommend use not only the questionnaires but also advised to make a closure session where all the results, benefits of the program and also the menteeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s evaluation can be discussed.

99 E. OTHER: CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT ALL STAGES OF THE PROGRAM 1. Title of the practice: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Effective communication and collaboration during the unprecedented covid-19 periodâ&#x20AC;? Number of sessions needed to complete this activity: Ongoing activity, applied during all sessions of the mentoring program. Description (preparation by the trainer, actions/activities for the mentee, etc.) Covid-19 has left and is still leaving its scars on the global and national economies, as well as on every living creature on the planet. The pandemic has therefore significantly affected us all, both on a professional and a personal level.

The imposed social distancing has created new realities in the way

business and communication are conducted. Effective communication and business collaboration are of key importance to the survival and success of any business, especially those at their initial stages. Bearing in mind the new and unpleasantly restrictive business environment we are faced with, as a mentor I had to initiate new effective means of communication and team building. I therefore had to exploit the opportunities that online communication and social media have to offer. As a team (including both lady mentees), we created one WhatsApp group through which we communicated frequently. We shared information and articles of mutual interest, including what constitutes successful branding and real-life examples of clever and successful branding done by other companies. We also shared news about our businesses and exchanged ideas on how to proceed, e.g. which of the new logos to adopt and why, which presentation style and wording to use in promotional material, how to tackle new business prospects etc.

100 Overall, we shared knowledge and new ideas, helping each other thinking outside the box, and exploring new opportunities available in the market, without being stuck to old ideas and practices. We have also discussed strategies for further networking and have introduced the two mentees to companies and individuals who could promote their branding and sales. Most importantly, we have supported each other as much as possible during these difficult times, by passing the message that for whatever hardship or dead-end their business may be going through, they should feel comfortable to contact the Group chat box at any time and get advice. The goal has been not to feel alone. We have managed to form a cohesive team, which enabled the building of trust and collaboration between all parties involved. Due to the pandemic, most people have suffered additional stress, which inevitably had an adverse psychological impact on them. Nevertheless, our team has managed to associate the mentoring program and interaction between us, with a very positive experience and not a burden. This, in turn, resulted in the development of a collaborative working and social environment, which will be greatly missed once the program is over. Building a unique and capable support team, sharing ideas, and helping each other to network, are vital for the growth and survival of a new business. As said by Aristotle, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the whole is greater than the sum of its partsâ&#x20AC;?! Valtinger Beer is a small business, already operating for approx. one year and the conceived by the owner, as well as trading other similar small local Greek brands.

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main activity refers to brewing beer locally in Chalkidiki, Greece, from special recipes,

101 Concluding... Being aware of the importance of brand development from the very beginning provides the company with a forward-looking orientation, which can and must be internalized by both employees and customers of services or products. Without a clear vision, mission and visual identification, the company becomes "persona non grata". Like individuals, we build and nurture our own image, as do socially responsible companies.

102 HANDBOOK CONCLUDING THOUGHTS... The Branding Mentoring Handbook was created to support mentors in their mentoring role with current and aspiring entrepreneurs. The specific Handbook does not provide guidance for any mentoring program that a mentor would like to participate in. On the contrary, it focuses in the provision of mentoring support for brand-building and extroversion purposes. Since the partnership had identified that there is a lack of mentoring programs focusing exclusively on brand-building, it created a holistic mentoring program for such purposes while combining educational materials and resources that have been developed in the previous European project – Branding EU. Hence, the Branding Mentoring Handbook aims at presenting the Branding Mentoring unique approach of the Mentoring Schemes, the theoretical and methodological background as well as the educational materials and tools for supporting the mentoring process in the brand-building field. Of course, it is up to each mentor to adjust the Branding Mentoring methodology and tools on each mentee’s needs and particularities in order to support him/her in the most efficient and successful way. In case you have any queries or would like to receive more information about the Branding Mentoring methodology, you can also contact any of the project partners any time. The contact information of all the participating organizations of the project are available at the last pages of the Handbook.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Buell, C. (2004). Models of Mentoring in Communication. Communication Education, 53(3), 56-73. Bungay Stanier, Michael (Open Library) (2016). Coaching habit: say less, ask more and change the way you lead forever. Toronto, ON : Box of Crayons Press 227 pages Carpintero, S. (2015). Qualities That Mentors in the University Setting Should Have. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,197, 255-258. CIPD, (2017). Mentoring Programme. West Yorkshire Branch. Reach 2.10.2019 at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/people/development/coachin g-mentoring-factsheet Cukjati, B. (2009). Osebni coaching. HRM, 7(29), 22-25. Ferjan, E. (2010). Coaching timov. HRM, 8(35), 18. Gruban, B. (2009). Individualni vedenjski coaching (IVC). HRM, 7(29), 12-18. Kermavnar, N. (2009). Neformalno mentorstvo. Andragoška spoznanja. The Andragogic Perspectives, 15(1), 65-76. Kranjc, A. (2012). Individualizacija izobraževanja vodi v mentorstvo. Andragoška spoznanja. The Andragogic Perspectives, 18(2), 19-30. Megginson, D. Clutterbuck D (2004). Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring Paperback, Rutledge

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BIBLIOGRAPHY MTD Training Academy (2013) ebook reachable at https://bookboon.com/en/coaching-and-mentoring-ebook on 2.10.2019 Parsloe, E., & Leedham, M. (2009). Coaching and mentoring: practical conversations to improve learning (2nd ed.). London; Philadelphia: Kogan Page Priest, K. & Donley, S. (2014). Developing Leadership for Life: Outcomes from a Collegiate Student-Alumni Mentoring Program. Journal of Leadership Education. 13. 107-117. 10.12806/V13/I3/A2. Sanches, K.E. (2012). Eticčni kodeks in vrednote pri coachingu . HRM, 10( 50) , 015. Tacer, B. (2011). Psihološke dimenzije coachinga. HRM, 9( 44), 10-14. Zerzan, J.T., Hess, R., Schur, E., Phillips, R.S., & Rigotti N. (2009). Making the Most of Mentors: A Guide for Mentees. Academic medicine Journal of the Assocciation of American Medical Colleges, 84(1), 140-144. Žirovnik Bocelli, M. (2010). Uporaba metod NLP pri coachingu. HRM, 8(35), 3134.

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USEFUL NATIONAL CONTACTS

HUNGARY

Tompa Krisztián

Borbély Sándor

Giorgos Giorgakis

tompakrisztian@g ymskik.hu

sandor.borbely@k va.hu

george@eurosc.eu

Győr-Moson-Sopron Megyei Kereskedelmi és Iparkamara www.gymskik.hu

GREECE

Kisalföldi Vállalkozásfejlesztés i Alapítvány www.kva.hu

GREECE

CYPRUS

Eurosuccess Consulting www.eurosc.eu

CYPRUS

Lina Tsaltampasi

Giannis Koufildis

Chara Triteou

lina@oecon.gr

euprograms@epic hal.gr

chara@eurosc.eu

OECON Group www.oecon.gr

Chamber of Chalkidiki www.epichal.gr

Eurosuccess Consulting www.eurosc.eu

USEFUL NATIONAL CONTACTS

SLOVENIA

AleÅ¡ Dremel

Mojca Cek

Ewelina Iwanek

Ales.Dremel@cpu. si

Mojca.Cek@cpu.si

ewelina.iwanek@o ic.lublin.pl

CPU - Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia www.cpu.si

POLAND

OIC Poland Foundation www.oic.lublin.pl/

"Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room." - Jeff Bezos

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ANNEX Section A. Indicative “Train the mentors” Training Agenda

1st day – Branding professional day with mentoring positioning

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2nd day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mentoring methodology and process

3rd day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mentoring relationship

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Additional half day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; relevant study visit An optional study visit at a relevant external institution is suggested to be organized after the 3-day of the training program, in which mentors will have the opportunity to come in contact with a regional institution, organization, or company that will inform them about best practices in the field. General remarks The developed training materials can be freely translated into the mother languages of the respective trainingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organizers each time and can be updated with up-to-date information and other relevant resources, whenever it is considered necessary. During the implementation, the training is conducted in the form of a workshop rather than in a traditional training manner. â&#x20AC;&#x192;

111 Section B. â&#x20AC;&#x192;

The following list of working documents was created in order to serve the various phases of the mentoring process, that is, recruitment of mentors and mentees, cooperation agreements and ethical issues, implementation process, reflection and evaluation. Mentoring working documents/templates Mentor Application Form; Mentee Application Form; Mentor Cooperation Declaration; Mentee Cooperation Declaration; Mentoring Code of Ethics; Mentor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mentee relationship, Orientation meeting; Mentoring Log; Mentor self-reflection Diary; Mentee self-reflection Diary; Final Evaluation Questionnaire for Mentees.

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Mentor Application Form Name and Surname*: Email: Phone number: Address:

If relevant, Name of the Business: Place of the Business: Webpage of the Business: Founding year of the Business: *Together with the application form, please attach your CV.

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1. What raised your interest in becoming a mentor? What is your motivation? Please justify your answer in 4-5 sentences!

2. What marketing or brand building experience do you have (practical experience, Degrees, etc.)? Please describe briefly the competences you attained during your experience!

3. Please mark how many years of marketing and brand building experience you have. 2 years 2 - 4 years Over 4 years 4. How could you contribute to your menteeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development?

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5. What do you think you will personally gain during mentoring?

6. Have you been part of a mentoring program in the past? Yes No

7. If you answered yes to the previous question, did you participate as mentor or mentee in that program? Mentor Mentee

8. What were your experiences and main responsibilities with that other mentoring program? Please describe them briefly.

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9. In which business sectors and sub-sectors do you prefer conducting mentoring?

10. Are you committed to mentor new entrepreneurs or representatives of an enterprise in the course of 6 months? You need to stay in contact with your mentees for at least once a month, have personal meetings, online consultation (e-mails, Skype, etc.) Yes No

11. Would you like to further develop or refresh your brand building knowledge? Yes No

12. Further comments or remarks in regards to your participation in this Branding Mentoring Scheme.

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Let us know a bit more about yourself! This will help us match you with your mentee. For example, which are your personal interests, hobbies, habits or activities?

The use of mentees’ personal data is exclusively for the purposes of the Branding Mentoring project in accordance with the General Personal Data Protection Regulation 2016/679/EU and the current national and European legal and regulatory framework for the protection of personal data.

I consent to the provision and process of personal data, based on the above statement.

………………………………………. Mentor (signature)

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Mentee Application Form Name and Surname: Email: Phone number: Address:

If relevant, Name of the Business: Place of the Business: Webpage of the Business: Founding year of the Business: Business profile â&#x20AC;&#x201C; short description: Number of employees:

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1. Please describe in 2-3 lines your business idea.

2. Do you have a marketing plan? Yes No Other. Please specify. 3. Have you built an own brand? Yes No Other. Please specify. 4. Did you build your brand on your own or with the help of an expert? Yes No Other. Please specify.

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Have you participated in any marketing or brandbuilding development program in the past? Yes No

6. If yes, please specify the type (e.g. training, advisory, mentoring, other, specificallyâ&#x20AC;Ś) and how it helped you.

Why would you like to participate as Mentee in this program? What is your motivation? Please provide an answer in 4-5 sentences!

8. What are your expectations for the BRANDING Mentoring professional mentor and the mentoring program?

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9. Do you have the necessary time and commitment to attend a mentoring program where you need to keep in contact with your mentor for at least once a month for a period of 6 months? Besides personal meetings, communication can also take place through online consultations (emails, Skype, etc.) Yes No 10. Do you have any further questions regarding brand building professional mentoring?

11. Let us know a bit more about yourself! This will help us match you with the ideal mentor. For example, which are your personal interests, hobbies, habits or activities?

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Your personal data will be processed strictly for the purposes of the Branding Mentoring project in accordance with the General Personal Data Protection Regulation 2016/679/EU and the current national and European legal and regulatory framework for the protection of personal data. I consent to the provision and process of my personal data, based on the above statement.

………………………………………. Mentee (signature)

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Mentor Cooperation Declaration I the undersigned, ………………………………..............…………, do hereby take upon myself, to participate in the project called BRANDING Mentoring (Grant Agreement number: 2018-1-HU01-KA202047759) in accordance to which I cooperate as a mentor for the entire duration of the project and fulfil following duties: -

I will regularly stay in contact with the 1 - 2 entrepreneurs or representatives of an enterprise assigned to me, helping in developing their brand, and/or brand building advancement; During the monthly check ups, we will go through the learning materials of the given month, I will share my knowledge and experiences with them, and I will answer any arising questions; I will attend the events, workshops, and trainings related to the Branding Mentoring Schemes; I keep a record of my mentoring activities in the mentoring framework, in my mentoring journal; I will fulfil my mentoring duties, meeting my deadlines, and execute my assigned tasks to the best of my knowledge.

Project period: ……………………………………………………………………

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I consent to the use of any photos taken of me to be included in promotional materials, on the website of the project and its consortium, after such use has been brought to my attention. I consent to the use of mentees’ personal data only for the purposes of the Branding Mentoring project in accordance with the General Personal Data Protection Regulation 2016/679/EU and the current national and European legal and regulatory framework for the protection of personal data.

I offer to be available for media appearances during the project period as much as my circumstances permit.

Date: …………………………………………….

………………………………………. Organization (signature)

………………………………………. Mentor (signature)

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Mentee Cooperation Declaration I the undersigned, ………………………………..............……… do hereby take upon myself, to participate in the project called BRANDING Mentoring (Grant Agreement number: 2018-1-HU01-KA202047759) under which I cooperate as a mentee (entrepreneur or a representative of an enterprise), in accordance to which I subject myself to the following terms: -

I will regularly stay in contact with my mentor supporting my development process during the mentoring process; During the monthly meetings with my mentor, we will go through all important and relevant issues. Concerning the topics, I will share all my knowledge and questions with my mentor and discuss his feedback. I will attend the workshops organized within the framework of this mentoring process, about which I will be notified by the leader of the mentoring process in advance. I will use the IT infrastructure helping my advancement (Knowledge base, I want to know everything surface), which offers the opportunity to advance my skills between personal meetings and provide additional means to keep in contact, to the best of my knowledge. I will record my progress in the Mentoring Log, providing as much detail as possible. I will do so after each meeting as soon as I am able, but no later than within 2 weeks of the last meeting. I acknowledge that keeping this diary is an administrative duty essential to the progress.

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Project period: …………………………………………………………………… I consent to the use of any photos taken of me in promotional materials, on the website of the mentoring process after such use has been brought to my attention. I consent that my personal data are processed only for the purposes of the Branding Mentoring project in accordance with the General Personal Data Protection Regulation 2016/679/EU and the current national and European legal and regulatory framework for the protection of personal data. I offer to be available for media appearances during the project period as much as my circumstances permit. Date: …………………………………………….

………………………………………. Organization (signature)

………………………………………. Mentee (signature)

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Mentoring Code of Ethics Preamble The reason behind creating the Mentoring Code of Ethics is to introduce certain ethical norms which are very important during the whole operation of the BRANDING Mentoring process. The Code of Ethics reflects and comes in line with the mission of our Organization, that is, to strengthen the sustainable economy and offer equal opportunities while encouraging and advancing ethical, conscious and effective entrepreneurial behaviour. The Organization conducts mentoring in spirit of the aforementioned basic principles, the goal of which is to increase the mentoring networkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sphere of influence (in aspects of geographical reach, industrial sector and activity). The aim of the BRANDING Mentoring is to create a network, in which mentors are able to support and help the enterprises and to develop the related branding, brand building practice. The purpose of the BRANDING Mentoring is, that mentors within the network should conduct their duties in accordance with a unified professional normative system, while their activity is in accordance with the duties as well as the qualitative and ethic expectations established.

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Fundamental Rules The present Code of Ethics includes seven fundamental rules, which present in detail what attitude is being expected from the Mentors and Mentees during the mentoring process. Proactivity, motivation, availability The Mentors and Mentees are selected according to their own practice. During the selection process, Mentees need to meet the following qualities: proactivity and motivation. Proactivity: Involvement in the program by their own initiative. Motivation: Examining the business, or the reason of their intent to join the Mentoring Network and Concept. Impartiality and objectiveness The Mentor is obliged to provide carefully considered, impartial professional feedback and development ideas during the analysis of the Menteeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities or plans and to deliver suggestions for development and to do other constructive professional activities; Professional confidentiality During the mentoring process, any information being exchanged especially during the Mentor-Mentee communication is considered confidential, and as such, no information may be made available to third parties without the authorization of both parties. All participants of the BRANDING Mentoring consider this basic rule binding.

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Responsibility and Respect Mentors and mentees should collaborate with respect towards each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beliefs, cultural values and practices, local rules, working time and companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history/past. Both parties must avoid discrimination in all activities and operations, including discrimination on the basis of age, race, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or disability. Know-how development Mentors are obligated to constantly maintain and develop their professional know-how and strive to encourage the same attitude in their Mentee during the mentoring process, in the spirit of lifelong learning.

Regarding the Code, it is also worth emphasizing, that the Code cannot and does not contain guidance for every possible situation and subject that could arise. If anyone is in doubt how a situation is to be approached, help can be requested from the organizer of the BRANDING Mentoring program using the central email address. The personal scope of the Code of Ethics extends to Mentors, Mentees and other people involved in the processes of the BRANDING Mentoring.

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Mentor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mentee relationship, Orientation meeting

Mentor:

Mentee:

Date:

Location:

1. Clarifying technical issues When, where, how often should we meet, how long should the meetingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s duration be?

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2. Clarifying roles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Define the responsibilities and tasks of mentors and mentees

Mentor

Mentee

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3. What is the methodology of mentoring? Put it into words what it means to you! - Why is mentoring branding important for you? - In what question or dilemma do you need my help? - How can I help, what do you expect of me as your mentor?

4. Clarifying goals and expectations - What is the menteeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s designated goal? Formulating goals. - What is your initial situation and where do you want changes to lead you? - What change would you like to achieve? - Why do you want a change? - What will change as we reach the end of the program? - How will others benefit from this change? 5. Taking responsibility - Are you open to challenges and new points of view? - Are you willing to take responsibility for what you are currently, and what you aim to achieve?

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- Are you ready to do your best and to refrain from sabotaging your own development in either way? - Do you want to change and are you willing to take the steps leading to it?

……………………………. Mentor

………………………………. Mentee

Your personal data will be strictly processed for the purposes of the Branding Mentoring project and activities and in accordance with the General Personal Data Protection Regulation 2016/679/EU and the current national and European legal and regulatory framework for the protection of personal data.

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Mentoring Log This document is confidential and will be used strictly for the purposes of reporting under the Branding Mentoring project. Mentor-mentee diary about the meetings, discussions:

Mentor:

Mentee:

Date:

Location (if relevant):

Method of contact: - Personal - Skype - Phone - Email (only to convey information) Aim of the mentoring session and description of the given topic (in brief):

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Topics of the meeting The topic of the current meeting as well as the short summary of other discussed topics, if any. - Personal development - Marketing general - Financial aspects - Brand building - Process - Design, logo, slogan - ITC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Information and communication technologies - Branding communication - Other, namely ________________________________ Accomplishments â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Please share some general remarks in regards to the achievements of this session

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Mentorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suggestions - Mentorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suggestions about improvements in procedures, tasks, etc.

Other comments

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Mentor self-reflection Diary Meeting Date:

Meeting topics:

Location (if relevant):

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Topic What went easily?

What went hard?

What have I learned about myself during this meeting?

Mentor notes, comments

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Mentee self-reflection Diary

Meeting Date:

Meeting topics:

Location (if relevant):

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Topic What went easily?

What went hard?

What have I learned about myself during this meeting?

Menteeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notes, comments

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Final Evaluation Questionnaire for Mentees Name: Date: Mentor who supervised you:

1. How was the mentoring process for you? How did you get on with your mentor?

Was it easy to get the relationship off the ground?

3. Did one of you take the lead or was the relationship running on an equal footing?

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4. What type of support you asked from him/her?

5. What support was the mentor giving you?

6. Which subjects were tackled? What did you talk about?

Was it easy to set the dates, time and location of the meetings? How were the sessions organized? Was the duration of the sessions sufficient? Please elaborate. In case there were delays, cancelled meetings or lack of punctuality, please describe how this was approached by the mentors and the organizers and solutions found.

8. What have you learned after the end of the mentoring program? Which characteristics or skills have you developed through your relationship with your mentor?

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9. On a scale from 1-10, please evaluated your level of agreement with the below statements, where 1 means strongly disagree and 10 strongly agree.

Statement The organizational aspects of the mentoring process were wellorganized The procedures and documents were clear There has been a significant progress in my branding, brand building approach The mentoring process met my expectations I would recommend this BRANDING Mentoring process to someone else

10. Do you have any other information to share? Recommendations - suggestions for improvement to both organizers and mentors?

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Thank you for your time and contribution. The Branding Mentoring Partnership

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Section C. Guide "Step by step to the brand" The path to a brand is a evolving process based on a reflection on who we are, what we offer, to whom we want to offer, whether there is a market for our service or product and what makes us different from others. Every business start-up requires answers to this questions! Write answers on the paper, think about answers and clear up any ambiguities.

1. Step - Basis Main areas of brand building include: Market research; Positioning; Development; Brand communication.

To begin with, let's define our activity - our service: 1. Briefly describe who you are? 2. What is your purpose? Why do you want to go into this business? How would you define your mission? 3. How would you define your vision? Where do you want to be in 5, 10 years? 4. What are your goals? 5. What are your values? â&#x20AC;&#x192;

2. Step - Business Plan The prepared business plan serves as a basis and guide for the development of our business. We write down and define the key internal and external factors that affect or could affect the performance of our business.

145 In the business plan we expose:

1. Business analysis - SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis ... 2. Market overview - analysis of the market, customers, competitors, external factors 3. Marketing goals - smart goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) 4. Marketing strategy - marketing mix 5. Special activities - to achieve market goals 6. Finance - market budget planning 7. Regular monitoring of development and activities performed

3. Step - Market Research and Marketing Mix In this step, we clarify concepts about the market, our competitors and our potential customers. Let's answer the following questions. 1. Who are my customers? 2. What kind of customers we would like? 3. Who are my competitors? 4. How are they positioning their brand? 5. What problem am I solving for my clients? Does anyone need such a product/service at all? 6. What is my market value? What makes me different? Does this even matter to my clients? 7. What do we want potential customers to think, feel, or what association do they get when they hear about us, when they see our brand? Are we special, are we unique? 8. What added value can we offer to customers? How are we different from others? 9. How will customers feel when they work with us and when the service is completed? 10. What kind of personality do we want our brand to have? Based on all this information, we can create a marketing mix.

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4. Step - Brand Creation Based on the results of the previous steps, we start creating a brand. Choice of name - different, short, verbal and has to sound different, easily translatable into foreign languages, possibility of registration and protection. Graphic logo design - simple, memorable, versatile, timeless and appropriate. Creating a basic message - short and concise with the essence we want to convey.

The hardest part is understanding the difference between what a logo is, what a company identity is, and what a brand is.

147 The logo is:

Presentation of the company in the simplest form; A visual representative of the company or service; The most important element that triggers consumer feelings; Crucial to the visibility of the organization; The fastest recognizable part of the brand. The identity is: The various physical elements of the business that work together to affect customers. The complete package of company materials: your logo, business cards, e-mail signatures, websites, advertisements, employee uniforms, exterior design, company communication, etc.

The brand is: A concept, not a concrete subject; The foundation of the overall market framework; The emotional and psychological relationship between the company and consumers; What people think and feel when they work with your company (their feelings).

148 5. Step - Brand Protection Brand protection is very important. With great visibility and quality of service, your imitators / competitors can take on the image of your brand and still your customers. You need to decide at what level you will protect the brand. You can protect it only in your country or at the European level. http://www.uil-sipo.si/uil/dodatno/koristni-viri/pogosta-vprasanja/znamke/

6. Step - Brand Integration Through the brand, you create the identity of your company, services and general recognition. Consider how and when you will present your brand / service. You can opt for one option or a combination of several. Depending on your service, time, financial capabilities and customers. When your brand physically meets customers, you can use: Business cards, pre-printed envelopes, pre-printed letterhead, ... Promotional materials (toys, pen, balloon, cloths), Packaging, Interior of business premises, Team of employees (behavior, dress - uniform, communication, ...), Small promotional events and other events in the company (gifts, space, program), Billboards, advertisements in magazines, catalogs, newsletters ... On the Web: LinkedIn website, twitter/twitter/profile; Instagram, Pinterest; Sending emails, news, online magazines, blogs ...

149 7. Step - Monitoring and Rebranding Today, public opinion about your service is visible on the internet. You need to monitor the look of your brand and post about your brand on multiple websites and social networks. It is necessary to establish constant control over the events and the identity of your brand in order to avoid possible harmful and malicious publications that could weaken the good reputation and recognizability of your brand. We suggest that you use the various online tools available to you for control. Rebranding involves several steps. It is important to tackle brand changes at the right time and not because nothing has changed in a long time. You need to get customer feedback before you make a change to know what works and what doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. It will help you create and develop a new story that should send the right message. Make sure that all company communication supports a changed brand - a new identity (from employee communication to the website). You need to constantly promote your new image and never stop supporting it.