EXPERT ADVICE: Evan Hackel | Founder and CEO of Ingage Consulting, and CEO of Tortal Training
Use the Power of Mentoring to Boost Your Franchise’s Success I would like to start this article with statements that summarize comments I have heard from many franchise executives over the years . . . The bad . . . “We tried mentoring and it didn’t work, “The mentors are telling their mentees to go outside the system,” and “the mentors are not meeting with their mentees.” The good . . . “Nothing works like mentoring,” “When they hear from the mentor, they do it,” and “It’s a game-changer.” The difference is simple - an effectively run mentoring program or a throwntogether program. The goals of this article are to help you understand how great a successful mentoring program can be, and to help you get the good feedback.
Start a Mentoring Program in Your Franchise I have always been a great believer in mentoring. I have mentored owners in the franchises I have led. I have also had mentors of my own – highly 16 Franchising MAGAZINE USA
experienced executives who shared their knowledge with me and guided me. At every stage in my mentoring activities, I felt as though I always saw some extra benefit happening – something I could not completely explain. People on both sides of the mentoring relationship were doing more than just sharing information. They were being elevated – achieving greater profits, retaining their employees longer, and simply getting more done.
Unlocking the Benefits of Mentoring I recently moderated a Training Unleashed Podcast with Kevin Harrington and Mark Timm, two highly successful entrepreneurs
who believe that the more you mentor others, the more success will come back to you. Kevin was one of the original sharks on the hit television show Shark Tank. He is also recognized as the man who invented the infomercial. Mark, who calls himself a “serial entrepreneur,” has built successful companies in more than a dozen countries, from retail to wholesale to manufacturing and real estate. And these men are completely committed to mentoring. They believe so strongly in it that they made it the focus of their new book, Mentor to Millions: Secrets of Success in Business, Relationships, and Beyond.
