Survey results revealed inc. 8.4% shock statistic.

I had 174 responses to my marketing mentor survey last week.

I’ve been toying with the idea of launching my own mentoring programme, and wanted to find out how many people had used a marketing mentor in the past, what level of results they achieved… and basically whether people want or need access to a marketing mentor (or in my case a web marketing mentor.)

The resounding answer was YES! In fact here’s a quick summary of the main statistics…

Have you ever worked with a marketing mentor?
Yes – 55.2%
No – 44.8%

If you answered yes, how long did you have a mentor for?
Less than 2 years – 89.2%
More than 2 years – 10.8%

Did the mentor help increase sales?
Yes, their advice made a huge difference – 20.5%
A little bit – 39.7%
No, our sales stayed the same – 27.4%
We lost sales – 4.1%
The advice seriously damaged my business – 8.2% (SHOCKING!)

Do you like the idea of having access to a WEB marketing mentor?
Yes- 82.6%
No – 17.4%

On the basis of these results I WILL be launching a web marketing mentor programme next week. However, the survey also included some ‘open ended’ questions where people could tell me what was good — or bad — about the mentoring they’ve had in the past. I’ve used that to refine the finer details of how my own menoring will be conducted.

(For example it seems people don’t just want a mentor to give them occasional advice — it seems most people want a lot more than that.)

Anyway, if you want the full scoop on my survey click the video for a narrative of me giong through the results. If you do watch the video I’d love to hear any additonal comments you have — please submit them below at the bottom of this page. Thanks.

To say I’ve learnt a lot from the 174 responses to my survey is an understatement!

My mentor programme launches next week — but since the survey last week I’ve seriously limited the number of people I’ll accept, so that I can be a lot more practical and ‘hands-on’. More details shortly.

Have a great weekend,
Ed.

P.S. Here’s the list of ‘best advice’ and ‘worst advice’ taken from my survey…

The 18 Best Tactics & Strategies Given by Mentors that “Made a Significant Difference” to Sales & Profits.
(Taken from results of Ed Rivis ‘Marketing Mentor’ Survey, March 2009.)

1. Implement systems.
2. Design a marketing funnel.
3. Position yourself as an expert.
4. Don’t compete on price.
5. Focus on specific niches.
6. Profile customers to identify the best ones – then get more of them!
7. Use direct response copywriting.
8. Use time effectively—value it highly.
9. Focus on one thing at a time and follow it to completion.
10. Use targeted marketing aimed at specific people.
11. Get leverage on landing pages, joint ventures, lead generations and special offers.
12. Continuously track, measure and test different tactics.
13. Switch to advisory/consultative selling.
14. Get total clarity and direction.
15. 100% accountability.
16. Stop flogging a dead horse.
17. Trust your instincts more.
18. TAKE ACTION.

The 23 Worst Mentoring Failures—that Either Failed to Produce Results Or Damaged Sales & Profits.
(Taken from results of Ed Rivis ‘Marketing Mentor’ Survey, March 2009.)

1. Not giving practical support/not taking a hands-on approach.
2. Talked too much.
3. Too much advising & not enough listening.
4. Not enough more meetings or e-mail interaction.
5. Failing to understand the company fully — making false assumptions.
6. Not working to an agreed plan.
7. Not setting goals.
8. Not telling the truth!
9. Not delivering on promises.
10. Not ensuring a return on investment.
11. Mentor not walking his talk! (Giving advice he wasn’t following himself).
12. Mentor didn’t understand Internet Marketing.
13. Lack of structure.
14. No formal feedback or review mechanism.
15. Failing to identify a ineffective business model.
16. Not delivering any more specific information than already in his books and website.
17. Asking ambiguous and vague questions then not explaining them or giving any help.
18. Poor advice – think all he was after was the money.
19. Mentoring programme was too fast/too slow.
20. Not driving the learning process.
21. Not thinking between sessions.
22. Not enough focus on results.
23. Failing to pay attention to the cost of their advice in terms of results achieved from it.

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