Mentoring For Free Review
Mentoring For Free is a training
program that can also be used as a recruitment tool for MLM network marketing
distributors.
The owner is Mr. Michael Dlouhy, a 26-year veteran of the network
marketing industry. Mr. Dlouhy also gives a way an e-book, 10 Steps to
Success and sells an audio CD, Colors to Success.
This review of the Mentoring For Free program suggests that it provides
valuable training for network marketers provided a few caveats are
kept in mind. The advantages and disadvantages of
the program are as follows:
Advantages
- Mastermind Call - The Saturday night
Mastermind call provides an opportunity to achieve personal growth with a
group of network marketers who are, for the most part, caring and sincere.
- Personality Types- The description of
the 4 personality types, while not unique, is a valuable
heuristic,
which I found improved my ability to quickly tailor my presentation to
prospects. I'm a psychologist so I think it says a lot that Mr. Dlouhy's
description of the personality types was so helpful.
- Compensation Plans - The overview of
comp plans and the relationship between personality types and comp plans will
help many people make a better decision when choosing an MLM or in working
their own comp plan (although see below for the other side of the coin).
- How to Talk with Prospects - Mr.
Dlouhy
and others talk with live prospects, which can be educational although see my
opinion about his practice below. The general discussions about talking with
prospects are very helpful.
- Relationship Focus - Whether you like
this aspect of the program might depend on your personality type. Thus,
because I am a "Yellow/Green," I think the focus on building relationships is
the only way to go!
Disadvantages
- Live Prospecting Calls - I realize
this might be a minority opinion but I don't like the fact that with this
program and other training programs, prospects are called while dozens of
people are secretly listening to the conversation. I strikes me as voyeuristic
and a violation of privacy. But if you don't mind this approach, you might see
this as a big positive. Be aware that if you sign up for the free e-book,
order the CD, or try the free version of the prospecting system that you could
very well get a call from the person whose link you clicked on, then Mr.
Dlouhy
will come on the call ("I've got the author of the e-book on the line"), and
dozens of people will be listening to everything you say.
- Policy & Procedure Bias - Mr.
Dlouhy
emphasizes reading a company's Policies & Procedures (P&P), which certainly makes
good sense, and he offers advice for identifying rules that could jeopardize a
distributor's financial success. However, it seems more than a coincidence
that the type of Policies & Procedures Mr. Dlouhy advocates is nearly
identical to the P&P of his company and he seems to find fault with the
majority of other company's Policies & Procedures.
- Comp Plan Bias - Similar to the P&P
bias, many companies are found to have bad comp plans when reviewed on the
calls. Company names aren't mentioned but callers sometimes have an idea of
the company and it's also clear that the company Mr. Dlouhy--and at least half
the participants on the calls--represents has a good comp plan.
- Not Completely Generic - If a
participant to the calls finds that his or her company's P&P or comp plan does
not fit the recommendations made on the calls, there is a natural tendency to
want to join a "good" company with a trusted sponsor. It's also a
natural tendency for such a person to want to sign up with a leader whom they
have come to know and trust. Mr. Dlouhy is an obvious choice for many
participants since he clearly knows a lot about network marketing and he has a
charismatic personality (I mean that in a good way).
To be fair, Mr. Dlouhy states that he will always refer a person back to the
person who invited them to MentoringForFree (the system uses affiliate links
to track visitors to the websites) and I have no reason to doubt him. At the
same time, people have the freedom to join the company of their choice.
Consequently, they can say, "no thanks" to the person who invited them to
MentoringForFree and sign up with Mr. Dlouhy's company (VitaMark). This
might be particularly true if the person who invited them on the call is with
a company that has a "negative" P&P or comp plan in Mr. Dlouhy's
opinion.
- Strong Personality - Although I found
Mr. Dlouhy to be likeable and engaging, he is a "Red/Blue" personality type.
Consequently, he dominates the calls to some extent. He often is not very open
to feedback; particularly when participants express--in a sincere, polite
manner--concerns about his biases.
I went through three phases during my
participation with MentoringForFree:
1) Excitement at a very good educational program, which also looked like
an ideal way to find new distributors for my business and train them;
2) Disillusionment and jealousy when the above negatives became apparent;
3) Respect for an ingenious viral marketing strategy that I suspect
others will emulate in the near future.
In summary, I'm glad I participated in MentoringForFree for a couple of
months. I learned a lot and it gave me some great marketing and training ideas
for my own business. I recommend it provided you keep the above
caveats in mind.
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Mark Worthen, Psy.D. is a clinical/forensic psychologist trained at Baylor and Harvard who now makes a living from home via Internet & Network Marketing. You can contact Mark via his web site: MarkWorthen.com |
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Here is an easy copy-and-paste HTML version of this article if you want to place this article on your web site or in your ezine: This review of Mentoring For Free suggests that the program offers valuable training for network marketers provided a few caveats are kept in mind. The advantages and disadvantages of the program are as follows:
Advantages
- Mastermind Call
- The Saturday night Mastermind call provides an opportunity to achieve personal growth with a group of network marketers who are, for the most part, caring and sincere.
- Personality Types
- The description of the 4 personality types, while not unique, is a valuable heuristic, which I found improved my ability to quickly tailor my presentation to prospects. I'm a psychologist so I think it says a lot that Mr. Dlouhy's description of the personality types was so helpful.
- Compensation Plans
- The overview of comp plans and the relationship between personality types and comp plans will help many people make a better decision when choosing an MLM or in working their own comp plan (although see below for the other side of the coin).
- How to Talk with Prospects
- Mr. Dlouhy and others talk with live prospects, which can be educational although see my opinion about his practice below. The general discussions about talking with prospects are very helpful.
- Relationship Focus
- Whether you like this aspect of the program might depend on your personality type. Thus, because I am a "Yellow/Green," I think the focus on building relationships is the only way to go!
Disadvantages - Live Prospecting Calls
- I realize this might be a minority opinion but I don't like the fact that with this program and other training programs, prospects are called while dozens of people are secretly listening to the conversation. I strikes me as voyeuristic and a violation of privacy. But if you don't mind this approach, you might see this as a big positive. Be aware that if you sign up for the free e-book, order the CD, or try the free version of the prospecting system that you could very well get a call from the person whose link you clicked on, then Mr. Dlouhy will come on the call ("I've got the author of the e-book on the line"), and dozens of people will be listening to everything you say.
- Policy & Procedure Bias -
Mr. Dlouhy emphasizes reading a company's Policies & Procedures (P&P), which certainly makes good sense, and he offers advice for identifying rules that could jeopardize a distributor's financial success. However, it seems more than a coincidence that the type of Policies & Procedures Mr. Dlouhy advocates is nearly identical to the P&P of his company and he seems to find fault with the majority of other company's Policies & Procedures.
- Comp Plan Bias
- Similar to the P&P bias, many companies are found to have bad comp plans when reviewed on the calls. Company names aren't mentioned but callers sometimes have an idea of the company and it's also clear that the company Mr. Dlouhy--and at least half the participants on the calls--represents has a good comp plan.
- Not Completely Generic
- If a participant to the calls finds that his or her company's P&P or comp plan does not fit the recommendations made on the calls, there is a natural tendency to want to join a "good" company with a trusted sponsor. It's also a natural tendency for such a person to want to sign up with a leader whom they have come to know and trust. Mr. Dlouhy is an obvious choice for many participants since he clearly knows a lot about network marketing and he has a charismatic personality (I mean that in a good way).To be fair, Mr. Dlouhy states that he will always refer a person back to the person who invited them to Mentoring For Free (the system uses affiliate links to track visitors to the websites) and I have no reason to doubt him. At the same time, people have the freedom to join the company of their choice. Consequently, they can say, "no thanks" to the person who invited them to Mentoring For Free and sign up with Mr. Dlouhy's company (VitaMark). This might be particularly true if the person who invited them on the call is with a company that has a "negative" P&P or comp plan in Mr. Dlouhy's opinion.
- Strong Personality
- Although I found Mr. Dlouhy to be likeable and engaging, he is a "Red/Blue" personality type. Consequently, he dominates the calls to some extent. He often is not very open to feedback; particularly when participants express--in a sincere, polite manner--concerns about his biases.
I went through three phases during my participation with Mentoring For Free: - Excitement at a very good educational program, which also looked like an ideal way to find new distributors for my business and train them;
- Disillusionment and jealousy when the above negatives became apparent;
- Respect for an ingenious viral marketing strategy that I suspect others will emulate in the near future.
In summary, I'm glad I participated in Mentoring For Free for a couple of months. I learned a lot and it gave me some great marketing and training ideas for my own business. Irecommend it provided you keep the above caveats in mind.
Below is an easy copy-and-paste plain text version of the article. Note that if you want to format plain text articles with specific margins, e.g., 60 characters, for an e-zine, a free formatting tool can be found at this site, which is also home to an article announcement service.
*Mentoring For Free: A Review*
Mentoring For Free is a training program that can also be
used as a recruitment tool for network marketing
distributors. The owner is Michael Dlouhy, a 26-year veteran
of the network marketing industry. Mr. Dlouhy also gives
away an e-book, Success in 10 Steps and sells an audio CD,
Colors to Success.
This review of Mentoring For Free suggests that the program
offers valuable training for network marketers provided a
few caveats are kept in mind. The advantages and
disadvantages of the program are as follows:
*Advantages*
* Mastermind Call - The Saturday night Mastermind call
provides an opportunity to achieve personal growth with a
group of network marketers who are, for the most part,
caring and sincere.
* Personality Types - The description of the 4 personality
types, while not unique, is a valuable heuristic, which I
found improved my ability to quickly tailor my presentation
to prospects. I'm a psychologist so I think it says a lot
that Mr. Dlouhy's description of the personality types was
so helpful.
* Compensation Plans - The overview of comp plans and the
relationship between personality types and comp plans will
help many people make a better decision when choosing an MLM
or in working their own comp plan (although see below for
the other side of the coin).
* How to Talk with Prospects - Mr. Dlouhy and others talk
with live prospects, which can be educational although see
my opinion about his practice below. The general discussions
about talking with prospects are very helpful.
* Relationship Focus - Whether you like this aspect of the
program might depend on your personality type. Thus, because
I am a "Yellow/Green," I think the focus on building
relationships is the only way to go! *Disadvantages*
* Live Prospecting Calls - I realize this might be a
minority opinion but I don't like the fact that with this
program and other training programs, prospects are called
while dozens of people are secretly listening to the
conversation. I strikes me as voyeuristic and a violation of
privacy. But if you don't mind this approach, you might see
this as a big positive. Be aware that if you sign up for the
free e-book, order the CD, or try the free version of the
prospecting system that you could very well get a call from
the person whose link you clicked on, then Mr. Dlouhy will
come on the call ("I've got the author of the e-book on the
line"), and dozens of people will be listening to everything
you say.
* Policy & Procedure Bias - Mr. Dlouhy emphasizes reading a
company's Policies & Procedures (P&P), which certainly makes
good sense, and he offers advice for identifying rules that
could jeopardize a distributor's financial success. However,
it seems more than a coincidence that the type of Policies &
Procedures Mr. Dlouhy advocates is nearly identical to the
P&P of his company and he seems to find fault with the
majority of other company's Policies & Procedures.
* Comp Plan Bias - Similar to the P&P bias, many companies
are found to have bad comp plans when reviewed on the calls.
Company names aren't mentioned but callers sometimes have an
idea of the company and it's also clear that the company Mr.
Dlouhy--and at least half the participants on the
calls--represents has a good comp plan.
* Not Completely Generic - If a participant to the calls
finds that his or her company's P&P or comp plan does not
fit the recommendations made on the calls, there is a
natural tendency to want to join a "good" company with a
trusted sponsor. It's also a natural tendency for such a
person to want to sign up with a leader whom they have come
to know and trust. Mr. Dlouhy is an obvious choice for many
participants since he clearly knows a lot about network
marketing and he has a charismatic personality (I mean that
in a good way).
To be fair, Mr. Dlouhy states that he will always refer a
person back to the person who invited them to Mentoring For
Free (the system uses affiliate links to track visitors to
the websites) and I have no reason to doubt him. At the same
time, people have the freedom to join the company of their
choice. Consequently, they can say, "no thanks" to the
person who invited them to Mentoring For Free and sign up
with Mr. Dlouhy's company (VitaMark). This might be
particularly true if the person who invited them on the call
is with a company that has a "negative" P&P or comp plan in
Mr. Dlouhy's opinion.
* Strong Personality - Although I found Mr. Dlouhy to be
likeable and engaging, he is a "Red/Blue" personality type.
Consequently, he dominates the calls to some extent. He
often is not very open to feedback; particularly when
participants express--in a sincere, polite manner--concerns
about his biases.
*3 Phases*
I went through three phases during my participation with
Mentoring For Free:
1. Excitement at a very good educational program, which also
looked like an ideal way to find new distributors for my
business and train them;
2. Disillusionment and jealousy when the above negatives
became apparent;
3. Respect for an ingenious viral marketing strategy that I
suspect others will emulate in the near future.
In summary, I'm glad I participated in Mentoring For Free
for a couple of months. I learned a lot and it gave me some
great marketing and training ideas for my own business. I
recommend it provided you keep the above caveats in mind.
About the Author:
Mark Worthen, Psy.D. is a clinical/forensic psychologist trained at Baylor and Harvard who now makes a living from home via Internet & Network Marketing. http://markworthen.com

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