It’s easy to get sucked into the trap of consuming content created by self-proclaimed gurus.
You know, the ones that seem to have all the answers.
The ones with the secret “easy” path to 6-7 figures in eCommerce.
It’s this temptation that derails many first time entrepreneurs.
The truth is that there is no secret.
Ecommerce success ultimately boils down to having all your affairs in order:
- Great product
- Great service
- Great positioning
- Great marketing
Getting good at all of the skills needed to fulfill the above takes time, hard work, and a little bit of luck.
And that journey’s totally unique for everyone.
That’s where having a mentor can come in super useful.
Authentic mentors > Fake gurus
An eCommerce mentor is someone with a “been there done that” experience that genuinely wants to help you succeed.
If you win, they win.
A true eCommerce mentor will never blow smoke in your face to get you to buy their $497 course.
A true eCommerce mentor has noble intentions:
- To help you reduce the chance of making stupid (avoidable) mistakes
- To guide you towards the resources you’ll need to learn what matters for you.
- To spot blind spots in your strategy and give you a friendly heads up.
- To be the mentor they wish they had when they were in your shoes.
How to find an eCommerce mentor
The traditional way
Traditionally, finding an eCommerce mentor’s been a bit of a pain.
It usually goes a little like this:
- Do your homework, find someone you admire that’s got a verifiable track record of success in eCommerce, and reach out
- Give first, do something nice to catch their attention and win their respect
- After rapport’s been built, ask them for advice.
While this sounds great in theory, it’s time-consuming and honestly, kind of awkward.
The newer efficient way
- Signup to GrowthMentor
- Filter eCommerce mentors by expertise, company, language, and price
- Book a call with them for a remote mentorship session
Here’s a video showing how to book a call with a growth mentor.
Great, so you’ve found your eCommerce mentor.
What kind of questions should you ask?
Questions to ask an e-commerce mentor
It depends on what stage you’re in, what your challenges are, and what your goals are.
If you’ve already got initial traction and are doing between $10-20k/month in online sales, then speaking to an eCommerce mentor that specializes in scaling different marketing channels might be a good idea.
Again, every case is completely unique, but a general rule of thumb is to enter every mentorship session with a clear idea of what is the specific challenge you’d like clarity on and also what the desired outcome of the call is for you.
Here are a few questions mentees on GrowthMentor have asked their mentors:
- How can I determine the best products to sell in my eCommerce store?
- What’s the most effective strategy for sourcing and managing inventory?
- Can you suggest ways to optimize my eCommerce site for SEO?
- How can I improve my product descriptions and photography to better sell my products?
- What marketing channels do you recommend for driving traffic to my eCommerce site?
- How can I leverage social media to enhance my eCommerce business?
- What are some strategies to reduce cart abandonment rates?
- How can I build and maintain strong relationships with my suppliers?
- Can you share some customer retention strategies that worked for your eCommerce business?
- How do you approach scaling an eCommerce business once it’s off the ground?
- What metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) should I focus on to gauge my eCommerce business’s success?
- How can I create an effective email marketing strategy for my eCommerce business?
- Can you advise on implementing a successful PPC advertising strategy?
- What are your thoughts on utilizing influencer marketing in my specific niche?
- How do I handle international shipping and taxes?
- What are some strategies to ensure my website is user-friendly and optimized for conversions?
- How can I efficiently manage customer service and handle customer complaints?
- What are some common mistakes you see new eCommerce entrepreneurs make, and how can I avoid them?
- Can you recommend any tools or software that will streamline my operations?
- What’s your approach to conducting competitive research in the eCommerce space?
Get some inspiration with these 47 questions based on real-life questions asked by the GrowthMentor community.
Featured eCommerce mentors
Below are just a few eCommerce mentors on the GrowthMentor platform with extensive hands-on experience scaling eCommerce companies.
Click into their profiles to learn more about them. Don’t forget to check out their reviews as it’ll give you a rough idea of what other mentees are booking their time to talk about.
Oh yea, one more thing. They are all super friendly and grounded. Think of the mentors on GrowthMentor as the antithesis to your traditional Youtube “Guru” types we all love to make fun of.
What John can mentor you in
Kirill EremenkoJohn went out of his way to help me brainstorm my problem. Leveraging his professional expertise and out-of-the-box thinking he inspired me to see the challenge differently. In our session we came up with 3 ideas and actionable steps to explore them. I’m super-pumped to get working on this now!
What Nicolas can mentor you in
David KellermanNicholas well prepared the meeting in advance, looking through the design and notes I’ve send him. He is well advanced within the sustainable ecommerce space, which made his experience applicable to our business case. He provided solid advice on our current position and where to move next. I would describe him as calm, collected and very helpful. Definitely I’d recommend him.
David Hoos
- eCommerce experience: Led marketing at The Good, an eCommerce conversion rate optimization consulting firm
What David can mentor you in
What mentees are saying
Harri ThomasDavid was a font of approachable SEO knowledge! Prior to meeting with David I did a fair amount of online research, which left me a little confused as to the best way to approach an SEO / Content Marketing plan, but David was able to break down it for me into easy to understand chunks, with some really actionable steps and examples. Thanks David!
Joanna Delaney
- eCommerce experience: Responsible for the global performance marketing strategy and execution of all paid channels across for one of Inditex Group’s e-commerce brands. Manage multi-million Euro marketing spend.
How Joanna can mentor you in
Sibi MurugesanJoanna was fantastic! She asked great questions and gave direct feedback on ways to improve. She shared some of the stuff that worked for her & her company which inspired me with some new ideas. Hope to have another session soon!
Looking for an eCommerce mentor?
There’s no easier way to find an eCommerce mentor on the internet today.
GrowthMentor is the world’s only mentorship platform that’s oriented specifically for growth.
Don’t go about it alone.
Learn from (and be inspired by) those that have “been there and done that.”
Find an Ecommerce Mentor
