Twelve straight answers, grouped by what's bothering you

You're paying for John's judgement applied to your brief. That means the pre-engagement conversations, a written brief that captures what you actually need rather than what you first thought you needed, a search of the Melbourne mentor pool and fresh sourcing where the pool doesn't have a direct fit, the vetting of each mentor approached, and a shortlist of three suitable Melbourne-based mentors presented with John's view on which fits best and why. John stays alongside you through the interview process and up to the placement. After that, the mentoring relationship is yours to run.

Three Melbourne-based mentors on the shortlist as standard. For a specialist brief where the pool of suitable people in Melbourne is genuinely narrow, the shortlist may be two. You can interview one, two, or all three. Most clients meet two or three before deciding. Some interview only the strongest fit on paper and make the call from that single conversation. Either approach is fine. The fee covers our commitment to make all three available. How many you choose to meet is up to you.

The mentors in the network are senior operators, most of them still active in some capacity. They take mentor engagements when the right brief comes along, not as a standing availability. A public listing would attract cold approaches and mismatched enquiries that waste their time and damage the quality of the network. They've earned the right to consider specific briefs rather than be available to anyone who finds them online. The matching is two-sided: John presents the brief to the mentor as carefully as he presents the mentor to the client. Once a mentor agrees to appear on a shortlist, their full profile goes to you with their consent.

Yes. Once the introduction is made, the relationship runs directly between you and the mentor. You set the cadence. The mentor invoices you. Managers & Directors takes nothing from subsequent sessions and has no ongoing role in the relationship unless you come back for another search. Most engagements continue well past the initial period because the relationship is delivering value, not because of any contractual obligation to keep going.

Two separate payments to two separate parties. The engagement fee goes to Managers & Directors in two halves: 50% when the engagement letter is signed, 50% when the shortlist is presented. The mentor's session fees go directly to the mentor, on whatever cadence you and the mentor agree once you've chosen who to engage. The two costs are completely separate and we take nothing from the mentor side of the arrangement.

No. The engagement fee covers the search, the brief, and the shortlist. Mentor session fees are paid separately and directly to the mentor. We keep them separate because mentor pricing varies and you should be agreeing the rate and the cadence with the mentor, not with us. If you have a rate ceiling in mind, tell John during the brief and that constraint goes into the search.

No. The mentor invoices you directly for sessions. We are not paid by the mentor and have no financial interest in the mentoring relationship after the introduction is made.

The first payment, 50% on signing, covers the pre-engagement work and starts the search. The second payment, 50% on shortlist presentation, covers the completed search: the sourcing, the vetting, and the preparation of the shortlist pack. Each payment is tied to work delivered, not to a calendar date. Mentor session fees are separate and agreed directly between you and the mentor after placement.

The shortlist is built against the brief you confirmed in writing before the search began. A shortlist that doesn't feel right usually points to something in the brief that wasn't sharp enough or shifted during the search. John will talk it through with you. If the brief needs recalibrating, the shortlist is adjusted without a new fee. If the quality of the original search is genuinely in question, the engagement letter gives John the discretion to address it. A shortlist that lands well is the normal outcome of a brief that was built carefully. When it doesn't, that's where the conversation starts.

Within the first three sessions of the engagement, you can move to a different mentor from the original shortlist at no additional fee. The fallback is written into the engagement letter before the search begins, so it's a process rather than a negotiation. John approaches the new mentor, makes the introduction, and steps back. The original mentor is told plainly that the fit wasn't right for this engagement and stays in the pool for future briefs. If none of the original three turns out to be the right fit, the engagement letter covers how that situation is handled.

No. The commitment is to run the search with due care and skill, as required under the Australian Consumer Law, and to present three vetted Melbourne-based mentors aligned to the agreed brief. What the mentoring relationship delivers for your business depends on the mentor, on you, and on the business itself. Those are variables we can't control after the introduction is made. What we can do is select carefully, vet thoroughly, and stand behind the quality of the search.

No. Every mentor in the network operates independently with their own ABN. Once the introduction is made, the mentor invoices you under their own arrangements. Managers & Directors doesn't employ the mentors, supervise their advice, or carry liability for the work they do with you in the mentoring engagement. The agreement we hold with each mentor covers the basis on which they appear on shortlists. The engagement they have with you is theirs to run.

A coach typically works from a structured method to help you find your own answers. A mentor has personally run businesses through situations like yours and offers perspective based on that experience. Most Melbourne business owners at the $1 million to $20 million mark benefit more from mentoring than coaching because the problems are operational and the value is in someone who has already worked through similar ones. The Mentor vs Coach page covers this in more detail.

None. No ongoing contract, no minimum term, no retainer obligation. Once the introduction is made, the engagement runs directly between you and the mentor on whatever terms you agree. We step out of the billing relationship at placement. John is available for a conversation if you want a sounding board on how to get the most from the relationship, but there's no charge for that and no obligation to stay in touch.