What is the difference between DAM mentoring and consulting?

During late 2009, I started DAM mentoring program. I had a flurry of emails asking about it and joining the free program daily.

After having the first day of mentoring, I wanted to clarify what DAM mentoring is and what DAM mentoring is not.

Posted by Henrik de Gyor on January 28, 2010

During late 2009, I started DAM mentoring program. I had a flurry of emails asking about it and joining the free program daily.

After having the first day of mentoring, I wanted to clarify what DAM mentoring is and what DAM mentoring is not.

DAM mentoring is not consulting. Mentoring is mostly on an individual basis. I am not going to mentor a whole organization.

The other difference is the frequency. DAM mentoring is done a couple times a month and an hour at a time (maximum two hours per month) . DAM consulting is available as often as you need their advice and as long as you pay the consultant(s).

If you happen to be a DAM mentee, but need more frequent advice, I would suggest looking for a consultant. If you already have a consultant and also want mentoring, you are more than welcome. Just note the limited availability of the mentor to mentees. Mentoring is not a replacement for consulting and consulting is not a replacement for mentoring. Mentoring is individualized assistance, guidance and suggestions. The only thing major thing that is similar to consulting and mentoring is the fact that it is still up to you to follow the advice given (or not).

For those that contacted me and joined me for the individual hourly mentoring sessions, everyone:

• had different questions brought to the table
• enjoyed the conversation
• gained something from conversation

On a side note, I had some vendors contact me about the mentoring program. Some were interested in mentoring for me. Some were even interested in being mentored. After careful consideration, I had to turn them all down since I remain vendor agnostic and so does this mentoring program. I talk with many various DAM vendors regularly, but it is not realistic to subject mentees to guidance by any specific vendor. It would also not be fair to other DAM vendors either. As for those vendors wanting to be mentored, I suggest they first learning the ins and outs what their own solution does and then take a look at other DAM vendors for comparison.

So, mentoring is free and consulting is not. And in all fairness, it should stay that way. If you are interested being mentored, feel free to contact me and we can schedule something together. If you interested in a DAM consultant, be aware of whether they are partial to particular vendors, especially if you are being consulted in the vendor selection process.

Who do you turn to for DAM advice before, during and well after the DAM implementation?