Advice when the question arises
Talk through a live situation with someone who can challenge your thinking, share a relevant experience and help you consider your options.
UKSA mentoring · Professional development
Experience when you need it. People who understand.
Sales can be a demanding profession, especially when you are making a decision you have never faced before. UKSA mentoring connects members with experienced Founding Fellows and fellow professionals who can offer perspective, share practical experience and help you work through what comes next.
Ask a focused question. Find someone who knows your industry. Build a longer-term mentoring relationship. Access support remotely, at UKSA events or in person when both parties agree.
Mentoring arrangements are subject to member eligibility, mentor availability and mutual agreement.
Experienced Founding FellowsPractical insight from established sales and commercial leaders
Different backgroundsExplore experience across sectors, disciplines and career stages
Remote or in personFlexible conversations that fit around working life
Why mentoring?
Not every challenge needs another course. Sometimes you need a conversation.
Our Founding Fellows have built teams, handled difficult markets, won and lost major accounts, changed careers and led businesses. Mentoring gives members access to that lived experience, in a confidential and practical setting.
Build professional confidence
Work on your skills, leadership, commercial judgement and career development with people who have worked through similar challenges.
Build relationships before you need them
Meet professionals beyond your immediate team or sector. A useful introduction today could become a trusted relationship for years.
How it works
Find the right experience. Start a conversation.
The intended member platform will make it straightforward to find relevant people and request a conversation. Until that matching service is available, members can enquire through UKSA.
01
Tell us what you need
Choose a topic, sector or career stage. It might be a proposal, first management role, redundancy, team performance, negotiation or a question you would rather ask someone outside your organisation.
02
Find relevant people
Explore Founding Fellows and other participating mentors by their professional background and areas of experience. You are not restricted to one discipline or one mentor.
03
Request a conversation
Send a short introduction and explain what you hope to discuss. The mentor can accept, suggest an alternative time or decline according to their availability.
04
Meet and agree next steps
Use a video call as the default. Where practical and mutually agreed, meet at an event, on a Sales Walk or in person. Decide together whether another conversation would be useful.
05
Record what you learned
Keep a brief record of your goals, reflection and actions. Use it as evidence of relevant informal CPD where your professional development requirements permit.
Not a one-size-fits-all match. A manufacturing sales manager might benefit from someone in technology. A new business developer might want advice from a commercial director. Choose expertise that fits the question, not just the job title.
Across the UKSA community
Different questions call for different people.
Explore the types of experience you may wish to draw on. These are illustrative mentoring topics, not a list of currently available or guaranteed individual appointments.
New business & prospectingOpening conversations, qualification and pipeline
Sales leadershipManaging people, coaching and team performance
Enterprise & complex salesBuying groups, proposals and long sales cycles
Negotiation & commercial strategyValue, pricing, objections and decisions
Career transitionsChanging roles, finding work and progression
Marketing & growthDemand, positioning and sales alignment
Business ownershipBuilding a consultancy or growing a business
Sector experienceTechnology, manufacturing, professional services and more
How often can we talk?
Flexible support, with clear expectations.
Members can speak with more than one participating mentor. The frequency and format depend on the mentor, the nature of the request and what both people agree to. The emphasis is on useful conversations, not compulsory meetings or unlimited access.
A focused question may take one session. A longer-term mentoring relationship benefits from an agreed purpose, a review date and time between sessions to put advice into practice.
There is no guaranteed response time, fixed number of one-to-one sessions or automatic access to every Fellow. Any formal allowances will be published when the mentoring platform launches.
Choose the format that works
Focused conversation
One question, one relevant person, one agreed call. Arrange follow-up only if useful and mutually agreed.
Ongoing mentoring
Agree a recurring rhythm, such as a monthly conversation, if the mentor has capacity. Review goals and progress together.
Group mentoring
Join a remote group session on a shared challenge when sessions are scheduled. An efficient way to learn from several perspectives.
Face to face
Meet at a UKSA or Lonely Sales Club event or arrange an in-person discussion when convenient for both parties.
Continuing Professional Development
Turn experience into professional development.
Mentoring is not only about getting an answer. Reflection and action can help turn a conversation into lasting development and provide a useful personal CPD record.
A simple CPD habit
After a mentoring conversation, spend five minutes capturing what changed in your thinking. Revisit it before the next session. You can maintain your own CPD log alongside courses, events, peer learning and practical experience.
The number of CPD hours you may claim, and whether informal mentoring qualifies, depend on your employer or relevant professional body's rules. UKSA mentoring is not represented here as externally accredited CPD.
1
Set a development objectiveWhat challenge, capability or career goal did you bring to the session?
2
Record the activityNote the date, format, approximate duration and general topic without sharing confidential information.
3
Reflect on what changedWhich questions or ideas challenged your assumptions? What will you do differently?
4
Put learning into practiceTry an agreed action and capture its impact before your next conversation.
The mentoring platform
One place to discover experience and make a connection.
Our planned member platform will bring mentor discovery and conversations into a single experience. Members will be able to express an interest in relevant professional backgrounds, request introductions and manage their connections. Founding Fellows will be identifiable as peer-reviewed Fellows.
It is designed to make it easier to seek another perspective when your needs change, whether that is a different skill, sector or stage of your career.
Platform-based matching and messaging are planned features. Availability and launch arrangements will be confirmed separately.
Access today
Have a mentoring question already?
Tell UKSA what you are looking for and the experience that would be helpful. We can explain current mentoring opportunities and whether an appropriate introduction may be possible.
Get in touch with UKSAPlease do not include confidential customer, employer or personal information in an initial enquiry.
Starting your career?
Mentoring should start before your first big job.
UKSA's free Youth Membership for 18–24-year-olds is being developed with remote group mentoring at its core. The planned baseline is a one-hour group session each month, with practical conversations about finding work, CVs, interviews and early commercial careers.
Youth group sessions and additional introductions depend on the programme schedule and volunteer availability.
Frequently asked questions
A few practical questions.
Can I speak to more than one mentor?
Yes, the mentoring approach is designed around access to different professional backgrounds rather than an exclusive, permanent match. Each individual conversation is subject to the participating mentor's availability and agreement.
How often may I contact a Founding Fellow?
There is no universal contact frequency or guaranteed number of sessions announced on this page. Start with a clear question, respect the mentor's availability and agree any ongoing schedule together. A monthly conversation may suit some ongoing relationships; one session may suit others.
Are sessions online or in person?
Remote video conversations are the standard approach. In-person mentoring can be arranged when both parties agree; UKSA and Lonely Sales Club events can also provide opportunities to meet.
Will I be able to search and message mentors in an app?
Mentor discovery and connections through the planned member platform are part of the intended experience. Until they launch, please contact UKSA about current routes to mentoring.
Does mentoring count towards CPD?
Relevant mentoring can be recorded in your personal CPD log, including the objective, date, duration, learning and actions taken. Whether it meets formal CPD requirements depends on the rules of the professional body or employer assessing your record.
Is mentoring confidential?
Approach sessions as private professional conversations. At the outset, agree expectations for privacy, boundaries and suitable topics. Do not disclose confidential client information or commercially sensitive documents without the appropriate permission.
Can I become a mentor?
Members interested in sharing their expertise can contact UKSA. Founding Fellowship is a separate, peer-reviewed recognition route; becoming a mentor does not confer Fellowship.
People to turn to
Your next useful conversation could change how you approach the next challenge.
Join the UKSA community or ask us about current mentoring opportunities.