WAHM Forums

First of all, I had a strange experience this week.


What would you do if someone called you and said "I went to a class two months ago that another consultant did,and didn't have money to buy, but I am ready to buy now with some Christmas money, but I want to sample the lipsticks first to order one of those, could you come over and show me some products and help me place an order? She lives on the other side of town (30 minutes away) and I don't want to bother her with coming all the way here to show me lipstick."


Would you refer this person back to the original consultant, or think it was your lucky day?





Second question, one of my BBs ,who is a good friend, is going to see her best friend from college this weekend. Turns out, small world, that she is my cousin's wife! My mom and his mom are cousins actually and my mom, who is aBB under me as well,spent some time talking with this gal at our reunion in the fall. She wasn't interested, but now that her best friend is talking to her about it, she is interested. Well, my friend BB is all worried that she needs to refer her best friend back to my mom, since she made the first contact. Do you think she should do that?


I know my mom won't care in this situation, and honestly feel it is better to have her signed up under soemone she knows and is comfortable with. But I thought it was a nice gesture that my freind was concerned about not stealing her, but I think it is perfectly fine for someone to sign up with their best friend overher husband's mom's cousin. smileys/smiley17.gif

I would not think that helping the client with a lipstick is unethical in the circumstances you describe. Just because someone attends a party, doesn't mean that consultant "owns" them. A client can purchase from whomever they choose. When they sign up as a wholesale buyer, they commit to a certain consultant, but not before. I'm not saying actively recruit someone else's customers, but if someone comes to you, I don't think its a problem.


As for the biz builder, if your Mom won't be upset, then I'd say let your friend work with her friend. They have a closer relationship, and would probably love to work together. Maybe down the road, your friend could put someone else under your mom, or express her thanks in another way.





JMHO


Meg

Thanks.I know we are supposed to refer people back in most cases, but I have read many stories here and heard them at our local trainings about people that are unhappy with their sponsors, or just wish they had joined a friend's team or whatever, and once you get hooked to a sponsor, you are hooked for life (more or less) I personally wouldn't want someone on my team thatway, and I know my mom feels the same way.


I left out part of the first scenario where the caller said she wanted to buy everything she had on her list from the party AS WELL as one lipstick. She knew everything else based on info from the party as well as supplement info printed out and sent to her. So it was more that just a lipstick.


so what would you do?

Don't worry about it!!You have done nothing wrong!


Everyone has the right to decide who their consultant/sponsor is going to be.And she chose you!!


Lori

I guess I would wonder if the original consultant did her due diligence in following up with the people who attended her party? I mean, If the client feels calling this other consultant with an order would be a bother, maybe there is a reason? Do you know the other consultant, by chance? Maybe you could speak with her?


I would help this customer, since she came to you asking.


Others might disagree, but I feelthat if a customer goes elsewhere, there's a reason. It might just be conveinience for her, but it is her choice.


Meg

Hard decision about the lipstick client. I guess the only way to handle situations like this, is to ask yourself what would you want done to you? I dont know, maybe explain to the client that you would love to help her, but you are pretty sure the other consultant would not mind meeting w/ her either and maybe call the consultant first to ask. If the client just didn't click w/ the consultant and wants someone else, well then she is not obligated to her and can buy from whom she chooses. But if it were me as the other consultant, I would at least like the opportunity to decide if I wanted to drive 30 minutes for a sale, since I did make the initial contact and work for the party. You never know, the other consultant might be so impressed that you contacted her first, that she just might give you the sale!smileys/smiley2.gif

Thanks...in this first scenario, I am "the other consultant" who did the party. I have emailed her numerous product info sheets, given her samples of three skin care lines, called to follow up on those, that is when she told me she didn't have the money. I have emailed her once a month since then just to touch base. Yes she lives about 40 minutes away, but she is the best friend of one of my friends, the one who hosted the party, and I have known her casually for about 10 years. My friend just happened to call her that day when she had used Arbonne.com to find a consultant nearer to her, and my friend called her a traitor, LOL, and said"You can't do that.This is Annette's business, she will come out there, and you owe it to her to buy from her after all the help she has given you." The customer honestly thought it would be a hassle, so I don't fault her, I don't think she understands how things work with the business as she was just interested in the products and wasn't thinking about who would get the commission.


So she called me and luckily I was able to go out there right away, my hubby was home for the day, and she cancelled with the other gal. I told her that we have been trained to always refer people back to their original contact, and then if that person for some reason can't meet their needs, we can take care of them. She said "well, she must not have been trained in that because she didn't suggest I contact you at all." We ended up having a nice visit and it was very comfortable, and she ended up buying $250 in products! She apologized for contacting the other person, saying she didn't get how it worked and she was much happier to have me in her house than a perfect stranger. She even used her ceramic iron on my hair when I complained about my hair being frizzy and wishing I could try one. So we had a nice little girly hair do and make up party. It is not like she is not comfortable with me.


As I was driving home I started getting irritated with the other consultant. That she wouldn't even suggest or ask about the initial contact. And I wondered what I would do. When I first got started I probably would have thought it was my lucky day! But I have had more training and my VP is big on ethics, as I thought the whole company was. But I guess it is subjective.


I mean, if I were not able to go there, and she went and spent 2 hours there like I did, sampling colors and answering questions, of course she is entitled to compensation. But I spent a lot of time researching vitamins for her and was just waiting for her to be ready to buy.


Anyway, since BBrown said "how would you want to be treated if this were you?" it just reinforced I am going to be extra mindful of the time and energy another consultant may have made with someone before I help a customer who has already worked with someone.


I did have a customer at another class who was introduced to Arbonne by an old college friend and that person annoyed the daylights out of her, always bugging her, trying to get her to sign up and go to meetings, when all she wanted was the body lotion. As she was at a class I did, I put her order in with the class so the hostess would benefit and she told me if she wants to reorder she would rather go through me than her other friend because of the annoyance factor.


thanks for your input, though, I am going to use this example in training my team next month at our monthly meeting.

Now that you have given the entire scenario, what you are saying makes moresense.


I think the lesson here is that we need to make sure our prospective clients do understand "how this works" so we can avoid this. But if a client of mine called someone else and ordered product, I would not waste my energy being angry at the client or the other consultant, I would ask myself what I could do better next time.


I think that purposely recruiting someone elses client would be unethical, but helping a client who calls you versus another consultant is not.


again,


just my 2 cents.


Meg

Thanks, Meg. I understand what you are saying, by my VP and her team have beaten it into our heads,smileys/smiley2.gif, to always refer them back to the original consultant. Actively recruiting someone else's contact goes without saying, IMO. I thought that always referring them back was the standard for the whole company, so I was surprised when the other consultant didn't even suggest the customer try me first. She may not have been trained that way. I am not angry with her, but I was bothered by it.I was just wondering what the protocol is.In this case, it wasn't that she didn't want to buy from me, she just didn't want to bother me, and didn't understand about the comission thing. After my friend explained it to her, she said she would much rather support me than some stranger so she cancelled immediately.


I met a woman at a trade show who had been invited to a party but didn't go to the party. The consultant had called her to preprofile, so I know she had her contact info. The womanasked me some questions about some products and I gave her a sample with my sticker on it and said she should check with that consultant if she needed more info, but if she couldn't track her down for some reason, I would be happy to help her. If that consultant never follows up, well, then the woman has my info. But I did not get her info.


And like I said, I have had people tell me they would rather buy from me, or work with me for whatever reason. I think that is fine, because a customer should be able to buy from whomever they want.But I think it is nice to at least try to redirect someone back first. And that is definitely what I would want them to do for me, as this example clearly showed me!

It's definitely pretty grey area stuff.


I don't believe that once you have contact with a person and say Arbonne you've tagged them as your own. In Donna Johnsons Training about Ethics she states "Clients are free to buy Arbonne from any consultant. We do not 'own' our clients. Becasue of this, we must always follow through and build rapport with the client after the initial purchase (I'll add my own .02 by changing purchase to contact). It isyour responsibility to keep your client by giving them excellent service (I'm not implying you didn't). CUSTOMERS COME FIRST. Never put a client/prospect ina position where they feel pulled between to sponsors (or in this case consultants)."


There's more to it, and of course its all individual. I guess my point is instead of assuming the other consultant is unethical or poorly trained, remeber that this happened becasue despite all the assitance you provided this woman (and you worked hard!) you didn't help her understand that if she purchased from someone else, you would not get any payback for your hard work. I think we all are guilty (I know I am) of thinking thatthis is a given, but obviously we need to be clear with people so they don't go elsewhere simply becasue they don't understand our compensation.


Anyway,


I'm really glad this worked out, and that we could discuss it! I love to look at all points of view. It really helps the learning process.





Happy New Year!


Meg

Thanks, Meg. I am glad it happened, too, because now I know it is something I want to train on with my team next month.


I woulnd't have cared so much about a lipstick, but if I would have found out she ordered $250 from someone else,that would have been adifferent storysmileys/smiley19.gifAlso, she signed up wholesale, I put her under my friend who had the party, who is on the fence about doing the business. She has gotten me about 4 good orders and 3 of them have signed up, so I have put them under her and talked her through how it works. I definitely think thisgal will be glad to be on her friend's downline for future purchases, etc.

Good Job. It's great that you have a "ready made" team for your friend. Its great when a plan falls into place.http://www.wahm.com/forum/smileys/smiley2.gif

Yeah, it is one of those fine lines, I am not going to just throw business her way, but she is beaming with positive testimony about the products and has shared with her friends and family. I had her and her husband on my main list of people I wanted on my team when I got started, but they are so up in the air. He is already in sales and is gone a lot, and she just had baby number 2, so they are not in the mood to take a risk. I hope by showing her how steadily it grows and how easy it is she (or more importantly he) will take the plunge. She doesn't even know how to use the internet or do email, though, so I am keeping it simple. If I end up having to do all the work because she is not teachable, then I may regret this later, but if (when) she decides to do it, if all her prospects were direct to me, it would be hard for her to get started. And this way, I still get paid on them as a DM until she decides.

Sorry...meds still in effect. That didn't post the way I meant it. I'll try again later.Edited by: Kiana's Mom