WAHM Forums

Hey gals! O.k., I have had 2 situations arise in the past week where I have been asked to help/inform/give samples to someone who will be signing up under someone else. I know we all swap ideas and encouragement here, though we are all in different downlines, but what would you do? I got a referral from a friend of a girl that wanted to know more info about A..... I called her tonight and she said her friend sold it out of state, so she wants to buy through her, but she hasn't gotten much info. from her friend and wanted to know if I would still get together w/ her to tell her about the products. She didn't even know she could get the discount for $29. I want to help her, but how do I kindly let her know that I am doing this for nothing really and I am doing all the work for her friend? Should I insist she come to my house? Ugghh, what to do, what to do. The other sitaution was from a consultant that contacted me from out of state and wanted me to basically train her friend who lives by me. I am not sure about that. I mean, I don't mind if someone comes to any trainings that I will eventually have. My goal is to start my own Discover Arbonne meetings and trainings and all are welcome. What is the ethical thing to do, w/o volunteering a bunch of free time? My time is limited anyways.smileys/smiley5.gif

Yikes, not fun situations. I have helped with training a couple of gals on the board but I feel like that is different b/c I consider them friends so I am happy to do so. smileys/smiley1.gif


I realize we are all about helping each other & whatnot...which is one of the wonderful things about the company. However, there are some situations where it just isn't a good thing to do. This girl doesn't understand it yet but what she's asking you to do itkinda rude. This would take time from you that could be spent with someone who is interested in signing up with you.


Let her know that you wish you could help her but that your philosophies may not match her friend's philosophies. As such she really needs to get that information from her friend. Actually I think people cross training friends is starting to cause a stink b/c my upline has emailed us to not do it. In an email about ethics & policies stuff it said "If a consultant doesn’t like their upline, you can be friends with sidelines, but refer them to their upline for trainings" I guess some VP's are getting irritated that their downlines are learning different ways to do things, I don't know. At any rate it gets you out of training a girl who is signing up with her friend. It's her friends responsibility & you shouldn't be doing all the work for her.


As far as the other consultant goes. When she says train did she mean that she can come to the meeting you guys do? (whichare usually open to other consultants so not a biggie) Or does she mean actually train her? That is just wrong. It doesn't matter if you are far from your team or not, it is your responsibility to train them. It's in the contract you signed. And it's just plain rude to think another consultant is going to take up her valuable time to do it for you. What kind of example does that set with your team anyway? I think that the email I told you about what myVP sent about training would help in this situation also. If you aren't comfortable saying no then just use that as an excuse, that we aren't supposed to do that.





Edited by: Soonergirl74

I would direct her to the main website (a WEALTH of info!) Let her know to make her list of questions and contact her out-of-state friend. Just let her know your time is pretty booked between your family and working with your personal team right now.


With regards to training, like it was mentioned, local meetings are open to people attending. For you to personally take in another consultant isn't necessary, as there (again) is a WEALTH of FREE on-line training available!!!


The upline should be able to help her new person "laser focus" what she should do get started.

LOL, SwissSkin has a more diplomatic solution. And of course she is totally right...the website is fantastic for information. And for consultants you can't beat the training on there!

Thanks for all the advice! I am still a bit confused though b/c the first lady doesn't want to do the business, she just wants to learn more about the products. So, it would just confuse her if I mentioned uplines and trainings when she just wants to know which line works for her skinsmileys/smiley2.gif! To me, it is like having someone prepare your taxes, but you pay someone else for the work!! I have thought about asking her for referrals or if she would host a party for me since I am offering my assistance, but then I thought, well what if she decides to do the business one day and all of her friends have accounts under me??? It is just frustrating b/c I have been praying for more referrals and contacts. Maybe I need to be more specific!smileys/smiley5.gif


O.k., I think I am going to call her back and explain that I would love to help and that I give great customer assistance to MY customers, but she may want to check with her friend first. Her friend may not want her dealing with another consultant, and she might be thrilled to give her the information she needs. She mentioned her friend is new in the business and doesnt know much yet. Should I refer her to her friends upline?Edited by: bbrown1226

O.k., I called her and left a message. I basically said that I think she should contact her friend and let her know she is interested in buying some products and she has questions. I of course was polite and even said that her friend will probably be thrilled that she is calling and if she doesn't know the answers, she should check w/ someone in her upline. I said her friend may not even want her to be dealing w/ another consultant. I said I would feel better ethically if she contacted her friend first.

Great way to handle it!

That's a very good way to handle it. I have been in similar
situations recently, not someone wanting to buy products, but someone
needing help with her business. It is very tricky to know what is
the right thing to do. I have found that some people don't know
that if their sponsor is not available or responsive, that they can
actually go to their upline managers and VPs to plug into
trainings. Almost every VP has an email loop and sends
information about the available trainings. Many of the trainings
are even by phone, and if the consultant's sponsor is not plugged in,
the consultant may not know anything about it.