I have a sticky situation and I'd love some input! (sorry - this will be long)
I had a HO lead back in Dec who was interested in the biz oppty. I emailed her and left a couple messages and never heard back. I figured this person lost interest and whatever - I wasn't going to hound her. She ended up calling me at the beginning of February. She wanted to look into it, but just started another job so she was going to see how that went and maybe sign up down the road.
She shared with me that her sister hosted a show in November and that's what got her thinking about PC. She had asked that consultant a couple questions, but didn't care for that consultant. I guess she wasn't very flexible, wouldn't do some things the host had asked for, etc. (She had wanted to do a "Mexican Fiesta" theme and somehow ended up doing a Cupcake Show at the consultant's encouragement). My HO lead knew that typically you sign up under the person you first meet in the biz, but she could tell that she just wouldn't click with this person. So, she contacted the HO and that's how I got her.
It turns out this other consultant is someone I know! I told the HO lead that I knew this other consultant. She's a hospitality consultant that comes to our meetings. Knowing her, I can kind of see why the HO lead didn't feel like she would be a good fit. She's nice and all, but kind of abrasive if you don't know her sense of humor. She's been a consultant for years, but has never been a director (another reason the lead was looking for someone with more experience in the training aspect).
So, fast forward to a month later and we had talked and met and she got very excited about PC. She decided she wanted to sign up now. She told me she felt bad that she wasn't going with this other consultant, even though she felt that consultant was NOT a good match for her and she didn't click with her. She wanted to sign with me. I told her that ultimately it was HER decision who she signs with and obviously it made sense to go with whomever she felt most comfortable with. BUT I told her I'd understand if she signed with the other one. I need to clear my conscience anyway!
SO, the other consultant had called her somewhere in this whole decision process. My new consultant ended up sending her an email, saying she signed with someone else and was very nice about it. She got an email back saying congratulations and it was a nice email.
Well, then I KNEW I had to tell her that I was the consultant she signed with since they'd run into each other at meetings and I didn't want to blindside her. So now she wants to know all the details of why she didn't sign with her and why I didn't let her (the hosp consultant-Chris) know she was talking to me. I didn't want Chris to hound her because the woman wasn't comfortable with her in the first place! Now I'm in a sticky situation. If I tell her why this woman didn't want to sign with her, it'll hurt her feelings and make her feel even worse I'm sure, but she wants me to be honest with her. I also don't feel it's my place to share these things the new consultant told me - that was between her and me.
Here are some excerpts:
"My question to you is, since you knew, before you signed her, that she had been to my show and I was working with her, why didn't you question her on it more? Why didn't you tell me about it?
Could have been super simple, possibly just being that stupid cupcake show. Wouldn't have been an issue, maybe.
That's my big question now, the whys. Is there any that you can answer for me?"
Then her next email before I had a chance to reply:
"I do need you and xxxxxxx both to do me a favor. I need to know what it was about "how I ran my business" that made her look elsewhere. I need to know if I'm doing something to run people off somehow."
I can understand wanting to know this.
I really don't know what to say. How I explained it in my email to Chris when I let her know was that the new consultant was curious to see how another consultant ran her biz and that's why she contacted HO. Then Chris is saying "Well, she has no clue how I run my biz....." and is sounding pretty bitter. I can understand - I've had a repeat host of mine that I kept in touch with out of the blue sign as a consultant with someone else. I saw her post it on FB! But this is a weird situation because we'll be at the same meetings!
Truly the HO lead and her sister who hosted felt that Chris was very rigid, pushed this idea of a show on them when they wanted something else. That's all I know, but I could tell that it put a bad taste in the new consultant's mouth and didn't want to work with someone who was like that. Telling these things to Chris would not be well-received.
I'm not sure how to answer her other questions either. I don't want to make this even more uncomfortable for my new consultant, but I feel like I'm being put in the middle.
Help!!! Aaaaah! Thanks so much - and thanks for reading. I know it was LONG!
I had a HO lead back in Dec who was interested in the biz oppty. I emailed her and left a couple messages and never heard back. I figured this person lost interest and whatever - I wasn't going to hound her. She ended up calling me at the beginning of February. She wanted to look into it, but just started another job so she was going to see how that went and maybe sign up down the road.
She shared with me that her sister hosted a show in November and that's what got her thinking about PC. She had asked that consultant a couple questions, but didn't care for that consultant. I guess she wasn't very flexible, wouldn't do some things the host had asked for, etc. (She had wanted to do a "Mexican Fiesta" theme and somehow ended up doing a Cupcake Show at the consultant's encouragement). My HO lead knew that typically you sign up under the person you first meet in the biz, but she could tell that she just wouldn't click with this person. So, she contacted the HO and that's how I got her.
It turns out this other consultant is someone I know! I told the HO lead that I knew this other consultant. She's a hospitality consultant that comes to our meetings. Knowing her, I can kind of see why the HO lead didn't feel like she would be a good fit. She's nice and all, but kind of abrasive if you don't know her sense of humor. She's been a consultant for years, but has never been a director (another reason the lead was looking for someone with more experience in the training aspect).
So, fast forward to a month later and we had talked and met and she got very excited about PC. She decided she wanted to sign up now. She told me she felt bad that she wasn't going with this other consultant, even though she felt that consultant was NOT a good match for her and she didn't click with her. She wanted to sign with me. I told her that ultimately it was HER decision who she signs with and obviously it made sense to go with whomever she felt most comfortable with. BUT I told her I'd understand if she signed with the other one. I need to clear my conscience anyway!
SO, the other consultant had called her somewhere in this whole decision process. My new consultant ended up sending her an email, saying she signed with someone else and was very nice about it. She got an email back saying congratulations and it was a nice email.
Well, then I KNEW I had to tell her that I was the consultant she signed with since they'd run into each other at meetings and I didn't want to blindside her. So now she wants to know all the details of why she didn't sign with her and why I didn't let her (the hosp consultant-Chris) know she was talking to me. I didn't want Chris to hound her because the woman wasn't comfortable with her in the first place! Now I'm in a sticky situation. If I tell her why this woman didn't want to sign with her, it'll hurt her feelings and make her feel even worse I'm sure, but she wants me to be honest with her. I also don't feel it's my place to share these things the new consultant told me - that was between her and me.
Here are some excerpts:
"My question to you is, since you knew, before you signed her, that she had been to my show and I was working with her, why didn't you question her on it more? Why didn't you tell me about it?
Could have been super simple, possibly just being that stupid cupcake show. Wouldn't have been an issue, maybe.
That's my big question now, the whys. Is there any that you can answer for me?"
Then her next email before I had a chance to reply:
"I do need you and xxxxxxx both to do me a favor. I need to know what it was about "how I ran my business" that made her look elsewhere. I need to know if I'm doing something to run people off somehow."
I can understand wanting to know this.
I really don't know what to say. How I explained it in my email to Chris when I let her know was that the new consultant was curious to see how another consultant ran her biz and that's why she contacted HO. Then Chris is saying "Well, she has no clue how I run my biz....." and is sounding pretty bitter. I can understand - I've had a repeat host of mine that I kept in touch with out of the blue sign as a consultant with someone else. I saw her post it on FB! But this is a weird situation because we'll be at the same meetings!
Truly the HO lead and her sister who hosted felt that Chris was very rigid, pushed this idea of a show on them when they wanted something else. That's all I know, but I could tell that it put a bad taste in the new consultant's mouth and didn't want to work with someone who was like that. Telling these things to Chris would not be well-received.
I'm not sure how to answer her other questions either. I don't want to make this even more uncomfortable for my new consultant, but I feel like I'm being put in the middle.
Help!!! Aaaaah! Thanks so much - and thanks for reading. I know it was LONG!