How Are You Doing With the New "Lead System"

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Discussion Overview

The thread centers around participants' experiences and opinions regarding the new lead system implemented for Pampered Chef consultants. Many express frustration over not receiving leads, while others share mixed feelings about the changes in how leads are distributed.

Discussion Character

  • Opinion-based
  • Anecdotal
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a consultant, notes they have not received any leads since the new system was introduced, expressing a preference for the previous "lottery" method.
  • Another participant mentions that despite meeting all requirements, they have only received sales and no leads, questioning where the leads are going.
  • Several users mention that many consultants, including those who meet the sales requirements, are not appearing in lead searches, leading to concerns about the fairness of the system.
  • One participant shares that their downline received a lead, indicating some success within their team despite the overall dissatisfaction.
  • Another participant expresses frustration over the complexity of the new system, suggesting it may deter customers from engaging with consultants.
  • Some participants express mixed feelings about the inclusion of lower-level consultants in the lead pool, with a desire for the previous requirements to remain in place.
  • One participant highlights that they have seen the same names repeatedly in lead searches, raising concerns about the distribution of leads.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ significantly among participants, with many expressing dissatisfaction and frustration over the new lead system, while a few acknowledge some positive outcomes for their teams.

Contextual Notes

Participants are discussing their personal experiences with the new lead system, focusing on the impact it has had on their ability to receive leads and the overall effectiveness of the changes.

Who May Find This Useful

Consultants who are navigating the new lead system and seeking to understand the experiences of their peers may find this discussion relevant.

sandilou said:
Ha! We know how often THAT happens! Does HO have their heads in the sand?? :(

Sandi

It is especially crazy....a very double standard message since they always tell us to get contact info so WE can follow up. So unless there is some law they have to follow that we dont know about, it is very likely no one will bother. Before, they didnt because they thought theywere placing an order online without being "bothered" by a consultant.

The only ones who might are the ones looking for a show or business info....if they are really serious about it.
 
I've had one show lead....it was a show and the host sent me a Contact Me email. Prior to the new system I was getting 3 - 4 a month. I have no idea what's happening to those leads now. Maybe the HO is weeding out all the warped microcooker lid problems but I seriously doubt it! But on the bright side I have had at least four calls asking me to participate in advertising with various golfclubs in my area!! "Target" market apparently....they obviously have not been on any golfcourse in my area recently!
 
Yeah, and those that want their 20yr old scraper or stone replaced free!

Sandi
 
Sorry to hear the new lead system isn't what it used to be.

When I joined 5 years ago, they gave me a director over a 1/2 hour drive away. Later I found another one not even 5 minutes away. I always wondered why they did it that way - so inconvenient for me.
Just saying, the new system might not take distance into account. The old one sure didn't seem to!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #35
Before this, it seemed more "fair"...your name was put on a rotation and someone who wanted info would just put their contact info in and you sat and waited for it...I've had many leads who were more than a half hour away, and no one seemed to mind...I've also had ones that are 5-10 minutes from me. It just seems odd that hardly anyone who has responded to this thread, who used to have 4-5 leads per month like myself, now have NOTHING. It's very discouraging and I will be honest...it has shown in my business. I didn't "rely" on leads for shows, but they counted for probably 2 shows a month for me...
 
Let's be honest. We no longer have a lead system. Now customers just go to PC.com and can search for a consultant. If THEY choose they can contact one of the consultants. A lead system gves US the info of someone who wants something.

I have looked for info from other companies and gotten names of consultants and never contacted them for the very reasons people are not coming to us. With our old lead system many seemed bogus but I am sure that most of those were people who wanted info from the company but didn't want a consultant or were afraid they would be bothered too much by that person. If they gave us real contact info we were in charge and could actually help the person. Many just wanted a replacement or small item but ended up booking a show once they were comfortable with me.

What a loss for our company and our businesses.
 
I actually spoke to our Home Office last week about this and shared my feelings on it. We NEED to flood the new web email address about this. This is what I was told- there is an issue with the zip code calculator. It is supposed to give you a consultant in the zip code, or the closest consultants, when a customer enters the zip code. It isn't doing that. They are aware of it and are working on a fix. As for us getting the contact information- this is the new way the web is setup and isn't going to be changed anytime soon. I agree with everyone else- this simply isn't fair to us or the potential customers. They can keep the new requirements (and I don't agree with them, I get they are supposed to help the consultant level, but I am sorry, you need to sell more than $1250 one month to get leads) but give us the contact information. Customers are NOT going to go the extra step and contact us. I am sorry, but that isn't how it works. (And yes, I told the Home Office this.) I also need to add- when I called the Home Office it was a 1.5 hour wait. The reason I am mentioning this is because I haven't waited to talk to the Home Office in YEARS! Clearly something isn't right!
 
Off topic but has anyone noticed that the visit our new website like is off the PC main website and there is a smaller link at the top saying visit our beta site? Interesting.
 
I wonder how long before HO sees the results with regards to the actual $$$$. THEY lose also when customers dont follow through.

As a consumer, when I go to a website, if I get to a point where I am told I have to contact a consultant or company agent to complete a purchase, guess what I do? i LEAVE THE SITE! If I was looking for a kitchen item, and that happened, I would log off and go to Target or wait until I found someone I could talk to. HO will eventually see the downward trend in sales, if they refuse to listen to us.
 
heather223 said:
I actually spoke to our Home Office last week about this and shared my feelings on it. We NEED to flood the new web email address about this. This is what I was told- there is an issue with the zip code calculator. It is supposed to give you a consultant in the zip code, or the closest consultants, when a customer enters the zip code. It isn't doing that. They are aware of it and are working on a fix. As for us getting the contact information- this is the new way the web is setup and isn't going to be changed anytime soon. I agree with everyone else- this simply isn't fair to us or the potential customers. They can keep the new requirements (and I don't agree with them, I get they are supposed to help the consultant level, but I am sorry, you need to sell more than $1250 one month to get leads) but give us the contact information. Customers are NOT going to go the extra step and contact us. I am sorry, but that isn't how it works. (And yes, I told the Home Office this.)

I also need to add- when I called the Home Office it was a 1.5 hour wait. The reason I am mentioning this is because I haven't waited to talk to the Home Office in YEARS! Clearly something isn't right!

I don't get all the problems that they are having.....my husband is a computer programmer and has worked on lots of new systems and I can't ever remember them having problems like this. Really makes me wonder who they hired to do their projects and did they talk to "real" people who use the systems before they started the programming process. I'm really aggravated with the new lead process, too. Have not received anything and when I go to put in addresses of my neighbors looking for a consultant, I don't even show up.
 
I have contacted HO concerning the so called lead system several times. Their logic fails me...but all I know is that I have a lead that live 82 miles from me. This is not an improvement in my eyes.
 
I have gotten 1 random, h.o. sent, order/lead this entire month. That's one of the ones where someone simply goes online to purchase and doesn't look for a consultant. I have gotten NO leads this month and only 1 since May (for a cornbutterer). I know they are loosing sales, they HAVE to be!

I have done consultant searches for other d.s companies when looking for consultants to participate in a vendor event. Most other ones will give you EVERY active consultant, their title, their town location, distance from your address, phone, email, and website. In my opinion, if they want to forgo the prior lead system, this is the way to go. Don't give "random" names, give them all!
 
I think that when you have to create an account to order from someone's show that that will cause people to leave the site. My husband gets so aggravated when he's on a web page and that make you create an account.....he won't even bother.....he'll go find somewhere else to order. So do they have to create an account to just look around or to look for a consultant? If so, I see less sales/leads in the future....although there have been a lot less sales/leads so not sure how much worse it could get.
 
The distance thing doesn't bother me. I live in a valley of 4 towns and we all do biz in all of them. Most of mine are in the biggest one 1/2 hour away. If the leads were by distance only, I would really loose out. I haven't gotten a lead (except for a few online sales) since mid-April. :confused:

Sandi
 
Well, with the announcement that was just released (see the "just heard" thread), I wonder how it will affect the lead system.
 
baychef said:
I have contacted HO concerning the so called lead system several times. Their logic fails me...but all I know is that I have a lead that live 82 miles from me. This is not an improvement in my eyes.

This is what they told me was wrong- it should be consultants that are the closest!
 
After today's email about the new web, I know in my heart they are going to fix all of this for us! I am still excited about the new web and can't wait to use it once it works properly.
 
heather223 said:
After today's email about the new web, I know in my heart they are going to fix all of this for us! I am still excited about the new web and can't wait to use it once it works properly.

It benefits THEM to fix things.
 
heather223 said:
This is what they told me was wrong- it should be consultants that are the closest!

Also, I have not had a HO Lead since May! I have worked for 6 1/2 years to get to Director & keep my Sales high enough to qualify every month & recruit every 3-4 months to keep my leads, just to have them taken away really Stinks!! Something is VERY wrong with the NEW system! Stepping off the soap box.... ;)
 
I wonder how the change to beta will affect the lead system.
 
Ginger428 said:
Also, I have not had a HO Lead since May! I have worked for 6 1/2 years to get to Director & keep my Sales high enough to qualify every month & recruit every 3-4 months to keep my leads, just to have them taken away really Stinks!! Something is VERY wrong with the NEW system! Stepping off the soap box.... ;)

I agree. I still do not like the new requirements. Not trying to offend anyone, but you need to submit more than $1250 in sales to get leads.
 
I should clarify my post about the zip code thing- some customers were getting results for consultants 200-300 miles away. Clearly that is not right.
 
I got a call from a lady yesterday who found my name after doing a search on the website. She said 6 names came up. She didn't know where anyone lived & contacted me. Ends up she is over 70 miles away & wants to do a catalog show, so we are working on that. I don't know why she picked me over anyone else. I did a search using her address and my name never came up.
 
I have only received one online sale since May...and it's a regular customer who orders online! I am not impressed with the lead system at all...my online sales have been decent up until now. I hope Home Office will reconsider going back to the old way of dividing them up. At least I would get some shows and consultant leads once in a while with the old system! Very frustrating!!!
 
Besides the change in who gets leads, I wonder if there is something about the new system (it's a harder process?) that is making customers less likely to follow through -- thus fewer leads for everyone. If that's the case, then there is yet another part of the "wonder system" that needs to be changed.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #56
Well, here it is almost the last day of the month and I have not received one online order for any sales...anyone else for August?
 
I got one. I've gotten roughly one a month since May. The real test will be these upcoming months when we would have been getting daily "leads" and online orders. I know personally last year I got about $1000 in random online orders over the holiday season.
 
I was qualified, but did not get any orders or leads.
 
I didn't do a total of $1250 in June & July COMBINED (rough summer), but got 5 orders on my website from customers whom I don't recognize. Are they leads? Are they folks seeing my name come up and picking me? I have no idea. I haven't gotten any leads for shows or recruits.
 
Haven't received any leads to follow up with, but have received a couple of small orders from names I don't recognize.....so I'm just assuming they are HO leads....however, the 2 orders I have received have been under $10......last year during the holidays they were much better. Hoping that happens again this year!
 

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