Should We Be More Selective with Our Recruits?

[AMTC]

I'm just wondering if anybody ever recruited somebody and ended up sorry they did?

I'm not trying to put anybody down here...I know if I were my recruiter, I would have been sorry to have me on my team for the past two years (until recently at least). Doesn't it take more time to coach, encourage and motivate the hobbyists who are doing the minimum to get by? Would that time be better spent with people who are at least part-timers? I'm also taking a leadership class and the instructor said that people have to have the skills, knowledge and ability to do the job first and then they can be motivated and coached to performing better. Does everybody really have all three?

Also, I had a recruit last year who approached me. I signed her, coached her, tried my hardest to motivate her, offered my help, met with her several times and her one year anniversary just passed and she never did a show. Her original issue was that she did have a very sick extended family member for her first month or so, but she never got back to focusing on the business, even though she kept telling me she wanted to...

So I'm wondering if maybe it's wise to be a little bit selective?

Are you selective?

 

[wadesgirl]

I wouldn't be selective but you should also as your recruits how much "attention" they need from you.

ETA: You are going to find people who just aren't that stellar in the business... Does this mean that they don't deserve to be in this business? No, they have the right to do what they want to with their business. You are supposed to be there to share the opportunity with everyone.

 

[DebbieJ]

Yes, ask everyone. If you are selective, you are only hurting yourself not to mention withholding an opportunity from another person. What if someone had prejudged you and never told you about PC?

 

[Jules711]

I think ask everyone, except people you wouldn't WANT to work with. After all, YOU get to choose. As for hobby/PT/FT, that doesn't matter. If you are a hobbyist, then I don't think you need much coaching unless you'd like to step up your business. All I ask is that they are honest with me. If they are planning to do the bare minimum or nothing at all, just TELL me!

 

[cmdtrgd]

When it comes to coaching and training, they need to put in the effort and you match it.

 

[sfdavis918]

I agree, ask everyone. With that said though, make sure that you don't spend more time on their business than they do. Definitely ask them what kind of contact they would like and need. Keep them in the loop with newsletters and such and then follow up with the help that they requested.

 

[AMTC]

What if someone had prejudged you and never told you about PC?

FWIW nobody did ever ask me - I pretty much signed online.

 

[cmdtrgd]

Annie,You said "I know if I were my recruiter, I would have been sorry to have me on my team for the past two years (until recently at least)."Did you think about that when you wrote it? Just because you haven't been a "top performer" or even consistent for the past two years does not mean that you can't change that. What changed YOU?

 

[pamperedbecky]

I'd still ask everybody. You never know who is going to take this business and make it help them achieve their dreams. FYI, even some who have seemed like TOTAL go-getters and a perfect consultant don't always follow through. By the way, we ALL have consultants every once and awhile who just don't work out in the biz. It happens and even though you spend a lot of time trying to get them started and excited, unless THEY have it in them to make a solid "go" at it, there's nothing you can do to make them do the biz.

I've often heard of this "equation" in reference to your team: 1/3 consistently working the business, 1/3 coming into the business and 1/3 going out of the business. That's just the way it flows. Good luck to you!! I know there are PLENTY of consultants out there who wouldn't even have given the business a 2nd thought (or 1st for that matter) unless they were asked and it planted the seed. (Hello my lovely consultant Gina M!! That was her and I'd have been SOOOO bummed to not have the opportunity to have gotten to know her and have her on my team. She's an awesome friend and consultant!!)

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Okay - I have to admit I don't ask everybody! There have been some hosts who I could hardly wait to be done with - and I didn't ask them....I didn't like working with them as hosts.....so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like having to deal with them on a regular basis!

So, I guess I ask "just about" everyone....but there have been a few notable exceptions!

 

[vtodd71]

I think ask everyone, except people you wouldn't WANT to work with. After all, YOU get to choose. As for hobby/PT/FT, that doesn't matter. If you are a hobbyist, then I don't think you need much coaching unless you'd like to step up your business. All I ask is that they are honest with me. If they are planning to do the bare minimum or nothing at all, just TELL me!

But what if you do TELL them and they just don't get it? I consider myself a part time consultant since I have a full time job. I don't ever see myself doing this full time because I love my job. But I feel lots of pressure from everyone, including HO, to recruit, recruit, RECRUIT!

 

[cmdtrgd]

Todd - you have to realize that HO (and most directors) are focused on building. If they didn't focus on that, the training wouldn't get done. There are some things that HO offers that just can't fit into my life/schedule/etc., so I choose not to go for them. That is the key - CHOOSING what you want and then asking for help. Once you choose what you want to do, go for it!Just out of curiosity, why don't you want to recruit (that's the feeling I get from your post)?

 

[DebbieJ]

Okay - I have to admit I don't ask everybody! There have been some hosts who I could hardly wait to be done with - and I didn't ask them....I didn't like working with them as hosts.....so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like having to deal with them on a regular basis!

So, I guess I ask "just about" everyone....but there have been a few notable exceptions!

Yeah, those people are out there. :yuck: :yuck:

 

[pamperedbecky]

I don't ever see myself doing this full time because I love my job. But I feel lots of pressure from everyone, including HO, to recruit, recruit, RECRUIT!

That's great that you're happy where you're at with your biz. The "focus" on recruiting and all that they provide in terms of training, support and rewards for recruiting are VERY helpful for those consultants who do choose to go that route. If it's not for you, then that's totally fine too. It's too bad that your director/recruiter or whomever you're referring to doesn't take your goals into consideration I guess. The company is not forcing consultants to recruit. It's not a requirement, luckily. They just put the tools and resources out there - it's everyone's personal choice as to whether or not they want to go down that road.

 

[hperschnick]

I think that you should ask everyone. That being said I have to confess that I have just recently started doing that. You never know what thier situation is or how serious they will be about it. I would hate to know that I determined someone didn't need the opportunity and they lost their house because of whatever situation they were in and PC could have solved their problem. I also agree that there are some people that I would prefer not to work with (a current host comes to mind!!) but I'll still talk to him about it when the time comes. I wouldn't have signed if I hadn't been asked. We shouldn't make life decisions for others... but present the opportunity so they can make their own decisions.

 

[Gina M]

I'd still ask everybody. You never know who is going to take this business and make it help them achieve their dreams. FYI, even some who have seemed like TOTAL go-getters and a perfect consultant don't always follow through. By the way, we ALL have consultants every once and awhile who just don't work out in the biz. It happens and even though you spend a lot of time trying to get them started and excited, unless THEY have it in them to make a solid "go" at it, there's nothing you can do to make them do the biz.

I've often heard of this "equation" in reference to your team: 1/3 consistently working the business, 1/3 coming into the business and 1/3 going out of the business. That's just the way it flows. Good luck to you!! I know there are PLENTY of consultants out there who wouldn't even have given the business a 2nd thought (or 1st for that matter) unless they were asked and it planted the seed. (Hello my lovely consultant Gina M!! That was her and I'd have been SOOOO bummed to not have the opportunity to have gotten to know her and have her on my team. She's an awesome friend and consultant!!)

Aw Gee Becky - you are too sweet! Yes Becky is so right - I had no inkling to become a consultant - we met and I won a free show - did my show 2 months later and became a consultant a few weeks after that. I love that I did and am so glad I met Becky too! She is a great director and great friend

 

[pamperedbecky]

Aw Gee Becky - you are too sweet! Yes Becky is so right - I had no inkling to become a consultant - we met and I won a free show - did my show 2 months later and became a consultant a few weeks after that. I love that I did and am so glad I met Becky too! She is a great director and great friend

Awwww, that's sweet too. Those are nicer things than I've heard from my husband today...and it's Valentine's Day!! (But to give him credit, he's not home from work yet ).

 

[BethCooks4U]

We can't read minds and don't know what is happening in someone's life or what they can handle. We should put it out there for everyone and let them make the decision. I have learned to ask everyone.

I have a woman on my team who is in her 60's. She has battled breast cancer twice, had a mastectomy, has diabetes, a husband with heart problems, etc. I would never have asked her. I met her at a Cooking Class I gave and she immediately LOVED our products. She had a couple shows with me. At one point she overheard me talking to someone about consultanting and catalog shows. Later she asked more about doing catalog shows. I was shocked "Do you want to do this?" How rude of me. She is a hobbyist but is a steady consultant on my team.

That's just one example. You never know. Everyone is worth the time. Once someone is past their first 90 days I match their efforts with mine but even if they are MIA I still leave an occasional message and they still get all my emails.

 

[cmdtrgd]

Belinda Ellsworth has a story about a consultant she recruited. This gal was young, shy, little money and not that well dressed. She asked everyone that night at the show and this gal was interested. Turns out that the recruit tells her months/years later that she had been in the foster system and had just turned 18 that week. She was given some money, the clothes she owned and basically kicked out of her "home". This gave her not only the money she needed, but confidence, too. I believe (and I could be wrong on this one) that she was suicidal at that time, too. So, you NEVER know what someone's situation is. They may have had to get up at 4am to get themselves ready for work, drag the kidlets out of bed, get them to the daycare in their pj's and pick them up again at 6pm, get home to make dinner, do homework and go to be to do it all again the next day. I don't know about you, but I would be clawing my way out of that situation if I could! You have no idea if someone's spouse just lost their job, if there is a severely ill person in their household, if this is the first time they have been away from the kids in 4 months, if they have more bills than income, whatever!

 

[BethCooks4U]

Another true story:

A sister director in my cluster was divorced and was left with a lot of debt. She made just enough money to pay her bills each month with enough left to buy gas or food. She chose gas so she could get to work. Every night she went to her mom or sister's home around dinner time - they thought maybe she was lonely.

Then she was invited to a PC party. She went because they have food. Someone said that she could so do this. She borrowed the kit fee ($100 at the time) from her brother and earned $140 on her first commission check. She repaid him and went to the grocery store for the first time in 2 years. Her mom was at one of her shows a few months later and heard her story for the first time, bringing her to tears - she had no idea what her daughter was going through - no one did.

 

[Jules711]

Those are awesome stories. I agree that we shouldn't judge whether someone would want to do PC. And Todd, as for what if you tell them and they don't get it? Tell them again and that you'll contact them when you need something. I'm sorry that you aren't having a good experience regarding that. I agree that HO is definitely putting more emphasis on recruiting, but we can still decide not to.