What do people expect/want from a consultant?

[Zan]

Not sure what I want or expect and there have been lots of posts from disillusioned customers and about missing consultants it got me thinking.
So what do you want from a consultant? How much work do you think they should put in? What sort of follow up should you receive (or want to have) etc.
Most consultants seem to get into for a love of the machine and quite a lot leave. Are expectations too high? They don't make much per purchase and have to put in a lot of behind the scenes stuff (or so I believe) so are customers (me, lol) expecting too much.
Is being in it for the 'sale' wrong? It is a business after all.
Your thoughts - as a customer or a consultant.

[CreamPuff63]

as far as satisfaction goes I would probably give my consultant 7.5 out of 10. The success of my TM has hinged on me finding this forum and also my DD embracing it as well at delivery time. I would say that this forum has kept up enthusiam over the initial 'learning curve, and its always nice to check into a forum with like minded people who have similar interests and posting new recipes.

Back on the subject of my consultant, as I always hear the latest news from the forum I would never be told about so many things as I am only emailed about Basics Classes. She can't work out how I am onto the latest news, and I am not going to tell her. She is too slow to respond to my emails and text messages, as she has another full time job although I think she is a GL. Gives a good demo, but was not the reason for me buying as I saw my SIL's machine and then went from there as to how to purchase. A very easy sale, but sometimes I wish that I could purchase things independently of my consultant as I don't feel she is deserving of such easy sales from me, and I will not recommend her for people that want to buy a machine.

[judydawn]

I don't really expect much from a consultant Zan as I just do my own thing (with the help of this forum  ) but I would have liked to have been told when she gave it up and I would have appreciated being handed over to another consultant for  simple reasons like:-

1) My machine plays up or breaks down
2) I want to order something
3) I know of someone who would like a demo

I think they are the main reasons. When my machine did have to be fixed, I rang H.O. and they organised with one of the GL's here to pick my machine up because her DH is the guy who fixes them.  I now have her contact number and email address but she is not in a suburb near to me so I would like to know if there is anyone closer whom I can actually call 'my consultant'.

If I want to order something I ring H.O. and order spare parts or recipe books through them so again not a huge problem but if the consultants get a small commission on these types of sales, I would like to see them getting the sale. It may not be worth their effort in which case I am quite happy to do the ordering myself.

Basically though, this forum answers any questions I have and the experience on here is such that there is not much we can't get an answer to - apart from the fact some of us don't know where our nearest consultant is 

[Bonsai]

I don't expect anything from a consultant - I find the forum and other websites the most useful way of getting info and advice regarding thermomix. After delivering my thermomix when DH was home and showing him how to boil water (is that the delivery demo ??  , I haven't heard from her since (apart from when I contacted her to purchase cookbooks).

Not many other appliances have a consultant to contact at no charge, and I wonder if thermomix users really need a lot of hands-on assistance as the machine is quite easy to use.

[Katya]

When I first joined this Forum I was puzzled by the mention of consultants as we don't have the same thing in the UK.  You are meant to have a demo before or just after buying, but they're not  too strict about that if you know someone who can show you the ropes.   

If we need anything, we can contact UK Thermomix and this Forum has educated me much more than any one person would have been able to.

I guess it's like anything else - if the consultant is good, they can enhance your TMX experience.   But if they aren't good, they could well put you off.

[Caroline J]

I don't expect anything really.  When I had a problem, I called HO.  In saying that, my consultant, and another I met at a friend's demo, go above and beyond what I would expect.  Newsletters, calls/emails to see how everything is going etc.  I am happy to have been able to refer 10+ sales to my consultant.  She appreciates it, and often gives me a cookbook to say thanks.

[obbie]

  Mine was a really easy sale for my consultant. i rang and ordered it, site unseen. Got my thermomix 10 days later, and a delivery demo the next day.

Every time i wanted to order cookbooks, i rang her, no worries.
She is not selling thermomix any more, as Joanna has now a full time job. I was happy with the service she gave me.

I have been adopted by Jo ( Quirky cooking), who is only about 15 minutes from me.  ( i picked up her card at the local Atherton show)

I think this website is fantastic, i am on here  every day. There are so many talented people on here, willing to help, which is great.

Robyn

[Chrissy]

I expect my consultant to have enthusiasm for the machine and appreciation for an easy sale. I would think that if a sale was made and a consultant was planning to be offline or away for the month after a sale was made that a good consultant would put you in touch with another consultant/GL to offer follow up and demo's.

I don't really like that in order to buy cookbooks a consultant would prefer you to order them your selves and pay for postage. Other consultants I know have them available for their customers without the postage fee added on.

I expect a consultant to inform all their customers of upcoming cooking classes or public demo's and not find out via another consultant.

If a consultant stops selling I would appreciate the courtesy of introducing me (even online) to another consultant in my area.

My main thing I would LOVE is if my consultant could let me know of host rewards/offers of things that I want to add to my TMX experience such as when the 2nd jug offer or a certain cookbook comes up as a host reward contact me and ask if I would like to book a demo.

[ThermomixBlogger]

Wow -- great thread Zan, and such a nice (positive) way of framing the question.

Almost one year ago I wrote a post on my blog about the value of demonstrator consultants ( http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/?p=5698 ) because I wanted to support all their hard work. But based on what I'm learning here, I may need to revise that post (!) Your thread and its responses bring up a lot of thoughts.

First I'd like to be clear that my perspective is that of someone who bought directly from a distributor and so have never had or met any consultant or seen a demo. Because I live in a country where Thermomix is still very unknown I am accutely aware of what a hard job it would be to make even one sale. In fact, that was my reason for starting the blog. I thought that with one strong well-rounded informative site a lot of progress could be made toward informing people. I hoped that by doing the job well, it might take some of the pressure off the consultants so they'd have an easier time of selling this outrageously expensive machine rather than spending all their time explaining what it was to people who have never heard of it.

Anyway, here are some of my thoughts:

history: There is much to be learned from reading all the fine print literature out there about the history of Vorwerk and their sales model. Vorwerk's has always been a door-to-door selling model and that is why the consultant/demonstrators exist. It made sense as a sales model originally, but really .... does it today? The internet has changed everything and this puts Vorwerk in a very awkward position where in they do not want consultant to use the power of the internet to sell machines. Even when back in 2009, I was told that Vorwerk forbade it's consultants from having websites ("blogs are okay, as long as you follow strict guidelines, but "sites" are not permitted") there were a few videos popping up online. No, it's not the same as being there and touching the machine, asking questions and smelling the food, but online demos can really do much of the pre-sale work for which consultants were previously required. I dearly hope that Vorwerk will have the ability to grow with the times because at this moment, I feel they are behind in some regards.

pricing and consultants: Given the historical door-to-door sales model it only makes sense that the consultants' wage/commission is built into the price. Should it not then follow that if a head office/distributor sells the machine directly to a client that commission amount should be subtracted from the price? (juss sayin...)  Vorwerk would likely say that each buyer should have a demo and if they forego the demo that is their prerogative. (Still... juss sayin...)

book sales: From what I'm reading here, there is no standard method as regards distribution of books and who pays for postage etc. What a mess! We can only hope that someone (or someTWO) up higher is reading this and will apply themselves to figuring out ways to improve service.

service: Yes, selling TMX is most certainly a business. But imho, no business should put sales above service. If you don't provide good service, how can you possibly expect people will recommend you for future sales? (Hello, am I alone on this one or what?)

It sounds like due to this forum there have been a lot of easy sales for some consultants and for head offices. You would think head offices were paying for the forum and paying for a team of moderators. That's only good business. Isn't it?

Oh, I feel myself digressing here. 

Bottom line is that the internet is changing everything. And more than that, the internet itself is changing. (So the thing that is changing the thing, is changing )  Just five years ago even, Vorwerk did not have customers in UK swapping stories with customers in AU or Spain or Canada. The chefs and home cooks in each of these countries were not bypassing consultants while inspiring people on the other side of the planet to buy the machine, as they do now in forums, blogs, and social media. Different countries do things differently and in most cases it doesn't matter much but this is one tight community that is PASSIONATE about one super machine. All of us are here because we love the machine so much, not because of the company, the consultants, the service or lack thereof.

I think you are right to expect a great deal from your consultants, especially those of you who are referring sales to them. I also think any consultant worth their weight in salt should be on this forum contributing as much as they can and giving back to the community that helps them get sales, and helps them with support issues. Those consultants who are here (and we know who you are ), are simply the best!

Mix on!

[quirkycooking]

Well said Helene, as usual! I'm finding this thread interesting too! As I said to Chrissy on her thread about changing consultants, I never had a consultant for the first five years or so of having a machine - my consultant didn't last long in the business because she was an older lady in a small country town where practically NO ONE had heard of the Thermomix, and it was really hard to sell them back then. I don't think there were Thermomix websites back then either, but I could be wrong... I just had two very basic cookbooks (one was a booklet), so I experimented and taught myself.  I would have loved to have had a consultant though, and when I finally found one in 2009, I was so excited and had lots of demos! She was a great help to me, and taught me so much. The first time she came over she was shocked to hear I'd never made the vege stock before, so she cleaned out my vege drawer straight away and made me a batch! She was very inspiring, and I began to use my Thermomix more than ever, and started loving it even more! And before long I became a consultant too! 

But thinking back to my pre-consultant days, I would have liked someone to keep in touch with, to check how I was going and offer ideas and advice and new recipes, classes to go to and demos to watch - that would have been great!!! Everyone thought I was 'a bit odd' about my strange kitchen machine, so it would have been nice to meet fellow 'Thermomixers' to swap ideas with!!!

As a consultant, I think it's important to keep customers up with what's going on in the Thermomix world, incentives, classes, competitions, etc - and just be available for advice and inspiration! I often invite customers over to my place to cook with me if they're having trouble with anything, or are new at it and need help. I've made some great friends this way!!   I really love all the forums and websites and chatting with all you guys, but I do think a real, live consultant who is helpful and available is very inspiring, and I'm so glad I found one a couple of years ago - it made all the difference! So I try to be that kind of consultant too.

[kezza]

This has been very interesting to read. I bought my machine 6 months after seeing a demo, and had to ring HO to find the consultant as I didn't have the correct phone number for her. Anyway I finally bought a machine off her and she delivered it, showed me basics and gave me a calendar and some extra recipes.  I have never heard from her since, although this has not bothered me as I am learning off this forum. I would, however, like to know when classes are on, when cookbooks come out and how do I meet some other people who own and use and love their Tmx.  I have said before that I learn more from doing rather than reading and it would be great to have others to experiment with.

[thermoheaven]

I have to say I'm happy with the consultant i have now and wish she was the one who sold me my machine. It seems that for too many customers, they are treated as a sale and nothing more. This is an issue HO should address, but I get the feeling that all they're interested in is the sale as well - after all, for them, business is business, and it's in their interest to support those consultants who make great sales figures and forget about the consultants who really do look after ther customers, and sales =/= good customer service, IYKWIM.

[quirkycooking]

Actually, that's not true about HO only being interested in sales, Thermoheaven  - I've just gotten back from training at HO, and that is DEFINITELY not what was emphasized!!! We were told over and over that "it's all about customer care" - Grace was very emphatic about that. We were told not to focus on the sales, but on looking after our customers and helping them to become confident in using their machines - when customers are happy, they'll tell their friends and sales will come, but we are not supposed to be 'salesmen'! Here's a quote from Grace's speech at the 10th Anniversary last week: "We don't teach consultants 'selling skills,' the product sells itself. We teach consultants 'people skills'. And that's really important." (Obviously some consultants have less people skills than others, and need to work on that, or give up the job!!) 

We have cooking classes and encourage customers to see both demos (basic & varoma) at least once so that they become more confident in using their tmx, and we encourage them to ring us if they need help - that's all part of customer care. If a consultant doesn't bother to keep in contact, and is not helpful, they really shouldn't be a consultant at all. Of course we all have customers who 'slip through the cracks', but often it's because they keep saying they don't want a demo, don't want to come to a class, and we don't want to keep bothering them if they'd rather 'go it alone' - I have a couple like that. I still send them emails, though, to keep them updated. And it's unfortunate that not all consultants pass on their customers contact details when they quit, so another consultant can look after them - I think that's important. But I would encourage anyone who doesn't have a consultant to ring head office and ask to be put into contact with one nearby, and make sure they're on a mailing list so they know what's going on and have someone to call if they need help. 

[Ferral Family]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has contributed here as I have just signed up to become a consultant and the info that has been put here will help me to become the best consultant I can be to my future customers.

[quirkycooking]

Congrats, FF - with an attitude like that you'll go far!!