Is Mary Kay About Selling Products or Recruiting Distributors?

By on January 27, 2012 in Inventory & Selling, Recruiting

Written by SuzyQ

As sales directors we are continually taught that our job is to bring in new recruits. New recruits mean new inventory purchases and more production means a higher monthly commission check.

For those of you who are laboring under the assumption that we are taught to be concerned with your customer sales and numbers of classes you are having, it simply isn’t true. We are concerned with your customer list in that within that list, potential new unit members can be found. This is why we push you to bring models and guests to the weekly meetings and other events. Continue Reading →

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Mary Kay and Market Saturation

By on January 26, 2012 in Numbers in Mary Kay

Written by Lazy Gardens

Explaining the concept of market saturation, and why it’s next to impossible to build a viable retail selling business with Mary Kay.

I’ve noticed some Mary Kay training material that misuses the term “market saturation,” probably out of ignorance rather than malice. The materials claim that since Mary Kay users are only about 10% of the population, that the market is not saturated and there is lots of room for new consultants. Continue Reading →

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Mary Kay Skin Care Class: 12 Women, 30 Minutes, $500 Sold (Yeah, right.)

By on January 25, 2012 in Business Basics, Inventory & Selling

Where do I begin with this email to one Mary Kay national area? I believe that she may have had 12 women there. I believe she may have sold $500. But there’s no way it only took 30 minutes! The only way she could do that is to spend about 6 minutes on the class, and two minutes each with the guests.

I don’t mind when Mary Kay NSDs actually do some work and show their consultants how it’s done. I just wish they’d be honest in recounting the work they’ve done so as to set up realistic expectations for the consultants.

Here’s how the nsd describes her class: Continue Reading →

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Mary Kay’s motto is “God First…”

By on January 24, 2012 in Religion & Spirituality, Scripts & Training

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Written by The Scribbler

It’s a line that’s quick to be fired off at church, particularly post-service when recruiters are scrambling to grab sharp women and cart them off to the Golden Corral for their unit’s weekly “Onion Rings and Opportunities” event. “Mary Kay puts God first,” you may have heard them gush. “How many companies can make that claim?”

Well, Chik-fil-A, for one, but that’s not the point. As I’ve explained in previous articles, when God is mentioned in Mary Kay, it is the God of the Bible that is implied, in accordance with the faith that Mary Kay Ash practiced. But is God really first in Mary Kay – or is that throne reserved for someone else? Continue Reading →

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Trapped By the O Word in Mary Kay (Opportunity!)

By on January 23, 2012 in Culture & Manipulation

Written by Raisinberry

Year after year, as new consultants signed on, and old consultants disappeared, I started getting used to having heightened expectation for them, my unit, and my goals, only to watch all that crash and burn months later. It became apparent that of the independent beauty consultants that were going to attempt the “career path,” believing the stories they were told.

There would be a series of “try and fails,” and try again, and then a slow fade away. For them, their Mary Kay “dream” would become an occasional $200 as they needed something, or to avoid termination. With mountains of merchandise on their shelves, but not wishing to “close the door permanently,” I started to worry, at what cost was their participation? Continue Reading →

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Caption This Mary Kay Photo

By on January 21, 2012 in Caption This Photo

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Money Madness in Mary Kay

By on January 20, 2012 in Numbers in Mary Kay

Written by SuzyQ

I read with irony the new ordering contest and bonuses offered by Mary Kay on a regular basis. Order more and convince your team members to order more and earn a bonus, starting with $100. Order more and get a dollar store trinket. In previous days, I might have jumped all over this and in turn encouraged my unit to get on the stick with their team members.

In Mary Kay, money is real when you earn it. It is not when you spend it. When you spend it, it just means you entered some numbers off a credit card onto a computer screen, or wrote out a check from your Mary Kay account (with the Mary Kay Connections check). Continue Reading →

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Just Say No to MLM

By on January 19, 2012 in MLM Education

Written by Black Nova

Just keep saying “no.” I have learned when my friends invite me to MLM engagements of any sort to tell them that I have a personal rule of not supporting any form of MLM because I don’t believe in the business model.

Regardless of the quality of the product, if it is a direct selling business, I will not buy product or attend any parties or meetings. This was hard at first because it went against the code of being nice. But Mary Kay and MLMs like it count on this. This is why they still push parties. They know women will be guilted into “supporting” their friend’s new “business.” Real businesses have Grand Openings and don’t need to beg people to support them. Continue Reading →

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Demoting Your Husband From “Leader” To “Mary Kay Cadillac Coach”

By on January 18, 2012 in Relationships

Written by The Scribbler

What is a husband’s place in the Mary Kay venture? Should he stand quietly by, allowing his wife to do whatever he wants with his family’s finances? Should he be actively involved in running the Mary Kay “business”? Or should he just be a cheerleader?

I pondered whether or not this article would offend our readers; after all, it liberally uses the “S” word (submission), questions Mary Kay teachings, and looks to the Bible for clarification on such.  I decided to press onward; after all, if you’re an active MKer out there reading this, you’ve probably heard very offensive insinuations that you’re not a proper adult (i.e. a “Big Girl”) because you haven’t (insert task here).  If you can tolerate that kind of abuse, then you’re a strong individual and will come away even stronger after having read this piece. Continue Reading →

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Real Numbers on DIQ from a Former Mary Kay Director

By on January 17, 2012 in Career Ladder, Sales Directors

Written by Pinkslipping

Why do I share this? Because I’m not an exception to DIQ – I was the standard!!

Not to make excuses, but I was being led by my senior and her senior by with sayings such as “you are a find a way, make a way gal“, “you’ll never work as hard as you do in DIQ” and “the only way to fail is to quit“. Oh and my favorite line of all while I was in DIQ: “Your debuting unit is never the unit you have a year later“. Continue Reading →

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