Suckering Recruits Into Ordering As Much As Possible
Mary Kay Cosmetics is all about the initial inventory order. They know if they don’t get you to buy right away, you almost certainly will never by much. (Mainly because you will quickly see how hard it is to find anyone who wants to buy the products from you!) Here’s one way of squeezing a large order out of a new beauty consultant.
This piece is by one of my favorite brainiacs, Mary Kay national sales director Anita Garrett-Roe. We’ve learned in previous posts how Anita goes about stealing recruits while technically following the rules, why it’s a good thing to have a class with no sales when a new recruit is watching, and a sneaky little technique she calls “backup recruits”.
Today’s lesson is all about getting a big inventory order out of a new recruit. This is something that the do-it-fasters like Dacia Wiegandt call “pulling inventory”. (Isn’t “pulling” so appropriate? Kinda like pulling teeth?)
What I do on the inventory is not to give them a packet to read without me being there. Instead, I like to be there with them to understand their concerns as they think about whether or not to get inventory. If they go through this alone, they may not understand how we sell more by having products on hand at the classes. As Mary Kay said, “You can’t do business from an empty wagon!” It is better for me to be there with them and to guide them through how we think about this.
People do not read everything that we give them. I know you know this from selling our products. Someone still has to make the sale. This is what a professional sales person does, whether it be in real estate or insurance. It is all in the words we use. A professional sales person creates the need and fills it.
Instead, I take the packet to them, and go over it with them in a positive way. I set this appointment up to occur at least one day after the agreement is signed and sent in. I never do it at the same appointment, since I want her to have made some calls and booked some classes before I explain the company specials or inventory. If she is only reading about inventory all by herself and has questions or concerns you don’t know what they are. Her husband does not know about the support we give to her to sell it and also the buy back guarantee. I don’t know of any business you can start for this low of an amount and with a 90% buy back guarantee. Of course, this does not include the starter kit, but she is getting over $300 of product in that case for her personal use and for demonstrating.
So, I get with them, for explaining company specials, so they will know what the company is giving away free right now.
You can explain Star Consultant, the prizes, and show them the ladders.
Then, you show the brochure with the photographs of the various sized orders. I start with the highest order, and they are may feel this is way too big an amount to buy to mark up and sell. But then I flip back to the $600 one and show that one. Then, I flip back to the start of the booklet, show the $3600 order, then the $3000 one and on down back to the $600. With each of these, I write down the dollar amount of what they will get free by adding the categories together. Next to the picture and this total, I write, FREE.
Then, I slowly flip from the $600 to the $1200 to the $1800 order, and pause. I point out how each one is better than the one before it, and why because they will have more things to show at their classes.
The $1800 order is really a decent order since you get all the free things, plus you are a Star Consultant. But the $3600 order is still by far the best way to go because your perfume department is open, your nail care department is open, you spa department is open, your men’s department, well, all of them!
And, THIS is what you get free!! You get the New Consultant Special which is $XX plus the other things from the Applause Magazine of $XX for a grand total of $XX!
Then I say, It doesn’t really matter to me which way you start. It is really up to you. but I like to see people go with at least a Star Consultant order since you get so much more free. Now, most people don’t have a lot of cash lying around, so they put it on a credit card. Mary Kay realizes this, and that is why they are giving you so much free, because when you sell it there is more than enough to pay your interest! It is like having an interest free loan on your credit card. Usually a bank will not do a loan for under $4000, so consultants who use the bank usually start with at least a $3600 order.
For you, which order looks the best for you, do you feel? It doesn’t really matter to me…but it is a good idea to have some inventory to start with….
Then I keep my eyes on the pictures, but WAIT for her to say something. If she says, $600, I don’t say, Yippee! That’s wonderful! Instead, I say, Well, that is an ok order but if you could do just a little bit more, say the $1200 here, that would be so much better for you…, if you can’t go as high as the $1800. Sometimes by saying this, they will upgrade their choice to the $1200, or even sometimes $1800, whereas if I left it alone, all they would order would be the tiny $600 order.
The thing to remember is this: Either they sell YOU or you sell THEM! So, be aware that you may be able to upgrade someone from their first reaction. I have never had anyone tell me later that they wished they had ordered $600 instead of the $1200 or the $1200 instead of an $1800.
There was a time when I only talked about $600 orders, but then someone was disappointed when she realized what she could have gotten free if I had just told her. So, I decided to stop trying to decide for people what they might want to do in the way of inventory. I present the facts and it up to them to decide how they want to start their businesses.
Also, if they say, Gee, I can’t afford it, then YOU say, “How’s your credit because a lot of women just put it on their credit card or take a loan from the bank. Essentially the free product when sold will give you the money to pay the interest, so it is like having an interest free loan! How’s your credit?
If she says, OK, then quite often I will say, “Well, if you were my own sister, I’d tell you to take out a loan and get the $3600 order, because you will be able to start with a complete inventory!”
If she says to the credit question, “Not so good, we had a pickup repossessed last year… you say, well, that’s ok, you can just bloom where you are planted. You can start with just the showcase, but it is better if you can find some money from somewhere to get some inventory. Do you have 9 people who would each lend you $200 each for 6 months, 9 people who believe in you enough for you to start your own business? Or, three people to lend you $600 would be the same, enough to be a Star Consultant, not counting tax.” Sometimes I say, “What about your grandmother, one of your ex-husbands, someone you know…do you have anything you can sell that you don’t want in order to raise the money?” This lets them know I am serious about them getting some inventory, and it puts the responsibility clearly on her shoulders. Do not offer to use your own inventory to help her start because it will make her weak, and she may never order, if she can use you for her warehouse. That is not fair to you. You can say, if she brings it up, “My accountant won’t let me.”
Listen to what she says, and then you know what to say. Because most women don’t have money lying around for this, and they use their credit card or take out a loan from the bank to pay for it. Essentially, the free product when sold means that Mary Kay is paying your interest, so it is an interest free loan!!
Just remember that if you are sure of yourself, they will be too. You either sell them, or they sell you on why it is not possible. If she does not choose to get inventory, she is the one making the choice.
I also mention that Mary Kay knows the women need inventory, but at the same time she realized they were conservative, so that is why we get all the free things, so that makes it seem like our loan is interest free, AND we have a 90% buy back policy. That is wonderful! If something were to happen like a train wreck or quadruplets, you would have a way to send it back and get 90% of your money back, so you can’t lose because of all the free things they are giving you. But the catch is, they will never let you back in the company again if you send back inventory and get out. Instead, if someone is slowing down, they trade with other consultants to get more cleansers, and then have a sale with their customers, and gradually phase out. This way they can come back in again whenever they are ready.
If they are still not sure, keep pedaling. By this I mean that you talk about when she is going to start her first classes, and making her list of who she is going to ask. Confidently talk to her about her going forward with her classes, with or without inventory. But she will get to thinking about how she really needs some merchandise there to sell at her first parties. You will get a call, “I’ve got the money, my husband is giving it to me!”
I know you can successfully guide them to starting with a decent inventory. It is not hard, but I recommend meeting with them like this rather than being passive and handing out a packet. That leaves too much to chance, no matter how well-crafted the words are. You are better off meeting with them than just giving out a packet. She will have questions and you want to be there to answer them.
(I do recommend that at the first visit you coach her and give her a script on how to book her first classes, and also help her select her Kick Off Week for when she is getting started. Don’t let any grass grow under her feet. Plunge her into the business. It is great if she has already set up a couple of classes before you have your inventory talk. You call the inventory talk, “letting her know about the Company Specials and what they are giving away free right now.” IF she has a couple of classes booked, she will clearly realize how convenient it will be to have product on hand to give out.
Obviously, if she is out of town, you have to do this on the phone with her. Also, when I discuss starting her business, I let her know about the Perfect Start and the Power Start.
But then I say, “Our group does something that is a cut above the rest of the Mary Kay world. In our unit, most of the consultants pick out a two week window for kicking off their business, and in this two week period, they book 8 and hold at least 5 beginning classes. It is easier to ask the people you call for a gathering instead of just a private facial. If they say no to the class, you can always just do the facial. It is faster and by holding classes you get the 15 or 30 faces done very quickly and make some quick money. So, I want to challenge you to do the Book 8, Hold 5 in a two week period.
Let’s take a look at the calendar and pick out your two week window. What looks good to you? She will pick something out, and even is she has not made an inventory decision, she is starting her business with or without product. This puts pressure on her to DECIDE about inventory, and you don’t have to keep talking about it. It will be on her mind.
If you wait for her to get her inventory before she starts, she may NEVER get started!! This is why we have people who buy the kit and never get an order in at all. She may feel she can’t do Mary Kay without inventory, which is not true. But it is true that she will sell a lot more if she is offering on the spot delivery.
To prevent this, just get them started with or without inventory. Many times, once they are started, they come up with the money miraculously from grandma or an ex-boyfriend. Who knows. But letting them sit around and think about it doesn’t help you get them started. In any case, your getting them to make those calls on their own is tons better than your doing a Business Debut. A business debut that you or anyone else puts on makes her weaker than she would be if she were to get on the phone and booked her own classes. Better to get her to make those calls herself. Please read my other rticles about the business debuts for clarification.
I do not recommend business debuts!
I know you have what it takes to sell inventory! It is a skill like everything else!!
xxooAnita
I don’t think consultants really sell more by having inventory. I think it is a longstanding myth that sounds reasonable and is easy to perpetuate. In reality, however, I think women will order what they’ll order. Sure, there’ll be an occasional extra lipstick sold if you have it on hand. Or maybe one more skin care set here and there.
But by and large, I believe that the cost of having inventory on hand far outweighs any benefit. By cost I mean interest on a credit card or cash out of the bank and into inventory. And there is the risk of products expiring or going unsold.
A real business tries to have the smallest amount of inventory on hand, while still being able to adequately service customers. Everyone knows that inventory on the shelf is money tied up.
With modern miracles such as the internet and UPS, consultants can have products to them in a matter of a few days. There’s no need to have “enough for 50 customers” on hand, because if the Mary Kay consultant really had that much activity, she could sell one week and replace that inventory the following week. This would be a better use of her money than having months worth of inventory on hand.
But who ever said that Mary Kay was a real business anyway?
Similar Posts:
Tags: backup recruits, dacia wiegandt, free products, pulling inventory, star consultant
Trackback from your site.
Comments (23)
exIBC78
| #
ONE of your ex-husbands? WHAT? How many ex husbands do MK directors have that she assumes we have ex-husbands.
Reply
babs
| #
That statement really took me back! I’m sure if you have ex-husband(s!!!) they are NOT going to give you any money for your Mary Kay biz!
Reply
DivaDove
| #
Yeah, that stopped me cold, too. I mean, what the…???
Reply
Tigger
| #
No, professional people do not ‘create’ the need and fill it – that is galling! They ‘FIND’ a need and fill it!!!
She goes on to say that she says ‘it really doesn’t matter to me………..’ – first of all, the hell it doesn’t; secondly, anyone else hear that creepy/smarmy David Cooper guy here? Remember those cassette tapes we listened to on how to close the sale?
Either she sells YOU or you sell HER? Is she serious? It’s like Satan in the garden. Did God really say??
With the sales pitch set up like this, most people can’t refuse. It’s like a slow insulting seduction. Geez, I’m gagging.
Reply
Laura
| #
“My accountant won’t let me”? Really? Too bad poor recruits don’t get their hands on this document – that sounds like a much better line for THEM to use when being badgered to go beg for money from an ex-boyfriend, grandmother, or other family member. I love my sisters, but if one of them asked me, “Hey, can you loan me $600 to purchase inventory for this MLM company I’ve just joined, even though it’s not required?”
Sorry honey… no can do.
Reply
Lazy Gardens
| #
Either they sell YOU or you sell THEM!
So who is the customer? Obviously the SD has to sell to the recruit, because the recruit’s orders are all that counts.
Reply
Lazy Gardens
| #
You can say, if she brings it up, “My accountant won’t let me.”
What a marvelous come-back to any attempt to get you to take out a loan or sign up! It would be like garlic breath to a vampire.
“My accountant won’t let me” … take out unsecured loans.
“My accountant won’t let me” … sign a contract until he and my lawyer have studied it and the business that wants me to sign it.
“My accountant won’t let me” … go any further into debt.
And if you want to leave them drooling in frustration:
“My accountant won’t let me” … waste my large trust fund getting involved in a tiny business like Mary Kay. It’s already a full-time job for him keeping track of the real estate and investments.
Reply
flaming go
| #
“I like to see people go with at least a Star Consultant order. Now, most people don’t have a lot of cash lying around, so they put it on a credit card. Mary Kay realizes this, and that is why they are giving you so much free, because when you sell it there is more than enough to pay your interest! It is like having an interest free loan on your credit card.”
…and she goes on to repeat variants on the “it’s like an interest free loan” three times.
The whole gambit is on whether or not they can con someone into ordering higher levels of inventory. This is proof that MK’s endgame is on the consultant as consumer. How do we know MK is a scam? The very fact that they utilize a “star consultant” ORDERING level. You are not a ‘star’ by selling a specific amount. You are a ‘star’ and offered prizes by buying your way into it. It’s a cleverly disguised scam, but a scam nevertheless. This is one of the most slithering, venomous pieces of slime I’ve yet read on how to sell large quantities of snake oil to unsuspecting, wide-eyed dreamers. Disgusting.
Reply
Verity Rose
| #
I used to work in the sales department of a packaging company that made packaging for cosmetic companies (including MK). One of my least favorite tasks was to take the aged inventory reports that our manufacturing plants sent to us every month, and then call our customers asking them to either place another purchase order or give us an authorization to destroy the inventory. (This was harder to do than it sounds.)
Why did we have to do this? Because any seller of anything knows that excess inventory is a money pit. It takes up both physical and financial space. It offsets any profit you receive on the actual sale of the product. The only place I’ve ever heard that having plenty of inventory (the more the better!) is a good thing is from the mouths of Anita Garrett-Roe and her ilk.
And the manipulation. I know I keep saying this, but oh my various gods, the manipulation. I think of the sad, uncertain person I was after I was laid off but before I was accepted to law school, when MK found me. If I had been given the speech A.G.R. endorses here, I would have lost so much more than the thousand bucks I ended up losing. I’m almost in physical pain, realizing this.
Reply
Lynn
| #
Disgusting and ridiculous. There is so much I could say but I will just make two points. One if people were not willing to wait for products, explain to me how online shopping is so popular? And two, how is having inventory any guarantee that you will have the RIGHT inventory for what your customers order? You could order a “full store” and then have four women who want the same shade of foundation and there you are with one of each. That’s of course assuming you have any customers to begin with.
Reply
Jillian
| #
Lynn – that’s EXACTLY what happened to me! I was suckered into ordering a full store ($3600 wholesale) of inventory, and to this day more than 3 years later, I STILL have some of those products on hand because I either haven’t served that demographic, or just plain nobody wanted the junk (or both)!
Reply
morningstar
| #
, anyone else hear that creepy/smarmy David Cooper guy here? Remember those cassette tapes we listened to on how to close the sale?
Thanks for the visual reminder of David cooper and his tapes. I thought of you when I threw them in the trash bin after finding pink truth. He was a leech sales guy on to the NSDs….. They would tell us we have to have 3000.00 in tickets of he wont be able to speak…..GAAAWKK
Reply
MLM Radar Detector
| #
“If they are still not sure, keep pedaling.”
She made a typo. She meant to write “PEDDLING.”
Dictionary definition:
1. to carry small articles, goods, wares, etc., from place to place for sale at retail; hawk.
2. to deal out, distribute, or dispense, especially in small quantities
PEDALING has to do with bicycles, which is what you will end up “driving” if you invest too much in Mary Kay Star Consultant inventory.
Reply
pinkpeace
| #
Oh my gosh, there are so many things I could say in reaction to this. To my everlasting shame, I was REALLY good at pulling the big orders with new recruits, using many of Anita’s techniques.
One of my favorite lines was, “You know, Heather started with a $600 order, then she sold so much, she placed a $500 the next week, then another $600. She told me she wished she had just started with a $2400 order – it would have made things so much easier, and she would have gotten so much free product.” (Of course, Heather was a little bit crazy, and bought all kinds of inventory on a whim – then ended sending it all back).
This line from Anita was interesting:
“Instead, if someone is slowing down, they trade with other consultants to get more cleansers, and then have a sale with their customers, and gradually phase out. ”
Sanctioning a consultant to trade product? That’s a big no-no! Unless, of course, it prevents a chargeback . . .
Reply
stinkinpinkthinkin
| #
When I read things like this, it makes my blood boil!
I was one of those people who was “talked” into a business credit card by my SD – actually she first advised me to get a small business loan from my bank. I didn’t really want to do the loan, so I agreed to do the credit card – This was not the “Mary Kay Visa” card. This was through US Bank. There’s a long story to this whole thing that involved interstate phone calls and conference calls between me, my SD and the branch manager at a bank out of state, to set things up.
As it turned out, I was approved for a $5000 card, at a 6 months 0% interest, after which said interest would be 19.99% My SD “helped” me with my inventory-$3600 Star order, with additional things I “needed” for my business. By the time state tax and shipping were added, I only had $300. room left on the card. I never recovered from that. In addition that 12 weeks after my inventory order, MK changed the packaging and launched the minerals line of make-up. So at the end of 6 months, I had the interest now due on top of the initial inventory purchase.
This stupid idea that “free” product is like Interest free loan – that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read! Sure, I got free product with that $3600 order, but let me tell you I was the only one paying the interest and credit card balance!
Inventory is a bad idea no matter what they say
Lurkers, be smart. Don’t fall for this type of deception.
Reply
MLM Radar Detector
| #
“12 weeks after my inventory order, MK changed the packaging…”
Seems to me I remember reading here that Directors get several months advance notice on product changes.
A seasoned Director gets a feel for when to expect product changes. Even though she hasn’t seen an announcement yet she knows a major change announcement is due soon, so she pushes those big orders. Better yet, when it does happen just after she closed the big sales, she can honestly claim she knew nothing about it
Reply
stinkinpinkthinkin
| #
Radar, I FIRMLY believe my SD knew full well the changes that were coming and purposely loaded me up on the older stuff. Not so much the limited editions things but the actual face color and compacts, knowing in a few weeks the launch of the minerals line with new compacts were coming out-remember they released a few colors first-6 eye shadows, 2 cheek colors and then in June added a bunch more-I want to say it was like 10 or 12 new eye shadow shades and 6 or so cheek/blush shades. All my other stuff was then obsolete in terms of what was in the LOOK books. I found out later that our unit had been struggling to make production – didn’t even know what that meant at the time. I’m certain my initial inventory order and the 3 subsequent orders I made after that helped her keep her unit. I joined in Jan. My SD lost her unit in October. It’s interesting that I placed my last order in the middle of May, and then June 1st she began hounding us all for more orders and continued to do so. I just couldn’t waste any more money on things I couldn’t sell or didn’t need.
Reply
Ang
| #
I was in the exact same boat as many of you. 3 years ago, I was also sucked-in to the Pink Bubble. As I was on my way to DIQ, something snapped and the lightbulb came on. I could not stand for the lack of integrity within the sales force!!!
After lots of research, I did find someone online who would by back my inventory. It’s actually quite genius – she buys inventory from people like us who have bought so much and can’t sell it. Then, she turns around and sells it for a higher price on her ebay store. I don’t get 100% reimbursement from what I initially spent, but it’s more than I’m getting as it sits on the shelf and goes bad. If you’d like to explore this option, check out ***link to dishonest person’s website removed****.
Reply
jay
| #
Is it possible to sell the cosmetics without ordering any inventory? I like the cosmetics and I am considering joining but I will not purchase one penny over the cost of the starter kit. Also is there a catch on making 50% commission on each product sold? Most direct sales is 25 to 35 percent. Thanks. I dont mind trying and failing but I seriously mind feeling tricked.
Reply
TRACY
| #
Yes, it’s possible, and it’s the way I recommend to do things. That way you won’t be stuck with products you can’t sell. Even when you have inventory, you’ll find that people are ordering things you don’t have, and you still have to place an order with MK.
Yes there is a catch. It’s not 50%. It’s only 50% gross profit if you’re able to sell at full retail price. (Good luck with that!) Then you have to deduct all your expenses from that: postage, gas, supplies, samples, gifts, giveaways, etc. The absolute best case scenario is that you will make 40%. More likely you’ll make 25% to 30%.
And when you see how miserable your sales are, you’ll find that the profits are very, very small. You’ll likely have some success at first, since friends and family may want to support you and will make pity purchases. Once you have gone through all of them, who will you sell to? It’s just a fact that almost no one profits, and when they do, it’s in the neighborhood of minimum wage.
Reply
Lazy Gardens
| #
Also is there a catch on making 50% commission on each product sold? Several catches:
1 – You buy the products to resell for 50% off what Mary Kay considers “full retail” … if you manage to sell at full retail, you get what is really a 50% gross markup from which you have to pay all your expenses.
If you have to give a discount to make a sale, or a product becomes obsolete because of packaging changes, it comes out of your potential profits, not theirs. You eat the losses, not them.
2 – Unless you “activate” by ordering at least $200 wholesale in one chunk, you have to pay full retail. And the 50% discount is only good for three calendar months.
Example: You sign up and order today, your discount will be for 1 day in May and all of June and July … then you have to order at least another $200 wholesale to get the discount back. If you wait and order in June, you get June, July, August and if you haven’t bought enough, the discount goes away.
3 – Look at FaceBook and eBay. How many IBCs are offering huge discounts and free “prizes” on Facebook? Do you want to slash your profit potential and try to compete?
Look at the 40,000 listings for Mary Kay on eBay. Can you compete with those prices?
===========
Those are perfectly sound business reasons to not sign up – your chances of making money are extremely small.
Reply
MLM Radar Detector
| #
“Also is there a catch on making 50% commission on each product sold? Most direct sales is 25 to 35 percent.”
The catch on making 50% commission is finding customers who are willing to buy at that price. Most direct sales can make 25 to 35 percent because very few people are selling those products. If you’re lucky enough to find a buyer (which is difficult in any MLM), you don’t have a lot of competition offering that same product at a lower price.
Mary Kay is not like most other direct sales. Mary Kay has lots of competition. Here are the current ebay listings for Mary Kay and several other Multi-Level Marketing companies:
Isagenix – 85 listings
Melaleuca – 327 listings
Visalus – 1,257 listings
Shaklee – 200 listings
Herbalife – 1,623 listings
Amway – 1,518 listings
Mary Kay – 47,369 listings. No, that’s not a typo. Over 47 thousand listings.
Most of the Mary Kay products listed on ebay are priced at $2 to $5 with free shipping. That’s below wholesale cost. When you have someone nearby practically giving away products, what makes you think you can sell what you have for a 50% markup?
You’ll find much the same result on CraigsList. Furthermore, on CraigsList you’ll find other consultants in your town offering to come to someone’s home and sell their Mary Kay inventory in person at a deep discount.
Mary Kay talks about a 50% commission, but that’s all an illusion. The only thing you can be sure of is that when you buy your inventory at wholesale price, Mary Kay will collect sales tax from you – up front – for their full suggested retail prices.
Reply
Jackie White
| #
I am a new consultant….but I refuse (just because I do NOT have money or credit cards) to buy any inventory! Wow…just found this website on youtube….thought I was the only one in this world (well my part of the US) to think that I dont NEED all kinds on inventory to sell!!! Will continue to read and learn! Thanks girls and guys!
Reply