False Recruting Information in Mary Kay
False information provided when recruiting new members to Mary Kay is not new. It has been going on for years. Here is another example of misinformation on a Mary Kay sales director’s website, with our comments in italics.
Mary Kay Facts….Did You Know?
Mary Kay is #1 in brand loyalty among customers who buy skin care products. Three out of five women will buy the product after being introduced to it. It is estimated that 80% will continue to use the Skin Care after they have been introduced to the product —
Mary Kay philosophy for success is God First, Family Second, Career Third, Always working by the Golden Rule. (Yeah, right. HAHA!)
Some 30 million consumers purchase approximately 200 million Mary Kay products each year. And you track this how???
Mary Kay does not use animal testing. We have also donated to Johns Hopkins Research to help find alternative methods of testing.
Mary Kay is the #1 best selling brand skin care in the U.S. for the 10th year in a row! (Need to add qualifiers here)
Advancement is based on personal achievement at your own pace. (NO, it’s based on wholesale ordering and recruiting others who will place wholesale orders)
Skin Care and Cosmetic Sales is one of only three industries that are “RECCESSION FREE.
Mary Kay returns 37% of every dollar earned to Consultants and Directors in the form of bonuses and incentive programs. In 2000 this amount equated to over $400 million.
In the next few years, over 3 million women will start their own businesses investing more than $100,000 each . SOURCE?
It takes only $100 to begin a Mary Kay career. Inventory is optional and all Inventory has a one-year, 90% buy-back guarantee. (True, but the “inventory talk” is high pressure)
Consultants are independent contractors, backed by a fortune 500 company. NOOOOooooo! It’s a private company. Good grief, are most of your directors ignorant?
Mary Kay has been listed 5 times in the Top 100 Companies to Work for in America, and is one of the Top 10 Companies for Women.
Fortune Magazine stated that one-year in Mary Kay was equal to $4,500 worth of training. (Prove it. Date of issue? Page? More likely, it’s worth $4,500 or more in credit card debt.) In direct sales, Mary Kay pays the highest commission 50%. According to the Wall Street Journal, there are more women in Mary Kay who earn over $100,000 a year than any other company in the world today. We have developed more millionaires than any other company in the world. (PROVE it. Date of issue? Page number?)
Mary Kay training classes are equal to college courses in marketing, communications, personnel, and small business management. Training is free and local. (Local training is not free and consists mainly of juvenile antics and recruiting pitches for any guests.)
Approximately 66% of all consultants work a full-time job and work Mary Kay part-time. They learn the business, build a customer base, and may begin building a team to manage. They may quit their full-time jobs when they are making more money in Mary Kay.
March 2003 was yet another record breaking month with retail sales of $129 Million! That is a 13% increase from March 2002. Projections are that our sales will be $5 billion a year by 2005, with recruiting at an all time high!
We have a fleet of more than 12,000 cars on the road valued at over $180 million. There are Red Pontiac Vibes driven by Consultants (Grand Achievers), Platinum Grand Prixs and of course the Pink Cadillacs driven by our Directors. Mary Kay has the largest fleet of cars in the United States!
The company pays the tax, licensee fees and a majority of the car insurance for all company car drivers. Directors have paid life insurance.
National Sales Directors may qualify for a retirement plan called the Family Security Plan which pays them up to 60% of their average annual income (the best 3 of 5 years) for 15 years after they retire. Retirement funds go to the family in the even of death. (True, but the other million+ consultants and directors get NOTHING.)
It is estimated that more women have earned over $1 million from their Mary Kay careers than at any other company in the world. PROVE it. Source?Mary Kay is #4 in Internet Retail Sales in the World! (to its consultants)
Mary Kay’s marketing plan is taught at the Harvard School of Business and several other major universities. NOOOooooooo it’s not!
How are we different from other Direct Selling programs? We have a closed loop, balanced program:
Mary Kay manufactures what we sell
Mary Kay distributes what we order
Each consultant tracks what she orders
Mary Kay is a dual marketing plan (BS, it’s MLM no matter how you obsfucate the truth)
Mary Kay has approximately 10 percent of the U.S. facial skin care market and 7 percent of the facial color cosmetics market.
The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation was created in 1996 to fund research of cancers affecting women, and in 2000 expanded its mission to include prevention of violence against women.
Mary Kay Inc. was one of 20 companies profiled in the 1996 book, Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time, and Mary Kay Ash was the only woman founder in the book.
Mary Kay Ash was named Texas Business Woman of the Century.
Mary Kay is international. We are not only in the United States, but in over 33 countries around the world.
Mary Kay Ash was Chairman Emeritus until she passed away on November 22, 2001. Her son, Richard Rogers, is CEO.
Average ANNUAL income for management positions in Mary Kay: PROVE it. Source?
Grand Achiever – $19,000
Sales Director – $50,000
Senior Sale Director – $75,000
Exec. Senior Sales Director – $100,000
National Sales Director – $250,000
Mary Kay’s annual convention draws approximately 45,000 Beauty Consultants and Sales
Directors to Dallas for five consecutive three-day sessions each summer.
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Comments (21)
gotheart
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Avon, Mary Kay, Estée Lauder Paying for Tests on Animals
Written by Michelle Kretzer
02-16-2012
After two decades of touting their “no animal testing” policies, Avon, Estée Lauder, and Mary Kay have quietly resumed paying for cruel tests on animals—without letting consumers know about this stunning about-face. After confirming with each company that chemicals are being dripped into rabbits’ eyes and that substances are being rubbed onto animals’ skin because of requirements of the Chinese government in order to market products in that country, PETA has downgraded the companies to our “do test” list.
Up to date information.
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Sabrina
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I would like to know the source of your info so I can research it for myself.
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TRACY
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Have you heard of Google? Put the title in and press search.
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Pedro Masciarelli
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Talking about animal testing, this is the information you can find directly in marykay.ca: “There is only one country where the company operates – (…) — where that is the case and where the company is required by law to submit products for testing – China.” If they really care about animal testing, wouldn’t be better not to sell in markets where you are forced to conduct the testing.
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MLM Radar Detector
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“Mary Kay is #1 in brand loyalty among customers who buy skin care products. Three out of five women will buy the product after being introduced to it. It is estimated that 80% will continue to use the Skin Care after they have been introduced to the product — ”
Brand loyalty is really about generating repeat purchases, not about frontloading initial purchases. There is nothing in the next 2 lines which justifies the “brand loyalty” comment.
Of course all the numbers quoted are unsubstantiated MK-math “estimates.” But let’s go past that little problem…
Note it says “80% will continue to use.” It does NOT say “80% will become repeat customers.” That’s an important distinction. When you place a $3600 inventory order you get a LOT of product. When you can’t sell it, guess what happens? You “continue to use” the product yourself!
It’s not that you’re loyal to anything. It’s just that you have a truckload of the stuff and no money left to buy anything else. So technically they didn’t exactly lie. MK marketing just took a misleading truth and twisted it into an unjustified conclusion.
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cbbgreat
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Mary Kay is #4 in Internet Retail Sales in the World! – really? and what are the top three? ebay, Amazon, ???? who proclaimed MK #4?
Skin Care and Cosmetic Sales is one of only three industries that are “RECCESSION FREE. – what are the other two industries? who has determined they are “recession free” and when was this determination made? and is it the sales industry in general that is recession-free or specifically skin care and cosmetics sales?
Mary Kay has been listed 5 times in the Top 100 Companies to Work for in America – out of how many times the list was published? , and is – should say “Was” – one of the Top 10 Companies for Women. – on which list/in which publication when? and oh, BTW, Top 100 Companies to Work For means in corporate MK not “your own business” MK
Mary Kay has the largest fleet of cars in the United States! – baffling and I cannot imagine how this could ever have been true!!!!
Mary Kay has approximately 10 percent of the U.S. facial skin care market and 7 percent of the facial color cosmetics market. – by what measure?
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gotheart
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If:
“Mary Kay is #4 in Internet Retail Sales in the World!”
Then how could that be true with:
“Mary Kay has approximately 10 percent of the U.S. facial skin care market and 7 percent of the facial color cosmetics market”.
There is no way they could be #4. Using their very own number.
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ttp
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More Mary Kay math. Doesn’t add up.
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NeverWasPink
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Wrinkles to you, you negative nellies!! Just close your eyes, bee-lieve, and as long as you know in your heart you can make money at it, it’ll all pan out
oh, and, marry rich 
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Deflated Pink Bubble
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Wait, it COULD be true… IF they are counting all the Mary Kay products that are sold on EBay!
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FogHat
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Who says “…in over 33 countries around the world”? What does that mean? Thirty-three plus part of an additonal country? Wouldn’t that be 34?
Why not say “over 30″? Why make it 33, if it’s more than that?
The twisted world of MK…
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enorth
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“…in over 33 countries around the world”
Where else would they be? On the moon??
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MLM Radar Detector
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According to the Mary Kay dot com website, they are currently in “more than 35 markets” worldwide. This same web page has website links for 33 countries, and an official contact for a 34th.
The “more than 35″ claim is an attempt to enlarge how people perceive them because, 1) some markets are brand new or uncertain so MK doesn’t want to get specific, and 2) most people will be impressed by the length of the list and won’t bother to count.
It’s interesting to see where MK does NOT have a market presence: they’re not in about half of Europe, 9 of 12 South American countries, nor in Japan.
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TheRose
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The debunking on this one is seemingly limitless! I’ll make two qick points:
1. While cosmetics are not entirely “recession-free”, this is actually a true statement. The top 3 selling products during the Great Depression were alcohol, tobacco & lipstick. A quick google will confirm this.
2. I don’t know where the info came from that MK is the #4 internet retail company. Internet Retailer puts out a list every year of the top 500 companies. Mary Kay ISN’T ON IT. In case you’re thinking that’s because they didn’t include mlms, consider the fact that Amway & Avon were both in the #30 range.
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cbbgreat
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The top 3 selling products during the Great Depression were alcohol, tobacco & lipstick.
The Great Depression was more than 70 years ago (or was it just a few….sorry, no politics here! ) so what about some statistics from the last decade or two?
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stinkinpinkthinkin
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cbbgreat, this quote about the alcohol, tobacco and lipstick even though it was truly something from the depression 30′s-era, has been used almost FOREVER in MK. I was first introduced to MK in 1977 and I’ve used their products off and on until my own “stint” as an IBC in the biz. During that long time, I was pitched the recruiting spiel hundreds of times AND this was always that same old tired line they’d trot out at some point in the presentation about the recession-proof bit. Unfortunately, with MK ALL their stuff is (out)dated, including their business model of the home party/show selling ideal. There are probably more current stats somewhere, but I doubt seriously that anyone in MK will bother to try to update this. Given the current economy, it works really well as a fear-producing thought to reel people in to signing up – however, I think the women of today have become more savvy about things and this just isn’t the easy sell pitch line it used to be. But MK is nothing, if not entrenched in the past. As they say, if it worked well in Methuselah’s day, why bother to change it
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MLM Radar Detector
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I’d like to add to that list:
3. Peddling anything on a street corner when you’re out of work does not make peddling a recession free job.
4. While it’s true that women will continue to buy beauty products during a recession, they are also significantly more oriented towards value.
http://voices.yahoo.com/buying-cosmetics-recession-2804889.html?cat=69
The purchasing of all luxury items, including high-priced makeup like Mary Kay, FALLS during a recession. The makeup market that rises during a recession is the low-end product lines like Maybelline.
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Kinzie
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True, MLM RD. When my husband lost his job just after I quit working to have our first daughter I stopped buying MK products because I couldn’t afford them any longer. I didn’t stop buying cosmetics, I just bought cheaper ones and found out that they were on par with the quality of MK. Now that I can afford to pay a little more, why would I?
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stinkinpinkthinkin
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MLM Radar, I totally agree with you and your points 3 and 4!
I’ve not seen any type of industry or business that is truly recession-proof! People will still buy things, but they will cut back on how much and how often they purchase and they will consider brands that are lesser in price as a result. Every area of business and trade is affected at some point.
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pinkpeace
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Back in the day when I was a director DEEP into the pink fog, I was looking to update a handout like the one Tracy provided here. I called Corporate (why did I just want to type “Culprit”??) to ask them more details about the #1 Best-Selling Brand claim. I seriously wish I had a transcript of that call. I asked what I thought were straightforward questions about who conducted the poll, how many women they spoke with, MK stats in comparison with other brands, etc. She absolutely couldn’t give me a clear answer on anything, and I hung up extremely frustrated. Of course, the REAL problem was that I was too jacked up on the pink to even consider that these claims were all false. So many warning flags, and I never saw them . . .
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pinkedout
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A co worker introduced me to mary kay and i like the skin care line. There so many things I don’t like about mary kay and it’s not the products. The fact that the consultants try so hard to drag you into their pink world.
This co worker wanted me to be a part of her unit or whatever. I declined. I prefer spending time with my family and enjoying the evenings instead of hosting parties and going to rah rah meetings. I went to one because my co worker wanted me to try some new products and I saw no harm in that but once I got there I realized that this co worker had lied to me and it was just a way to get new people into their cult.
I sat in the first row bored and uninterested in these women repeating the same mantra and this one guy from the head office talking about how great mk is.
What I found amusing were the cheap prizes they gave out. I could not believe these women want these tacky gifts and fake pink rings that were being passed around.
My co worker noticed I was the least bit interested and didn’t invite me to any of the events again. I was promoted to a new position and another woman took my place and I spoke to her over lunch and she told me how this co worker tried to recruit her too. I just shook my head.
I have had these “directors” call me at all hours trying to convince me to become a consultant. First and foremost I don’t use mary kay make up. I only use the skin care line which I buy off of amazon.com. Why pay full price when I can get it cheaper.
Oh and this mk bs isn’t working for my co worker. She thinks shes going to be driving a pink car and living the high life but in actuality she is not. They have brain washed her and I am really glad that she saw right away that I am not an easy target. I rather give $100 to charity than to mk just to lose out on more money along the line.
It may work for some but I prefer a real career with a paycheck, sick days, vacations, and actual growth.
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