Tips for Booking Skin Care Classes

One of the many problems in Mary Kay is finding tactics that actually work to sell more products. There are gimmicks that are used to book classes, to get people to try a product or two, or maybe even to sign up as a beauty consultant. But the results from these tactics are temporary. None of them builds loyal customers for the long-term.

When consultants ask for help, they get more of the same: feel-good lines, scripted speeches, the latest gimmick. Below is an example. Look at these “tips for booking” and tell me if even one of them actually works on a consistent basis. Ask if any of them is an action that is reasonably calculated to lead to an actual booking. The answer is no. These are measures that may help a consultant feel like she is actually doing something, but her chances of walking away from this with bookings are slim.

And I wonder how these tips work during pandemics when people are largely staying at home?

*Do not depend on one idea for bookings. Use many. Booking is truly the lifeline of
your business. Master your booking skills and you will sell.

**Now tell me, if you use all of these ideas, how could you ever be out of bookings?

Tips on Booking:
1. Look sharp.
2. Be enthusiastic.
3. Get the dollar signs out of your eyes.
4. When you knock on the door for an appointment; think bookings, bookings, and
bookings. It’s better to have a $100 class with 2 bookings than a $200 class with no
bookings.
5. Think of your customer’s best interest, not yours.
6. Look and act busy.
7. Have date book full. Even if it’s with birthdays, poems, anniversaries, or recipes.
8. You select the date. Give them a choice of two times.
9. Book close in – never book over two weeks away.
10. Make your hostess fee special.
11. Have a booking list going at all times.
12. Remember to always overbook – we always have postponements.
13. Always send thank you notes to your hostess in advance.
14. Remember booking is sharing.
15. Remember you won’t book everyone you ask.
16. Having a booking goal per day. I recommend two per day or 10 a week to cover
any postponements.
17. Try each idea five times.
18. Remember booking is a numbers game.
19. Follow the three-foot rule. Anyone coming within three feet of you is a booking
prospect.

Dialogues
*USE THIS ON ALL DIALOGUES. “Hi! _______________ (Her name), this is
_____________ (your name) with Mary Kay Cosmetics. The reason I am calling is
______________________(your booking dialogue).”

Then give them a choice for their booking time. “Which is best for you the first of the
week or the last? Morning or evening? Lunch hour or evening? I have Tuesday at 12
or Wednesday at 7? Which is better for you?

1. SECOND FACIALS FROM CLASS – I need to see you within 7 to 10 days to see if
your product is working properly on your skin.

2. FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE REFERRALS FROM SOMEONE ELSE – “You don’t know me but Sally Smith gave me your name and thought you would enjoy a complimentary
facial. Now, I know you are busy just as I am, and I do have a couple of openings
this week, what would be best for you…?” If she says, “Thank you for your call, but
I’m really not interested, I don’t wear a lot of makeup.” YOU SAY THIS: “I can
certainly understand that Janie. What we actually teach is skin care. It’s a very
simple process and the only way we can advertise is by giving complimentary facials
with no obligations on your part. Which would be best for you?” If she still objects
and says, “No, I really just don’t want to.” YOU SAY THIS: “Thank you for your
time.”

3. FOR THE PERSON YOU GAVE A SAMPLE TO – Ask her opinion and a couple
questions about comments from her husband or boyfriend and then say, “Janie,
you’ve just been so nice to do this for me. I’d really like to do something nice for
you, and I’d like to come over and give you a complimentary facial and get your
opinion of our skin care.

4. PORTFOLIO BOOKING – “My Company has asked me to put together a before and
after Glamour Portfolio you know like you see in Glamour and Good Housekeeping. I
would love to have you as model. I’m making appointments for the week of
__________. Which do you feel would be best for you–the beginning or the end of
the week? Tuesday or Wednesday? 7 or 7:30?” After the appointment is made. You
say, “Let me ask you something…do you have a friend or two that might help me
critique your look for the Portfolio.” She answers. Then say, “Great. I’ll even show
you all how to do the 5-second facelift. Tell them I’ll be showing you this. It is really
fantastic.”

5. BOOTHS – You are one of the lucky winners or our door prize drawings from the
_______ booth. You have won a free glamour makeover like the one’s you see in
Glamour and Good Housekeeping.

6. TENTATIVE APPROACH – Use this when they give the objection that they are too
busy. SAY THIS: “Let’s set a tentative date with the understanding that if you can’t
hold the date you can call and we can reschedule the date.”

7. PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN NICE TO YOU – You have been so nice to me and I
would like to do something nice for you. I would like to give you a free makeover like
you see in Glamour and Good Housekeeping.

10 COMMENTS

  1. So…make your hostess feel special, send a thank you and get the dollar signs out of your eyes! (You can’t do this while pushing her into buying, signing up, and recruiting all her friends.) Gaslighting. In Mary Kay, I doubted my sanity. There are so many suggestions in the numbered list above to “look” or “act” a certain way. It’s so obvious to me now that of course, the directors above me were heeding this advice too. Their image, their full datebooks were just fabricated. I mistakenly believed that at director level, you no longer had to fake it. Yes, I understand a success image is important in business and sales. But usually you’re not told to act like a different person. You’d be advised to find another line of work ( which MK would never do).

    The makeover “just like in Good Housekeeping”cracks me up ?. I’m sure GH doesn’t make the models put on their own makeup and then try to sell all of it to them.

    10
  2. First you have to over come your doubts. Then you have to somehow bypass call display. This smacks of Desperation. Someone who has a lot of despair and need might follow some of this. In the end this is not the 1970’s. No one cares about samples. There are no booths to set up where women will actually stop by. (That tired old tactic rarely works). Asking a business to allow you to leave a facial box is humiliating, inappropriate and amateurish. Come to think of it everything about this MK advice is based on a 1940’s sales tactic. It’s just all so sad and like being set up to fail. Taking money from desperate women. It’s all so hopeless and sleazy.

    • Cindylu, you nailed it! I was in MK for about 9 months in 1992 & my adopted unit set up a booth in a 4th of July open air market hoping to drum up some business. Of course it bombed because we couldn’t advertise the fact that we were participating in the open air market, nor were we allowed to sell any products. Our director put a gift basket together for a drawing, & everyone in her unit was expected to donate an item out of their inventory. A losing proposition all the way around, with the possible exception of the winner of the drawing.

      And what a joke those facial boxes turned out to be! Without exception, the respondents were teenagers who wanted facials but didn’t buy anything. My director told me not to waste my time with teens who weren’t going to buy anything, & under no circumstances should I do any classes with anyone under 18 years of age unless their moms participated in the same class. This can become a serious liability issue for the consultant if, for example, a minor participated in a class without parental knowledge or permission & had a severe allergic reaction to any of the products used. This is a recipe for a lawsuit against the consultant & MKC, & the consultant is on her own in terms of paying legal fees to defend it.

      And if I’m not mistaken, there’s no such thing as a Spanish Sweet 16. However, our Latina teens celebrate their 15th birthdays with a Quinceanera. This is a big deal in their culture & preparing for one can be akin to preparing for a wedding.

      I’m just glad I saw the handwriting on the wall & got out of MK after 9 months. When I went in, I swore that I’d never accumulate any debt that I couldn’t repay in 6 months, & I stuck to it. Thankfully I didn’t quit my part time day job!!

  3. Lies and manipulation are all I read.

    – Look sharp, enthusiastic, be and act busy? Hey, hey, hey MK consultant. Oh golly, I don’t think I have time now for a facial. I’m super busy, but let me check my book. Nope, it’s full of appointments, but I do have September 30th and November 30th available in 2022. Which one works best for you?

    – A model? Sure, I can do that. My modeling fee is $250 the first hour, and $175 each additional. I have two days available this week. Which one works for you?

    – You want to do something nice for me? That’s so sweet. No, I don’t need any makeup as I just bought a ton from Sephora online, but since you asked. I’ve been super sick and really need help moving. As luck would have it, we’re moving on one of those two days you said you had available for appointments.

    Two can play that game. Seriously, the manipulation is disgusting. And to think, they’re often doing this to friends, family, and acquaintances.

    25
  4. “Having a booking goal per day. I recommend two per day or 10 a week to cover
    any postponements”: exactly how much time would you have to spend on the phone to book two appointments? That seems like more than a full-time job, if it’s even possible at all. You’re definitely not making big-girl money in a few hours a week like your recruiter promised you.

  5. Tips on Booking:
    1. Look sharp. – make sure you look just like the girls at the department store selling legitimate products
    2. Be enthusiastic. – you have to be EXCITED about being part of the pyramid scheme!
    3. Get the dollar signs out of your eyes. – because you know you will never make this an actual financial investment.
    4. When you knock on the door for an appointment; think bookings, bookings, and
    bookings. It’s better to have a $100 class with 2 bookings than a $200 class with no
    bookings. – yup! $50 profit provided you aren’t using that as a hostess gift.
    5. Think of your customer’s best interest, not yours. – this is a joke.
    6. Look and act busy.- because gosh darn it your time is valuable! You are spending time away from your family to make this dream happen
    7. Have date book full. Even if it’s with birthdays, poems, anniversaries, or recipes. – just keep up the facade
    8. You select the date. Give them a choice of two times.- you must remain in control!!
    9. Book close in – never book over two weeks away. – don’t give them time to find excuses!
    10. Make your hostess fee special.- there goes your “profit”
    11. Have a booking list going at all times.- it’s to keep those dollar signs out if your eyes, you can put it on paper
    12. Remember to always overbook – we always have postponements.- by postponement we mean they figured you out
    13. Always send thank you notes to your hostess in advance.- because we work best when we overwhelm our friends and family
    14. Remember booking is sharing- sharing is caring! Booking is sharing a way to let them join on on being scammed
    15. Remember you won’t book everyone you ask. – you might book 1 person who feels sorry for you
    16. Having a booking goal per day. I recommend two per day or 10 a week to cover
    any postponements. – again, gotta cover for those who cancel for their own good
    17. Try each idea five times.- because doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is insane- but you know…
    18. Remember booking is a numbers game… yup a number game to help those on top
    19. Follow the three-foot rule. Anyone coming within three feet of you is a booking
    prospect.- except you can’t be less than 6 feet so while you share the bs you can share covid too -____-

  6. Dear Mary Kay,
    Please stop calling it a “skincare class”. It’s a product demo. Your reps are in no way qualified or certified to educate people about skincare. We have aestheticians and dermatologists who have spent years learning about the science of skin and skincare. Don’t diminish their qualifications by using language that makes your reps appear more qualified than they actually are. All they are doing is parroting what they are told by corporate. It does not make them qualified to address anyone’s specific skin concerns. And information can get twisted, which is not safe for customers. In this day and age of prevalent social media the public has access to knowledge directly from dermatologists, master aestheticians, and brand trainers. Skincare MLM reps are going to become obsolete soon. So change your language. Thanks.

    11
  7. 7. Have date book full. Even if it’s with birthdays, poems, anniversaries, or recipes.

    lipstick is red
    eye shadow is blue
    please give me your number
    so I can stalk you

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