Do Directors Depend on Others For Income?

In Mary Kay, the pyramid-toppers want you to believe that you control your own income. That you don’t depend on others. If you want a raise, you just go out and get it for yourself. You, as a director, can control your income with the amount of activity you do.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Directors are almost completely dependent upon others for their income. The idea that they can “just sell more” or “just recruit more” is not as simplistic as they make it seem. The director is dependent upon others being willing to open their checkbooks or lay down their credit cards in order to be paid commissions. Dialing for dollars? Sure sounds dependent upon those who answer the phone.

One particular handout used by many NSDs in Mary Kay explains the dependence upon others this way:

Myth: Directors have to depend on others for their income.

Let’s look at an scenario where NO ONE in a Director’s unit orders product in a given month. However the director is working classes each week and she has 5 personal Qualified recruits in the month. Company average order size for a new consultant is $1000 whl.

$5000 whl. 5 new personals
+ $1500 whl. Director’s personal order tracking her for NCSales.
= $6500 whl.Production from just the director and her 5 new consultants

Let’s see what that income looks like:

$650 income from $5000 whl from 5 new recruits (13% Commission on personal recruits)
$845 income from $6500 whl from your unit (13% Director Commission – directors get paid on their entire unit including personal recruits again plus their own order. )
$500 income from the $100 Bonus per personal new Q. recruit
$500 income from the bonus for a unit that has 5 Q. recruits in one month
$600 income from the volume bonus of $100 per $1000 production (over $5000)

Total $3095 Income as a Director This income is from just your personal 5 new recruits and your own $1500 whl. Order.

Add to this $1000 income from $2500 in retail sales w/ 60/40 split ($1500 whl. Reinvestment)

$4095 Total Income for the month…from Directorship and personally selling the product.
NO ONE in the Director’s existing unit ordered at all.

Now let’s look at what happens to car production requirements:

$6500 whl. production
$3000 car credits (director’s receive $600 car credit per qualified personal recruit)
$9500 in car production for the month… Premier Club production!

Myth BUSTED!! Directors only need to depend on themselves.

This doesn’t prove anything other than the director is totally dependent upon others (her personal recruits) to place orders and others (her customers) to buy products.

And let’s not forget that holding these classes and finding these recruits is much harder that they’re making it out to be. If this scenario was played out, the director would have 60 qualified recruits in one year. How many of the 9,000 sales directors in the U.S. have ever done that? And aren’t the sales directors supposed to be the best the company has to offer?

Yet again, setting unrealistic expectations and misleading people about the income and the effort.

6 COMMENTS

  1. “Let’s look at an scenario where NO ONE in a Director’s unit orders product in a given month. However the director is working classes each week and she has 5 personal Qualified recruits in the month. Company average order size for a new consultant is $1000 whl.” Right, no one in her unit is ordering product, EXCEPT FOR THE FIVE PEOPLE IN HER UNIT THAT ORDERED A THOUSAND BUCKS WORTH OF PRODUCT.

    Plus, it’s pretty much a given that those recruits will never place an order that large again, so next month you’re going to have to find five more. Where are you going to find them?

    “Myth: Directors have to depend on others for their income.”
    “$500 income from the $100 Bonus per personal new Q. recruit
    $500 income from the bonus for a unit that has 5 Q. recruits in one month
    $600 income from the volume bonus of $100 per $1000 production (over $5000)”

    Right, she’s not dependent on others for her income, EXCEPT HER INCOME CONSISTS MOSTLY OF BONUSES SHE GETS FOR RECRUITING PEOPLE AND GETTING THEM TO BUY A BOATLOAD OF PRODUCT.

    “Total $3095 Income as a Director This income is from just your personal 5 new recruits and your own $1500 whl. Order.” YOU MEAN $1595 INCOME (in a perfect world because there are so many other incidental costs that eat into your income), BECAUSE YOU’RE SPENDING NEARLY HALF OF WHAT YOU’RE MAKING TO FULFILL YOUR ORDERING QUOTA. HOW #@%$^ STUPID IS THAT.

    “Add to this $1000 income from $2500 in retail sales w/ 60/40 split ($1500 whl. Reinvestment)” And while you’re dreaming, I want a lifetime supply of Slim Jims, a beach house in Cape Cod, and a dream date with Idris Elba including a goodnight kiss. OH, YEAH, AND YOU’RE KIND OF DEPENDENT ON PEOPLE BUYING ALL THAT FROM YOU, UNLESS YOU’RE GOING TO CHARGE IT YOURSELF AND SAY YOU SOLD IT, WHICH IS FURTHER GOING TO REDUCE YOUR PROFITS.

    “Myth BUSTED!!” Adam and Jamie might have something to say about that.

    13
  2. How many directors are ACTUALLY working like this? This example is another hamster wheel scenario, and the director is perpetually in DIQ mode. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

    As Popinki points out, the director is counting on numerous bonuses as part of their income. Yes, I count on bonuses each year as part of my income. Unlike the director, I do not fear having to pay them back should one or more people send back product.

    10
  3. Their example proves that directors DEPEND ON OTHERS! If those 5 new recruits don’t place those starting orders the director gets $1000 income from her $2500 in sales plus her commission on her own orders … that’s it. Everything else was dependent on the actions of others.

    11
  4. Picture perfect of the topic of ‘my income depends on your orders’ is this desperate, fear mongering message by Dawn Otten-Sweeney. Her dangling the risk of supply chain issues is pathetic. Gotta get all the orders in before the month is over. Don’t wait! What a monster.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFxyuPJ5Vb8

Comments are closed.

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