10 Questions Mary Kay Leaders Won’t Answer Honestly
Written by Nikki
After a few years inside the pink bubble, I walked away from Mary Kay for good. I had sunk $41,000 into this so-called “business,” and after everything I witnessed, I just could not stomach it anymore.
The relentless spin wore me down. The constant pretending that everyone was successful when most were drowning in debt or quietly quitting. These women call it a business, but deep down, they know the consultants are not making money. How can you call that a business model?
If I had the chance, here are the questions I’d love to ask a Mary Kay national sales director. These questions deserve real answers:
1. Why do people really quit? You claim the most common reason is that they do not carry enough inventory, so they get discouraged when they cannot serve customers. Has anyone ever actually asked the consultants why they quit? I suspect the real reason is simpler: most people never make a profit. In your own experience, what is the most common reason you have seen consultants walk away? Do you know how many end up in debt versus making money? When you travel to recruiting events, does it bother you to know most of the people signing up will eventually fail or give up?
2. Do you honestly believe this is “dual marketing”? I have heard the line that because we buy products for one dollar and sell for two, this counts as “dual marketing.” That leaves out the whole recruiting aspect. Have you ever taken the time to learn about multi-level marketing structures? Can you explain how Mary Kay does not fit the classic MLM mold?
3. How high is the turnover, really? How often do your consultants go inactive or leave, forcing you to recruit replacements to keep production rolling? Why can’t we call it a quota when that is exactly what it is? Isn’t constant turnover a red flag for any sustainable business?
4. Is it ethical to pressure consultants to order inventory they do not need? How is it good business practice to ask someone to place an order for products they don’t need, just because you need to hit a production goal?
5. Is Mary Kay really America’s best-selling brand? Where is the proof behind this claim? Is it best selling to the consultants (we know they’re the real customer) or to actual third-party consumers?
6. What about the ever-expanding product line? Since Mary Kay started in 1963, the catalog has ballooned. It did not use to cost thousands to stock a “full store.” Did corporate simply get greedy, adding more products to boost their profits, and by extension, the orders you pressure consultants to place?
7. Can you show me a working model that is profitable without recruiting? Is there even one example of someone making a good living just selling products, not recruiting others to buy starter kits? And even though I know you might be able to show me a person here or there, is this even common?
8. What will you do to address these issues? You are in a position of influence. What action are you taking to correct these glaring problems? (I know you won’t. The current business model lines your pockets nicely. You have no motivation to change it.)
9. What will you do to stop the deception? How will you make sure that future recruits are not misled at opportunity meetings? (Again, I know you won’t stop it because it doesn’t benefit you.)
10. How will you ensure your team can actually make a profit? What concrete help will you offer to make sure consultants are not just treading water? What will you do to keep new recruits out of debt? What safeguards will you put in place to prevent women from maxing out credit cards on unsellable inventory?
These are not petty complaints. They are the questions every Mary Kay leader should have to answer (and answer honestly) before telling another woman that this is a real path to success.
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More questions:
“How can you promote this as a business opportunity when no downline can be profitable, not even theoretically, as a whole?”
“You say that folks who fail at MK didn’t try hard enough. Meanwhile, research suggests that even if you cloned the highest achieving participant, and filled the sales ranks with these clones, the failure rates would not change. How do you explain this contradiction?”
7. Can you show me a working model that is profitable without recruiting? Is there even one example of someone making a good living just selling products, not recruiting others to buy starter kits? And even though I know you might be able to show me a person here or there, is this even common?
This! How often does out beloved PTC talk about knowing women, in the plurals, who are making bank simply by sales alone. And yet, none of them have named the ladies. I feel that if Mary Kay Multiple Husbands’ Names had these rare and exotic species, they would be keynote speakers at seminar and all the other money extorting retreats loved by NSDs.
Maybe it was possible decades ago, when there weren’t nearly as many consultants and more SAHMs and housewives that had their whole afternoon free, but now even the few women I know who don’t have a FT job either have a PT one or other things going on and would rather not waste 2 hours going to a MK “party” especially on weekends or evenings.
11. Is it possible to succeed without cheating? Did you cheat? Is that what you train?
I can see the smiles and hear the lies for each question. I do pity them.
Here’s my question: What’s your logic for saying that you can make a sizable amount of money just doing this a few hours a week? How is it better than a regular 40 hour/week job with a regular paycheck, benefits, paid holidays and PTO than to spend all your time on the phone sending mass texts, emails, calling prospects, distributing facial boxes etc in the off chance that someone might actually respond other than to say “stop contacting me”? Why would I want to spend my family vacation time sitting on the beach sending texts and trying to book parties?
(OK that’s more than one question…)
There is absolutely NO part-time work for executive pay in this racket. None. When I was a director, I easily worked 60-70 hours a week to make what I did — pittance.
I now work 40-44 hours per week and make a crazy good income. Work stays at work, and I have good benefits, including paid leave, sick pay, retirement, and more.
As soon as I started to do the ethical and moral thing for my team’s best interest, my production and income both plummeted. That should teach you something.
Yes maam I have the same story! Plummeted! I credit PT for that. I came here to learn what people didn’t like so I can run my business the opposite and my friends, it isn’t possible. Plummeted.
I just mailed 3 boxes back to MK yesterday within my year “window”. It was never profitable and between inventory and events, I don’t even want to think about how much money I spent. Hopefully, they are true to their promise and will return 90% of my cost. I made a huge mistake last December and thought I was helping out the “team” and ordered over $3K wholesale, of products. I had items I could not move at all (10 Microderm abrasion kits, just as an example). It took my a long time to come to the decision to send back as I know I can no longer be a rep or get the discount, but in the end, it was the right decision for me.
Way to go!!!!
I’m sorry you fell victim, but I’m so thankful you got out! Learn and move on. And join us here in daily salty banter!
Congratulations, Karen! You absolutely did the right thing. Product is always available on eBay at a steep discount. Consultants offer BOGO sales every 14 seconds. And the cost of maintaining your active status is over $900/year! That’s a lot of foundation and facewash!!