Convincing a Consultant to Buy $3,600 of Inventory
The magic number in Mary Kay for a “qualified” recruit is a $600 wholesale order. But the larger the initial order, the better off the sales director is. For many years, an initial order of $3,600 has been the ultimate goal.
I was in Mary Kay more than 20 years ago, and I bought an initial package of $3,600 wholesale. It was a ton of money then. And it still feels like a lot of money for this loser thing they call a “business.”
Why is $3,600 so important? Because one recruit with this large of an order almost covers all of the unit’s required minimum production for the month. That’s huge, especially since most sales directors struggle to make the $4,500 minimum each month.
It’s also because the company knows the first order a consultant makes is usually the most she will ever order from the company. So if you assume that all orders will go down in size, you want the consultant to start with the largest order possible.
Consultants don’t need $3,600 wholesale ($7,200 retail) on their shelves. New consultants certainly don’t need that much. They have no idea what they’ll sell and how much they might sell. And as we at Pink Truth know, most inventory goes unsold and sits in basements and garages.
Yet the sales directors and NSDs have a vested interest in those big orders, as their commission checks depend on it. So off they go to convince the consultant to place the large initial order.
Here is part of a training document circulated by one NSD laying out her case for a $3,600 initial order. Notice that she won’t give “money management training” to a consultant until AFTER she has ordered that much. That’s right…. Wait until after she has made a horrible money decision to teach her about how to handle her money.
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Most Beauty Consultants need $3,600 on shelf. All Working and aspiring Star Consultants need $3,600 on shelf. If they do not begin with $3,600 or get there within their first 90 days, they never get there.
Why do I believe this?
- The EMERALD Star level of 3,600 has been around for many years. Prior to TimeWise, prior to an increase in powders, foundation formulas, lipsticks and glosses and new shadows and cheek colors. We have added multiple products since we determined $36oo was ‘Profit Level’.
- If a Consultant orders $600 initially, she feels she has ordered A LOT OF MARY KAY. She goes to her first class, sells $400. $200 of it she doesn’t have in her trunk. Now she has to reorder and redeliver to FIVE different homes. TIME. She is feeling overwhelmed, busy, disorganized. This leads to borrowing product, comprised relationships with sister consultants and guilt. This leads to mismanagement, no profit, and frustration. This leads to “Mary Kay is great, and I love it, but I am going to need to put it on the shelf for now”.
With $3,600 on shelf, she:
- Gets @ $800+ Retail value FREE! This is profitable!! Pays for her Showcase, personal products, business cards, etc. Figure it out!
- Gets the highest STAR on her ladder, setting the pace to excellence in her future (Once the mind has expanded, it can never return to its original form).
- Gets a private $ Management training from you. (I never did group Money Management training with consultants. One on One after ‘on profit’ to show her how to pay down her investment and handle 60-40. Prior to profit, all they need t oknow about $ management is to make the min. payment on their cc or loan and invest 100% of all they have collected into product so that they can GET TO PROFIT).
- Receives a ‘Profit Pin’ for her Red Jacket (or business suit) sleeve in CELEBRATION in front of your Success Meeting.
I believe you can promote this with confidence IF you have a good product Money Management habit yourself, are willing to support her Business Debut, follow up with her Power Start booked and coached, support her with adding her first 1-3 recruits (= a commission check which can pay down her loan also), and make HER MONEY YOUR BUSINESS.
I believe I first heard Top Director, Lisa Anne Harmon say it, “With a 600 she is frustrated and scared; with a 3600, she is only scared.”
Visit the
And she should be scared, like the one from the other day who had $3600 in inventory and not one of her leads bought anything.
The ginormous success of Amazon and other online outfits shows that people don’t mind waiting a few days for what they want, and I haven’t seen an online retailer who won’t let you ship to other addresses.
There’s no way to anticipate what customers will want so a huge inventory guarantees you’ll wind up with a boatload of unsellable product.
As always, the consultomer gets screwed and the ones who profit are her greedy director, and, naturally, corporate.
Another tactic to convince consultants to order the max amount of inventory is comparing it to opening a brick and mortar business which would cost much more than $3,600 ( now $4800 Pearl Star) The recruiter/director will tell you businesses don’t begin with minimal inventories, so why would you? The problem is becoming a Mary Kay consultant is not a real business.
“I can’t help you if you’re frustrated because you don’t have product. I can help you sell if you’re scared because you have so much product.”
How did I say this and mean it? Father, forgive me.
In my final years, I watched a Kimberly Copeland training showing off Waverly who was selling a ton doing “handcials” and basically wearing her pjs. Her parties were huge. She said their inventory orders were 5400 everytime. She said the company even called to check on that and she fussed at them for calling her new team members. What she failed to mention is that she lives in an extremely wealthy part of Texas and 5400 is nothing to these women. Mary Kay corp has us basic North Alabamians comparing ourselves to the “royalty” of Texas when it’s not the same. The way they set us up to fail is infuriating. They make us think it’s our fault. If Waverly can, we can. Nawww Waverly ain’t even doing it! It’s mom. It’s something they’ll answer for.
I too came in with 3600. It’s “the best deal”. I was also great at getting 3600s. I’ll honestly say I helped them sell it. I didn’t want that chargeback, but also I had guilt for 9 solid years. And I still have foundation from that initial 3600 order.
I did a $3600 inventory order, too. And you know what? I still NEVER had everything I sold at a party. Ever.
Additionally, my director convinced me that I didn’t know what I was doing to put together such a large order in my first two days (true, I didn’t), and that I should trust her to do it for me. So I handed over my credit card and she did the order. And she ordered probably $300-400 in fragrance products that were slated to be discontinued the following month. Her response when I pointed that out, “It’s ok. If you don’t sell it in your first few parties, you can just use it for gifts with purchase.” Long story short, I was not a happy camper.
And before the K-Bots come at me with, “well you just had an unethical director,” NO! Almost all of them did this! It ensures that consultants have to order again in month 2 because half your stuff is no longer in the catalog.
Same! I bought $3600 wholesale in 1999. It was so much money then, and so much inventory. And I still had to keep ordering every time I had a party, because I was missing things.
I ordered $2400 wholesale Ruby star my first order in 1992. My director told me to be sure and order all the Fall limited edition color products. Of course, ladies were ordering regular line lipsticks and eye shadows and of course I never had what they wanted. So putting a minimum wholesale order ($180 back then) after every party to get what I needed. And got stuck with the limited edition inventory. But the funniest thing was getting recognized as a Ruby Star Consultant at my very first meeting without ever selling one product!
“(Once the mind has expanded, it can never return to its original form)”
Seriously, WTF.
I cannot believe that it never crossed my mind that $3,600 is the perfect amount for production. Never until I read this article. I was a car driver, director, star consultant ad nauseum, and I never made the connection that $3,600 is the Goldilocks amount for someone who needs production.
I was that brainwashed. Naive. Well intentioned. I guess I really thought you needed a full store. I had the best of intentions, as many do!! We see that here in our Pink Truth space.
I also would have parties, with that full store x2, and someone would always order something I didn’t have. Which meant I needed to chase it down – or trade with another consultant, which of course was poo-pooed – but shaming that also makes sense, because if people are swapping, the ARE NOT ORDERING, so there’s no production.
Just when I thought I had completed my MK “healing,” … nope!!
Thanks, Tracy! <3