It’s Easy to Make Money in Mary Kay!

In Mary Kay, there are weekly meetings, called “Success Nights.”

Near the beginning, consultants who had added to their teams that week would get called them up to the front.  The sales director would say,

“These ladies just gave themselves raises today.  How many of you can just walk into your job and demand a promotion and a raise any time you want?”  True, there aren’t many companies that allow you to do that.

By the same token, “giving yourself a raise” in Mary Kay doesn’t come that easily, either.  If it did, we would all be giving ourselves raises everyday.

So.  Let’s break down, step-by-step, how to get yourself a raise as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant:

1.  Find willing women: Your close friends and family members will more than likely not be interested, so you will need to go out and Warm Chatter (yes, this is actually a thing,) with strangers.  You do this by “giving a sincere compliment,” then launching into your Mary Kay spiel.  The compliment and Warm Chatter usually go like this:

“I noticed what a sharp woman you are.  I have my own business, and I get to choose who I work with…”

2.  Get this person’s contact information: And hope she doesn’t give you a fake number.

3.  Call to set up a facial or better still, a skin care class:  Basically, each woman has products in front of her, and you tell her what to put on her face, when.

4.  Hope the party doesn’t fall through.  It very likely will.  

5.  One-on-one chat:  If the party/skin care class actually takes place, you’ll meet each lady individually and try to convince them to buy about $275 worth of makeup and skin care.  That’s the “Queen of Everything” bundle.  Also, you will reiterate what sharp women they each are.  And you need sharp women on your team.

6. “Practice” appointment:  You’ll set up a time for your director to call speak with the lady.  This is part of your training, so you’ll be listening in.  What that really means is that your director is going to be her director, until you become a director.  Plus, your SD knows all the right things to say.

7.  Sign that woman up!!:  Preferably, that will take place on the spot.  Thinking it over too much is discouraged.  If she is really insistent on deciding later, suggest the Pillow Test.  “When you wake up tomorrow morning, call me and let me know whether you saw a Pink Cadillac in your dream.  If so, Mary Kay is for you!”

8.  Inventory:  Here’s where it gets really tricky.  Recruits have to place a large initial order, so that they will actually count as active.  So, you have a “no pressure” talk or watch a video.  After watching a video, I went from “No way I’m ordering inventory,” to “I need the $1,800 inventory package, because stars win cars!”  If the new consultant is concerned that she can’t afford to drop a few hundred, or a few thousand dollars, all you have to do is suggest that she apply for a credit card, take out a loan, use your entire savings account…  (Yes, I have witnessed these suggestions.)

Congratulations!!! You’ve just given yourself a raise! Now, wasn’t that easy?

Are There Quotas in Mary Kay?

The simple answer to this question: YES!!! 

Do not let anyone ever tell you differently.

During my first few months as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, I was still very starry-eyed. I was determined to go all the way with my business. I also had a lot of room on credit cards at that time. 

So, I was placing fairly sizable orders every month, maybe a few times a month. Around December, my funds became very tight, and my credit card bills were getting more difficult to manage. 

At that point, I made the decision that I would not place another large ($200+) order unless I had brought in at least $500 in sales. Or something like that. 

That actually goes against what our directors encourage us to do. “Don’t rob your store,” is a popular refrain. This means that as you are making money from selling products, you need to be reinvesting at least 50% of it. You always need to be building your inventory. If you use your money for other things, like…life, you are robbing your store. You’re taking the profits and using them inappropriately! 

Anyway, my finances had gotten to the point where I had no other choice but to steal from myself. If I didn’t have a home, where would I store all of my wonderful Mary Kay Inventory? 

The decision was made: don’t order until you have made enough to keep back several hundred, then reinvest a few hundred. 

In January, a customer requested a product, and I also wanted a couple of items. So, I placed a huge order of about $54.00. Much less than the $600 per month needed to stay “on target” for Star. Don’t forget, “Stars win cars.” I wanted a car. No star meant maybe no car.

A couple more months passed, and I didn’t order. I decided to have a look at my Mary Kay InTouch account. Over those few months, I lost the privilege of placing an order at 50% of retail price. If I ordered, I would have to order at least $200, in order to reinstate my discount. 

By the way, as a favor to the consultants, Mary Kay decided to raise this minimum to $225.  That way, you would have more to sell! And more money to earn! 

(Let me translate that for you: Thay way, you would have no choice but to send more money to Mary Kay, in order to keep receiving your discount.)

Let’s say that Customer A places a $50 order from Consultant X. Consultant X does not have the item in stock. Consultant X also does not need to order anything else at the time, nor does she have extra money sitting around to invest in “building her store.” 

Since Consultant X has not placed a $200 – now $225 – order lately, she will pay Mary Kay $50 to get the product. In turn, Customer A will pay Consultant X $50 for her order. 

I never was very good at math, but that looks like a profit of ZERO to me…

Mary Kay does not force you to buy a certain amount of inventory, no. However, they kind of back you waaaaaay into a corner as far as ordering from them. If you want to see any profit from your sales, you better keep ordering at a pace acceptable to Mary Kay. 

Sounds like a quota…

To be fair, there really isn’t a sales quota. Mary Kay doesn’t track sales. You could order $10,000 worth of product and not sell a single eyeshadow, but you would still be heavily rewarded by the company. 

So, you see: Mary Kay is interested in what you order, not what you sell.*

*They make the claim that, of course the consultant must be selling that much, if she is ordering that much. Believe you me, that is, more often than not, not the way it works. 

Proverbs 21:6 – Making Money in Mary Kay

The last post I wrote seems to have brought the most traffic to my blog so far; and today is the first day where my blog was accessed through a search engine, like Google or Bing.

This is the search that brought one reader to my blog today:

“Is anyone making legitimate money in Mary Kay?”

Though I hope the reader stopped and stayed for a while, this got me to thinking about whether I’ve even talked about making money yet.  I’d like to say more about this topic, and likely will in the future.  For now, I will share the reason that I decided to discontinue my Mary Kay business.

One day, I received an email from my SD, and she was suggesting a way that we could get as many orders as possible on that day.

We were supposed to call all of our girlfriends and speak from the script provided.  The script (I’ll talk more about scripts in the future, too) said not to get bogged down in a conversation with the friend.  It said to just tell them that I’m in a challenge, there’s a time limit, and I have to call a lot of people.  It said to get the order and keep going, essentially.

This time limit did not sit well with me, because there really wasn’t one.  There also wasn’t really a challenge.  The “I have to call a lot of people” part?  That was true.

I decided not to participate, because this seemed dishonest to me.  It doesn’t seem like “much” of a lie, but I don’t like being dishonest in any way.

At this moment, I starting questioning whether or not I could have a successful Mary Kay business (making lots of money, driving a pink Cadillac, going on top director trips) while still being completely honest and on the up-and-up.

I came to this conclusion:

No.  

I could not have a successful Mary Kay business, if I refused to stretch the truth and/or manipulate people.

If I didn’t approach people about modeling for my portfolio, tell them they looked like a smart woman, tell them I’m in a challenge, tell them I’m doing a test panel, tell people I just want to get their opinion, tell them they won a contest…how would I meet people?  How would I grow my business?  I had already exhausted all of my “warm market,” meaning friends and family who felt obligated to buy from me.  They certainly were not going to catapult me into my Cadillac SUV (which I still think is a beautiful piece of machinery, by the way.)  They had also given me as many names and numbers of their other friends and family as they were willing.  By the way, almost none of them ever called me back.

So, what’s a girl to do?  Hit the pavement, approaching women I don’t know, using the scripts, warm chatter, imaginary challenges and all the rest.

I was not willing to do that.

So, back to the original question: Is anyone making legitimate money in Mary Kay?

Is anyone making money?  Yes.  But not as much as they tell you.  Here’s a very informative article that shows figures in answer to that question.

But are they making legitimate money?

In my dictionary, doing something legitimately does not entail lying and manipulation.

Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.  Proverbs 21:6

Blurring the Lines Between Friend and Servant in Mary Kay

“Don’t Waste Dollar TIme on Penny Work”

This, my friends, is the subject that made me want to share my Mary Kay experience with anyone who would listen – or read.  This is the thing I am most ashamed of.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe that all people – especially Christians – are called to serve one another however possible.  I just don’t know that this is the way in which to do it.

 

This video is from Sales Director, Michelle Cunningham.  She’s giving tips on how a personal and/or office assistant can help you with your Mary Kay business.

(8.31.14: I removed the video, because it violated some Mary Kay policies. You can’t name the company in a video which features children. If she posts a new video about having an assistant, I will be posting it!)

If I remember from Mary Kay’s autobiography, “Miracles Do Happen,” Mary Kay, herself, did suggest that Mary Kay consultants not waste time doing tasks that detract from time that could be spent on “IPAs,” or “Income Producing Activities.”

IPAs consist of: 

• Going out to get names (warm chattering, fish bowls)
• Calling referrals given by clients
• Booking appointments
• Calling for reorders
• Holding facials (one person) or skin care classes (several people)
• Interviewing potential recruits

Non-IPAs consist of: 

• Everything else in the entire world, basically – specifically:
  • Organizing inventory
  • Making gift baskets to sell
  • Placing orders
  • Stocking inventory
  • Preparing products and materials for parties
  • Corresponding with team members
  • Cooking
  • Cleaning
  • Laundry
  • Errands

….I think you’re getting the picture?

I even heard an NSD say that the only thing she doesn’t pay someone to do is cook.  That’s because she enjoys cooking for her family.

Well, as a brand new Independent Beauty Consultant, I was nowhere near the status of being able to do that.

“Let’s start small,” I thought to myself.

My mind started racing to consider what I could pay to have done, so that I could devote more time to building my Mary Kay business  empire.  I could definitely use some help with cooking.  (I need that with or without an MK business!)  Other areas I needed help with:  cleaning and couponing.  So, not necessarily taking over my whole life, but definitely helping out.  After all, I was working a full-time job at the time, too.

Again, as a brand new IBC, I wasn’t bringing in the big money to actually be able to pay someone.  Fortunately, Mary Kay has a solution for that, too!  No money?  Pay with free product!

As it turned out, I never asked anyone to cook for me.  I did, however, enlist a friend to clip coupons for me.  Truth be told, I am currently five weeks beyond on clipping coupons, so it wasn’t a completely frivolous need.

So, at the rate of one free bottle of Mary Kay Age Fighting Moisturizer (and the promise of other products in the future,) I “hired” one of my closest friends to clip coupons for me.  I took a stack of coupon booklets (Smart Source, Red Plum, etc.) over to my friend and showed her which types of items I usually clip coupons for.  My dear, dear friend sat and clipped coupons for me while I engaged in the very important business of IPAs.

I was a businesswoman.  What business woman has time for lowly tasks, such as clipping coupons!? Leave that for my far less savvy friend.  I was, however, generous enough to share with her the coupons that were relevant to her needs – diapers, baby wipes, fruit snacks…  What a saint I was!

Admittedly, I wasn’t consciously thinking such thoughts about my friend.  At the time, this arrangement made perfect sense to me – as did so many other things I said and did.

Shortly after I decided not to continue my Mary Kay business, I was visiting my friend and talking about the experience.  Really, I just wanted to fall at her feet and ask for forgiveness for somehow treating her as a hired hand, or something.

Just last week, I went over her house to visit before going to work.  I was going to take some coupons to clip (myself!) while we talked – and also to share any that she might want.

I felt that pang of “what was I thinking!?!” all over again.

 

 

 

Time to Come Clean

I want to be honest about something.  It’s not that I haven’t been honest in all of my posts up until now.  Actually, my posts have been completely honest.  That’s not the issue.  

But there is something that I want to explain: 

I was only a Mary Kay IBC for about six months.  In the past several weeks, I’d been tossing around the idea of writing about my experiences.  About the thought processes I had at various stages as a consultant, at the time I decided to leave, and afterward.  

When I started this blog, just a few days ago, I was writing basically in chronological order.  Yesterday, I kind of hit a wall with that.  

From here on out, I’m not sure exactly which direction to take. One thing I do know is that I want to share my experience.  All of it.  And with honesty.  It just may not be written in order anymore.  

So, please keep reading.  And keep coming back!  Hopefully, you’ll learn something worthwhile about what it’s like to have a Mary Kay business!  

Someone please adopt this orphan! (or my first meetings)

Since neither my SD nor my recruiter lived locally, I would be attending Mary Kay Success Nights at a local unit, as an “adoptee.”  A friend of mine raved to me about her SD and invited me to her meeting. So, I put on my skirt (Mary Kay policy) and set out.  

I was a little intimidated by all of the professional looking women.  Not sure why, because I’m used to being around professional people.  Still, I was the new kid.  

Honestly, I don’t have a lot of recollection of the content of the meeting.  I do remember speaking with the SD at the end.  She was a very excitable lady.  Everything was “FABULOUS!”  

When we spoke one-on-one, she was significantly less excited.  

I asked her whether she would ever be willing to meet me and go over some things with me.  She told me that she barely has time for her own team, so she really wouldn’t be able to take time for me.  Huh. 

After the meeting, I went home feeling deflated and without desire to return to that unit’s Success Nights.  Fortunately, my SD had connected with another director, and I could go check out her meetings.  She said the NSD of that area would be speaking that night, so it’d be a great time to go. 

And go I did.  Again.  The average age of the consultants was younger than the other meeting.  The average height of heels was higher than the average length of skirts.  There was a bit of dancing at the beginning, mostly of the SDs.  And then, some models (guests) came out to show off their make-up looks.  

When the NSD spoke, I immediately loved her.  She was also very excitable, but in an endearing way.  There were little clappers on the chairs, which we clapped whenever she said something exciting.  (I would later find out that these were a staple at all Success Nights.) She talked about how much confidence Mary Kay had instilled in her.  She talked about how she asked God to point her to the right women to approach about Mary Kay.  She talked about how Mary Kay provided her a mission field.  Mission field?!  Again, someone was speaking my language.  

I spoke to the SD after the meeting, which by the way, was in the same room as the first meeting I went to.  She was a bit more down-to-earth and welcoming.  So, this would be the unit into which I’d be adopted.  I left this meeting feeling like this was the place I belonged.  And I was determined that one day, I too, would be able to drive out of there in one of those pearly pink Cadillacs like the ones parked outside.

Oh, one more thing:  about the skirts, I asked if it were really necessary to wear a skirt to every meeting.  The weather was starting to get colder, and I just don’t have a lot of cold weather skirts.  They told me that I could also wear professional looking pants.  Phew!  But that I should never wear pants to a big event, because no one is allowed to walk on stage for recognition in pants.  

Getting to know my recruiter and my Sales Director

Both my recruiter and sales director (SD) live long distances from me.  So, most of our communication was by phone or by email.

When I was getting started, I was so excited! I wanted to know everything, and I felt confident that I was going to get lots of training and support from both my recruiter and my SD.

I was at least partially correct on that.  In the few days leading up to signing up, my recruiter, a Red Jacket, talked to me quite a bit.  She addressed my concerns and shared her new-consultant experiences with me.  At one point, I asked her whether I would be able to speak to her regularly, in order to get advice.  She told me that she was still fairly new (1.5 years, maybe?), so I’d be communicating most frequently with our SD.  Fair enough, I suppose.

During the first several days, SD and I talked quite extensively.  As I said, I was very excited and wanted to talk about all my dreams and plans. Plus, I wanted to pick her brain about strategies, how to do this and that…all of it.

One thing she told me is that I needed to have a “why?”  What is the thing that is driving me to be successful in my Mary Kay business.  I told her that I wanted to earn money to serve in a specific area of the world.  This has been my dream for several years.  She, in turn, told me about a national sales director (NSD), who used the money she earns with her Mary Kay business to fund some overseas charitable programs.

Obviously, this touched me deeply and cemented my resolved to go all the way with my Mary Kay business.  Who was that girl who was warning her recruiter and SD not to even think about asking her to recruit or buy inventory?!  Whoever she was, she was GONE!

 

Step Two: Purchasing Mary Kay Inventory, or “You can’t sell from an empty wagon.”

As I mentioned in my first post, I was very adamant with my Mary Kay Sales Director and recruiter about the fact that I would not be purchasing inventory.  SD said that decision was completely up to me, but she’d at least like for me to watch the video.  Fair enough.  I’ll watch the video.

You’ll never guess what happened next!  I watched the video.  Haha.  Anyway, the director in the video spoke about the various inventory packages from largest to smallest.  The largest was about $4,800, I believe.  The package sizes decrease in cost by increments of $600.  All packages costing $1,800 and above are considered “Star Orders.”  

She mentioned that “Stars win cars.”  She said that every car driver in Mary Kay had been a Star every quarter that she’d been with the company.  Basically, that means each car driver ordered at least $1,800 worth of inventory every 3 months.  Hint:  cars aren’t based on sales; they’re based on orders.  Oh, and team size.  

But let’s try to stay on topic here.

After talking about stars, cars, jars, etc., she began to discuss the $1,200 and $600 inventory orders.  Her voice and enthusiasm dropped noticeably when she began to discuss these levels of inventory. 

An interesting thing that she said in the video: since she had inventory, anytime she and her husband wanted to have a night on the town, she’d just call a couple of customers, drop off their orders, and voila! 

She also talked about different ways to fund your inventory purchase.  So, here I sit:  bright-eyed, new Independent Beauty Consultant who just happens to have a credit card with a $2,000 limit and zero balance!  

Assuming I sold everything, including alllll the bonus items, I’d stand to make about a $2,000 profit off of an $1,800 investment.  My decision was made.  I would kickoff my Mary Kay business as a Sapphire Star Consultant!!

 

 

Getting Started

August 2013

I was working in a very rewarding job – spiritually, but not financially.  So, I started making a list of possible part time jobs.  The choices were somewhat limited, because I do not work on Sundays.  I am a Christian, and I prefer to set aside Sunday as the Lord’s day.

Along with some retail locations, Mary Kay was on my list of potential sources of additional income. Near the end of August, I received an invitation to a Mary Kay skin care class.  The class was being held by an acquaintance’s sister.  Slightly out of interest, slightly out of guilt for never going to anyone’s parties, I RSVP’d “yes.”

The party was nice enough.  We did the facial, and I actually loved the way the products made my skin feel.  When it came time to do the one-on-one consultation at the end, I dutifully purchased a mineral foundation.  The MK consultant told me that she was looking for women to join her team, and would love for me to consider it.  So, I set up an appointment to speak with her on the phone a couple of days later.

I barely remember the content of the phone conversation, but I soon after spoke with her director, too.  I wish I remembered the content of either of these conversations.  I just remember that I’d pretty much made my decision.

At some point during these few days, I stumbled upon http://www.pinktruth.com.  I read a little, but dismissed the women on the site as women who just didn’t try hard enough.  We’ll get back to them later.

Anyway, within four days of having been to the Mary Kay skin care class, I was signing an agreement to become a consultant.  I was really excited!!!  But I was trying not to get too excited.  I had ordered my starter kit, but still hadn’t heard about inventory yet.

Another thing I do remember:  I repeated to my Recruiter and to my Director about 1,000 times, each, that I would not recruit, and that I would not purchase a large inventory.  I had plans to run my Mary Kay business simply, by just selling products here and there and enjoying the discount on my own products.

Stay tuned….coming soon, I’ll discuss the conversations that followed shortly after my decision to become a MK Independent Beauty Consultant!