Good Mary Kay Sales Directors
One of the frequent arguments we hear from Mary Kay Lovers on Pink Truth is “my director is a good one” or “I’m sorry you had a bad director, but mine is different!”
I believe there are many sales directors who believe they are doing the right thing. They believe they’re helping other women when they involve them in Mary Kay. They believe that convincing new recruits to stock inventory is “for their own good.”
But any honest former director will tell you that they all deceive to some extent. Many tell outright lies. Others tell lies of omission…. purposefully keeping facts to themselves, even when they know those facts might be important to the recruit. They don’t tell the whole story about their Mary Kay experience or the truth about how much money they’re (not) making.
A woman tells her story about being a “good” director, and the truth about her involvement in Mary Kay. She is not the exception. She is not one who was “not working the Mary Kay way.” She is the norm.
I was a “good” sales director, or at least I thought so. Even upon emerging from the pink fog, I still considered myself to be one of the “good” directors who did really care about her consultants. I truly did care and still do, but tonight, it finally dawned on me that I was as horrible as all infamous SD/NSD’s we read about here.
I thought since I wanted so badly for my consultants to succeed (when I still thought real success was possible), and didn’t just view them as stepping stools to larger pay checks, that I was somehow better, more humane or something. It kind of sucks to realize I’ve been so disgustingly self righteous and unaware. Don’t get me wrong, as I did already know that I let MK turn me into a manipulative, greedy twit, but I somehow thought I just wasn’t as bad as some of them.
I skimmed over some notes I took while in MK, and I was just shocked and disgusted at the blatant BS I had written. I cannot believe I couldn’t see through the feel good, rah-rah crap! But, as I was skillfully manipulated by one who is still scamming and shamming, I no longer feel too badly about my gullibility.
I got sucked in because of low self-esteem and a strong sense of wanting to contribute more to my family. I wanted to be successful and important again, like I was before my daughter was born, when I was working. I didn’t realize that I was already important and I was already successful. I was important to my husband and daughter, the people who are most important to me! I was successful, because I was doing what I always wanted to do, and I had a happy marriage and a happy baby. But my senior director conned me into thinking that what I was doing wasn’t important or great enough, and the MK could fulfill me.
Anyway, I guess I hadn’t yet identified traits in myself that I despise in the MK sales force. I’ve been out for about 18 months now, and thankfully was only in for 2 years, but to my surprise, I’m still learning about myself from my experience. Such as how much they stress going to meetings, for example. I always told (lied to) myself, that I didn’t mind if a consultant missed a meeting, because I understood there was more to life than MK. What bull! Of course I cared if somebody missed a meeting! Why? Because the meetings are a great way to maintain mind control over the consultants! She misses a meeting, and she misses the brainwashing I had planned for her, to insure another dollar in my pocket!
They always say, “get the dollar signs out of your eyes!”, and I totally bought into it and believed it was sincere, that I was sincere! I didn’t realize at the time that I looked at each woman, my friends, as basically a pimp with a group of ho’s! It doesn’t matter how nice you are, or how much you tell yourself you care, when the only way to “promote yourself” and earn a paycheck is by conning other women into selling crap and snaring other suckers, you’re no better than anybody else in the game. The company forces you to focus only on the almighty dollar, when it comes right down to it. Quite a revelation to realize I was even more scummy than I had accepted I had been. Very humbling, to be quite honest.
Sorry this is disjointed and full of ranting. I guess I just got disgusted all over again today, and I knew I could come here and spew it all out to people that understand. I am so thankful to say that I am a good person, and even though I lost a lot of myself during my brainwashed period, that’s not who I am today. For anyone that is still struggling with coming to terms with the person you became while in MK, please know that you were duped, and don’t let that define how you feel about yourself now. Be proud of getting out, and reclaiming your life and values! It takes strength and courage to leave, and it does get sooooo much better the longer you’ve been out!
Thanks for reading, thanks for being there for me when I was emerging from the fog, and thanks for all the support you continue to give new comers and existing members! I love Pink Truth!
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This post probably most accurately sums up most of the Directors here. Nobody ever intended to be a commissioned predator. When we start to study how cult thinking gets a foothold, and understand how the ability to fool oneself (denial and rationalization) and low self esteem are usually within the “target” as an unresolved personality trait, and how that gets cultivated by the MLM company or Cult, we can finally wake up and see how financially exploited we have been. They ALL try and create dissatisfaction in our lives, searching for the exploitable weakness, that they can fill with their network marketing con. Even the commission levels with the various blouse and suit upgrades are subtle inducements to keep moving up-you have’t arrived yet. Disguised as “carrots”, they are subtle distractions to the actual condition of your business.
You all know this. You know it but you can’t admit it. And all you need is one fact to bring it into clarity. Mary Kay Cosmetics has never, TRACKED ACTUAL SALES AND PROFITABILITY…and there can be only ONE REASON why that is so. Would trips, cars, suits and blouses, stage walks, trinkets be awarded if actual sales were counted? Could you keep playing the game if your real financial condition were known? You already know this…don’t you?
“basically a pimp with a group of ho’s!”
Can hookers be nice people? – Of course they can.
What’s the difference between a good hooker and a bad hooker? – Either way, aren’t they still a hooker hooking.
MLMing is an act, and a method the company uses. It remains the same regardless of name of company or product. (Think hooking for different pimps wearing different outfits. It’s still hooking)
When you commit the act of MLMing, you are an MLMer. (hooker) A hooker is a hooker, and an MLMer is an MLMer. The fewer tricks she does the better for her health and family. Imagine turning tricks every hour and collecting THAT cash for her family.
“Successful” MLMers are nothing but huge Ho’s.
So in agreement with the author, there is no such thing as a good MLM director or a bad MLM director. They are what they are. Maybe some are nice, and maybe some are bitches. It doesn’t matter with regard to the act itself.
I have terrible memories of my time as Director Sales. I was in a vicious circle, with the credit card limit fully utilized, mired in debt and having to make monthly claims to “secure the production” and keep the “Directorate.” My Unit was fading and I became more and more desperate. But we learned to “pretend to get it,” so every Saturday I went to Unity Meetings with the “successful outfit” and pretended to be a successful Director and a wonderful life when in fact I was destroyed inside. What a sad and purposeless life! Thank God that I was freed from this service and gave me another chance. Put PT in my life to remind me how predatory is hateful is this company that has already destroyed thousands of families.
Hello to you in Brazil! Happy to have you here with us at Pink Truth.
I am curious how different things are for directors in Brazil compared to the U.S.
Tracy, reading PT, I noticed that the rules for the “Pink Car”, DIQ, Directed in the USA are different from those used in Brazil.
For example: in Brazil, to qualify for the pink car you have must be Sales Director. The qualification period is 6 months and the Unit must produce 300,000 points with a minimum production of 50,000 points per month. Recalling that a base mk here in Brazil costs wholesale $ 38.40 and scores only 29 points (see the discrepancy). So it would be like buying around $ 75,000 in products per month to “win” the trophy on wheels, whose model here in Brazil is the Chevrolet Cruze that is costing around $ 100,000.00. To maintain the car without copays, the Unit must produce at least 45,000 monthly points. These numbers are scary in a country where the minimum wage is $ 998.00.
Sorry for the badly worded text, I’m using Google translate.
Wow! Those numbers are crazy! How do you sell that much when the wages are so comparatively low?
(And I knew you were using Google Translate and I think it’s great! THank you for talking with us!)
Off subject, how much were them expensive Mary Kay masks again? $60 just found similar ones for $12 LOL
$70 for 4.
I just listened to a video where SSD Michelle Cunningham said, “…you have to triple-book because, invariably, two of the three will cancel.”
Have you seen the video she did from maybe 4 yrs ago with her table all decorated and ready to go and no one showed up? This was before she rented out that space in the plaza lol. She spun it into a “Learning opportunity” and decided to make a video so her time setting up wasn’t a total waste. Uh, yeah it was…..
I do remember that!
She has a new YT video: “Top 10 Secrets to Direct Sales.” Tip #1 is to make a poster.
Can you give me a link to that and tell me about where I can find it? It would make a nice topic for a piece here. 🙂
Tracy, here is the link https://youtu.be/YhA17-s_UBM