Sean Key Goes Herbalife
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Sean Key used to be Mary Kay royalty. He went from VP Sales Force Motivation & Field Support at MK to unemployed in March 2020. He went from a 31 year career doing things like this:
…. to being a peon at the bottom of the Herbalife pyramid. Instead of being the revered executive making a pretty penny at the expense of beauty consultants who are all losing money, Sean Key is the one getting duped by the MLM.
Sean started with Herbalife the second he was let go from Mary Kay. He even went so far as to open one of the physical “nutrition clubs” that Herbalife promotes. These are so hard to make profitable. All they offer are Herbalife shakes and drinks. Who is going in there just to get a stupid Herbalife drink? It’s so hard to get any volume that actually pays the rent.
Sean is now “sitting at the feet” of the Herbalife pyramid-toppers.
Sean Key is busy getting motivated by Herbalife royalty as he claws his way up the pyramid.
He is getting inspired by Herbalife leaders who are making a positive impact!
I bet he had a severance package from Mary Kay. And I bet there was a non-compete type of provision in it that prevented him from contacting any Mary Kay reps for a period of time. But once that is over, I bet he thinks the floodgates will open and he’ll be able to recruit a bunch of MK ladies to his Herbalife scheme.
But let’s be clear: Sean has been in Herbalife for almost 14 months. And he’s an absolute nobody. He’s fangirl-ing the pyramid toppers at Herbalife and begging for selfies with them. I thought MLM worked when you do? If only Sean had worked the plan, he’d be on the President’s Team already (and still making only a fraction of what he made as a corporate employee at MK).
Visit the
From clown suit to just a clown. Sad.
Awww those herbalife shops are popping up all over by me. It’s so annoying and it’s actually hurting the small business owners who have started their own juice/smoothie shops, because people don’t want herbalife and can’t tell the difference between the herbalife scammers and the real locally owned small businesses.
I have gotten to the point whenever anyone shares a picture of a shake/juice from a nearby business I ask of they are herbalife or not. It’s the only way I can keep up on which new places not to go spend my money at.
Also I still don’t understand how the majority of those shakes they make are healthy or under thousands of calories….. Yet there are so many people I know that think they are being healthy by drinking them and it helping them to eat healthier.?♀️
Those “healthy” drinks are horrific! How can it be considered good for you when there are zero fresh fruits and veggies used to make them? They only consists of mystery powders assembled in these creepy little storefronts. Word on the street is that powdered pudding mixes, powdered jello mixes and other oddball items from the grocery store are used to give the various flavors in the drinks. I’ll pass!
I’ve never seen anyone successfully lose weight from it! People have them for breakfast but then they eat crazy the rest of the day.
He shouldn’t be sitting at the feet for too long. With Herbalife he should be able to promote himself at anytime!
Notice Gloria is liking all of his posts. His ego has to be killing him. He thought he was a king when I met him.
This really demonstrates how so-called “executives” in MLM cannot transition to executive positions in non-MLM companies. And I don’t mean MKC corporate executives such as Comptroller, Operations/Distribution/Logistics, etc. I mean “sales”. Even in this time of job losses from Covid, at the very least a TOP sales executive who loses their position could at least get into a mid-level position somewhere else and a company might be excited to scoop them up.
I am at surprised that he went to an MLM that is so established that the top spots in the pyramid are pretty much claimed, with many levels between him and the top. Why not go to some upstart with much better potential to get to the top faster? That’s weird to me. Does he actually not know how this pyramid thing works?
Yeah, or you’d think another cosmetic MLM would snap him up like Avon. Guess not, perhaps it’s the DUI charge out there for all to see that’s hampered his job prospects?
I really just want to hurl when they use “sitting at the feet of blah blah blah”. Don’t compare people at the top of the MLM pyramid to Jesus. Just don’t. Jesus would walk into your little foot-sitting session and start flipping some tables.
Yikes! Did you see the cost of the drinks at the Key Club? Look at the photo with the chalkboard menu.
https://www.keynutritionandenergy.com/
I have a dear friend who has one of these centers in Brazil. It saddens me every time I see a post.
If I spend that much on a shake, it’s going to have real ice cream in it!
Is anyone else reminded of the movie “Pulp Fiction”? The scene at the 50’s-themed restaurant, when John Travolta and Uma Thurman are ordering from waiter Steve Buscemi, who’s dressed as Buddy Holly:
Thurman: “I’ll have the…Derwood Kirby burger, bloody, … a-a-and… the five-dollar shake.”
Buscemi: “How do you want that shake? Martin and Lewis, or Amos and Andy?”
Thurman: “Martin and Lewis.”
John Travolta: “Did you just order a five-dollar shake?”
Thurman: “Mm-hmm.”
Travolta: “That’s a shake. That’s milk and ice cream.”
Thurman: “Last I heard.”
Travolta: “That’s five dollars.” [To Buscemi]: “You don’t put bourbon in it, or nothin’?
Buscemi: “No.”
Travolta (shrugs): “Just checkin’.”
That’s expensive for a smoothie or tea!
Reminds me of a joke from the 80s about Slim Fast and how much better it tastes with a few scoops of Hagen Daaz in it.
$5-7 is comparable to Starbucks or Smoothie King or whatever… what got me was the picture with the nose hanging over a mask. Why bother? And this is at the ‘health’ store?
The rules for a Nutrition Club are disturbingly hilarious. See link for full doc, but here’s just a few:
1-E Employees
While Distributors are generally permitted to utilize employees in operating their Herbalife businesses, they may not use employees to assist with any Nutrition Club operations.
1-k No Assigned or Exclusive Territories
There are no territorial assignments or exclusive territories for Nutrition Clubs; they may be opened and operated anywhere it is legally permissible to do so.
https://www.mlmnewsreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/herbalife-nutrition-club-rules.pdf
“There are no territorial assignments or exclusive territories for Nutrition Clubs; they may be opened and operated anywhere it is legally permissible to do so.”
Lol…if only he opened a McDonald’s location instead! Protected territories! Oh wait…unlike every single MLM, McD’s won’t let just any and all breathing organisms open a location (and frankly I’m not sure that MLMs require that the “breathing” prerequisite exist). Very, very few if any MLM-ers would meet the stringent criteria needed to be considered worthy of a McDonald’s franchise agreement. But hey, thirty bucks and you can own your own MK business! Wait…don’t go! You don’t have thirty bucks? Chelsea has you covered girl! Yay welcome to your own business, Boss Babe! ?
I tell ya Char, we keep beating this point (and so many others) into the ground every week. I wonder sometimes if we get through to anyone. Respect to Tracy and the others who’ve been here since day one and after so many years still carry the torch of knowledge and truth. You all have incredible patience!
Wait Char, you’re saying this is seriously in the rules:
“…permitted to utilize employees in operating their Herbalife businesses…may not use employees to assist with any Nutrition Club operations”
So…”operating” =/=“operations”; “Herbalife business” =/= “Nutrition Club”;
and “utilize” =/= “use”? Is this some language that only pretend businesses use?
Found this on Reddit. I was thinking of a better post I once read of someone responding to a “help wanted” sign/ad, but I couldn’t find it. This basically says the same thing i.e, you become a downline distributor to work there:
“One of my coworkers [at a regular job] told me that she is quitting to start working at a Nutrition club…….She will get shifts to work at this club. She keeps the money that she makes during her shift, and if there is another distributor there (her upline) then they will trade off back and forth as the customers come in. Out of the money she makes selling her shakes/teas, she gives 2 or 3 dollars back to the “house” for the cost of cups, straws, etc. She will also be responsible for paying for the product she sells, basically you order in large quantities. I think the initial startup cost to start working there is like $130, but I could be wrong.”
“trade off back and forth as the customers come in”
In retail back in the day we called them “ups”. As in, who’s up in line for the next customer? The “up” system works well when there is a lot of traffic coming in. But when so few people come in (as I’d expect for this Herbalife “retail” business), the salespersons get desperate and will gladly trample over one another to get their hands on whomever walked in. Which makes for an unpleasant experience for the lone customer, and an unlikely sale for those fighting over said customer.
So instead of being paid big bucks as a corporate executive, Sean spends his days sitting at his little club, making $8 shakes for the rubes that come in. Sounds like a great deal!
And an even better deal after we figure in the (huge) costs he incurred to establish this brick-and-mortar location! Ee gads, he could turn that mini-mall rent bucket into ANYTHING else and hope to turn a profit at some point during his lease. But no, we’re gonna sell shakes at ridiculous prices and get rich doing it!!! (Can I say SMH without it looking cheesy?)
I wonder why they can’t use employees in “Nutrition Clubs”. So weird!
I also wonder where they find new recruits? It would be super weird to ask people who stop in for a quick shake or tea if they want to start a business. And recruiting is where the money is, so they can’t be making much.
There’s LOTS of abandoned Nutrition stores in my small city, but one is still in business, and is pretty popular with my co-workers. I wonder how they do it, or if they’re in debt up to their eyeballs.
“It would be super weird to ask people who stop in for a quick shake or tea if they want to start a business. ”
…lol, I’m imagining this going like when your local barista asks if you want some type of flavor “shot” added to your drink…heeeeeyyyy girl, do you want a shot of MLM “business” with your shake??
That would be a no.
What amazes me is that anyone would agree to open a storefront with all those restrictions. Here are a few choice quotes…
“5-D Window and Door coverings:
“Window and door coverings must be unbranded, and they may not state, imply or suggest (even without words) that retail products are available for purchase inside.
“The word ‘shake’ or pictures of shakes, or any other products, even if unbranded, are not permitted and, may not be used, or incorporated as window and door coverings. [those extra commas? sic]
“Herbalife products, posters, materials, images used inside the Club must not be visible from the exterior.”
(Because God forbid hungry people would know there’s someone behind those window shades who’s trying to sell food-like material, right?)
To summarize section “5-E Nutrition Club Exterior”:
No tables, chairs, outdoor seating, no welcome signs, no open/closed signs, no credit card merchant signage, no pictures or drawings of food, no website address, no telephone numbers, no tag lines. Essentially: nothing to attract walk-in traffic.
In my commuting days, I used to drive by offices like that in various Silicon Valley industrial parks, mostly in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Window blinds were always shut; there was little to no signage to indicate who worked there or for whom they worked. Everyone knew they were offices of various government intelligence agencies (CIA, NSA, etc.), and that it was best to just let them be. I guess that’s the image Herbalife is trying to project. “Nothing to see here, move along…”
Herbalife claims these ridiculous rules are because “Nutrition Clubs are not intended to attract ‘walk-in’ traffic,” [from section 4-D: Advertising] which is just beyond bizarre to me. But hey, if you really buy into the MLM fantasy that true network marketing is by personal contact and word-of-mouth, I guess you should be chasing away any customer who happened by on their own, right? No?
I say the real reason for the restrictions is simple: so would-be club owners are unable to discover how over-saturated the market is with “clubs” that, like Sean’s, are empty most of the time. All that bullcrap about discouraging walk-in traffic for the sake of the chaste purity of the MLM model is just that: bullcrap. A smokescreen to fool the dupes into playing along. Pretending “no territories!” is a good thing is more of the same.
An MLM trying to mislead and exploit their own membership? Say it ain’t so!
Oh my. Nothing says “retail sales to end consumers don’t matter” than everything you’ve listed here.
“Nutrition Clubs are not intended to attract ‘walk-in’ traffic”
…well, that certainly backs up the accusations that sales to end consumers are NOT the focus of Herbalife. Yikes.
https://auburn.momcollective.com/mom/local-nutrition-clubs-are-mlm-company-herbalife-in-disguise/ says
“…They’re also not supposed to actually sell the drinks. Instead they are selling a daily “membership” to the club that entitles the member to a drink. If they ask for your contact information in order to make a purchase, that’s why…”
So what the hell are in these “shakes?” The website doesn’t say, or at least I couldn’t find an ingredient list. I can make my own drinks with my Nutri Bullet, drinking pure ingredients like raw nuts, fruit, leafy greens, almond milk, flaxseed, etc.
A facebook post for the Herbalife place my co-workers go to a lot, one recipe said vanilla protein powder, chocolate pudding, and some other things I don’t recall. They’re not even hiding the pudding, I guess. Other shakes included cheesecake or caramel.
The also had a panoramic view of a prep station that said “Good news! We passed our health inspection and protein donuts are back on the menu.” So… you’re saying you failed your health inspection before? ??
Man am I glad those protein donuts are back! I can’t believe I survived this whole time without them! ?
Just curious as I am looking for a new & not overly huge blender do you like your nutri bullet ?
I love my nutribullet!!! I have the 900. I can throw anything in there and it grinds it right up.
I have an Oster personal blender from Target and you can buy extra cups on Amazon. The other cups are hard to find.
Late to the party but wonder if Sean is trying butter to up the Herbalife royalty with all his event attendance, commenting on their extradinary mentorship, hanging around to chat one on one thinking they’ll come to realize his executive talents and he’ll slither in as a marketing director or whatever.
I can’t imagine them making a failed distributor into a corporate executive. It would go against their narrative that anyone can succeed in MLM if only they try hard enough.
Any idea what his salary was from MK Corporate? I suspect it wasn’t as much as we think, but I’d love to know.
He clearly has shyster in his blood, or he would not had kept up with the MK charade for consultants for so long. I’m not that surprised he that went into this, especially if legit job offers were few and far between. He’s certainly assuming the role quite seamlessly. Those pics and comments with upline are typical MLM crap and barf worthy.
He was easily making VERY healthy six figures.
And drove a free Cadillac, just as all the execs do.
So why oh why can’t he get another six figure, high level sales position? Did he “take” (lol) this low-rung Herbalife “position” because he’ll make six figures? No? Then why not move laterally to another six-figure sales position? Oh, that’s right. As we all know, MK and other MLM exec positions are make-believe and the second they try to cross over to legit businesses is when they get made fun of and shot down.
Sorry for my snarkiness, my sarcasm font is on today ?.
I would assume there aren’t that many available jobs like the one he left. I’m sure MK gave him a really good recommendation, but there’s just nothing gout there paying him what he made. It seems he must have believed his own hype that anyone can do it if they just follow the system and try hard. And a year later he has almost nothing to show for it. He’s still a fangirl begging for selfies with the pyramid toppers. With 149 followers on IG. LOL
Damm he can’t even afford to buy followers. Remember? Buying followers gives the illusion you are popular. ?
Tracy, I don’t know you find this or if it’s sent but your blog is a favorite of mine incase you can’t tell. ❤️
Let us say, as an example, you met someone likable, who always spoke well of you, but who had horrible judgement. Someone who is enthusiastic and personable, but who makes mind-numbingly bad decisions, like opening a “health” food(?) bar with almost no chance of success because the market is outrageously oversaturated and the odds of his business’s survival are nil. Would you hire someone like that to a high-level corporate position?
I wouldn’t either.
Yes! Preach!!
No, I don’t think they’d consider hiring him. I wondered if SEAN coming from his la la land pretend world which is all smoke and mirrors where people really think they’re really important when they’re not thinks he can fake it til he makes it. I worded it badly. ?
I hope he is not spending his pension on this. After 31 years he had to get something.. right?