Begging You to Go to Seminar
Yes, this is just one example of the pathetic emails that are sent by Mary Kay sales directors and national sales directors… trying to get consultants to go to Seminar. If you heed no other advice on Pink Truth, please hear me on this: Do not waste your time or money on seminar. Don’t leave your kids behind. Don’t drag your husband along. Don’t waste the money.
Dear Area Directors and Consultants,
I know that IF you have “already decided” that you are NOT going to Seminar, you are RESISTING MY BEGGING .
BUT … I am giving this one last try. This article was tooooo good to not pass on. If you ARE going, read it for RE-CONFIRMATION.
If I hadn’t RISKED THE TIME, MONEY, EFFORT, AND ENERGY to GO TO SEMINAR AGAIN AND AGAIN … I certainly wouldn’t have just returned from FOUR COUNTRIES and almost FOUR WEEKS in Europe !!!
SEMINAR – It’s Worth Going!
You have been hearing the Seminar Buzzzzzz and sure … some of you probably think it is just one big party! Sure, Seminar is fun, but it’s so much more. It’s an exciting learning experience that motivates and teaches you in just four days what it could take months or even years to learn on your own. Seminar is an investment in your career as a Professional Business Owner. Yes, an investment in your vOcation, not a vAcation from your business!
In my corporate life I attended Seminars, Trade Shows, Conferences, etc many times throughout the year! The companies I worked for gladly paid to send me all over the county and sometimes internationally for these events as THEY BELIEVED IN INVESTING IN THEIR EMPLOYEES TO MAXIMIZE THEIR POTENTIAL.
POINT TO PONDER: Doesn’t YOUR business deserve the same?
In Mary Kay we have two main corporate events – Seminar in Dallas and Career Conference locally. We should be certain we take advantage them! I guarantee you will get MORE than your money’s worth from Seminar. I also know that there is a gremlin talking in your ear RIGHT NOW trying to talk you out of going …
Your Gremlin might say something like:
1. “I don’t have the money.” That’s exactly why you NEED to go. Put something aside from each sale. By holding 1-2 extra skin care classes between now and Seminar, you’ll help earn your way. The anticipation of going will increase your productivity BEFORE Seminar, and you will be even more productive when you get home AFTER Seminar. Trust me, if “I don’t have the money” is your objection, you cannot afford not to go! You need the tools from this Tool Box called Seminar!
2. “I can’t leave my children.” Children need a break from mom too. I was a child once … I found this to be very true! They’ll appreciate you more than ever when you get back – and you’ll be refreshed and energized. Begin making arrangements now. What this trip might cost you in inconvenience; it will pay off in your future!
3. “My husband doesn’t want me to go.” Are you sure or is this an assumption? You know, sometimes, we push our insecurities off on our spouses. If you say, “I don’t think I should go to Seminar … it seems expensive… I hate to leave the children … I’ll be gone a long time … etc. What do you think?” Most likely he will say, “Yes, it does seem… expensive … like you will be gone a long time … I will have the children all by myself …”. Men are very logical creatures though, and if your husband is anything like mine, HE HAS SEEN THE COMMISSION CHECKS IN THE BACK OF AN APPLAUSE MAGAZINE. Plus, just think, what would you say if your husband’s job required him to be away from home for 3-4 days in order to better his productivity and paycheck? Would YOU tell him that he couldn’t/shouldn’t attend? Give him a chance. Talk with him. Heck, take him with you? He’ll love it!
4. “I don’t deserve to go, because I didn’t meet my goals this year.” “Oh PUHlease!” Do you realize that even the TOP DIRECTORS ARE NOT WHERE THEY WANT TO BE??? We ALL want something MORE. That is WHY we are SUCCESSFUL business owners! Seminar attendance is not just a reward for a great year (although if you had one, we’ll sure celebrate it.) Seminar is the catalyst for making next year great! For many people, Seminar is more significant when they do NOT achieve their goals. It becomes turning point. Go hungry, learn, grow and make this Seminar YOUR turning point!
5. “I am a new Consultant. I’ll wait and go next year.” Hmmm … this sounds familiar .. I think I used this one! Seriously, do you want to wait a whole year to make a lot of money and be very successful? Why postpone your success for a year? If you want an awesome rookie year, you have the best reason of all to go. Give yourself a head start!
6. “I went to Career Conference. Isn’t that enough?” Ever heard the phrase, “You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet?” While the regional conference is great, it’s a weekly Unit Meeting compared to Seminar. NO joke. NO comparison.
Hear this message from my heart. My first Seminar I qualified for priority seating .. I did not go. My second Seminar again I qualified for priority seating .. I did not go. I HAD ALL THESE “EXCUSES” OR “REASONS” TOO! Finally, my third year. AFTER I DEBUTED AS A DIRECTOR, EARNED MY FIRST CAR AND HAD ALL KINDS OF STUFF TO CELEBRATE I STILL WAS NOT GOING TO GO … then a Mary Kay girlfriend I NEVER MET called me at 6am all the way from the East Coast to tell me to GET OVER IT AND GET ON A PLANE!! HER ENERGY WAS SO STRONG SHE GAVE ME GOOSEBUMPS OVER THE PHONE!!
The Seminar Experience is so hard to put into words. You know how sometimes we are too close to see clearly? Well that is what was happening with me. I was so bogged down in all the “reasons” & “excuses” not to go! Things I KNEW were LOGICAL reasons not to go. My eyes were opened so wide at Seminar! It is an experience that WILL set you up with the education, the inspiration, the dedication and motivation for the rest of the year!!
Don’t be short-sighted. INVEST IN YOURSELF! As women we are ALWAYS THE LAST PERSON WE SPEND MONEY ON! Don’t you deserve it? I promise, this experience could change YOUR Mary Kay life and financial status! It did mine!
IT’S WORTH IT!
Visit the
A couple months ago I was at a knitting retreat for a long weekend and some women brought their husbands along. Most of the guys looked like they were there at gunpoint. That was New England in May in a beautiful touristy area. I can just imagine how much the menfolks are going to love being dragged to a convention center in Dallas, TX in July.
I’m wondering, though, why the begging. I get that the higher-ups want to be a dot in the crowd but what’s the benefit to them of dragging their downline along? They wouldn’t do it if it didn’t benefit them somehow. Do they get kickbacks for admission tickets?
They get FREE hotel upgrades if they get enough downline to book rooms.
It’s called “comps” … if you reserve a block of rooms that get filled, the hotel throws in a free suite or two. MOST conferences use these to house invited speakers or for hospitality suites, but MK uplines use them themselves, and imply that they paid for it from their income.
Well, in a way I guess it does come out of their income. The income they make from their downlines going broke.
^^ THIS. I quit staying at our area hotel when I went to Seminar. There was a fun boutique hotel around the corner that was affiliated with my hotel rewards program, and the cost was a FRACTION of what the area hotel was. I even quit buying the dinner “ticket” for our area awards night dinner since the food was meh at best. Why would I want to spend $50 plus for a crappy meal when I could have a lovely dinner (with wine – gasp!) at my smaller hotel for 2/3 of the cost? I’d show up later in the evening as dinner was wrapping up for the awards festivities.
I caught hell for it for years. “You HAVE to stay at the hotel here with us!!” Um, no I don’t. I can still meet you easily at the hotel for planning and such, yet I’m not going to pay double or triple the cost for crappy food and crappy service. Once I found out that my national and several other top directors in her area were getting free upgrades and comps when folks booked rooms there, my decision to stay at my little hotel was cemented.
I live in Dallas and had tons of pressure to stay at the hotel.
I live in Dallas and got tons of pressure to stay at the hotel.
Sounds like the same crap the Amway groups pull with their conferences and meetings. They often sell them as one all-inclusive package with the conference fees, hotel and meals altogether, so even if you live right in the area, you pay for a hotel room you have no reason to use, or you can’t book a cheaper room elsewhere.
So much for owning your own business and being an independent contracter,
I did the same! I got chewed out and heard so many jealous comments. Sorry, suckers!
Top of the list of things I DON’T miss about MK–begging people to do things… Buy products, book parties, go to unit meetings, go to seminar, and on and on and on.
The Random Downvote strikes again!
Mary Kay Seminar – Where every server at restaurants is a potential recruit!
Where every server at a restaurant gets stiffed or a cheap tip
Dallas Morning News ran an article yesterday (behind a pay wall or I’d link) touting Seminar and how great a boon it is to Dallas’ economy. They also mentioned 14,000 attendees. That seemed low to me. The arena holds almost 10K people. So why is it over 2 weekends? I remember in the 90’s there were 5 seminar areas and like 50K people attending.
My aunt and uncle live in the Dallas area. At one time, Seminar brought millions to the Dallas economy — hotels and hospitality, restaurants, taxis, and more saw significant bumps in July. But those numbers have been steadily dropping for many years according to my uncle (a corporate accountant for a company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — not sure which company off the top of my head).
With only four seminars now and attendance steadily dropping each year, the economic bumps haven’t been as significant. Sure, they’re still there, but you will see bigger bumps with NBA playoffs and other events.
So 14,000/4 seminars is 3500 consultants per Seminar? That’s got to be the most empty that arena has ever been.
No longer in the arena. They’ve been in theatre seating down the long hallway for a few years now. Drastic drops!
There’s an article out there somewhere that says the servers at many of the Dallas restaurants near the convention center HATE it when the Mary Kay convention(s) is going on. Conference attendees stay long periods of time in the restaurants, taking space from customers that spend more money, eat little and don’t tip very well. But, in fairness, the takeout restaurants in the area apparently do well when it is going on.
Who the HELL wants to be in Dallas in July, that’s what I want to know. The humidity has to be so thick you could cut it with scissors. They couldn’t just have it in a different city each year like some organizations do? At least that would make it a little more exciting.
It’s hotter than usual this year and burned all the humidity off. 😉
This one?
https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/07-17-14-mary-kay-convention-downtown-tips/#slide=0
Lol I love this!
This one left one big elephant sitting in the corner:
In my corporate life I attended Seminars, Trade Shows, Conferences, etc many times throughout the year! The companies I worked for gladly paid to send me all over the county…
OK, so why doesn’t Mary Kay Corp “gladly pay” to send reps to Seminar? If the payoff in increased sales is so great, MKC should be eager to pay for everyone’s travel, hotel room, meals, and seat, right? No? Why?
Ask yourself: why?
The reason is simple enough: MKC cannot afford to do that. They’d go broke if they didn’t make their consultants pay for everything. That’s the reality for MLMs everywhere: way more consultants than the market will even bear, let alone to support financially. Better make them pay for their own overhead, so they go broke while the company can prosper.
“They’d go broke if they didn’t make their consultants pay for everything.”
True. But that’s the whole purpose of the consultant…to pay for everything. Mary Kay has no other revenue source. Everything is paid for by the consultants. And that includes seminar and everything that happens there. And the salaries of folks at MKC? Same.
There is no magic pot of money at Mary Kay. With the exception of an insignificant portion of sales to non-consultants (pity purchases etc.), absolutely everything in Mary Kay is funded out of the pocketbooks of the consultants. That is their role in the Mary Kay Corporate business plan. It is all built around this reality. Notice how all the incentives in Mary Kay are built around buying and recruiting. Nothing in the MK compensation plan involves actual selling.
Just like every other MLM, Mary Kay is just a money transfer scheme from the bottom to the top. Churn at the bottom is critical to keep the cash flowing upward. The “starter kit” is the most lucrative product. But the product actually plays little if any role in the business plan. Its presence, however, is required to keep things legal.
This is so sad. I had no idea how terrible MK really was. I’ve been in direct sales for years with makeup and skin care. I started with Avon and I did well selling but it’s definitely not a great income that I could support myself on, but I used a lot of the products so the discount was decent. However,I rarely kept inventory because I learned early on I’d get stuck with it and lost money. I ended up donating a bunch of stuff to hurricane victims since I couldn’t give it away. But the company I’m with now, I actually earn a commission check that deposits in my bank account. I don’t keep any inventory, and our host rewards help me get my own products at a significant discount. Even the host rewards are covered by the company. My biggest investment is in samples. Our only other financial commitment is a $9 technology fee. My financial output is so much less than when I sold Avon, and my income is significantly higher. I’ve also earned a trip a couple of years ago. The thought of investing thousands of dollars up front seems like a huge financial risk. The MK business model seems unsustainable.
I’m really sorry that you all have been burned.
Direct sales is the same thing as MLM. You’re also in an abusive scheme. Don’t fool yourself.
Oh look! another one thinking that writing on an old post wouldn’t be picked up . Why not post on one from this week?
$9 tech fee? Lemme guess it’s Tori Belle. with its …
“INSANE OPPORTUNITY”!!!!
Yup, it’s an MLM: “we will be paying 5 levels + 5 generations deep instead of a traditional 4/4 plan”
With a complicated levels and legs and sales points plan:
https://affiliatist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Tori-Belle-Compensation-Plan.pdf
Note 1 – MSR = Maximum Sales Rule: Up to 50% of Team Sales (TS) can come from any individual leg or from your own Personal Sales (PS). For VP of Influence, up to 10% of Team Sales can come from any individual leg or from your own Personal Sales (PS)
Note 2 – Group Pay = A downline group that includes everyone down to and including the next Influencer or higher Paid-As title. Group Bonus pay is in additional to Level Pay and all other bonuses.
* Builder Leg = A leg with 1,000 or more in Team Sales (TS)
** New 1st Level Influencer= A new 1st Level Influencer (excludes Micro and Nano Influencer ranks) in a rolling 12-month period
We expect the typical participant to earn $0-140 USD per year in commissions and bonuses. This number includes Affiliates that sign up to receive a discount on products but do not sell. We expect the average Active Affiliate to earn $5160 USD per year in bonuses and commissions.
Less than $100 per week. That’s less than an eight hour day at $15 an hour.
An additional reason: Mary Kay Inc. doesn’t view consultants as workers; they are direct customers. And the whole point of a company having customers is for them to spend money, not have the company pay for their customers’ travels and attendance at their annual “customer retention convention”.
THIS. This was the thing that always rubbed me the wrong way-pay to play-ESPECIALLY when you had to EARN the privilege of paying for your own trip? No thanks. I’ll just take a vacation. That way I can do what I want, when I want, how I want.
” Trust me, if ‘I don’t have the money’ is your objection, you cannot afford not to go! You need the tools from this Tool Box called Seminar!”
Someone…anyone, please let me know of a single consultant who learned something meaningful at seminar. This so called “Tool Box” contains nothing of business value…and certainly nothing recognizable by anyone who runs a legitimate business (small or otherwise). It’s just the typical MLM rah rah to buy more product, combined with tired and worn tips/tricks to give the consultants even more confidence to ruin their own reputation and damage their relationships.
Gag. I just got a text and email from one of the Seminar vendors begging me to come visit them at the Adolphus. It’s been 5 years since I was at Seminar. How long do you imagine it will take them to get the hint? *block*
Two things.
1. I think the Dallas media and Mary Kay are straight up lying about how much downtown Dallas lurrrrrrrves Seminar time. I firmly believe most employees of hotels etc. actually loathe it. In my experience, everyone was instructed to have the hotel take your bags to your room when you checked in so you could go straight to the convention center for “Day Zero” activities. Then you’re also instructed to have your bags picked up from your room on the final morning, and to then retrieve them from the front desk of the hotel when you depart later that day. IT WAS A MADHOUSE. I cannot fathom what it’s like behind the scenes.
2. I go to trade shows and conferences with our business now. There is zero comparison between those and the giant overpriced rah-rah session that is Seminar, and to tell naïve new consultants they’re the same is deceptive and disgusting.
I second that. From what I hear at sites like Reddit’s r/AntiMLM, Mary Kay (and other) huns rarely if ever tip. So restaurants full of Seminar attendees are just wedging out customers who might actually treat their servers well. Not to mention the attempts to recruit them (gag!).
When I was a sales rep for a giftware manufacturer, we had a HUGE trade show annually (Atlanta Gift Mart). It was crazy but in general we tipped well and didn’t act like primadonnas. Of course, our employers paid for the trip and gave a meal allowance, etc. But then, we were legit employees making a salary (plus commission).
I should add, we did little training on this trip because it’s a trade show where hundreds of thousands of buyers come to buy for their retail stores. And you know what? Not one single buyer had to be dragged into our showroom; we didn’t chat up the hotel staff to buy from us, lol. Buyers paid THEIR own way to come see new product and stock up their stores. I’ve been retired for a few years now but I miss those shows. So much fun selling!
But for training, other times of the year our company either took us to a destination (fully laid, places like Gaylord Opryland, Marco Island, Austin Tx, or to our US Corporate office in Atlanta). Since THEY were paying for it, they wanted it to be very effective and well-planned…it’s not cheap! But with Seminar, MK has relatively little cost invested per attendee. They don’t have to focus on recouping their costs.
The what if your husband’s company required him to be away from home for 3-4 days, would you say tell him he couldn’t or shouldn’t attend. The key differences here is it’s his employer REQUIRING him to go. Not a choice. A requirement within the scope and duties of his job. His boss does not have to beg.
Consultants are not employees. Consultants are not required, it’s totally optional. And taking money from the family budget or charging debt is not an issue as hubby will not be paying for any of it.
I work in higher ed. I get a travel allowance so that I can choose the conference I want to attend. I can save it up over two years and even go overseas. I can even decide to use that money for other things (think Covid and no travel) such as a better computer than the university provided one, memberships to organizations, or whatever I want to use it for as long as it pertains to my work. The best part is that I don’t have to stalk people, cold call, cold text, or anything to try to make a little extra to get that perk. It’s a benefit of my J.O.B.
Sadly, the majority of MK consultants are not…equipped?…to work in higher ed. Probably not “lower Ed “ either, lol.
Ladies I am STILL trying to pay off my seminar 2017 credit card balance where I opened the card and charged it all for my husband to come along with me. Such a mistake!
In fact I checked yesterday my remaining balance is $1,746.00 if anyone could cash app me a few dollars towards paying it off I would be so grateful! I’m not trying to be MK scammy or beggy I’m just a stay at home wife and my husband is in the army so I just want this gone, but I fully understand I chose to rack up the card to go.
No one from this site is going to cash app you. Stop it.
About her answer to moms who can’t/don’t want to leave their kids: anyone else notice that she says “I was a child too”? Not “I was a working mom”, not “I left the kids at Grandma’s for a few days”…nope! She probably doesn’t have any kids, so she is clueless about the difficulty and expense of arranging childcare in 2022. Her credibility is zilch in this area🙄
Everywhere is hiring. You can open an Etsy store and sell something or even ebay store, wow.
You say you are a “stay at home wife” … if you have no children there are plenty of places to find work for all skill levels. If you have children, it’s harder, but not impossible. $1746 is about 15 weeks of a part-time job (20 hours a week) at minimum wage – you could be CLEAR in 4 months.
Child care at $20/day would require 88 days or 18 weeks of looking after one child. I have a friend who pays $50/day and that would take 34 days or 7 weeks. Since it’s summer vacation, it should be easy to pick up some casual minding work.
Lol is she seriouzzz? Lady, you need to send that message to your previous upline. They’re the ones that owe you, if anyone does.
About her answer to moms who can’t/don’t want to leave their kids: anyone else notice that she says “I was a child too”? Not “I was a working mom”, not “I left the kids at Grandma’s for a few days”…nope! She probably doesn’t have any kids, so she is clueless about the difficulty and expense of arranging childcare in 2022. Her credibility is zilch in this area🙄
“(Seminar)…teaches you in just four days what it could take months or even years to learn on your own.”
But wait, what about all that free training you get from your directors? Certainly that should be more than good enough so that you don’t need to empty your wallet and bank account to go to Seminar, right?