The Numbers on Recruiting and Ordering
You always wondered what the recruiting and ordering statistics were in Mary Kay. One national broke it down for her area. I’m not sure how much of it we can believe, but it’s at least a starting point.
As you expected, the number aren’t good. Almost everyone fails in MLM, and these numbers reflect the failure. People don’t fail in MLM because they’re lazy or uninformed. They fail because simple math makes it so. It’ a pyramid with huge numbers of women at the bottom. There aren’t enough women to sell to or recruit in order for many of them to be successful.
Here are the numbers the NSD laid out for us:
- 1/3 of your consultants will order an average of $400; 1/3 are thinking about it; 1/3 are on the way out
- Your unit should recruit a minimum of its size (exclusive of personal recruits)
- Company statistics indicate a new recruit will place an initial order of $1,000
- 20% of your unit will generate 80% of your production
- 1% of people are natural leaders; 2% are learned leaders; 97% are followers (it’s okay to be a follower, however, followers seldom become directors)
- 3% of your unit is leaders. Calculate 3% of your unit size. Unit of 30 has less than one leader, a unit of 50 has 1.5 leaders and a unit of 100 has 3 leaders.
- A consultant will recruit 1 out of 5. A director will recruit 1 out of 3. There is one prospective recruit at every class. Using these figures you can always tell a consultant how many classes she is away from her goal. For ex. Red Jacket she needs 15 classes. Car 60 classes.
- With whom do you spend your time? 45% of your time should be spent with your new people. 45% of your time should be spent with key people. 10% of your time should be spent with those on their way out.
It all sounds so cold, doesn’t it? Well they tell you it’s a numbers game and it is. Mary Kay has been in business so long and they know exactly how these numbers shake out. They know how many will win the cruise promotion. They know how many will place an initial inventory order of $1,800 or more. They know exactly how to work this system to benefit corporate the most.
It’s so sad once you know the truth.
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I applaud you for digging up this info, Tracy. It’s “math” that they usually keep pretty close to the vest in director training because it’s so stinking cold.
I will say, these are the same numbers that were being thrown around when I joined MK in 2006, no change at all. I don’t know any consultants who recruited 1/5, and VERY few directors who recruited 1/3. And the $1,000 initial order? Totally invented. They’re pie-in-the-sky numbers designed to look realistic. Corporate has its own set of numbers that align with reality but they’ll never ever be revealed.
That said, how revealing is it that, even according to their ridiculous numbers, at least 1/3 of every unit is in the process of washing out at all times? Can you think of any other industry where that would be an acceptable turnover rate? Or one in which leadership is encouraged to wash their hands of anyone not ultra-successful?
Friendship in Mary Kay is always conditional, especially with your direct “leaders.” She’s a “servant leader” as long as you’re serving her bottom line. When you’re not? Well, you’re not worth her time.
“That said, how revealing is it that, even according to their ridiculous numbers, at least 1/3 of every unit is in the process of washing out at all times? Can you think of any other industry where that would be an acceptable turnover rate? Or one in which leadership is encouraged to wash their hands of anyone not ultra-successful?”
It’s exactly the opposite of what a decent employer will do, working with a struggling employee and giving them a chance to improve before letting them go. Because in a real job, hiring, firing, and training is a pain and takes a lot of time and resources, so if you can help an existing employee get back on track with some mentoring or extra training it’s cheaper and easier than hiring and training a whole new person. Plus it’s the kind and decent thing to do.
But the MLM money vampires only care about their own bottom line so once someone’s sucked dry, out they go.
“That said, how revealing is it that, even according to their ridiculous numbers, at least 1/3 of every unit is in the process of washing out at all times?”
In MLM, the higher the churn the better. Ideally, they want consultants to make a huge inventory purchase, recruit someone to replace themselves, then quit (without returning inventory). Once a consultant discovers the futility of retailing these grossly overpriced products, they become a liability to their upline. In Mary Kay, consultants who stop ordering are referred to as “stale” consultants, and need to be brushed aside.
In nearly all MLMs, the starter kit is by far the most lucrative item they sell. Higher churn leads to higher starter kit orders. In Mary Kay, that initial inventory purchase is analogous to the “starter kit” in other MLMs. That is why the pressure is so high to maximize that initial order.
The consultant is the customer, the starter kit is the product. Maximizing the initial inventory purchase, paired with high consultant churn, is the business goal to maximize corporate and up-line cash flow in Mary Kay.
Come on, Ridiculous Downvoters ™! But take a moment to tell us why Tracy is wrong, why the rest of this thread is just wrong. Use actual numbers to prove us wrong. Telling us you’re right doesn’t work; we need proof. But it’s so easy to provide proof, and anonymously! Tracy will respect your anonymity if you just detail how you’re making consistent money in MK.
“ Unit of 30 has less than one leader, a unit of 50 has 1.5 leaders and a unit of 100 has 3 leaders.”
So how will Megan and Chelsea ever become the NSDs they think they will? Well, at least Chelsea has backed off the “I’ll be an NSD by 2022” claim by instead shooting for a million dollar unit (lolz). But Megan stated clearly that she plans to work her Mary Kay “business” for 40 years and retire at 65.
If we go by the stats listed above, how many recruits/leaders/directors/etc does Megan have to churn through to even get a legit glimpse at a MK NSD position?
Seems to me that she’s just another one of dozens of thousands of mid grade sales directors who choose an area name for their “future” area and plaster it all over their social media while none of the dream comes true.
Reminds me of grade school when you’d have a crush on a boy and write your first name with his last name inside your notebook.
“So how will Megan and Chelsea ever become the NSDs they think they will?”
They’ll just need to follow the Jamie Taylor playbook.
I will never believe that a consultant recruits 1 in 5 people. I was in MK for nearly 10 years and matched myself and others bust our butts and never make it to director. If people recruited 1 in 5 people, it would be easy to become a director and there would be more of them.