That’s Why You NEED to Go to Seminar
Here we go again with the question of whether women should go to Mary Kay’s annual seminar in Dallas, Texas. As you know, they haven’t had an in-person seminar for the last two years, so this year it’s an even bigger deal than usual.
The first thing that you need to understand is that EVERYONE is told they NEED to go to seminar. It doesn’t matter how much or how little money they make. How much or how little they work or want to “move up” in MK. Whatever reason or excuse anyone gives for possibly NOT wanting to go, she will be told THAT IS WHY YOU NEED TO GO.
It’s gross and disgusting, like most things in this predatory company. A discussion just happened on one of the “consultants only” Facebook pages, and you can see for yourself some of the comments.
Women are saying they can’t afford to go. That’s reasonable, right? You don’t put yourself in the hole to do these things. Nope! To the true Kaybots, if you can’t afford to go, then that’s why you NEED to go! Also, if you have anxiety and have trouble with large crowds, then that’s another reason why you need to go.
I absolutely love the woman who admits she spends more on MK than she makes. (Because that’s just about everyone in MK, even though your recruiter will lie to you and say lots of people are making money.)
Visit the
“I just spent the money to start our business and until I can pay that back and save enough for my business to pay for conference I can’t afford to go.”
This is reasonable and wise, and how every MK rep should operate. One of two things will follow: 1) She sees that her business does not make money for her, and she quits, or 2) her trustworthy intuition gets compromised by all the lies and hype from her upline, and she plunges into spiraling MK debt.
Wake up ladies. If your business profits can’t pay for Seminar, you can’t afford to go. Nothing you learn there will affect your business success. It is mostly a time to pressure reps and xSDs to ORDER, with no tangible advice on actually selling the products.
Yeah, good for Jenny Clay, whom I also love because she flat out says her director is not overly helpful. No doubt giving her the same rah-rah Seminar is teh r0xx0r speech and the same old sales tips that aren’t working.
I can’t help but notice that the ones who aren’t going all sound calm and have perfectly good reasons for not going, whereas the fangirls just sound brainwashed.
Seminar is designed to make you sleep deprived, hungry, hot, and over-stimulated. The classes never ever change, and they sell pure hype. They are also designed to make you feel less than because it seems like everybody is doing so well and you are the exception. Mary Kay is presented as the ONLY answer to everything that’s wrong in your life and by the end, you are so vulnerable, you buy into it. This is typical cult behavior. People are at the top because they cheated and exploited women. There is nothing to be gained by going.
“Mary Kay is presented as the ONLY answer to everything that’s wrong in your life…”—
Gee, I wonder where they got THAT idea from?
“This is typical cult behavior.”—
Yes it is. That’s why I dubbed it the “Mary Kay July Revival”. Oxford decribes it this way:
“Oxford Reference: A term applied to mass movements which are based upon intense religious excitement. Periodic religious revivals, which seek to restore commitment and attachment to the group, are a regular sociological feature of religious traditions. The evangelical revival of the 18th century included the Moravians and the Methodists. Revivalism has been a common phenomenon in the United States. See also evangelical; sect.”
Seminar’s sole purpose is to further indoctrinate people. It is a useful event, for Corporate.
“Selling an afterlife is the perfect con. It costs nothing to produce and can’t be tested until after a person dies.—Unknown.”
Instead of afterlife and death, insert selling the dream and drowning in debt. When the fog lifts, you cannot unsee the similarities. People who were in MK could not see through the fog….until they did.
I missed one year when I was still in MK. We had just moved to Hawaii and were still living in a hotel (housing wouldn’t be available for at least another month). We arrived on a Thursday, our hail was Saturday, and hubs went out to sea on Monday. There was no way I was going to be able to go to Seminar. My senior told me I needed to “find a way.” I told her to get real — it’s an 8-hour plus flight, and who is going to help me take care of my first-grader? I don’t even have a place to live yet! It ain’t happening. She sighed heavily and said I would miss out on so much. I told her too bad, so sad. I can’t go.
Did I mention we were living in a hotel in Waikiki?
I read one of the comments as Seminar will be 10X the BS of Career Conference.
I wonder what’s happening behind the scenes at MK Corp as June month/ seminar year end is drawing to a close? Will they meet their “sales”/recruiting/NSD debut/seminar registration/etc. goals? There are usually big announcements this time of year and it has been unusually quiet. I have heard there’s been a lot of employee turnover.
The last time I had to call them was an absolute nightmare. It was months ago, but I got the biggest runaround and wasted so much time on the phone. It helped me firm up the decision to get the heck out!
Oh yeah, they are falling apart from the inside out! I hope you were able to send product back and get a refund.
I learned absolutely Zero at the Seminars I attended. No make up application classes, no product knowledge/ ingredients classes. It was all “I” stories and how to warm chatter, how to conduct an interview. I think maybe there was one skincare class demo, but nothing about product! It is a complete waste of money, definitely NOT the free training you’re promised when you sign up. All hype and no substance.
Have to add I attended 3 full Seminars, the 4th Seminar is when I quit after the first day.
You should really send this story to Tracy and have it headline here. I really want to hear about you quitting on Day One! That’s epic!!
“I attended 3 full Seminars, the 4th Seminar is when I quit after the first day.” Please send your story to Tracy! This would be wonderful for Seminar antidotes
I attended far too many Seminars to even remember. But like all of you have pointed out… it was all fluff. I remember going as a brand new consultant- like a month in… biggest mistake! I was newly married, knew no one other than my director- (she was my MIL), roomed with 3 other ladies I didn’t know (talk about awkward!), but I was a high “I” personality- so it was all fun to me. I was so sleep deprived by the end of it, I couldn’t see straight. Slept the whole plane ride home. It would take me a couple days after returning home to start to feel normal again physically, but mentally- it would drain me, demotivate me for weeks. I didn’t understand that then.. but I do now- it was my subconscious trying to get my attention and get me out of there. Sadly, I ignored that for a long time.
I honestly pity MK women… they have no idea how real life is, and how wonderful it can be free from the fog.
Does “Rain GS” understand that for a person with severe anxiety to be in a situation that activates their fight or flight for several days wreaks HAVOC on their nervous system? It would probably take Sarah Jane WEEKS to recover from Seminar because her system will be absolutely exhausted. Ugh. The way they treat people who have mental health struggles grates my cheese.
I ❤️ “grates my cheese”.
I don’t have social anxiety, but I am very introverted and kind of a hermit. Being in even a small group saps my energy within a few hours and in bigger crowds I get tired and irritable unless I can have privacy breaks on the regular. Add in the frenzied pace and relentless perkiness of Seminar and I wouldn’t survive more than a day.
It would be hell on earth for Someone with an anxiety disorder.
Let’s take a look back at ancient history, shall we — or perhaps the movie Midsommar if you skipped history in school. The person who is just about to be thrown into the volcano or ritually disemboweled or burned as a sacrifice is often dressed in fancy clothes, anointed with flowers and oils, fed fancy foods, paraded before the crowd, and applauded.
That cheering crowd is worse than a participation award; it’s the signal that you’re the sacrifice.
(stolen from reddit!)
Here’s MK’s one-minute video ad for Seminar.
The entertainment looks like an Off-Off-Off Broadway production. Stay home and save yourself a bundle of money.
https://youtu.be/7WGEXuVOf9c?si=FCg-pqKJ0SOj8D2d
OMG that video makes my cringe reflex hit overdrive. I would definitely pay to not have to go lol, but thankfully that’s not needed! Thanks for sharing it, Enorth!