Written by SuzyQ

Oh, your first 30 days in Mary Kay Cosmetics. Such an exciting time! So much to learn! So much to do! 30 faces in your first 30 days! But here’s the reality of what goes on those first 30 days….

There is no inventory requirement, but your recruiter (generally a director) will still hand you an inventory sheet and discuss it with you. No matter what your “goals” may be, you will learn that you will need inventory on hand so you can deliver your customers orders to them on the spot.

No one likes to wait, and “you can’t sell from an empty wagon” as Mary Kay, the Icon, was fond of saying. Not only that, but you will also receive a 90% buy back guarantee from the company for any unsold product if you decide Mary Kay is not for you.

And you will be told the training is free! It is like a university education! Except it is not free, you will pay a room fee for meetings (I mean good grief, MK Corporate is charging for virtual events) and there is nothing remotely college level taught in any of the “trainings.”

Ah, unit meetings. The weekly dose of Mary Kay that is needed to keep you close and engaged in “your business.” The meetings are designed for consultants to bring “models” or “guests” for facials to try new looks and new makeup, but the real purpose is to recruit new unit members. Most new consultants don’t get this, and some new directors don’t know this either.

The meetings offer an opportunity for “love bombing” new consultants and those who place large initial inventory orders. Much praise and a lot of trinkets are given. Standing ovations are not uncommon. Tears and hugs are nearly mandatory.

And high sales weeks? Wowzers, those women are brought to the front of the room, and their sales at a party/class are divided by 2, so someone who sold $100 dollars made a $50 profit! The question is asked of the models/guests, do YOU make $50 per hour? We do! Of course, these women are interested. Much free product is given away and many promises are made, and interviews are secured.

At the new consultant’s home, “love bombing” continues by postcards, phone calls, emails, text messages weekly to new consultants by directors. It is known that after the newbie burns through her warm market, she gets reservations about her decision to join MK and her decision to buy inventory. The weekly postcards et al come at exactly the right time and offer supportive messages.

The experiences of all consultants with classes not holding, people not answering the phone or responding to text messages, no one new to call, are normalized with the phrase, “It’s ok, no means next.” It turns into a contest, how many “no’s “can you get? First one to 50 gets a prize.

The consultant is pleased with the attention and learns that what she is feeling is normal. After all, by this time, her director has told her about the time she drove 35 miles to a class during a storm that didn’t hold, and by the way, the consultant’s nsd? … Have you heard about one of her classes? Oh my gosh, let me tell you! We are all in this together and all you have to do is keep going! The only people who don’t make it in MK are those who quit!

Meanwhile, the new consultant is reeling. She continues ordering product because it changes, she has trouble selling what she has ordered, her family is concerned, and she is told to ignore the negative people in her life because they don’t understand. She is advised to keep only positive people in her life, her sisters in MK. Everybody else is trying to “Ick on her wow” (Stacy James) or “Pay no attention to the balcony people” ( Marlys Skillings).

She is also told that her husband (if she has one) is only interested in 2 things, money, and giggle giggle, so show him the money after a successful class. (Stacy James) All the way home, consultants will talk about how they will become directors and directors talk about how they will become nationals.

So you see there is the story about what will happen in your first 30 days, and there is the reality. Everything is geared toward getting you to order more products and starting to recruit. All because this is what lines the pockets of your upline. They make it seem like it’s about you, but it’s really about the and their commission checks.