Mary Kay Truths
Written by SuzyQ
I was going to write an open letter to Mary Kay NSDs and sales directors, and I know they read here, but it seemed to be a futile gesture. I wanted to ask them to think, to ask questions, and to look at the reality of Mary Kay. It ain’t gonna happen, so I will write to the Pink Truth readers instead.
For the newbies who don’t know me, I was a non-stellar director for many years, and found PT, read it and was horrified, could not tear myself away, was berated by my then sister directors for reading that awful-spawn-of-the-devil site, decided to do Mary Kay the “right way” (no recruiting unless someone had resources to burn… no frontloading… releasing product changes to my unit as soon as I knew about them…didn’t spend the money for Leadership or Career Conference…that kind of stuff). So, of course, the production dropped and the car co-pays started, the commissions went waaaaaaaaaaaay down (and they weren’t all that high to begin with), and by golly, I was not able to give myself a raise.
In this entire process I learned a number of things, and here they are from the mundane to the profound:
- MK is the best selling brand to CONSULTANTS.
- There is no tracking of real sales. (MK Inc. doesn’t actually WANT to track that, because they know how dismal the results would be.)
- Most people cheat to make it into the courts.
- MK directors can use up to 4 separate credit cards to put in a single order.
- People DO NOT love MK’s products.
- The products are not cutting edge.
- The spin at corporate puts experienced spiders to shame.
- Corporate does not have consultant’s best interest(s) in mind. It’s all about what works best for them.
- The bumps you get when you start using the product is NOT caused by pores cleaning themselves out. It’s a negative reaction to the product.
- TimeWise 3 in 1 Cleanser does not cleanse effectively.
- When sales are down, new products are introduced. They are limited edition and will sell out. They have been in the works for at least 1 ½ years. Really. I am not making this up.
- Even when a huge change to the product line is coming, directors will still sell the sizzle of BIG inventories for newbies. They will justify this behavior by saying to themselves and the newbies, that the products will be sold before they are discontinued.
- Directors generally (but not always) know what is coming down the pike. They are told not to tell the consultants because leaking this info might cause people to hold orders and there goes that monthly production.
- Many many directors order the last day of the month to boost their monthly production so they can earn a bonus or at least hit the minimum $4,500.
- Standards and rules enforcement/contract enforcement is arbitrary at best, and malicious at worst.
- You matter to your director so long as you order. Otherwise you hear from her at the end of a particularly crappy month. Dialing for dollars.
- If you do not return your product, do not be surprised if sometime down the road you start receiving the Applause magazine again. You were reinstated by your director to meet a goal. Sometimes you are asked about it first, often you are not.
- Directors are scared. They are also disposable. Watch for qualifications to change. Here today, gone tomorrow. Buh-bye.
- NSDs are scared. They worked their people and their available credit to make it to the top, and there’s some serious excavation going on at the bottom. $5,000/month is not executive income. Especially since the expenses are not factored in any time anywhere. Oops. It takes a while for the really big areas to show the erosion, but, hey, we’ve got time. Watch and learn. Frankly, it’s more lucrative to stay a top director than to become a NSD. Pay attention to the NSDs who have 8 or so directors in their downlines. And yes, we have up and down lines. “Families?” Not so much.
- Directors and the NSDs who are fogged, really ARE fogged. They have so many deep deep layers of pink foof on them that they really honest to God, don’t realize what they are saying and doing. Don’t take it personally. Remember, you are not a person, this is a numbers game, ladies, and you are a number. And you obviously “don’t get it” so there you are.
- God does not hold Mary Kay in the palm of His hand, or at least not any more than He holds WalMart and Target, too.
- Just for fun, check the Biblical passages and scriptures that are used by directors and NSDs IN CONTEXT, it’s just amazing what leaving out a word or two can do.
- The truth is NOT negative. It is the TRUTH. Since when is it a good idea for someone to limit the amount of information you choose to receive?
- And last but not least, Mary Kay is a multilevel marketing company. Period. Just like Amway. Just like all of the ones that want to call themselves direct sales or network marketing or some other innocent term. Mary Kay is just not honest about it.
This should be required reading for anyone wanting to sign the consultant agreement.
Along with proof of earnings…
So well written, SuzyQ! Every single point is true, as you well know.
As to #1, when I was thick into the pink fog, I remember calling Corporate to find out more about the “Best-Selling Brand” designation. I kept asking how Mary Kay measured up against Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, Chanel, etc. I got double-talk from the poor soul who answered my call. It never occurred to me that MK tracked sales to consultants only, not end consumers. DUH.
Not only the sales to consultants issue, they forgot to mention “direct selling brand” which has nothing to do with major companies like L’Oreal, etc.. More like comparing to ScAmway cosmetics.
Quote, but caps are mine: “Pretty powerful: Mary Kay Inc. crowned #1 DIRECT SELLING BRAND of skin care and color cosmetics in the world”
Mary Kay’s newest product is Dynamic Wrinkle Limiter, a non-injectable that is supposed to be nearly as effective as Botox. (Released just in time for those lucrative MK holiday open-houses!)
The MK sales force has been advised to not use the word “Botox” when describing the new product. Unfortunately, consultants seem to be having trouble remembering that. Some can’t even correctly name their own product. I’ve heard it called Dynamic Wrinkle Filler and Dynamic Wrinkle Deliminator.
There are those clever consultants using terms such as “No-tox” and “Bo-Bo” to avoid saying Botox. There’s also disagreement about how long it takes to see results. One Director said it takes several weeks to see improvement in wrinkles, others claim it only takes a few days.
Many posts focus on how the new product specifically targets forehead wrinkles, but I watched a video where the SD said she uses it all over her face.
When it comes to skincare advice, I just can’t trust MK consultants.
Maybe if they actually recieved training and education about the PRODUCTS as opposed to just recruitment, at least two of them would agree on something. The name, at least.