Customers Won’t Wait For Products
Written by SuzyQ
They tell you… “If you do not have a full store, and are attempting to sell out of an empty wagon… not only will you have an upset customer, she might even call another consultant who has a full store and not only will you lose that sale, you will LOSE THAT CUSTOMER!”
Oh the drama trauma. That part of the inventory talk goes something like this:
Director: Mary Kay does not require you to carry an inventory, and I don’t require you to carry an inventory, but my job as your director is to give you my best business advice, wouldn’t you agree?
You: Yes
Director: Well, (insert name here), my best advice to you would be to carry an inventory and this is why… My customers do not plan ahead. (laughter) You cannot believe how many calls I get from people who have what we call Mary Kay emergencies, and they run out of cleanser and need some NOW. I mean it is so funny! (big smile) They call me and they are holding the bottle in their hand telling me exactly what they need, and they know I have it, because I do carry an inventory. All I have to do is answer the phone and I make money! How simple is that?
You: Wow
Director: Now, can you just imagine what would happen if my customers called and needed something RIGHT NOW, you know if they had a Mary Kay emergency, and I had to tell them that they would have to wait for me to order? (gently furrowed brow)
You: OMG!
Director: Exactly! (head nod) I would lose that sale! And probably that customer! Is that the way to run a business? No, of course it isn’t. (shake head) Women want what they want when they want it, and that is just the way our society is now. Wouldn’t you agree (insert name)?
You: Um
Director: Yes, you are right! See, you understand the business angle already!
You: Um
Director: Right! I am so glad you understand this. Some of the women I talk to, bless their hearts (make tsk tsk sound) simply don’t get this part, and then they wonder why they are having some “growing pains” with their businesses. So, knowing what my best advice is, and why I encourage new consultants to carry an inventory—it’s just the smartest thing to do isn’t it?— Let’s look at this chart, talk about your goals, and see what an appropriate level of inventory would work best for you!
Except with shopping on the internet, it just isn’t true anymore. I really and truly do not like to shop in stores. I love to shop online, and kind of can’t believe how much I have come to do just that. And I really don’t even mind waiting a day or two for the order to arrive at my house. I just don’t care. The convenience is worth it.
I ordered a pair of slacks from LL Bean one day, and they arrived two days later. I could have had them over-nighted if I really wanted them that fast. If I run out of cleanser, I go to Walgreen’s. Or I could order it online from any number of make-up/skin care sites.
Unlike the director’s customer above, I do pay attention when things are running low and stock up, it’s not a big deal. What the director did not tell the consultant above, is that the customer is STILL holding an empty bottle, even IF the director has the needed cleanser. The cleanser still needs to get from here to there, and my guess is that the director will not put on her Mary Kay look, head to toe. to deliver the product at 10 PM. Most of the nationals teach us to arrange delivery dates in different parts of our cities on different days, so, the reality of the above Mary Kay emergency might go something like this:
“Frantic” Customer: I am out of _______ !!!!!
Director: Well, you are in luck! I have that and I will be in your area next Tuesday! Does morning or afternoon work best for you? Why don’t you check and see if there is anything else you might be running low on?
(Because, as we are told, we must work smart and not hard, and really, you can get a couple more days of product out of the bottle even if it seems to be empty, and there’s no point in making a special trip, just for one customer, what with the cost of gas and how time is money and all. And besides, this will encourage her to always keep one step ahead—bigger sales!)
Really and seriously, women will wait. We wait all of the time and seem to live through it just fine. Mary Kay’s turnaround time is usually within a week, sometimes sooner, it’s just that the freight is the same for a single lipstick as it is for a $3,600 order. And that is what seals the deal for most newbies. They have horror images (enhanced by the-gotta-make-production-this-month director) of placing 84 orders each month, each for a single item, and each with a separate shipping charge. And guess what? That is NOT going to happen either!
You simply do not need to carry an inventory. Women will wait. Your inventory is NOT an ATM machine, it is debt. Debt needs to be repaid. And your sales will more than likely NOT support the price of one of the inventory packages you will be encouraged to order.
And the all important limited edition products and the holiday line? You can find it all on eBay, and you can get your preferred customer gifts on there, too.
The bottom line is that the idea of carrying inventory is outdated and the only people who benefit from you carrying inventory are your upline and corporate. THEY make money the second you pay for your inventory order. You LOSE money the second you order inventory. Don’t do it.
Visit the
“And your sales will more than likely NOT support the price of one of the inventory packages you will be encouraged to order.”
This is true for 99.6% of all MLM participants. Front-loading, whether through initial inventory purchases, starter kits, or through qualifying minimum purchases, is the life-blood of MLM up-line cash flow. No outside sales necessary.
Sneaky little buggers, these MLM kingpins.
she might even call another consultant who has a full store and not only will you lose that sale, you will LOSE THAT CUSTOMER!”
Shame on that second consultant for not following the golden rule! I bet she will recruit her too.
“What do you mean, you don’t have any Passionate Puce lipstick? It’s 11 pm on a Tuesday and I’m completely out of Passionate Puce lipstick… yes, I did dig out the remnants with a Q-tip – whaddya think I’ve been doing for the past week?… and I can’t do brunch with the ladies tomorrow without my Passionate Puce lipstick and if you can’t help me THEN I CAST YOU INTO THE OUTER DARKNESS, FOUL CONSULTANT!!!!!!!”
Meanwhile, right next door, another consultant answers the phone and breathes a sigh of relief as she eyes the dozen Passionate Puces her director frontloaded her with and hasn’t sold a single one of, because who the hell gonna wear something called Passionate Puce?
Puce is French for flea.
Yep, and the color name allegedly comes from the brownish-purple spots of dried blood made from flea bites found on secondhand clothing during the Middle Ages. Plus it’s a funny word.
Christina Applegate in a 1988 movie called Dance til Dawn. She made the prom theme Paris in Puce to go with her dress.
IMDb: : Dance ‘Til Dawn
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094941/
My mother used to wear Avon lipstick called “Moist Mocha”. I don’t understand what phoblem people have with the word “moist”, but how does it go with mocha?
I guess, technically, it IS moist, but that is a strange word to use for a makeup color. If they couldn’t come up with something sexier why not just call it plain “Mocha”?
(I don’t get the hate for “moist”, either. It makes me think of a nice slice of cake, or soil after the rain when your plants are happy. But it would be a boring world if we were all alike :D)
I’m with you, SuzyQ. I HATE shopping in most stores. Online shopping was a godsend as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t mind waiting a few days for my stuff at all. Even shopping in brick and mortar stores isn’t necessarily instant gratification: you have to find time to go there during their hours, possibly finagle things like childcare and transportation, and even after all that there’s no guarantee that they’ll have what you want in stock. Even during the worst times during the quarantine and supply chain shortages, I don’t think I ever had to wait more than a week for anything I ordered. In fact that was an added bonus during those times, because I didn’t have to go into a store (if it was even open) and risk catching The Rona.
Carrying a big inventory just isn’t good business sense. Car dealers don’t stock every possible permutation of every vehicle. A dressmaker doesn’t have bolts of every known fabric stashed away. Print to order places like Zazzle and Cafe Press are doing huge business without having every single possible item in a warehouse. Because they know that would cost serious $$$ and the return on investment would be negligible.
Even traditional retailers don’t stock more than what they think they’ll sell in a reasonable period of time, especially perishable and seasonal goods, because they know that having to discard stuffor sell at a big discount will cut into their profit margin.
All of this just proves that MK and all MLM outfits aren’t retailers. They’re not trying to provide you with a “store” to help you “start a business”. They just want your money.
Ah, yes, the “Mary Kay Emergency” …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEGTga4rzow&ab_channel=LazyGardens
This is one of my favorite MK Videos to hate and I love your additions!!!!!!!
They make it easy to do parodies.
Director: Now, can you just imagine what would happen if my customers called and needed something RIGHT NOW, you know if they had a Mary Kay emergency, and I had to tell them that they would have to wait for me to order? (gently furrowed brow)
Who manages to run out of an item that they use on a regular basis?
Director: Exactly! (head nod) I would lose that sale! And probably that customer! Is that the way to run a business? No, of course it isn’t. (shake head) Women want what they want when they want it, and that is just the way our society is now. Wouldn’t you agree (insert name)?
Typical woman bashing.
Director: Right! I am so glad you understand this. Some of the women I talk to, bless their hearts (make tsk tsk sound) simply don’t get this part, and then they wonder why they are having some “growing pains” with their businesses. So, knowing what my best advice is, and why I encourage new consultants to carry an inventory—it’s just the smartest thing to do isn’t it?— Let’s look at this chart, talk about your goals, and see what an appropriate level of inventory would work best for you!
For a company that claims to empower women, they really love to push the idea that without MK , we are a bunch of air-headed ninnies without any autonomy.
Fickle and dumb.
They really go for the aggressively shitting on women rather than the usual passive/aggressive bull-poop.
I can count on ONE HAND the number of so-called “Mary Kay emergencies” I had as a consultant/director over 13 years. One. Hand. They don’t happen like this director seems to think. (Although one customer did call me at 930 at night and said she was on her way to my house to pick up things for an emergency trip.)
I love shopping at Ulta. I love their rewards system and the points I earn. I love going to the store and not being bothered unless I want to be bothered. I love shopping online for items (helloooo Rakuten cash back!) and being able to pick up my order in the store. Even if I ship things to my home, routine free shipping is less than five days. I don’t even need to have on pants when the order arrives. Win-win!!
It’s the last day of the month. I wonder how many massive inventory orders are going on hold as we speak? I remember staying up past midnight with a 5-month old answering text messages and phone calls between my director and one of my new recruits, trying to get an $1800 order in to go towards that elusive Chevy Cruze.
Mary Kay Inc counts on those month end orders! Those “sales” keep the company in business.
Women will wait, but I have waited 2 weeks for some Mary Kay Timewise that I ordered from a consultants website. I have gone through what moisturizer I have left and I am on my last sample. lol. They haven’t sent me any tracking and I don’t know when to expect it. I am about to head to Merle Norman or Ulta. I don’t believe in purchasing a ton of inventory though. If I was a consultant, I would only purchase 1 extra of the items I use or would like to try so that if no one buys it, it would be no big deal.
Definitely do not go in to debt or use credit cards so that you are able to purchase. Starting a business off in debt when that is not necessary is just not a good idea. Start slow if you were to ever do anything like this. Don’t buy your successs (or buy inventory for a title and one of those silly pins)…Then it is not really success.