Written by PinkPeace

If you had been lucky enough to be in my Mary Kay unit, at some point you would have sat down with me one-on-one to go over the following document. I liked to do it during new consultant orientation, while you still had stars in your eyes about Mary Kay and thought that the sky was the limit in this business. I wanted to put big money potential in front of you BEFORE you experienced difficulties in recruiting, so you’d have a goal to work toward.

What I didn’t tell you was the reality behind this little document. I mean, why be negative? It was my job to be a good coach and see the potential in everyone. I didn’t want to stand in the way of your success, even though it wasn’t happening for me. This business is what you make it! (But the reality was that no one was able to do this. If it was attainable, wouldn’t a ton of hard-working women be doing it?)

But that’s not how it’s presented in Mary Kay If you’re not successful, then it must be because you’re not working hard enough or don’t have the right attitude. (You may have noticed a fleeting depression in my voice when we went over this handout – BUT – I perked up pretty quick, because I was the master of “fake it ’til you make it”! I just needed to work harder and smarter! What a positive example I was!)

So, here goes: Have paper and pen ready to take notes. (The statements from the document are in bold, with my unfogged comments in regular type.)

Income Potential as a Mary Kay Sales Director

You can make triple your current income with Mary Kay – or more – by becoming a Sales Director.

Okay, this is misleading. I don’t know what your current income is. If you’re making $5,000 a year at your job, then, yes, you could probably triple it by becoming a Mary Kay sales director. You could also try a real full-time minimum wage job with benefits. That would be a better bet for you.

However, I’m really talking about the difference between recruiting commission of a consultant vs. a sales director. This is hardly consistent or reliable income, but all I want you to remember is “triple your income.”

Also, theoretically, this example is true. But when I go over it with you, I’m going to speak as if it happens all the time. I know in my heart it hardly ever does, but I’m a “possibility thinker” and I want you to be one too!

Imagine a consultant with two recruits who recruits three additional woman in a given month. This makes her a Team Leader (5 recruits) and gives her the opportunity to earn 13% commission on her team’s orders. (To get 13%, all team members must order in the month, and the Team Leader must order at least $600 in the month).

This information is true. However, as we all know, it’s a big stretch to recruit three women in a month. It has been done, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

And wait, there are those conditions for a 13% commission check: 1) All five recruits ordering, 2) the consultant/recruiter ordering $600 wholesale in the month.

Chances are, that out of all five of these hypothetical recruits, at least two or three will be personal use. They aren’t due to order for another 3-6 months – sorry.

And you, Miss Consultant, must order $600 wholesale during the month to get the full commission. Are you in the habit of selling enough product to justify a $600 wholesale order every month? Not to worry! You can always sell it next month. Do you want to miss out on 13% commission? You’ll get recognized in the unit newsletter, you know, plus you’ll get the unit monthly trinket as a prize!

But I digress.

Let’s say among all six of these women (Team Leader + five recruits), the team production is $5,000. Note: This is quite reasonable, with a couple of new recruits doing a Sapphire star order.

Let’s also say that monkeys are flying out from under my director’s skirt! Really. This $5,000 wholesale IS possible, but not likely.

Remember, Mary Kay teaches – correctly – the principle of 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. That means that out of any given group of women in Mary Kay, 1/3 will be working or ordering, 1/3 will be maintaining and 1/3 will be on their way out. Apply that to your three new recruits for the month: One may place a Star order, one will probably do a $400 – $600 and one will be personal use.

I used to blithely breeze over this part so that my new consultant would just assume that five team members would mean $5,000 in production. Directors who are reading this – let’s all say it together: “I WISH!!!”

The Team Leader will receive 13% commission on $4,400, because $600 of that entire $5000 is her own production. Her commission, therefore, is $572 for the month.

True.

In addition, she gets a $50 bonus for each qualified recruit for recruits #4 and on. So she receives a $100 recruiting bonus for recruits #4 and #5 for that month.

True, IF the new recruits come in as “qualified,” that is, they begin with a $600 wholesale order or more. If not, no bonus for you.

The Team Leader’s grand total of commissions for that month would then be $672.

Sound good? Sure, BUT take a look at what a sales director gets for the same activity –

Let’s say the sales director’s personal team also does $5,000 in production. The sales director herself has done $600, so she also is receiving commission on $4400. A sales director gets 26% commission on her personal team! So her commission for that month is $1,144!

Okay, let’s stop right here. Did the sales director close her eyes, make a wish and tap her heels together three times to become a director? No. She went through the grueling DIQ process, probably going into debt in the process. She most likely has quit her real job to focus on this incredible Mary Kay opportunity, and she is counting on this income to feed her family.

Directors who are reading this: How many months did you scrape and scrounge for $5,000 in wholesale production from your entire unit? How many times did $5,000 in production come from your own personal recruits? How many months did you hold interview after interview and end up at the end of the month with one new personal use recruit?

When I went over this worksheet, I made it seem like this happened every month for me, no problem. It was a given. When you become a director, Miss Consultant, this happens for YOU!

In addition, she receives a $100 on new qualified recruits. Since she recruited three new qualified personal recruits that month, she receives another $300.

True, IF they’re qualified ($600 or more in initial wholesale orders).

But there’s more! On the rest of her unit, the director receives 13% commission – including her own orders!!!!! So 13% of her own $600 order is $78.

True again. And if the director is simply putting in production to get that 26% commission, she’s going to need that $78.

AND she gets a bonus for $5,000 in unit production of $500!

And many months, she’s putting in her own extra $500 to recoup her $500 in bonus on the back end. Of course, by the time that next commission check comes in, she’s already spent that $500, so she sinks further into debt. But Miss Consultant, you don’t need to know that now! When you’re a director, you’ll get the information you need to be in that position. One step at a time!

So, matching apples to apples in our example, the sales director makes a minimum of $2,022. And I say “minimum”, because this example isn’t taking into account the rest of the director’s unit, on which she receives 13%. For purposes of comparison, I only used personal team.

Again, this whole example is theoretically correct. But in real life? For 99% of units, not so much.

So, for the same amount of effort, which would you rather get?
Consultant = $672
Director = $2,022

And please don’t look closely at the $2022 monthly figure. Even if I manage to make that as a director, it’s only $24,264 a year!! It’s not consistent, and it’s not my idea of executive income, but by now I’m stuck in directorship, and my only hope is to convince you to follow my path and boost my unit’s production.

Anything is possible in Mary Kay. But we never talked about what was probable. And the truth is that most directors are profiting very little from this venture, just hanging on and hoping that soon they would get over the hump and start to make the real money… if only they worked a little harder.