Sherri Is Trying to Make Mary Kay Work for Her

Your Name: Sherri

Date Joined MK: 01/15/2008

When Left MK or Still Active?: Active

Initial Inventory Purchased: 4800 (nieve) Big mistake

How were you recruited?:        Lovely facial I though would be given to me!

Memorable experience you had in MK: My Jan 2009 Skin Care Class!  I couldn’t do it quick enough.  No one listened, everyone complained, rude and disrespectful!

What did you learn from MK?: Alot and paid the price as you can see by my inventory!  That is what happens when you put faith in someone you think is looking out for you  because I had not clue in sales and feel I was taken advantage of!  Don’t come into MK with a large inventory until you know how your sales are going to be and how you work it.  Only buy 1 or 2 of the new products until you find out if it selling.   Just be cautious with how much you buy.  Mary Kay is not bad company it is the people you come in contact with who are making it bad.   People definately disappoint you, which includes customers, referrals, directors.  Not all of them but alot of them.  Difficult to know who you can trust in MK, there is alot of misrepresentations with leaving things  out.   Some not being completely honest. with things.    Very shocked with alot of it because I truly don’t believe  Mary Kay would have run her company the way I have seen it!

What are you doing now?: Continuing my full time job and trying to make Mary Kay work for me!

Additional Comments: Just trying to hang in there and ge as mucht info from as many as I can to make this work!  Being the honest person I am and being true to myself!

Popularity: 10%

Even If Most People Are Lazy, It Doesn’t Make MK Great

So often we get comments from Mary Kay consultants pointing out that you have to work to make Mary Kay, or any venture, successful. They argue frequently that most people are lazy or give up.

It does seem true that most people do the bare minimums to get by. They are content to put in their hours at their job and go home. There is a small percentage of the population that excels. They don’t give up. They persist where others would throw in the towel.

And this is true in sales positions like Mary Kay, even more than regular positions. No one ever said sales was the easiest thing to do. It takes a special personality, I think, to plug ahead and shrug off the rejection, to do the actions necessary to make connections and make the sale.

But from all the information I’ve gleaned over the years, MLM still seems to be a losing proposition for the majority of people. I’ve seen people work their tails off in various MLM companies with very little success. Yet I’ve seen this same effort put forth by others in what I would call “real” sales positions and do very well, thank you. And they don’t necessarily have to believe whole-heartedly in their product either. Lots of people in sales work for companies whose product they don’t necessarily think is the best out there, but they are doing their job to promote it.

So while most people may be lazy, it doesn’t follow that MK, or other MLMs, are necessarily a good idea.

Popularity: 14%

No! Not Another Article About How Great Direct Sales is, Especially in This Economy

I’ve mentioned before (See this previous article) there have been numerous stories in magazines, newspapers, and on the television talking about how lots of women are flocking to the direct sales companies given the downturn in the economy.

Yesterday, I picked up my newspaper only to find yet another article about companies like Mary Kay and AVON seeing an increase in their sales forces.

Mary Kay rolled out a new ad campaign in March to try to recruit new consultants. According to this latest AP article, Rhonda Shasteen claims that the traffic on the Mary Kay website increased by 108 percent during the month of March.

Every story I’ve read or seen is always the same. So-and-so was laid off and then decided to sign up with XYZ “direct sales” company and at her first party made $2000. Something like that.

And what a great option direct sales is, they point out. An extra fun job where you can make some extra money.

But here’s what I want to know: Who is going to buy all these products? All these women are signing up to peddle these products, to make some extra money in this lackluster economy, but who is going to be their customer?  You need CUSTOMERS to make any money selling. As more people sign up to sell these products, there are now even more consultants competing for the same customer.

Another thing these articles never mention: These products aren’t cheap. As people are being more frugal, I doubt that they are inclined to pay $13 for a lipstick or $15 for mascara when they can find comparable or better products at the drugstore or Wal-Mart for half that or less. Besides price, the selection at the stores is phenomenal…and you don’t have to deal with a sales person calling you every other week to try to get you to hold a party or invite you to a “girls’ night out” recruiting event.

What burns me is that these stories never mention the expenses, or if they do, they gloss over them. I’ve never seen any mention of the pressure that Mary Kay recruiters exert on new consultants, trying to convince them to shell out thousands of dollars on initial inventory. Never.

The problem is that the people writing these stories know NOTHING about what they’re writing about. And thus, the picture they paint is distorted and incomplete.

Popularity: 4%

Allison Realized Her Blood Runs Red, Not Pink

Your Name: Allison

Date Joined MK: 03-28-2009

When Left MK or Still Active?: Still active but in the process of leaving

Initial Inventory Purchased: $1800 (biggest mistake EVER!)

How were you recruited?: I ignorantly recruited myself by going online and finding a random consultant and emailing her.  Not my brightest idea ever, it turns out.

Memorable experience you had in MK: The first time I ever called my SD on a blatant lie.  She told me that I could accept a 12-month fellowship in another country and still make money off my team, even though I couldn’t actively sell.  Big fat lie and we both knew it.

What did you learn from MK?: Always listen to your gut, especially when an older, well made up woman is trying to push thousands of dollars of products on you and is not letting you get a word in edgewise. 

What are you doing now?: Nannying for the cutest little boy.  They are paying me $12 an hour to come watch tv and sleep here (the baby is in sleep by the time I get here after my full time job).  Ive made over $600 alone doing that this week, which is more than I EVER made in MK!!!  And its way more fun!!!

Additional Comments: After arguing with my SD about returning my product to the company, and having her lie to me about MK, I decided to take a shower.  When I went to put my MK night solution away after I was finished, I dropped it on the tile floor and it shattered (why they put it in a glass bottle, I will never know!).  A large piece of the base flew up and slashed my leg.  As I’m standing in the middle of the night solution and my blood is running down my leg mixing with the solution I realize- my blood runs just as red (not pink) as everyone else’s.  That was the last straw for me.

Popularity: 5%

Tax Time Always Reminds Me of Those “Mary Kay Deductions”

Every time April rolls around, I think of all those Mary Kay meetings I attended, where the Directors would spend the entire time advising all us Consultants on what Mary Kay expenses were tax deductible.

Turns out they tried to find a way to make nearly everything a deductible expense.

But the trouble is, deductions do not equal income, and if you’re not careful with those deductions you could find yourself in trouble with the IRS.

While it’s true that things like your cell phone costs, if used for your Mary Kay business line, and other things like mileage and meeting costs can be deductible, it’s not the same as income.

So what if you have thousands of dollars of deductions? Your goal as a business person is to create income. Deductions reduce that income, sure, but there was so much emphasis on how Mary Kay created tax deductions that it missed the point.

If you’re showing a loss on your income taxes, guess what? You didn’t make much money. Sure, there are things you can deduct that you would have as expenses anyway, perhaps. But loss is loss. And if you show a loss on a business you’re reporting on a Schedule C for several consecutive years, the IRS may not see that as a business and you could be in trouble.

Popularity: 3%

Interesting Opinion and Analysis of Recent Touch of Pink Case Developments

There is an interesting post regarding the recent developments in the Touch of Pink versus Mary Kay Inc case on a blog written by Eric Goldman, Associate Professor of Law at Santa Clara University School of Law. You can read his take on things on his blog:

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2009/03/online_resale_o_1.htm

Popularity: 2%

Numerous Victories for Touch of Pink Cosmetics

The case between Mary Kay Inc and Touch of Pink Cosmetics continues. Recent court documents filed show that Touch of Pink has been successful in refuting some of the accusations Mary Kay Inc has made against them.

Touch of Pink’s request for summary judgment was partially granted and partially denied.

The Webers were arguing against the inclusion of several different pieces of evidence at trial. Here’s the run down.

1. Heresay: The Webers claimed that emails Mary Kay received from a Touch of Pink Cosmetics customer, complaining about the products that they received. The Webers claimed that these emails were heresay and irrelevant. Mary Kay Inc was trying to prove that the customer thought that they were ordering from Mary Kay instead of Touch of Pink (TOP). The court found these emails relevant.

2. Failure to Timely Disclose Witnesses: The Webers claim that Mary Kay Inc did not disclose the names of two witnesses they intended to call at trial in a timely fashion, as required. The court ruled that there was no failure to disclose.

3. Unreliable Survey: The Webers objected to a survey of 303 consumers conducted by Mary Kay Inc expert witness Kent Van Liere. This survey supposedly shows that consumers are indeed confused about the affiliation of TOP with Mary Kay Inc. The Webers claim there are significant flaws in the survey. The court decided not to bar the results of the survey completely, but it will not consider that forty five percent of those surveyed were confused about TOP’s relationship with Mary Kay Inc.

4. Nancy Pike Contradicts Previous Testimony: Pike is a witness for Mary Kay Inc. and the Webers claim her testimony contradicts her earlier statements. The court decided to allow the testamony and let the jury decide.

5. Interrogatory Answers Not Verified: TOP claims Mary Kay Inc.’s answers to a second set of interrogatories were not verified and therefore inadmissible. The court claims it did not consider these exhibits as part of the summary judgment and therefore the objection is moot and denied.

6. Declaration of Chris Schwegmann is Hearsay: This piece of evidence contained several emails allegedly from customers of TOP complaining of used, damaged or expired products. The court ruled this evidence is inadmissible.

Now, the Webers were asking for a summary judgment and that’s what these items are part of. The summary judgment is a request for dismissal of the charges in favor of the Webers, citing there is not enough evidence for them to go to trial.

There were defenses that the Webers cited as a reason that there request for summary judgment should be granted.

1. The First Sale Doctrine, which states that a distributor who resells trademarked goods is not liable for trademark infringement. The court denied summary judgment on this defense.

2. The Nominative Fair Use Doctrine, which allows the use of another’s mark to “truthfully identify another’s goods or services in order to describe or compare its product to the markholder’s product.”  The court ruled that the Webers are not entitled to summary judgment on the grounds that the fair use defense protects their use of the Mary Kay name to advertise their website.

3. Laches: Without going into all the details (which you can read in the attached court document), the court denied this summary judgment defense.

4. Claim of Tortious Interference with an Existing Contract: The court ruled that there was no evidence of tortious interference by the Webers, and thus the court granted the motion for summary judgment on the claim of tortious interference.

5. Claim of Tortious Interference with Prospective Contracts: Once again, the court found no evidence. The court granted the motion for summary judgment on the claim of tortious interference with a prospective contract.

6. Plaintiff’s Claim of Unjust Enrichment: Another victory for the Webers, as the court granted the summary judgment on the claim of unjust enrichment.

So it’s a win some/lose some for the Webers. But there are some significant victories here I think that may auger well for them, especially the rulings that there was no evidence that the Webers were interfering with the prospective new consultant contracts.

Here’s the entire document for your reading enjoyment:

Summary Judgment

Popularity: 5%

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