I remember well the “recruiting interview” I did with what ended up being my third team member.
I went over all the usual stuff and then asked her if she had any questions for me.
She said, “It all sounds great and I’m really excited about Mary Kay. But there’s one thing I don’t understand. Why would you want to recruit me? Wouldn’t I then be your competition? It seems like that wouldn’t be something you’d want to do.”
Yikes! Read more
We have obtained the full complaint filed by Mary Kay against Touch of Pink Cosmetics and owners Amy and Scott Weber.
Here is the entire 71 page complaint, in pdf form.
Mary Kay Inc. v Amy L. Weber, Scott J. Weber, and Touch of Pink Cosmetics
Mary Kay Inc claims that Amy Weber sold Mary Kay products on eBay and thus violated her Mary Kay Beauty Consultant Agreement. Mary Kay Inc. issued several “pleas” for Amy Weber to stop selling on eBay and when she didn’t, Mary Kay Inc. terminated her Mary Kay Consultant Agreement. Read more
Women’s Wear Daily is reporting today that Mary Kay Inc. filed suit Wednesday against a former Consultant.
Mary Kay Inc. is suing Touch of Pink Cosmetics, a Mary Kay liquidator and reseller of Mary Kay products, for Trademark infringement. Their website is touchofpinkcosmetics.com
You can read the details of the filing at the link below:
Mary Kay Inc. vs Weber et al
Mary Kay Ash founded the Company on the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”So let me ask you this: Do you like being lied to?
You see, a lot of women who were in Mary Kay had a big problem with the fact that they had to tell little and not-so-little lies just to get appointments or recruits. For instance…
- We found ourselves calling customers and telling them we were in a contest or our Director had challenged us to do 30 faces in 30 days. Yet we knew we weren’t. We knew that it was just a script; a gimmick to get our customer to hold a class with some new people so we could increase our customer base and maybe get a new team member.
- We told potential recruits that it only cost $100.00 to join Mary Kay. We knew that technically this was correct, but that our recruits would be “encouraged” to purchase large inventory packages after they signed that agreement.
- We knew that when we invited guests to meetings that it wasn’t just about having a “girls’ night out” or trying out the latest Mary Kay products. We knew our Directors were going to do a marketing presentation, just as they did every week, with the intent of getting our guests to sign up as a Consultant.
Is it any wonder that we dreaded calling our customers? Is it any wonder that we felt just a little bit dishonest?
Every so often, I get an email from someone who sent product back to Mary Kay years ago and now wants to know if there is any way they can sell Mary Kay again.
It was made abundantly clear by the Directors in my area that if you sent any products back to the Company to take advantage of the 90% buy back that you could NEVER be a Consultant again. But is that true? Read more
One thing that irritates me about Mary Kay is that they train their consultants to get new customers by offering prospects a “free facial”.
First of all, a facial is a procedure that is performed by licensed and trained aestheticians. You know: those people who are trained and licensed to take care of skin.
The “facial” that a Mary Kay consultant wants to “give” you is simply a face washing session designed to sell you the products. Period.
And YOU do the washing. She just teaches you how. And I use the word teach lightly as well, since most consultants know very little about the products, in my experience, and are simply sitting there spouting off facts on the cleanser or moisturizer you happen to be applying and assuring you it is better than anything out there.
Second, if you consider wasting at least an hour of your time and being exposed to some pretty strong-arm sales tactics free, then go for it. Me…I’ll just say no and run.
Why this company and its reps are allowed to call their little selling appointments facials is beyond me. It’s very misleading.
Our members were honored to be interviewed for a story by Sarah Wyatt in the Women’s International Perspective (WIP) in June 2007.
The article examines the effect of Mary Kay Inc’s expansion into countries like China and India.
Here’s a link to the article:
Mary Kay Global Expansion Raises Hope, Concerns
Do Mary Kay consultants actually win free cars?
How much Mary Kay do you have to sell to get a pink Cadillac?
One of the most asked about, and most misunderstood, features of Mary Kay is the car program. Since the beginning of the company’s car program in 1969, Mary Kay claims that over 100,000 consultants have earned the use of a Mary Kay career car or taken the optional cash compensation.
Clearing Up A Few Misconceptions
First of all, in order to earn the use of a Mary Kay car, you have to build a team. That means you have to sign up others to sell Mary Kay as well.
Career Path Program – A clearly defined path for advancement in a Mary Kay career that shows an Independent Beauty Consultant step-by-step how to progress from Beauty Consultant to National Sales Director. Please see the Advance brochure for full details on the career path program. See “Consultant Career Path” chart on Page 12. For more information, log on to the Mary Kay InTouch ® Web site.
- monthly commission statement – The monthly commission statement is considered a vital tool and was developed as a means for tracking the ordering activity of a Consultant’s personal team members, as well as providing valuable information on Consultant status and team-building commission data. Wholesale purchases are reflected on the monthly commission statement according to the month in which the wholesale order is received. (Postmarks are not considered for commission purposes.)All Consultants who have personal team members or have any type of account or commission receivable or payable will receive a monthly commission statement. This statement details information on orders placed by their personal team members for the previous six months and Seminar year-to-date (adjusted wholesale). Recruiters are urged to use this monthly statement to check the progress of each of their personal team members so that they may provide their team members with the encouragement or support they may need for continued success.
- husbands and wives as Consultants – Husbands and wives both may be Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants; however, there may be only one Sales Director per husband and wife team. They may operate separately just as if they were not related; however, for Company record purposes, one will be considered a personal team member of the other. In other words, the spouse of a Beauty Consultant must be recruited by that Beauty Consultant. The personal team commission and team-building bonus normally paid on team members will not be paid when a wife recruits her husband or vice versa. The spouse will not count in any way toward Sales Director qualification or toward any Company promotions or awards, including qualifying for or maintaining a career car under the Consultant career car program.
- Senior Consultant – An Independent Beauty Consultant who is active and has one or two active personal team members.
- Requirements
- One or two active personal team members
- You must be active
- Rewards
- With one active personal team member:
- Senior Consultant pin enhancer
- Eligible to qualify for quarterly Star Consultant recognition and prizes
- With two active personal team members:
- Red Jacket pin
- Eligible to order red jacket
- Eligible to qualify for quarterly Star Consultant recognition and prizes
- Compensation
- 4 percent personal team commission
- Personal Team Commission
- All active Senior Consultants and above are eligible to receive a 4, 9 or 13 percent commission on the wholesale orders placed by their active personal team members.
- When you are active and have one to four active personal team members, you can receive a 4 percent commission on their combined wholesale Section 1 product orders in any calendar month.
- When you are active and have a minimum of five active personal team members, you can receive a 9 percent commission on their combined wholesale Section 1 orders in any calendar month.
- You can increase your commission to 13 percent when you place a personal minimum $600 wholesale Section 1 order in the same month that at least five personal team members place minimum $180 wholesale Section 1 orders.
- Star Recruiter – An Independent Beauty Consultant who is active and has a minimum of three or four active personal team members.
- Requirements
- Three or four active personal team members
- You must be active
- Rewards
- Star Recruiter pin
- Eligible to wear red jacket
- Receive $50 rebate on the purchase of the official red jacket only available from Mary Kay Inc.
- Eligible to qualify for quarterly Star Consultant recognition and prizes
- Challenger® newsletter
- Compensation
- 4 percent personal team commission
- Eligible to begin earning team-building bonus
- Team-Building Bonus
- A $50 team-building bonus will be paid to Star Recruiters and above for each qualified personal team member beginning with the fourth personal team member.
- In the month your team member’s initial qualifying order is received by the Company, you must be active and have a minimum of three other active personal team members to receive the bonus.
- For career path status and compensation purposes, a team member is considered “qualified” if her initial order with the Company is $600 or more in wholesale Section 1 products, and that order is received in the same or following calendar month that her Independent Beauty Consultant Agreement is received and accepted by the Company.
- Team Leader – An Independent Beauty Consultant who is active and has five to seven active personal team members.
- Requirements
- Five or more active personal team members
- You must be active
- Rewards
- Team Leader pin
- Eligible to qualify for quarterly Star Consultant recognition and prizes
- Eligible to go on-target for Grand Achiever (career car/cash compensation)
- Compensation
- 9 or 13 percent personal team commission
- Team-building bonus
- Future Independent Sales Director – An active Independent Beauty Consultant who has eight or more active personal team members.
- Requirements
- Eight or more active personal team members (other than your spouse or a team member’s spouse)
- You must be active
- Achieving Future Independent Sales Director recognition status does not guarantee you will become an Independent Sales Director. You must successfully complete the Sales Director-in-Qualification requirements as set forth by the Company. A Sales Director is an independent contractor and not an employee of Mary Kay Inc. The Sales Director position is appointed at the sole discretion of Mary Kay Inc.
- Rewards
- Future Independent Sales Director pin and scarf
- Eligible to qualify for quarterly Star Consultant recognition and prizes
- Eligible to submit commitment card to enter Sales Director-in-Qualification program
- Eligible to qualify for Consultant Grand Achiever (career car/cash compensation)
- Compensation
- 9 or 13 percent personal team commission
- Team-building bonus
Advancement to Sales Director is the decision a Beauty Consultant makes with the help of her Sales Director in the progression of her own Mary Kay business. The Sales Director Qualification Board reserves the unconditional right to decline acceptance of a DIQ commitment card.
- Independent Sales Director-in-Qualification (DIQ) – A Beauty Consultant who is in qualification for the position of Independent Sales Director. This information is also available online.
- DIQ Entry Requirements – In order to submit a commitment card to the Company stating an intent to begin Independent Sales Director-in-Qualification (DIQ), an Independent Beauty Consultant must meet the the requirements as defined here: Mary Kay Career Essentials Consultant Career Path
I received an email one day from a Mary Kay consultant telling me that they made $80,000 selling Mary Kay last year.The educated skeptic in me doubts it highly, but if true, good for her.
However, let’s look at some numbers. In order to make $80,000 in Mary Kay, you would have to sell at least $160,000 retail at full price. And have NO expenses.
Since having no expenses except for inventory is impossible, that means your total retail sold would have to be much higher in order to have a profit of $80,000.
That would be some incredible sales and put this person in some very rare percentage of consultants.
But I have to wonder…
Is she selling that much or making that much?
You see, it’s not uncommon for people in business to have lots of sales and therefore conclude that they are making money. Actually, the opposite is very often the case.
I saw it a lot in eBay sellers when I was a reseller there. Just because they had money rolling in, they thought they were doing great.
But they weren’t sitting down and looking at the whole picture: the time spent, fixed expenses, packaging, fees.
I suspect a lot of times it is the same with consultants and directors.
At weekly Mary Kay “success meetings,” there is usually a point where they recognize the Consultant who sold the most in the past week. In our meetings, which were the combined units of six directors, the majority of consultants sold nothing. Many sold $100 or $200 retail. But a prize went to each consultant who sold $500 for the week. There was usually one or two people who managed to achieve this.
But that’s retail sales. So $500 retail means the most they netted would be $250. In reality, when you figure time and other expenses, it is much less.
My director used to spout off her recent commission check, which was always impressive. But she never said a word about her expenses.
She had two part-time, salaried assistants. She, along with the other Directors, paid monthly rent on a huge, multi-room meeting space to hold weekly “success meetings”. Then there were all the special events like recruiting brunches, retreats, career conference, and Seminar. And what about the cost of the director suit each year? These expenses are just the tip of the iceberg.
Most importantly, what you never hear mentioned as an expense for Mary Kay consultants and directors is one of the most ignored by many people in business: TIME.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you are running a profitable business just because you have lots of sales. But the truth comes when you take the time to account for all your expenses involved in acquiring those sales.
Activity and sales doesn’t equal profit. The only way to know if you are actually turning a profit is to sit down and list all of your gross sales and your expenses. Once you’ve subtracted your expenses from those sales, you must then look at how long it took to make that net profit. What did those sales equate to when broken down to an hourly wage?
Only then will you know if you are making a profit or simply selling…and whether it’s worth it.
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