Questions.

Pink Truth, a site that should not be taken seriously because of the outrageous unproven opinions they proclaim as truth, has posted a series of questions.

Because someone reading these questions might think they prove that Mary Kay is as disreputable as Pink Truth claims, these are the answers that they claim to be looking for. All of these questions are either illogical, or have an answer that, while truthful, does not support their conspiracy theory that MK is intent on destroying womens lives and therefore is not "good enough".

Until recently, the "rules and regulations" on PT said that no 'pro-MK' comments were allowed. So I have been using this forum to answer questions posed and correct misunderstandings where possible. As of November 12, that guideline has been adjusted to read that if you disagree, you can do so, provided you are respectful. In light of that, in addition to posting these answers here, I will also attempt to post these answers there.

So, here are the questions with answers. Questions in red, Answers in black (edit Purple!):

Who honestly profits from the sales of Mary Kay products?

The consultant who sold the product (assuming that she sold it for more than her total expenses)

Her recruiter/director

Her NSD

Mary Kay Corporate

Why is it that one purchasing the highest dollar amount in products from the company is called “The Queen of Sales”?

It is assumed that products being purchased from the company are being resold. Why would anyone purchase product they had no intention of reselling or using?

Where are the billions per year that Mary Kay Corporate makes from their consultants going?

Have you ever run a business? There are a lot of expenses associated with running a corporation of this size. Where are the billions of dollars that Microsoft makes every year going? I can’t answer that, but why is it important to know that?

Why do we only know the amounts of products purchased or proceeds donated, why not ALL the numbers about the products?

I followed this link and there are a lot of question raised. Many of them are not relevant questions. I eventually hope to answer all of them, but that is a little bit too much for a Saturday. J As far as ALL the numbers being revealed, the simple answer: They just don’t. If you have a problem with not knowing every detail of how a multi-billion dollar organization operates, don’t join.

If Mary Kay is making billions per year would it make sense that more than one or two NSDs would be making much more than a million or two a piece?

HUH?

What is the motivation of Mary Kay Corporate or the upline to see that consultants sell the product they have already purchased?

If the consultant sells that product she will buy more. Then she will sell that and buy more. Then she will sell that and buy more. How is that not a better plan than a one time purchase? “What is good for the consultant is good for everyone” really makes sense if you just think about it.

Why is there recruiting? If the products are so great and undervalued as to make a 50% profit, why would anyone want to recruit when the product sold so well?

Why does anyone hire people? When you can make money (however much or little) on the effort of someone else it is usually worth while.

We recently bought an acre of property in WA State, built a house on it and sold it. I ‘recruited’ a realtor, a contractor, a painter, a landscaper and many others. They all got paid what they normally get paid and I made money for putting the whole thing together. Why did I do it? I wanted to make money.

Similarly, when my wife recruits someone, they get paid for their effort. They buy the same product she does and sell it. Provided they sell it for more than their expenses, they are making money. How much they make will obviously vary widely, but they have the ability to make money. She (my wife) makes money based on how well they do. She keeps in close contact with all of her recruits and strives to make sure they are not buying products that are not selling.

People recruit because they are offered an opportunity to make MORE money. It is not a requirement.

When will the “Keepers of the Dream” awake and tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth about this “DREAM” everyone is striving for?

HUH?

How come there are so many limitations, hoops and hurdles, time constraints placed on those trying to reach the next career level ?

You mean like needing to have a certain amount of consultants and a minimum unit production amount?

Would it be better if you just call yourself whatever you want to call yourself?

What should levels be achieved based on?

What time constraints?

If you have pulled together a large team of people consistently buying (AND selling) you EARN the title Director.

Pull enough Directors together and you EARN the title National Sales Director.

Most of all WHY are there time constraints? Is this to make it MORE difficult to obtain the next level? If so, why?

What time constraints? Do you have to become a director within a certain amount of time? Couldn’t you (theoretically) be in MK for 50 years and then become a director?

If you are referring to the fact that you have to maintain a level of consultants and production to keep the title ‘director’, than your question is your answer.

Why should you enjoy the title if you are not doing the work?

Why are people who choose to quit Mary Kay called and begged not to or ridiculed for their decision to quit?

I have not gotten to discuss the article this link refers to, but the answer is right there.

The script in question explains it like this:

“I did my first exit interview using this script (Below) last night with a $3600 inventory. We left each other on a VERY positive note. And while she is still deciding what she wants to do, she’s very strongly considering not sending product back. At the very least, she will leave Mary Kay knowing what a wonderful and caring company we are.”

They are not being begged not to quit or ridiculed. Some people actually care about the problems that others had and want to:

1. Make sure the problem can’t be resolved
2. Find ways to create a better experience for the next person
3. Avoid burning bridges. If someone just wants to take a break, they have options available to them.
4. Make sure that if they do want to quit for good, they recoup as much of their cost as possible.

This link will probably be posted here soon as a “what TO do if you are a consultant thinking about quitting or a director with a consultant thinking about quitting."

How is Mary Kay enriching women’s lives…exactly? By providing a product that is needed/wanted?

Yes.

By recruiting customers, who recruit customers, who recruit customers so that Mary Kay CORPORATE always has customers but YOU the consultant don’t? How does that work?

See the answer above to “Why is there recruiting?” My wife has recruited some of her best customers. They are now making her money. She still has customers that have no interest in selling MK.

Why doesn’t Mary Kay Corporate speak to all our questions in a truthful manner?

You mean, “Why doesn’t Mary Kay Corporate speak to all our questions in the manner we want them to?”

If they did not answer in a truthful manner they would face fines and lawsuits. They have a legal team to ensure that they answer questions in a truthful manner.

What you are asking for here is for them to say what you want them to say. You have created a conspiracy theory and are asking them to validate it for you.

Therefore this question is not a valid question.

As you may have noticed, I answered "huh" to some of these questions. That is because I genuinely could not understand what was being asked. If anyone would like to reword those questions, I will try to answer them.

Ok, I am going to go try to post a comment answering some of the questions.

Thanks everyone.

Update: Just posted some of the questions under the name "looking for real truth".
Sat 01 Dec 07:56 (5:56 pm pst)

Update: Have had some conversation with people on the site. All of my comments are still up.
Sun 02 Dec 02:46 (12:46 am pst)

Update: Woke up this morning to find myself blocked! (no explanation either)
Sun 02 Dec 12:34 (10:34 am pst)

Credit Card Processing

"A former consultant" wrote an entire post complaining about the credit card processing offered by MK.

If you wade through the normal "throwing money at the pink cash cow" BS, it seems that she had processed a credit card through propay that later turned out to be invalid. Apparently, even though they had already accepted it (the card) they refused to give her credit for the transaction and even sent her to some form of collections.

Having dealt with customer service at many places (cell phone, cable, dmv, web-hosting, etc.) I have no doubt that this could have happened.

I know that my wife has processed many transactions with this service and loves it. I don't know what kind of arrangement has been worked out between MK and ProPay, but often this sort of exclusive arrangement is made to offer a lower rate. I don't know if that is the case, but it does seem possible that if MK has at least x number of consultants using it, they all get a price break. It is also possible that MK just researched the best payment processing system for what MK does and set it up so that it is relatively intuitive.

My questions are:

Has anyone else had problems with ProPay?

Has anyone tried to use another vendor (notably Pay Pal)?

Does anyone know if there are rules about using another vendor other than ProPay?

Does anyone know if consultants get a price break (over non-consultants that use the same service).

Mary Kay events

Pink Truth loves to bash on the events in MK.

Today, they posted an event called Chicagorama. Here is the copy they posted.

I just love January! First off, I get to go someplace warm every year (warm and sunny Houston this time)) with my Mary Kay girlfriends! Secondly, I get to participate in the best Director planned workshop in the entire country- that's Chicagorama and you need to be there!!! How do I know it's the best??? Corporate MK thinks so too and we are known nationwide for this!! The best part is you get to go and start your New Year with a BANG!!

Picture this: The holidays are over and so are you! Over tired, over fed, over spent and maybe your clothes are over tight! You are thinking that you really need to get going with your MK but you feel sluggish because of the 'over' syndrome! Not to worry because you have a ticket to Chicagorama and you know it's going to be great! You can hear the exciting music and you picture yourself in the Red Jacket March as you enter the room to the Applause of the Chicago Directors and your sister consultants!! You wave madly as you cross the stage and pose quickly while I snap your picture.

Wow- here are the NSD's Sandy Miller and Pam Ross and after reading their bios (BELOW), you couldn't wait to hear them speak!! Mary Kay multi-MILLIONAIRES telling you you can do it too! You are really pumped and ready for some training on the basics- booking, coaching, selling and recruiting. You can't wait for that one idea that is going to help your skin care class slaes double and wrap up this Seminar Year! The day is flying by and you can't believe it's one o'clock and time for lunch with your frineds! After lunch, it's back in the ballroom again for some excitement and motivation! What a day! Time to leave but you know you can do anything! Now you have captured a new dream for you and your family and you are ready to start the year with a BANG! !

Sounds great, doesn't it!! Well, it is. You'll want to register NOW because it will sell out- it does every year and I have to get the tickets in by Nov. 30th. I will only order a ticket for you if I have your check, so mail it to me or bring it to the meeting ASAP. See the attached flier in this email for all the details. You can go on Friday January 11th OR Saturday January 12th. Friday tickets are $40 and Saturday tickets are $50. Both include a wonderful hot luncheon with a yummy dessert. There are headsets available for Spanish classes too. More details to follow in December, but for now, we have to order tickets before they sell out.

As far as the dinner goes, you must attend Chicagorama in order to attend the dinner. Everyone can attend day classes, but you must qualify for the wonderful, semi-formal dinner! The dinner has qualifications that must be met by the end of the quarter- Dec. 15th:

$1800 wholesale and 2 ($600 qualifed recruits) OR
$2400 wholesale and 1 ($600 qualified recruit) OR
$3000 wholesale

The dinner has been described as making consultants feel like they are in a fairy tale. Picture wearing your most exquisite dress and walking into a beautifully decorated room with your significant other. You feel so happy, you just know you are walking on air. You dine on surf and turf- yuuuuummmm and it's FREE!! Your guy is so excited that you earned the dinner and so proud of you that he just can't stop smiling. Oooh la la! They just brought in the desert!! Wow!! Don't worry about the calories; you plan to work them off with all your bookings! It's almost time to cross the stage. There you go..... It was wonderful................Such a magical evening and YOU were there!!! It was awesome to see you there and celebrate your success!!

Get your ticket and set a goal to be among the elite winners at the dinner! I WANT YOU TO BE THERE WITH ME!!!

Sounds like it could be a good time to me... But PT in predictable fashion has the following complaints.

1. You have to buy $1800-$3,000 worth of product so it is not free
2. The food is not any good
3. The post has spelling errors.

I simply must ask... again... because they have complained.... again...

1. Do you guys not understand the concept of incentives? You are supposed to SELL that much product, not just buy it. Buying that much product with no intention of selling it just so that you can attend a recognition dinner IS a bad idea. Whether your director cares what you do with that product or not doesn't even enter this equation. The intent of this is OBVIOUSLY that you are SELLING at this level, not BUYING.
2. I have been to events (in MK) where the food is excellent. I don't know what the food is like at this event. I guess this may be a valid complaint... not exactly 'the evil corporation at work' but valid.
3. ummmm.... are you really going to go after spelling? MK is evil and you should run the other way because they don't know how to spell? Have you read some of the posts and comments on your site? On my site? I know that some people (myself included) can't look past spelling errors easily. But this is not really evidence of MK being a bad experience. It is more like an side whisper to an equally nerdy friend at the event that you are enjoying yourself at. (psst. by the way, did you notice that she said 'desert' instead of 'dessert' hee hee)

For anyone that has never planned an event, please listen carefully.

Planning an event (especially as big as this one) is a lot of work. It takes time, thought and effort. The fact that someone is interested enough in your success to create an event like this should be cause for appreciation. If it doesn't "do it for you", don't go. If you are not at the level of sales that would earn you the reward, don't go into debt to earn something that is not yours. If you have ideas for what would make it better, recommend it to the director.

Why do I have a problem with Pink Truth? Because they call this evidence. Evidence that Mary Kay is out to get you. This is evidence that they are trying to help you. They are investing in you.

Anyone?

What is this!?

Found this on the web the other day!


Don't get too excited... it is not what you might think at first....

But go ahead and guess anyway!

Just thought I would point something out!

I have an advertising banner at the top of this site.

I know some of you may have not even noticed this. I myself have learned to tune out click-type ads on websites (including my own!!!!).

I put this ad on my site because I had just heard about it and wanted to see how it did. So there it sits. The other day, it caught my eye... I am not sure why, I just saw an item that caught my interest and I clicked on it (I know, I know click fraud... if anyone is concerned, I will send the $0.15 back!!!) Anyway, I realized that it is actually a pretty cool tool to find deals on certain things. If you are interested in what they are selling! Anyway, in case you are like me (never even notice ads) I thought I should point it out as it MIGHT benefit you!

Thanks.

Penny for YOUR thoughts.

PT posted this today... you know the drill.

Our core product lines are updated once every 3 to 5 years to take advantage of the latest innovations in skin care. And although we don’t do it often, we occasionally update our packaging to ensure that we continue to stay on trend and keep our presentation current and fresh. Remember that we’re in the fast-changing cosmetics business. Much like the automobile, fashion and consumer electronics industries, in the cosmetics industry, newness is what attracts customers to the brand.

So they posted this as "the lie of the week".

Can anyone point out where this is deceptive?

How is this a lie?

From Blessed

Blessed wrote a post today (on Pink Truth) that while long and at times confusing was still characteristically unbalanced and blown out of proportion. Here is a breakdown…

6 paragraphs… “if only my wife were more like me”

1 transition… “but then life would be boring”

2 paragraphs… “actually we complete each other and I love how different we are”

1 paragraph… “what attracted us to Mary Kay in the first place”

And then this…

“You know the rest. The irony is the MK tragedies suffered by so many different families have such common themes.”

I will insert here, “No, we don’t know the rest”.

1 paragraph… we disagreed about whether MK was good or not and I became viewed as the enemy

1 paragraph… people in MK are no different than those on PT????

2 paragraphs… I objected to MK until my wife agreed with me, but she came to this conclusion partially on her own as well?

And then this…

If you’re a husband still struggling with this curse, strive for convergence. Seek convergence more than some type of victory. Continue to object but do so with compassion and empathy. Ensure your objections are supportive, but continuous. Avoid expressions of anger in favor of sharing your observations objectively, calmly.

As near as I can tell the biggest complaints offered by anyone on PT are still:

1. Front-loading consultants
2. Deceptive practices (claiming better income, fake it til you make it, etc)
3. Actual earnings vs promoted earnings
4. Buying prizes
5. Buying levels (directorship, maintaining directorship,
6. Complaints about product quality
7. Mixing God with business

Now, I am sure that I am missing some here, but at the very least it has been demonstrated that there are consultants and directors (PynkMyst, Shades of Pink, My Pink Truth and others) who are making money, do like the product, were not deceived and do not deceive others. I (and many of my readers) have spoken here about their experience being an overall positive experience. Pink Truth and Blessed (and others) continuously ignore these crucial pieces of testimony and jump straight to blanket statements like “still struggling with this curse” and “this company which purports to “enrich women’s lives” actually exploits women with an unyielding fervor.”

Plain and simple, they have yet to produce any solid evidence that the company exploits women (the entire company as they claim, not parts of the company).

It is clear that SOME people IN the company have exploited other women. It even sounds like some of the people on PT were in the business of exploiting. But the all encompassing accusations that PT has leveled (perpetuated by the likes of Blessed) against Mary Kay are laughably far from proven.

Blessed, in case there is ANY confusion, I have not “poofed” you. I am still waiting for you to tell your story here. What were the specific problems you had in Mary Kay? Why do you feel so adamantly that people can not make money in this business legitimately? I am not interested in your recommended techniques for husbands that want to get their wives out. There is a place for that, and it will certainly gain a place here on my site… eventually. But for now, I am trying to establish valid experiences and evidence or success or failure in Mary Kay.

I wish that Pink Truth would invest the energy they currently give to their hatred of all things Mary Kay in creating a solution to the problems they love pointing out.

The reason I find this post (and others like it) disturbing is that the general assumption given to the reader is that everything he (or others) talk about are supported with hard evidence elsewhere on the site. I know that it might seem ridiculous to invest energy in pointing these things out to the few people that care, but for those people that will benefit from an experience with Mary Kay, I think it is worth it.

Question about being successful in Mary Kay

An anonymous comment/question came in today, and I thought maybe some of you would be willing to weigh in and offer some advice.

Hi,
So your wife has been in the MK business for 2 years, I have been in this business almost that time, but don't have anywhere close to 100 customers yet, so I would love to hear about how your wife got the business off the ground and how much time she has been investing. I would love to do more and make this a profitable business for me, I believe it can work, but you do need to be consistent and persistent.
anyways I would love to hear more, and it is great that you are supporting your wife, I need to show my husband that I can make this work for me and the family. I have little kids so I really want to do this.

Anyone have any advice?

How do you find new clients?

Anyone with kids have advice on how to balance raising children and starting a business?

Thank you all for your wonderful participation here!

Question about retail sales tracking

Today I received an email from a reader on this site. (Edit: Thanks to MK4ME for starting this conversation) Speaking about today's Pink Truth post regarding Mary Kay only posting their wholesale sales and not actual retail sales, she asks:

Todays post about #1, best selling brand has always made me question what TC uses to repute what is announced by Mary Kay.
Here is my question... They always say that MK reports their sales on what is sold to the consultant not the "customer" but then they say compared to the other companies that base sales to the ultimate customer. I have always wondered. In my thought process, it only makes sense that other companies (Estee, L'Oreal, etc) ship to retailers, and then retailers, ultimately sell to the customer. I would think that the figures other companies report would be what they sell to the retailers. They have no way to know what the individual retailer has in their store versus what the consumer has purchased. If my thought process is correct, then we are still comparing apples to apples and not apples to oranges. The Company can only track what they ship, not what is done with it once it is shipped. I have seen very old product sitting on shelves in stores, or in stores such as Big Lots, Dollar Tree. etc... Hope I am making sense because I have always felt this truly needs to be pointed out. And I have never seen this pointed out.

MK4ME,

Thank you for this question. I have desired to discuss this subject at length here. However, with the limited time I have for research, I have not yet had time to gather an adequate amount of information to authoritatively speak to this subject.

However, since PT is rather relentless in their bashing of Mary Kay on this subject and because the point of this site is open discussion, I have decided to post the question here with an open request for any information or opinions people would like to share.

Here are some things that I do know:

Mary Kay sells their products directly to their consultants (distributors) for 50% of their recommended retail value.

For reasons unknown to me, they do not report the retail sales of those consultants. While I don't KNOW the reasons, I can guess at the reasons based on why I would do the same if it were my decision.

A. Many consultants only buy for personal use (or friends and family) only and therefore are difficult to classify. (Are they retail consumers at 50% discount or distributors that can't sell any product?)

B. While Mary Kay lists a recommended retail value for the products offered, they also offer their consultants freedom to charge whatever they see fit. Many consultants offer their own specials and create their own incentives to their customers. Unlike a typical franchise (McDonalds, etc.) that sets very strict standards and collects detailed information from their individual franchise locations, Mary Kay gives its consultants independent status allowing them to charge whatever they want and not requiring detailed information to be collected.

C. The cost of collecting and analyzing information from 700,000 consultants that may or may not want to participate may be prohibitive. It is (relatively) easy to measure how much wholesale product is moving and since consultants (theoretically) are only buying what they project they will sell, it does not seem unreasonable to me to use this information to calculate their retail numbers.

*I can accept that there is inventory that has not yet been sold in the possession of consultants. I have a hard time believing that enough consultants are stockpiling $30k+ to negate this method of estimating. I suspect the amount of unsold and unreturned product is negligible. Buying $2k or $6k worth of product in the beginning on sheer faith in an enthusiastic director seems feasible (unfortunate but feasible). Buying even more product to gain recognition or "earn" prizes (while the original product has not even been sold) is incredibly unethical. How someone would do this (defraud the company by claiming sales that have not happened, consultants that do not exist, etc) and then claim the company is the guilty party is beyond my ability to understand.


To adequately discuss the subject of numbers, you have to base the discussion on the same criteria. (Apples to Apples, Bananas to Bananas, Oranges to Oranges) This is always difficult to do and is the reason that companies offering statistics are in high demand. A manufacturer's numbers will vary considerably from a distributor's numbers. A distributor's numbers will be very different than a retail outlet's numbers. One retailer will measure differently than another.

To illustrate lets talk about water. There are some companies that bottle water. There are some that distribute bottled water. There are some stores that sell bottled water in bulk. There are some stores that sell individual bottles of water. There are some companies (maybe) that do all of that. (Arrowhead water comes to mind.)

A water bottling company will most likely only bottle as much water as their distributor orders. End of story. That is all they are interested in. They most likely will require a minimum order (5,000 flats for instance). They may even require a contract for a year. (5,000 flats every month for a year). They don't care if you only sell half of that. They don't care if you don't sell any of it. If you ask for it and pay for it, they are going to keep the water bottles coming. They may throw in tickets to the Lakers or some other 'incentives' to keep the decision maker happy so they don't lose that account. When they are talking to their stockholders or a new company that is considering placing an order, they are not going to roll out the life history of every bottle they have filled with water and sealed. They are going to say, we sold x bottles to company y and x bottles to company z. If they have sold more 10oz bottles of water than anyone else, they are going to showcase that number (even if NO ONE else sells 10oz bottles!). It is their niche, their specialty. It is what makes them different and hopefully it will appeal to the person they are selling to.

A water distributor will have an entirely different set of numbers. They buy in bulk at a predetermined rate and hope to make a set amount of money reselling what they bought. They may represent the company they bought the water from or they may have their own label and have nothing to do with the company that bottled it. Either way, their numbers have nothing to do with the bottling plant. Maybe they sell to the consumer. Maybe they sell to retail outlets. Maybe they sell to bars and vending machine owners. All of these people will have different numbers as well. When someone puts together a presentation one of the most important considerations is who the audience is. If you are presenting your business strategy to a potential investor, you want to highlight the reasons this is a good investment. If you are pitching your product to a potential vendor, you want to point out its popularity with consumers. If you (as a Mary Kay rep) were to sit down with someone that was thinking about buying Mary Kay, you would highlight the things that you like about Mary Kay and anything that you feel makes it outstanding. You would not highlight the fact that some people are allergic to it. Imagine how excited someone would be if you were selling them water (I know there are not water salesmen but work with me anyway) and you said, "now some people get sick from drinking water". And then you went on to say, "some people don't like the taste of water". If you are representing a product, you represent it (hopefully) for a reason. YOU LIKE IT! You want to tell everyone about how great it is and how it is going to change their life. I digress a little... the point is, if you are selling a product, you emphasize the good.

Each one of the other levels is a step between the producer and the end consumer. I really don't know much about how cosmetics and skin care products are distributed. I highly suspect that the journalistic nightmare the site in question calls TRUTH offers little (if any) more comprehension of the subject.

All that being said, if anyone has any insight into this subject or opinions about this, please let your voice be heard here.

Specifically, I am looking for anyone that may own a shop of some sort. How do you handle inventory?

Also, if you have any dealings with distributors or manufacturers, how do they usually rank their successfulness in comparison with competing and non-competing brands?

Finally, if you have any thoughts about the Pink Truth post in question, but are not cynical enough for them, I would love to hear from you.

While I always love and encourage comments here on this site, if you would like to email me like Anon did, you can send a note to balancedmarykay@gmail.com

Thanks MK4ME for a great conversation starter and everyone else, in advance, for you perceptive thoughts.

What are YOUR thoughts about this?

I think that I will make this a regular feature on this blog. Pink Truth has a tendency to post things on their site, and turn it into something that it was never intended to be. Since you (anyone that is not thoroughly Anti-MK) are not allowed to post on their site, here is your place to say what is on your mind. So now, thanks to our friends at Pink Truth, the price that an NSD pays for the prizes you can win at each level. They also had the original document, but I get the feeling that information has some level of privacy attached to it so I wont repost it here.

$1800 wholesale level = $25 prize cost
$2400 wholesale level = $40 prize cost
$3000 wholesale level = $50 prize cost
$3600 wholesale level = $70 prize cost
$4800 wholesale level = $100 prize cost
$6000 wholesale level = $150 prize cost
$7800 wholesale level = $250 prize cost
$9600 wholesale level = $350 prize cost

I cannot say for sure if this is accurate or made up but it seems authentic to me.

Assuming these numbers are right, what are your thoughts?

Are these too cheap to be worth the effort of reaching those sales numbers?

Should Mary Kay award prizes that are equal in value to the amount of money you are making for them?

What are your thoughts on this?

I will allow any and all thoughts, and after some time has passed, I will weigh in!

Thanks

Website anouncement

Some things never change. These things are better suited to a website than a blog. For that reason, "Balanced Mary Kay" is now also available

The Truth About Mary Kay

Let me be the first to tell you that at the time of this posting, there is nothing there... yet.

As this blog establishes items that need a permanent home, they will be given permanent residence on the website.

Also, please note that I have established an email address where you can reach me if you want to say something, but don't want to leave it in the comments. balancedmarykay@gmail.com

As always, please let me know what you would like to see here!

Who else is talking about Mary Kay

This is long overdue, and is still not perfected. In the interest of presenting the most balanced view possible, here is a list of what other websites are talking about Mary Kay. For some of them, I have offered a small excerpt either from or about that particular site.

Is Mary Kay a good opportunity? Is Mary Kay a scam? Is Mary Kay a cult? Can you make money with Mary Kay? Will I go into debt with Mary Kay? How can I succeed with Mary Kay? Does Mary Kay sell itself? These questions are all things that I hope to answer on this site. But if you want to get another perspective, here are some links you may find helpful.

Pro Mary Kay – Helping you run your business better

Shades of Pink

Consultant since 2003, works her business part-time around a full time job and school. This site features lots of good advice about how to succeed in Mary Kay

My Pink Truth

“I’m just a person–an imperfect seeker who tries to live right but falls occasionally, just like everyone else. I wanted a place where I could vent frustration, talk about various things and not get slammed in the process. The internet is the best place–I can get lost here yet access it from anywhere.”

Pynk Myst

“Welcome into the myst! This site is a great place to discuss Mary Kay opinions and questions. You will find many positive Mary Kay consultant stories and Mary Kay sales director experiences.”

MK Rules

“MK Rules is here to encourage positivity while keeping reality in mind. We are here to provide a place to share experiences, knowledge, and provide answers to your questions. I hope to grow with you and expand our businesses together in an honest manner, not only being legal but also moral.”

Bee Productive

Mary Kay Women

Turning Pink

The “War” – Is Mary Kay Extraordinary or Scary?

Pink Truth says, “run, don’t walk the other way”

Personally, I have seen very little in the way of actual complaints and facts here. This site feels more like the personal vendetta of someone who is either trying to make a quick buck taking cheap shots at a corporation trying to make a difference for women OR someone so blinded by a bad experience that any chance of journalistic integrity is out of the question. Please read with caution and know that you are not allowed to disagree with any of the content on this site. If you read something on this site, and feel the desire to disagree with it, please drop me a line here. balancedmarykay@gmail.com I may post it on the main page.

PT Lies says, “Pink Truth is full of it, here’s why”

Some call me duh! Neutral but… WOW. *Please use caution on this site. If you are easily offended by foul language or “adult content”, this may not be the site for you.

Pink Lighthouse – Simple site that provides some resources about what to do if you are uncertain of your involvement in Mary Kay

The Pinking Shears – This seems like a very good resource if you are looking for problems within Mary Kay. This site presents information about the problems that you could encounter with involvement in any MLM, but specifically Mary Kay. I am impressed with what I have seen so far. This is a professional site. If you are concerned about what your director is asking you to do, this is probably a good community for you.

Edumacation (MaryKayOpinions)

Perhaps someone can enlighten me about this site. It appears that this site is a byproduct of wikipedia. I think it focuses on consumer education. This part is about Mary Kay. It seems like it has good opinions and experiences on both sides of the fence. I have found it hard to navigate, but it has a lot of information if you can work your way through it.

Liquidate Your MK inventory

I don’t have the time to check out what sites are good or bad in this area, so I recommend that you take a look at pink lighthouse’s resources here.

As I mentioned earlier, this post is long overdue and incomplete. It will probably always be incomplete, as people are joining the conversation everyday. If I have missed you (or someone that you think should be here, email me at balancedmarykay@gmail.com

Warm Chatting or Warm Stalking? The Solicitation Conundrum Part II

Once you start Mary Kay, one of the most important aspects of your new business is finding new people to sell to. How do you find people that want to buy Mary Kay? Whether you choose to only sell the product or sell the product and offer the Mary Kay opportunity, you need to find people that will be interested in what you are selling. It is possible to make a lot of money selling Mary Kay if you know where to look for customers.

Not too long ago, I posted some thoughts about this process here. Shades of Pink (a commenter here) has written some excellent thoughts on this subject here, here and here. I think though that because of the very important nature of this subject, it is worthwhile to present another perspective.

What are considered good methods of soliciting new business? When should you be persistent? How persistent should you be? When does persistent become pushy? What is the appropriate balance of professionalism and personal interaction? None of these questions have a “right” answer that roundly applies to all situations. Chances are you are going to make a mistake, so relax, figure out which side you would rather err on and set your course! Allow me to illustrate.

In life, we all filter who we choose to interact with based on a number of predetermined factors. Depending on how “outgoing” you are these filters may be very strict or very loose. If you are a so called social butterfly, your filter may be, “I say ‘hi’ to everyone I see; if they greet me in return, chances are we will end up acquaintances.” If you are a so called wallflower, your filter may be, “I never speak unless spoken to, and even then, only if you are absolutely fascinating.” Chances are you fall somewhere in between these two extremes. Your filters may be based on gender (I only talk to females), age (I only talk to people that are older than me), or any number of sets of “qualifiers”. These filters can (and most likely will) change as your life fluctuates. For instance, you may thoroughly enjoy sitting with old men and women and listening for hours at a time as they tell stories from their childhood. But, in the course of time, you get married, have kids, join a bowling league and start a garden. All of a sudden, you realize that you don’t have hours to sit listening to those stories any more. Now one of your ‘filters’ may be that you avoid open-ended, one-on-one conversations with old people.

One of the major things that can influence how we form our filters is starting a career in sales! If you were previously a wallflower, you may need to loosen up and approach some people on your own initiative. You may find yourself evaluating whether or not to approach someone based on things like how likely it is that she would be interested in Mary Kay. It is foreseeable that this could lead to someone becoming a person that is only interested in people if they are interested in purchasing from them. It is these people that are accused of seeing people as dollar signs. So how do you simultaneously avoid striking up unbeneficial conversations and also avoid being so profit focused that you only offer shallow insincere compliments to people that you could care less about? The most important thing is one of the core values of Mary Kay.

From the Mary Kay website:

“Mary Kay made it clear that she did not like pushy salespeople. While tenacity and perseverance are certainly important qualities for success in any sales-oriented business, we have found that the most successful Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants approach sales and recruiting by consistently applying the Golden Rule; using their own good judgment along with a loving and caring spirit. As a result, when making decisions about your sales and recruiting activities, we always recommend that you put yourself in the other person’s shoes, remembering to treat them only as you would want to be treated. As Mary Kay often said, “You have a wealth of influence, and everyone you meet forms an impression of you by your words and actions. So make the Golden Rule your way of life.”

Treat people the way you want to be treated! It is really very simple. In every circumstance you find yourself, every person that you interact with will be different. If your motives are genuinely to see their best interests come about, you will always succeed. You may find people that are not interested. By letting them know that you appreciate their time and parting ways, you have succeeded in giving them what they really wanted! Shades of Pink makes an excellent point about the difficulty knowing whether a ‘no’ is a ‘no, never, don’t ever ask me again’ or a ‘no, not right now’ and how easy you can figure that out with a simple question or two. When someone says ‘no’, it is not very difficult to ask, “Would you like me to call you again in a few months?” A few simple questions like this one can help you understand what they are really looking for and how you can best serve them!

As you navigate your way through this process of choosing who to approach, and treating them the way you would want to be treated it is very important to remember that if they say no, they are rejecting the product (or opportunity) only. They are not rejecting you personally. Ironically, the old adage, “It’s not personal, It’s just business” can apply here. The rejection you experience has nothing to do with you. Not everyone will want to try Mary Kay. Not all of the ones that try it will buy it. This is where the phrase, “it’s just a numbers game comes in”. As a sales person, you must know your ratios. If you have to talk to 10 people to get someone to try it, and 10 people have to try it before they buy it, and you need 10 people to buy it every week, then you have a lot of talking to do! Using these numbers, you have to talk to 1,000 people every week to get those 10 sales. You may not need 10 sales, but for the sake of argument let’s use these numbers, and assume that each of those ten sales placed a $100 order which resulted in $50 to you and approximately $500/week. This would mean $26,000/year and about $2,160/month. Your goal may be less, it may be more. Talking to 1,000 people may seem outrageous, but this is where facial boxes (or fishbowls?) can be really handy! If you set a box somewhere that a lot of people see it, you can get hundreds of “no’s” that you never have to hear! All you ‘hear’ are the “yes’s”, when you go pick up the box! Regardless, once you figure out what your numbers are, you can adequately examine how many people you need to talk to in order to make the kind of money that you want to make. I believe that my 10:10:10 ratio is probably flawed as my wife is already making this much money and I don’t think that she talks to 1,000 people every week!

Also keep in mind that when you gain a ‘regular client’, the conversions you have with them will enter a different ratio. For people that trust you, like you, and enjoy the product you offer, you will probably find your ratio to be more like 10:10 or 9:10. That is why it is so important that you treat your customers right! My wife has been a consultant for a year and a half and has about 200 clients. Some of these, will call her when they are about to run out. Some of them will order when she calls. Some will say, “I already bought brand x this time”. I don’t know off the top of my head what her ratios are for client re-orders, but I know that everyone I talk to really like their Mary Kay product and have no reason to buy from anyone else!

The bottom line is that if you want people to buy what you are selling, you have to let them know you are selling it. There are many ways to do this. In determining what methods and tactics you will use, keep in mind that the right way is always the best way. When you treat people the right way, they will appreciate it. Treat them poorly, and the first chance they get, they will disappear. It is well worth your while to earn your clients while exercising the golden rule. Your business and your clients will thank you for it!

Please help this conversation out by leaving some of the ways that you have found to be either:

1. Successful methods you have found for finding clients
2. Distasteful things MK reps have done that made you cringe

It is entirely possible that something that seems like a good idea to one person is actually incredibly offensive from someone else’s perspective. Your thoughts are always welcome here!

Thanks

Most recent poll

Results of the most recent poll.

Thank you to the 16 people that voted.

Still need ideas guys... What questions should I ask?


What do you want to know about the other readers on this post?

Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

I trust everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving!

Matilda, do you guys celebrate Thanksgiving in Sweden?

Thanks to everyone participating on this site!

What are YOUR thoughts about this?

Today, Pink Truth posted something that allegedly is from a National Sales Director. I say allegedly because I have no way of verifying that fact. It seems plausible though.

The responses to it were interesting and certainly revealing. I will comment on the perceptions later, but I thought it was actually a pretty well written piece and wanted to get some discussion going about it here. You know, two sided conversation style!

Here it is, quoted directly from Pink Truth:

The Price of Success

You’ve probably heard that you must pay a price for success. While hard work and sacrifice are necessary, Mary Kay always believed that there was a way to balance the two — and maintaining balance was the true meaning of success. It’s not how much money you have or how many awards you’ve won — it’s how good you feel about yourself, your family and your place in the world. If you can come home at the end of the day and feel good about what you’ve done, that’s success. So how do we get there? You can start by keeping things in check.

1. Having It All Means Being Creative. Let’s face it — a woman can’t be in more than one place at a time. So how can she be there for her kids and continue to work? Be a positive influence even when you’re not there. A note tucked inside a lunch, being present for important events and passing on a healthy self-esteem can be very positive and powerful relationship- building tools. Find ways to make a difference even when you’re not there.

2. The Big Trade-Off. If your career is on the rise, and you decide you want to start a family, you may have to compromise a bit in both directions. Do you give up your career to be a stayat-home mom? Or do you spend less time with your family because your career allows you to provide them with financial security, stability and independence. When the time comes, you have to decide what’s most important to you and prioritize you life to fit your goals.

3. Tick-Tock Biological Clock. Before embarking on a wonderful career and taking the path toward success, think about having children. If now isn’t the time for you, then proceed full steam ahead! But if you want children, consider your timeframe before getting yourself in a situation where your career could overshadow your desire to be a mom.

4. Prioritize, Please. Remember not to work so much that you neglect your children and family. We have to raise our children and enjoy the friendship we have with our husbands — that’s what family is all about. And working too many hours can rob your life of the joys of family if you’re not careful. What good is a successful career if you sacrifice your relationships in the process? Balance is essential for professional women. We all want to spend quality time with our children, family and friends while we climb the ladder of success in our careers.

That's why the Mary Kay definition of success puts God first, family second and career third. It can work. You can have it all! Mary Kay wisdom taken from Mary Kay: You Can Have It All by Mary Kay Ash.

As promised, I will not comment yet. I want to hear some candid opinions about this Nationals recommendations from you my loyal readers first. Does this sound like sound advice? Or does it sound sneaky and manipulative? Or something else entirely? I would love to hear what you think BEFORE you go look at the comments left at Pink Truth! But if you want to get some inspiration, there is quite a bit of chatter there!

Either way, enjoy your Thanksgiving and leave your thoughts when you get a chance!

Thanks

What are you thankful for?

Hi everybody!

There were so many comments yesterday (really good ones I might add) that it is now almost 1.30 am and I need to be at work soon, so I will just place this post here. If you would like to start a new conversation about things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving that would be most excellent.

Also, if any of you see something that you would like to write an article about, please let me know. I think this blog needs to have multiple authors! Unfortunately, this is a side project for me, and I am too cheap to invest in a blog that allows multiple authors! However, if someone writes an article and sends it to me, I would be delighted to post it, and would of course give you full credit for it!

Thanks, have a great day, and if I don't catch you on Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving!

That was quick

So, I just finished posting part 2 of a 2 part series about the phrase "sells itself" and how that relates to "Mary Kay".

Part 1 is here
Part 2 is here

Out of curiosity and because I know that I used that phrase extensively, I checked to see if I had made a difference in the Top Ten for those search terms.

I posted part one at 9.30 pm. It is now 1.00am and those search terms now show my site as number 7 in the list!

Not really making a point, just impressed at how quickly google indexes the internet.

Might as well make a point though I guess.

The moral of this series is that a google search for the terms that you are interested in does not constitute research. It is a good starting place, but that is all. A starting place.

Thanks

Pink Truth "Research" (2 of 2)

Some things you simply can't make up.

This is so rich that it is going to have to be a Two (2) part series:

Part 2 (of 2) Part 1 is here

Apparently Tracy 'was reading' a comment on 'another site'.

She doesn't mention which site this is on, so I can't provide that to you, but you can read her post here.

For those of you that refuse to visit her site (and I certainly don't blame you!), here are her thoughts about that comment that she found:

"I was reading on another site a comment by a writer who said that anyone who was told Mary Kay is easy (and believed it) is stupid. She said something to the effect of, "If I was your recruiter I would have told you it's hard work, and so would almost any other Mary Kay recruiter. I'm sorry you got one of the few bad ones."

I almost fell out of my chair laughing. We all know that 99% of Mary Kay recruiters brag on how easy it is to sell the product.

So just for kicks, I wondered how many web pages I could find that referred to Mary Kay as a product that sells itself. Here is but ONE search that I did.... "mary kay" "sells itself". Other variations on the wording would produce many more pages.

Crazy how many pages say it's easy to sell, eh? And a good thing Pink Truth comes up first for the search !"

I am not making that up. I am not sure how long it will be up, so be sure to check it out with your own eyes while you still can. Click Here

I really believe that as soon as she thinks about what she posted here, she will at the very least change it a little. But here goes anyway...

Again, this is part two of a two part series! Part 1 is here

Ok, so the product either sells itself or it doesn’t, right. Read the first post of this mini-series to wrap your brain around the reality of that statement and the expectations that you should place on it.

Let’s examine the “proof” provided that demonstrates that most recruiters say, “The product sells itself”. Deceptive or not, meant literally or not, Tracy demonstrates how many websites claim that Mary Kay sells itself by linking to a google search for the terms “mary kay” and “sells itself”.

Just for kicks!

Ok, just for kicks, let’s put just a little bit of effort into this and see what the Top Ten results point to! Shall we?

First, we have her site, Pink Truth. Which she points out. “And a good thing Pink Truth comes up first for the search !”

Tracy. Are you saying that your website claims that Mary Kay sells itself? How is this evidence to support your point? Do you not realize what you just said? Think about it. Go ahead, take your time. Let it sink in. Still nothing? Let me explain again.

You said, “We all know that 99% of Mary Kay recruiters brag on how easy it is to sell the product”

Then you said, “Let me prove it to you”.

Then you said, “Here is a list of sites that say, ‘Mary Kay is easy to sell’.”

YOUR site was at the top of the list.

Then you said, “And a good thing Pink Truth comes up first for the search !”

You actually:

1. Listed your site as one of the “bad guys”
2. Pointed that fact out.

I think I am beginning to understand why you took the phrase “sells itself” literally.

Ok, if anyone still doesn’t get it, go ahead and leave a comment and I will try to slow it down a little more for you.

Let’s move on.

Here is the list of sites that Tracy claims are claiming that Mary Kay “sells itself”

1. Since the time of her post, Pink Truth has actually been trumped by, “iVillage Garden Web”. I have never heard of them and I will give Tracy credit that when she posted this article, PT was number 1 for these search terms. Anyway, iVillage Garden Web claims to be “The Internet’s Garden and Home Community”.
1. “sells itself” appears in a discussion (pros and cons) of whether or not “pink overalls” should allow an acquaintance to demonstrate the Mary Kay product on her. She apparently has never tried it and does not want to if there is not at least a decent chance of her liking the product.
2. The phrase is used by someone who says, “I feel Mary Kay sells itself, the product is good and is a pleasure to use.”
3. Not exactly a recruiter telling a potential recruit that her product is going to sell itself.
4. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
2. Pink Truth is now number Two for these search terms.
1. The article cited is “I hand you the keys to the Mary Kay castle” which is allegedly a directors instructions to a new consultant/recruiter. It does in fact say that the product sells itself and instructs the interviewer to say that it does. But, as I said before, except in a very literal translation, it does.
2. Tracy is calling her site evidence that there are a lot of sites that claim Mary Kay sells itself. Her site does not. But it is listed as one that does?
3. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
3. Yahoo answers. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have seen on the internet to date. Someone asks a question. ANYONE can answer. Anyone can vote on any answer (thumbs up or thumbs down). After a period of time the answer with the most thumbs up wins. It doesn’t matter if it is right, wrong or utterly ridiculous, Yahoo declares that answer as the correct answer.
1. In this case, the question was, “Which will I make more money selling? Avon or Mary Kay?”
2. The “Best Answer” was, “MARY KAY offers things you can' get at your average discount store is what AVON stuff is.”
3. I don’t think anything I could say could more vividly express my disgust at this form of ‘discovering’ answers. I quoted both of those directly from the internet. Almost all answers are that outrageous.
4. The “answer” that scored the ‘sells itself phrase’ for Tracy’s research was a third party ‘spammer’ promoting their candle selling business. Just in time for the holidays! Check out their opportunity here!
5. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
4. The Dollar Stretcher. A consumer guide of sorts that helps you make your dollars go a little further.
1. The page in question is about selling Mary Kay. Some pro, some anti.
2. The quote comes from an ex-MKer who has discovered a “new company that is not so new”. She says, “Since this company (not Mary Kay) has stores in the malls, there is already familiarity and the product sells itself. I would definitely not recommend Mary Kay.”
3. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
5. An article on Common Boundaries website. This is the FIRST site where someone selling the product claims that it “sells itself”. Still not a recruiting ploy though, sorry. Still not really even a sales tactic.
1. “So what is Lee's best selling product? "Definitely Satin Hands," he says. "Even my dad uses it. It sells itself."”
2. Sorry for all the quotes!
3. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
6. Someone’s blog – sugarfused.net.
1. Asked whether MK was good or not, a list of Pro’s, Con’s, and I dunno’s followed.
2. One anti-MK’er said, “I was naive and fell for the “It sells itself” line that the recruiters give you.” And, “But my MK experience has taught me that nothing “sells itself””.
3. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
7. Pink Truth again. (you can click on that link... it is safe... it won't add to her stats!)
   
1. Ironically, the home page bringing up the words “sells itself” over and over again in recent comments and in the title/content of the post in question. (I am sure this was not there when she was creating the post but it is there now and currently is adding to her “volume of evidence”)
2. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
8. Ebay entry. Milotrigger’s blog. Re: Mary Kay Cosmetics.
1. Milotrigger suggests listing unsold MK items on ebay
2. One of the comments ends with, “Let's face it; we all got into the business because of the promise of fast cash, the pink cadillac and prizes and someone spoke the words "Oh the product sells itself". But we must be real and realistic. The product does not sell itself”
3. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
9. Helium.com. Product Review. Mary Kay Cosmetics.
1. Neutral review, author prefers Avon.
2. “The one good thing about being an Avon Sales Representative, is that I am part of a good cause and second, I do not have to sell Avon because Avon sells itself.”
3. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
10. MoneyDummy.net. Personal Experience with Mary Kay.
1. This person had a bad experience with Mary Kay.
2. Someone told her the product would sell itself
3. NOT a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself.
11. Why I am a Mary Kay Consultant. Since number 7 was technically not there when Tracy was writing this, I will add an eleventh entry. And a good thing for her. For the first time, we see what could be construed as “sells itself” being used as a “pitch” to recruit someone.
1. “What "sold" me on Mary Kay was that I never have to compete with anyone but myself. The product sells itself; my job is simply to get it out there, to be honest and truthful about the product, and because of Mary Kay's policy of "try before you buy" I will never feel like I "hustled" anybody to give me a few extra bucks or to help me gain a few points.”
2. Finally, a website claiming that Mary Kay sells itself. And again, allow me to point out that SHE still takes responsibility for showing it to people!

So, with the exception of number 7 which I will omit, the top ten results showed only ONE (1) result that “backed up” Tracy’s point that there are “many web pages… that referred to Mary Kay as a product that sells itself.” For those of you that don’t like math, close your eyes. This is a ratio of 1:10. The result page said there were 1,960 results. Now I don’t plan on going through all of those sites, and I don’t expect her to either. But let’s just say that fully 10% of those results are genuine “Mary Kay sells itself” websites. 196 people saying that Mary Kay sells itself are hardly 99%!!!! Let’s go a step further. Let’s call it 200, and assume that several other searches and further combing of the internet produces 5x that number. 1,000 people claiming that Mary Kay sells itself are still nowhere near 99%.

It is this kind of “research” that made me start this site. The fact that at the time of me writing this there are seven (7) comments affirming this post as credible research tells me that some people still regard Pink Truth as offering the truth. This is the sorriest excuse for research I have seen since I used a baseball card to research a “famous African-American” for a Social Studies project in 6^th grade. No wait. This is worse. This truly baffles the mind. I am in awe of how ridiculous this is.

“Crazy how many pages say it's easy to sell, eh? And a good thing Pink Truth comes up first for the search!”

Stop. Read that again! 1 in 10 is a lot? Pink Truth is one of them? I can’t stop looking. I keep reading it over and over expecting it to change. Thinking I may wake up! Count the days friends (and foes). How long until this post comes down? Or will it be edited? Please tell me that at some point she will realize how insane it is!?

Did you even look at those pages? Did you read what you wrote before you hit "publish"? Are you secretly making fun of your readers by insulting THEIR intelligence? I just don't understand.

Ok, moving on.

I think that 100% of Mary Kay reps should proudly say that their product sells itself. Not taken out of context, this statement is true. It is true of any product that you can allow people to “try”. They get to see first hand whether or not they like it. It is not a guarantee that they will, but it takes the sales pressure off the salesperson and puts it on the product. You just have to find people that are willing to try it. This CAN be quite tricky. It is like this new gum I have discovered. 5. That is what it is called. 5. You may have heard of it, I don’t know. I tried it because I am a sucker for packaging and theirs is really great. I really like it. I have had some people try it and they liked it. Some people tried it and didn’t like it. Some people refused to try it. I am not a sales person for them, and I will not get any money if you or anyone else tries it. But by getting people to try it, I have proved that their product, “sells itself”.

Now, if someone took the “sells itself” phrase to mean that literally they were going to have to stave off the hordes of women fighting each other to get to this amazing product that sells itself, and they communicated it to you like that, I will say again, “I am sorry you were lied to”. But, now I am going to ask you to be honest. Did you really think that all you had to do was buy the product and people would come to you? That is not a rhetorical question or a sarcastic one. I genuinely don’t believe that anyone seriously signs up to sell something that they think will magically sell itself. It would not take more than a fleeting thought to realize that if there was no human quotient involved you would not have been approached in the first place. So please, help me understand. What did you really think that phrase meant when you first signed up and what was so different when you got in that made you feel lied to?

Thanks

Pink Truth "Research" (1 of 2)

Some things you simply can't make up.

This is so rich that it is going to have to be a Two (2) part series:

Part 1 (of 2)

Apparently Tracy 'was reading' a comment on 'another site'.

She doesn't mention which site this is on, so I can't provide that to you, but you can read her post here.

For those of you that refuse to visit her site (and I certainly don't blame you!), here are her thoughts about that comment that she found:

"I was reading on another site a comment by a writer who said that anyone who was told Mary Kay is easy (and believed it) is stupid. She said something to the effect of, "If I was your recruiter I would have told you it's hard work, and so would almost any other Mary Kay recruiter. I'm sorry you got one of the few bad ones."

I almost fell out of my chair laughing. We all know that 99% of Mary Kay recruiters brag on how easy it is to sell the product.

So just for kicks, I wondered how many web pages I could find that referred to Mary Kay as a product that sells itself. Here is but ONE search that I did.... "mary kay" "sells itself". Other variations on the wording would produce many more pages.

Crazy how many pages say it's easy to sell, eh? And a good thing Pink Truth comes up first for the search !"

I am not making that up. I am not sure how long it will be up, so be sure to check it out with your own eyes while you still can. Click Here

I really believe that as soon as she thinks about what she posted here, she will at the very least change it a little. But here goes anyway...

Again, this is part one of a two part series!

First of all, because this is such a common theme on PT and Anti-MK sites, I will deal with the concept of "sells itself". We will deal with the 99% issues at another time as these are separate. I don't know how you quantify a statement like, "We all know that 99% of Mary Kay recruiters..." anything. Since that is another issue, we will deal with it later. Let's look at the phrase, "sells itself".

How many of you (pro-MK or anti) have said, "This (food, gadget, beverage, etc) is SO good, it could sell itself"? You didn't actually mean that you thought it would get up off the shelf and leverage itself into the hands of a consumer in exchange for cash? You mean that it is really good. You still needed someone to introduce it to you. You still needed someone to demonstrate it to you. When someone says that a product sells itself, they are rarely saying that the manufacturer only has to produce it, stack it up in their warehouse and wait for the profit to come in! You still need to find away to tell people about it. Introduce: Sales. Be it through traditional media advertising (which I think technically came after door-to-door sales), or through more non-traditional channels, you need to let people know that you have something that is worth trying. And whether it is in their heads or out loud, they are going to want to know, "What makes you so special that I should waste my precious time trying what you have to offer?" You have to answer this question for them before they will try it. After they try it, if it is really, ‘so good that it sells itself’, it will “sell itself”.

I personally believe that Mary Kay falls into this category. I have spoken with many of my wife’s clients personally and have heard them ‘declaring the praises of Mary Kay’ because they really like it. They call her to order more when they are out. They make jokes about it being, ‘like crack’! “I need my MK fix” they say! I have a friend (male) that had trouble with his skin. The product he was using solved one problem but created another. He mentioned this when my wife was telling him about what she does (skin care specifically) and she recommended one of her products. She gave him a free sample that night, and the next day he ordered the product from her. In this case, I would say that the product “sold itself”. My wife still had to be there, talk about it, explain why he (a guy) should not be ashamed to try it, and have her sample on hand. But ultimately, she did not have to call him over and over until he “gave in” just to get her off his back. This is just an isolated example. Almost all of her clients are just like that. Once they try the product they don’t want to try anything else. On the flip side, she has had plenty of people that have tried it and said, “no thanks”. No energy wasted (I guess to be accurate, I should say “minimal” energy wasted).

Here, try this. Ok. Do you like it? Yes, give me more!

Here, try this. Ok. Do you like it? No! Ok, thanks for your time!

As I said, I think it is true that Mary Kay sells itself. As long as you don’t turn that phrase into something utterly ridiculous, it is true. Ironically, the second comment on this post from “DebiUnpinked” says it better than I ever could. –

“If it sold so easy why do they have consultants?”

[again, I am not making any of this up, you should really check it out for yourself before she takes this post down… Click here]

If you REALLY thought that they LITERALLY meant that the product was going to sell ITSELF, didn’t you get a little suspicious AT THAT TIME about why they would need YOU? I mean I really want to feel pity for people that were hurt by deceptiveness in Mary Kay, but I find it very hard to believe that you honestly think “sells itself” means that the product is going to magically do all the work for you. I am sorry if that was (honestly) your understanding, but frankly I don't believe you.

This was part one of two... stay tuned for part two. It gets better!

A note from "Blessed"

Recently I posted a response to a story that made 'front page' over at Pink Truth.

You can read that post here.

Since then, the original author and I have begun a conversation of sorts in the comments section. Click the link above and scroll down to the comments if you would like to see our conversation in context.

Because his most recent comment was rather lengthy and my response even lengthier, I thought it may be beneficial to some if I posted them both here on the main page. This is his original comment. To read my response to this comment, click here.

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No sarcasm intended. I’m not sure, though, what you meant in your last note by “ However, it is outrageous that you would apply that experience to someone at a gas station with a Mary Kay window sticker.” If your interpretation was that I was projecting onto every woman associated with MK sticker the preconception that they had suffered from the experience to the same degree, you’re right. That would be rather presumptuous. That was not the message I intended to convey.

I do though, very much, believe every woman participating in the “opportunity” is exposing themselves to a very real vulnerability. There is a significant level of vulnerability, particularly when the extent of participation in the “opportunity” reaches a point where the IBC’s director (or “higher up”) occupies a position of trust. I don’t, mind you, believe this vulnerability is at the same level as that associated with most any other sundry independent business undertaking. The MK MLM offers a far greater risk due to it’s deceptive, predatory recruiting and front-loading tactics. My concerns about the “opportunity” have nothing to do with the quality of the products. My repudiation stems from personal knowledge of the MK MLM tactics.

Do I believe participation in MK exposes all participant’s to an often unanticipated, too often unrecognized, level of risk?

Absolutely.

Do I believe women and their families should take pause before swallowing the polished pitches and exposing themselves (their time, dollars and trust) to the MK “opportunity”?

Most definitely.

Nice comments re “Your money.” On target. If I were to warn you that while in a particular neighborhood, you should always travel in groups, avoid unlit areas, and keep moving at all times, the mere fact I offered such a warning would indeed tell you something about the neighborhood, wouldn’t it? Consider the message you send (however unintentional) when you are inclined to warn those interested in the “opportunity” they should avoid the things you mentioned in this article (“Your Money”). Revealing.

I applaud your blog as an additional outlet for information re the “opportunity,” regardless of the stance you take. Ironically, your offering yet another conduit for retort to the many testimonials from those who’ve suffered at the hands of the “opportunity” validates the growing body of information/warnings that the “opportunity” should be avoided, that potential MK targets should be weary. MK Corporate refuses to even publically acknowledge this growing body of “Mary Kay Cosmetics clarity.” I welcome such acknowledgment from sites such as yours. I look forward to reading more.

Take care.

Blessed

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Again, this was a comment left on a previous post. If you want to read my response to this comment, click here.

Thanks for stopping by.