Quote from PT; "It is so frustrating to see the "Optimistic Consultants" of the world come on here and give us the "I think they can do it better, it won't happen to them, you didn't work your business" spin. Do you think we just sit around tapping our pencils against the desk making up stories?
SERIOUSLY, IT WON'T HAPPEN! You're no smarter than any of us.(depends) You will not beat the system.(don't need to beat it, just work with it) Thousand and thousands have tried before you.(many have succeeded and many have failed.)It's a flawed business model, it's a flawed business model, it's a flawed business model." The business model is not flawed, it is the individual that runs it flawed and tries to manipulate it into a pyramid scheme that flaws the system.
I would like to say, I am sorry that someone (actually many someones) CAN make Mary Kay work for them honestly and earn a profit frustrates everyone so on pt. I know I can do better than those complaining on pt that it can be done because I am doing it along with many others. I run a successful MK business, I manage between 500-600 clients and my unit is usually around 100 (non terminated consultants), I strive to maintain a personal team of at least 30 (the idea of the unit within a unit). If one builds a strong client base and then builds a team and continues to develope both of these lines, you will develope a strong, profitable venue. Selling must be the key.
No I am not making 6 digits (yet) but I am not willing to sacrifice more of my time to do that right now in my life. But I make good money!
I do not encourage new consultants to begin building a team right away. Let's develop a clientelle that will be reordering before worrying about a 4% check. Let's face it, one will be making alot more money earning 50% off of a sale as oppossed to 4% of one wholesale order. (Also why bring a woman in at $3000 just to get a big 13% check..... check it out... you will get the same amount if the consultant does 5 -$600 orders @ 13% - the very same amount - and chances are the consultant that is consistantly ordering won't get unhappy and quit! What a novel idea!) (sorry for the sarcasim) and if a consultant isn't overstocked and wants to take a leave of absence or quit for awhile, she may be able to sell her existing stock off to her clients and then NOONE has to worry about a chargeback, duh!!!
I have noticed a common thread in many of the "stories of doom": the length of time with the Company is fairly short. I feel it takes at least two years (of course there are exception) to become proficient at being a good consultant. It takes time to develop a good presentation, to learn all the products, to learn color techniques, people skills, and financial skills. Upon becoming a director one has even more to develop. First and foremost juggling your personal business and your unit, and if a consultant thinks it is tough keeping customers happy, baaa, try keeping a unit of mostly woman all happy! yikes! between pms and menopause- full moons- hot flashes, zits, etc.. - it gets pretty interesting at times. Personally I feel it takes a good three years before one should bite off directorship. (jmho). Sell the product. Don't get caught up on the "treadmill", we work hard at the beginning of the month, what comes in at the end is the icing on the cake - that way production is still coming in on the first and second day of the new month. Don't always be begging from the future, it will make the present much more pleasant. I am proud to say, if for any reason I have to call a consutlant on the last day of the month, even the ones with caller id, they answer my calls! Why, because I don't dial for dollars. If they need product, they will order, if you need one favor, ask but calling a consultant every month to "help" save the Unit, or "help" keep the car, come on, it is going to get old. It isn't their unit, it isn't their car... this will only drive them away.... oh .... what about the line..... "If you don't order this month, you won't be active - YIKES!!! omg.... hmmm, she doesn't need product, she doesn't have a team, so why exactly does she NEED to be active. Let's think about her needs not your needs. Once you have lost the trust of a unit member, how in the world do you think you will get it back??
My best advice to anyone taking the time to read this - work til the last minute, do whatever you can do to acheive your goal but DO NOT - MAKE (BUY) IT! It is tough enough being a brand new director. But a brand new director with 29 other newish consultants are going to be able to sell enough to justify production HOWEVER a director with 15 newish consultants and 15 fake (pretend) consultants are NOT going to make production. NEWFLASH*** FAKE CONSULTANTS DO NOT PRODUCE REAL PRODUCTTION - NEVER HAVE AND NEVER WILL. If one gets caught up in the trap of "buying" production every other month, the stress is going to win. The more one resents what they are doing and the more pressure they are under - the less likely anything good will come from it. When you start your directorship under these conditions it would be like starting a race from the parking lot insteadof the starting line - you are never going to catch up to the pack.
If your car is costing you more, get your PRIDE out of the way and step down to a lower lever or take the cash. This is nothing to be ashamed of.
For those that want to continue to bash the big mean manipulative MK, perhaps since there is so much Bible slinging over on PT - some should read the scriptures on greed, pride, and temptation. Are we not tested to stand against these sins? Don't blame Mary Kay for your shortcomings. It is up to us to withstand the temptations.
My unit runs with almost zero debt and I am not talking about just myself, I am speaking of my consultants as well. We sell product, we order product, and we sell some more. It is really quite simple. WE EARN our prizes. For me, I pay quarterly local, state, and federal taxes, and my social security is in place as is my life insurance. My husband has our health insurance so that is one expense I do not have but my IRA is in place. We are a middle class family. My income is needed, I am not a giddy stay at home mom who can do without an income. For two years of my life, I was a single mom while fulltime MK, yes I was earning money, no I ws getting no financial aid and my child was well cared for and feed. YES IT CAN BE DONE- HONESTLY!
No!! you are not going to make 6 digits working two hours a week, the second week your are in business. the product is great but no it doesn't "sell itself", I have never seen a 3-1 cleanser hope off the shelf and call a client we musth show it and... if you believe this I have some prime property in the everglades I would love to sell you, it is going to be "hot" property in the future! You can get in early now while it is still cheap and make a killing later - or sooner if you run into my pet gator -Wally! lol
I disagree with bringing in consultants with large inventories, I do think it is overwhelming to the consultant and I don't believe she gets a good balance of what she will or will not move. I prefer for them to pick a level they are comfortable with and then as she builds her customer base, build her inventory. It does pay to have inventory on hand. People do not like to wait despite what pt says. When I do my openhouse weekends 4 times a year and move between $2000-$5000 in product, I don't want to have to run around and deliver that product at a later date. It would defeat the purpose of the open house and servicing a large number of clients in a short period of time. Do I sell product? I believe I have EARNED/Achieved the National Court of Sales over 13 times. (I lost count- stopped taking the rings and opted for the cash)! Fun!! ( couldn't figure out how to grow more fingers and they didn't work on my toes with my shoes) - My current inventory fits on two bookshelves.(not a full basement or warehouse) come- on.... really...???people really do that?? no way.... that's just plain nuts...
Before my article turns into a novel, I would like to add before MK, I was an accountant/financial analyst working 60-80 hours a week (salaried) and my kiddos were being raised by the babysitter because "I" was going to be CFO of the Company. I was climbing that Corporate Ladder! A life tragedy made me take a good hard look at my life and my priorities and... enter MK..... more of my story to come!! Have been fulltime MK since the day I left Corporate and have never looked back!
So poo poo to those that say it CAN NOT BE DONE - it can but doing it right takes a conscious decision and it is very easy to be tempted to "cheat" and there are many doing it wrong. I do believe you truely must put others first and then your success will follow. You must be true to yourself and respect yourself, your clients, unit members, and the Company. You must enjoy people, love and believe in the product, and be self motivated. MARY KAY WILL NOT SELL ITSELF, you must market yourself and the product, and Mary Kay will not work for everyone but it will for some. Bottom line is one will never know unless they try.
Okay, signing off for now... hope I didn't put anyone to sleep but I feel this is a very important message and I hope it reaches individuals that it will help.
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The people on PT did not have good directors or good guidance. If they had, they probably would not be there. I had what I believe was a clueless director with her head in the clouds. She couldn't teach me to book and sell because all *her* classes fell through. All she knew how to do was recruit. I'm willing to bet she isn't doing MK any more.
ReplyDeleteI'll give them this: It's easy to be manipulated by the unscrupulous people when you have no experience and just don't know any better. In retrospect, many things appear as common sense *after* someone has learned a lesson, but when you are still ignorant of it, it's a whole 'nother ball game. when you are new at absolutely anything, you must to some extent at least depend on others to teach and guide you until you know what you're doing. Have bad mentors, and you're easily screwed, especially if your personal weaknesses mesh with these people's issues.
I actually do think the system has flaws. There are a bunch of things I would change, but MKC is not going to ask me how I would run the place, so...*shrug* There are other (non sales) businesses I can think of where I would change some basic things, too. Boy would I ever. It's not just MKC. But you work with what there is if you're not one of those in power to change it, I guess.
PT does provide a lot of valuable information regarding pitfalls you should steer clear of, but when it degenerates into slogans and nutbar religious rants, well. *shakes head* LOL
Totally agree, and I know won't be called for a consult in the near future either. I sounded a little rough in what I said because you are absolutely correct that new people could be lead wrong (initially). Miranda you are probably correct in assuming your director (with what you have shared) is no longer a director - you should do a search on www.marykay.com and enter her name and state and see if she comes up and what her status is, if she does.
ReplyDeleteBut.... I believe one can only blame someone else for so long. In your case your realized it wasn't working and you weren't being taught and you got out.
The thing that just pushes my buttons is reading the posts from people that were directors for years and years of course nothing they did was their fault, they were brainwashed. hmmm... how many times does it take one to put their hand on a hot stove before they don't do it anymore.
It would be interesting to see how many of the consultants that complained were complaining about the very directors that are now bashing MK.
I do feel badly for a new consultant that is talked into a large inventory and then has things ordered that really shouldn't be ordered - or if a director stocks a consultant up on something that she is fully aware is going to be changing. I will never, ever understand why they do it, it just hurts both parties in the long run.
Nothing is perfect and flaws exist in everything, mr. mk4me works for a federal organization, wow let me tell you, if it were a for profit business, it would have been out of business a long time ago. Some of the stupid stuff they do... wow!!
I feel badly for the people that read pt and think it is gospel tough and just up and quit even when they share that they haven't experrienced the stuff they are reading about. Know what I mean?
No, I can't locate her through the MKC site. However, I am not certain the first name I knew her by was the one on her birth certificate, and her last name is a very common one. So I cannot be certain.
ReplyDeleteIf you cant locate her via the MK consultant locator, then that might be your answer.
ReplyDeleteMiranda for the most part I agree with what you say but some of those same people complaining had good directors and the former consultants didnt manage their money and they blamed the directors or the company. I know this is not the case with most honest directors but there was a poster on here named MK Honesty and he even said his wife who is honest had consultants who didnt hold one skin care class and she went over everything with them. Again I am not discounting what you are saying I have the utmost respect for you and your opinions and Gothboy.
ReplyDeleteYeah...some people are just not cut out to hold classes, go out and get customers, etc. But in that case, just admit it is not your bag and send your stuff back.
ReplyDeleteOne of my biggest problems was the rule "don't touch their face." I abided by it, but when I teach people how to do their face (currently, as a not-a-consultant), I do touch them...it's part of how I work. I don't feel effective any other way. There's the method where they get a big mirror and watch me while I do their face and explain it to them, or there's the "let me do one side while explaining, and you do the other and copy what I did."
That's kind of a digression though. I lived out in the sticks and because I am not a people person, actually *getting* new customers was a nightmare for me. I gave it a year to see if it would become comfortable with practice, but it did not. That's not my director's fault, it's just me. Talking to strangers = ARGH.
What *is* her fault though? Worst, she didn't learn how to make HER classes hold, so she didn't teach me effectively. I did what she said, but it didn't work. The other thing is that when she put together my initial (1800 I think) order, she didn't say "what do most of your friends look like? What sort of cosmetics do they tend to use?" Because, you know, you start with your friends. So if 80% of my friends are deathly pale, and 20% are deep ebony, and then the director orders me one of each foundation color that MK carries...OOPS! One pale person, maybe two, get foundations right away. One, maybe two, Black girls get theirs. And then, I have this gigantic range of mid toned foundations that nobody I know can wear. Which, of course, I paid for. Gotta order more or swap with someone to get the stuff the rest of the girls need. And the orange lipstick, WTF? I think it was called "pumpkin." Even on Halloween, that one didn't sell.
If MK had been online at the time, I could have reviewed the colors before the order went through...but with the old printed order form, I didn't entirely know what I was getting until it arrived. ARGH.