If someone has been struggling in MK and they want validation to quit - any negative site will give it to them. What is the old saying? Misery loves company- In some cases - it is easier to blame others for our short comings than to just admit maybe we just weren't good at something. It isn't any one's fault, it doesn't mean that they are not smart, it doesn't mean they aren't a good person... it DOES NOT MEAN THEY WERE LAZY.. it just wasn't a good fit. We all can not be good at everything.
I have used this example before but honestly... I could go take singing lessons... I could practice every day, all day, I could listen to others who are successful, I could go to workshops on music theory, etc... it won't matter... if I were ever to sing publicly - I would empty the room. Period.. I can not carry a tune in a bucket.. it wouldn't be any one's fault... but I would starve to death if I wanted to sing for a living. I make the worst people trying out for American Idol look good. lol One of my gifts when I attend a birthday party is to lip sync.. Happy Birthday.
It is what it is... but I could blame my music coach, etc... and perhaps it would make me feel better but it doesn't change what it is.
As for the complaint that it is a mlm and only those at the top make the big bucks so no one should even try. Seriously, what is different in that case than any other Company? There is only one CEO or President of a Company. There are far more "workers" than top executives so there will be the top people making more than the rest of the ranks.
There are no guarantees any where in life. We just had the pleasure of watching the Olympics... think about the people that spend every day of their lives training... many will not make the team.... the ones that do are off to the Competition... very few come home with a Medal. so should they not even try?
There are no guarantees any where in life, so why should Mary Kay be any different?
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I completely agree with you:):):)
ReplyDeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteThe difference is, you're not getting the hard sell from someone trying to convince you that you're going to make millions being the next Celine Dion. People know enough not to press you into a singing career because they know you can't sing. And yet, I've known people who have been recruited into Mary Kay who have no inclination to use makeup, no ability to chat with strangers, and none of the personality that makes a good saleswoman. These people are then pressured into buying inventory that they can't sell.
ReplyDeleteI realize not all directors are unethical and the good ones actually care about the people they recruit, but my experience with MK is that many people will attempt to recruit any woman that they see, with no discrimination whatsoever. Clearly there are personality traits that make up a good MK saleswoman, and recruiters should be looking for them before giving the pitch.
It gets to be a vicious circle when someone who isn't really thinking just recruits random people, and then those random people haven't a clue either, and recruit more random people...I think that's one of the things that happened in the unit I used to belong to. Be discriminating, learn the products and the application techniques, don't rush.
ReplyDeleteI can write product reviews no problem, but send me out to fill a class with people and BLAT I fail. I know this now. lol.
Agree, no one is recruiting me to sing! lol
ReplyDeletePoint 1- on occassion a very enthusiastice, high "I" personality type really does think that everyone in the world should be a MK consultant (the rest of us know that this is not true)
Point 2 - yes, there are selfish people who will manipulate and use people to their benefit. (but this is anywhere in the world... go try to buy a car... they are not going to try and sell you the cheapest one... it is up to the buyer to realize their limits)
Point 3 to borrow your quote apompili1976:
"people who have been recruited into Mary Kay who have no inclination to use makeup, no ability to chat with strangers, and none of the personality that makes a good saleswoman."
why would these individuals even join... a promise of getting rich? I have had job offers... that come with a great salary..if it is something I didn't think I would like..I would not take it no matter what the promises were that came with it.
and we are adults... we have a brain and free will. if we don't want to buy something we have the ability to say "NO" way. If someone is comfortable from the very beginning - then walk away... the prospective recruit has the right to interview the director just the way the director will interview the recruit. If someone sincerely thinks they want to be a consultant but just gets really bad vibes... say no and shop around. If someone can not be honest from the beginning how can she be counted on to tell the truth during a consultant's career?
and with all the information available, on the agreement, in the starter kit, the ready set, sell... a new consultant owes it to herself to educate herself and not just take the word of one person.
One should not take everything as gospel if they just met the person the day before without checking the information. (applies in life period not just MK).
Lastly, someone may not be a good fit for MK but until people really get to know one another - it is not always evident or obvious that a person may not be a good fit and who I am to judge a person on whether or not they may be good. Often we never know who will be good or not good until after the begin. I have had consultants knock my socks of doing far better than I thought she would and then I have had others that I thought would be awesome who accomplished nothing. -- so --- who am I to say - who will be good or not.... it is their choice not mine to make. all I can do is provide the info, the training, the motivation, and the support.
I don't understand why someone that doesn't like the product, doesn't wear makeup, doesn't like people would even consider it - but perhaps I am just to practical -
I assure you, if someone told me if I opened a day care center, I could take a home office deduction, make $$, be able to stay home with my kids while earning my money, etc... um..... no.... thank you...love my kids and grandkids... but I ain't watching someone elses --- don't care how great they told me it would be... I wouldn't want to, period.
I think that the bottom line is that we are all adults. As adults, we should be taking responsibility for our decisions and actions not placing blame on others.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who signs up to be a Mary Kay Consultant (or takes a job of any kind or signs any sort of contact, for that matter) without reading the fine print and doing their due diligence is simply irresponsible and has no one to blame but themselves.
In Mary Kay, doing your due diligence means falling in love with the products and using them. If you don't love them, how will you sell them to anyone else? It means being a hostess and testing the waters with your friends. If they don't like the products and don't book their own parties, how will you start your business? If you can't be a hostess (but why wouldn't you - at a minimum, you get free products for yourself), tag along with your consultant to one of her other parties. Attend a unit meeting. Do you like the other women? Do you like the director? These are the women you will work with forever. If the director rubs you wrong, you better have a serious conversation with your consultant before you sign up. You'll be in her hip pocket forever. Read the Beauty Consultant Agreement - front and back.
When I'm working with prospective team members, I make sure they have all the information and have gone through all the steps. Mary Kay isn't for everyone and that's okay. I don't want everyone on my team.
There's a reason Mary Kay always taught us to "book, sell, book, recruit." Following these simple steps in order gives a prospect most of the information she'll need.
As for consultants who stop being consultants, there are 100s of reasons people leave MK and they are almost all legitimate. Life circumstances change. Dreams and goals change. It's okay.
I will say that when I hear a former consultant say "my director didn't support me or pressured me" etc., I always remember there are 2 sides to every story and people always tell the story that makes them look best.
Yes, people have free will, but people are also suggestible, and if people get the message from a recruiter that this will be their key to independence, freedom, purpose, joy, and yes, money, then some people will fall for it. Even if you believe in personal responsibility (I do), you can still consider such practices to be unethical and predatory.
ReplyDeleteBasically if you get a bad director or recruiter...forewarned is forearmed. If you are not forewarned, you may not be able to figure out if they are BSing you, especially if they are good at it. It's not so much ignoring red flags as when they don't go up in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIt is unethical and predatory, but that doesn't relieve anyone from their own personal responsibility. Consultants that hoodwink recruits into joining give us all a bad name and make me (and other ethical consultants) have to work harder.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me ill to think about the unethical practices.
That's why I say above that people need to do their due diligence. If you go through the steps and do some due diligence, then you will be less likely to make a bad decision.
Mary Kay is a well-known enough company now that it's not difficult to take 5 minutes to do a Google search. Of course, that will generate results that include PT, but it will also generate results of consultants who are happy and successful.
I get approached ALL THE TIME with opportunities. For some reason, people think that because I'm a MK Consultant, I'm open to all kinds of other MLM opportunities - Herbalife, Amway, Cookie Lee, Silpada, and others I've never heard of. So often the pitch is made at that first contact to join the company as a consultant. I say to those people, they've never shown me their products, I don't use their products, I don't know how they sell, and I don't know the person giving me this pitch, so if they REALLY want me to join them, they should dial it back a notch and start at the beginning with the products. The fact is that I'm not open to those opportunities, but if I were, I'd want to make sure I loved the product.
I don't think anyone should make a decision to sell Mary Kay (or anything else) overnight. Sure, it's $100 for the Starter Kit, but why spend $100 if you don't know anything about the products? If you insist on using 100% natural products, why would you spend $100 on a MK Starter Kit? Would you buy shoes without trying them on? Probably not.
I think we agree, Darci. The problem is, when I was originally invited to a recruitment meeting, I didn't know anything about MK, and rarely wore makeup. I went to a meeting, got some nice gifts (lip balm and hand cream), tried Satin Hands (yum), and got the pitch. I'm sure that you agree that this wasn't enough to make an informed decision, and yet people were pushing me, and at the time, I was pretty poor at the time, so the opportunity to make a few hundred bucks a month on top of my wages as a temp was attractive. It took a lot of solitary self-evaluation to come up with a cool-headed opinion of the whole thing, and that opinion ended up being that no, I wasn't a good fit to be an MK consultant.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Amanda. I had kind of a similar situation; I got the pitch at my MIL's party after first being introduced to the products. I don't think my recruiter was being insincere; I do have "this type" of personality, but I realize now that I should have given it as much thought as you did. I think I made the right decision (I don't go crazy with inventory, I don't stalk people, recruiting is not a priority, and I'm definitely not that crazy MK lady...lady at 24....my my). When I decided to sign the papers to be a MK consultant, I had tried only one product - the Satin Hands (which of course, I loved). I think I got lucky that I appreciate the products as much as I do because as Darci just pointed out, it's mighty difficult to sell products you don't believe in.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've got the personality type, too, which is probably why the woman might have thought that I could do it, but as a person who rarely wears makeup, I wasn't a good fit. I realized that I'd have to change everything about myself, start wearing makeup, dressing differently, etc., in order to properly sell this product, and I didn't think I could do it convincingly. That's not to say that MK or cosmetic companies are wrong for wanting a certain image, but rather that I know what people are looking for in a cosmetics saleswoman (namely, someone who looks very put-together and stylish) and I know that I'm not that person. I'm just much more casual.
ReplyDeleteWow, all great comments!! Love seeing this conversation. I would hope everyone would do research before signing an agreement right away. I, personally, WILL NOT recruit anyone unless they have tried the skin care and love it. This is only my choice but I do not believe anyone will last if they don't love the product. How can you represent something you don't even know what it is and I don't feel like putting my time and effort into someone that is going to be here and gone (maybe that is selfish but... it is the way I feel).
ReplyDeleteAs far as decisions, we are adults and do need to take some personal responsibility. Let's be real.... we even teach our kids about
"Stranger Danger". - Same should apply to us.