Taking Care of Your Inventory

As I was visiting a friend the other day, she was unpacking a box of product and placing it on her shelf. As we were chatting I noticed she would take the one out of the box and place it in front of the one already on the shelf. - I asked her if that was the way she always unpacked her orders and she responded with a yes, why? - I will now make it a point to mention during new consultant training about product rotation. In the accounting world it is often referred to as FIFO - first in, first out. Where the product has a shelf life it is always wise to put the newer product in back of the product that you already have so that you are moving the older product first. I am sure that most of us know this but if one has never really given it any thought, I felt it was worth mentioning. Have a super weekend everyone!

Pink Truth: How much inventory does Mary Kay require?

There has been some considerable conversation on one of our recent posts "Are ALL Mary Kay ladies scary?" about how much inventory a new recruit should come in with and how much a director (who is supposed to be helping the recruit) should recommend.

The way I see it, the level of inventory that a person thinks is good will vary from person to person. So while mk4me, strt, or others may think that $6,000 wholesale is too much, the director that is recommending this seemingly insane level may actually think that this is a good level to get started with. So, if she really believes that it is in the best interest of the recruit that she is recommending this level to, is she really an evil, master manipulator bent on destroying someones finances just so that she can pocket a few hundred dollars, or is she just painfully unaware of the fact that not everyone can expect to sell that much merch. right out the gate?

On another note, a "who's to blame note", it seems that there are some that are so desperate to "get rich quick" that they eschew the advice of their director to "start small" and they "get crazy with the cheez-whiz" and find themselves in a world of hurt. Is it possible that there is a large "middle ground" of people that desperately want to put loads of cash in their pockets, and when the conversation about inventory comes up, their "eyes are bigger than their stomach" (or in this case they think they can sell more than they really can) and they, essentially, convince the director that they should buy a certain level of inventory because they "know" they can sell it?

I don't doubt that there are some directors that put pressure on their recruits to buy more inventory than they should. I am sure that some of these are selfish people that can't see past today to realize that this will hurt them in the long run. I am sure that some of them are not selfish at all and genuinely think a large inventory is the best thing for their new recruit. While some may fundamentally disagree with that position (and good reasons certainly exist to disagree) I don't know that it makes them wrong.

I also don't doubt that there are some recruits who, despite every warning from their director, throw caution to the wind and buy enough inventory to make the UPS man cry. I am sure that some of them do this because they know they can sell product quickly and efficiently and don't want to waste any time "finding out" something they already know. I am sure that some of them are just WAY too optimistic in their own opinion of their ability to sell and soon find themselves massively regretting their headstrong disregard for their director's advice.

But what about the others? What about the ones that were not this extreme?

Were you happy with the inventory level you started with? What did you like about it?

Were you unhappy? Why?

Did you feel pressured? If you were pressured (either to buy more or to buy less), were you glad you were pressured? Did you wish you listened to the suggestions and gave in to the pressure?

If you are a director, do you strongly recommend a certain level? If so, do you try to get people to "rise" to that level? Do you try to convince them to lower their expectations to that level?

Ex-consultants, were you "gently suggested" or "heavily pressured" to place a large inventory order? OR, were you told that a large order was mandatory?

"bonus points" to anyone that can accurately tell the group the answer to the question posed by the title of this post... "How much inventory does Mary Kay require?"

Happy Weekend all.

*****EDIT*****

Directly from the "Ready Set Sell" brochure


Congratulations to "Blessed" for being the first to accurately answer the question! You get 10,000 bonus points. And since I have never assigned bonus points before, that puts you in the lead. Congratulations!

****EDIT*****

Turn your Stimulus Check into a Million Dollar Business!"

Here is a copy of an email I received yesterday:


"Turn Your Stimulus Check Into A Million Dollar Business!


HOW?????? By joining the ABC Widget Millionaire's Club!! We will show you exactly how to turn your US Government Stimulus Check into a Million Dollar Business that will pay you for the rest of your life! Just listen to this short recording at www.xyz.com."


Now, this was NOT a MK email. (And, obviously, the company name and website were changed.)


How do you feel reading this?


Do you think that using your Stimulus Check for starting a business (MK or otherwise) is a good idea?


Do you feel like using your SC to invest in inventory, etc., is a good idea?


Do you feel it is terrible for companies to encourage using your SC to start or invest in a business?



Please share your views.

Should initial inventory purchases be limited?

It is interesting to read the different comments about initial inventory purchases.

Let me throw a few ideas out there, and then let me know what you think.

What if.....

• ...consultants could only order a maximum of $600-1200 in their first order.
• ...the time limit for the initial inventory bonus was extended from 2 weeks to 2 months (or some other time frame)
• ...there were a "waiting period" between when the application was submitted and when a consultant could purchase inventory (such as 5 days or longer)?

What do you think? Are there any other limits or suggestions you would like to see?

Can Corporate control their Directors?

I really wanted to limit my posts to one per day so people could have the chance to discuss and not be overwhelmed, but Eversleigh made a comment that I thought deserved a post of its own. Thanks, Eversleigh, for sharing your point of view!!

Eversleigh said:

• "I know that consultants are not "employed" by corporate, but I find it hard to believe that MKC does not know what is going on with all the frontloading and buying dictatorship. And if they DO know and choose not to do anything . . . I just can't get excited about that kind of company."

I will give my view of this and then I encourage you all to voice your opinions.

• First, MKC may or may not know what some (not all) Directors are doing in this regard. If they don't know for sure, how can they do anything without proof?
• Second, there is "legal" and there is "moral". If a Director is doing things legally and not breaking any laws, then I really don't see what MKC can do about it.

Let me give 2 examples:

Let's say I am a Director and I go over your inventory options with you. At no point do I tell you that a certain level is "required" - but I strongly suggest that you open with a "full store". However, the final choice is yours (which it is). What can MKC do about this if the new consultant regrets her initial inventory choice (other than offering the 90% buyback)? Ultimately, it is HER choice, right? Personal responsibility comes into play here.

Let's say a Director is "buying" her Directorship. Unless she is doing something illegal (such as activating a rep without her knowledge), I still don't see what can be done.

And, no, I don't think that all consultants should be punished/micromanaged because of some bad apples.

Okay, ladies (and gents) - let's hear what you think!

Inventory discussion

Before I even begin, let me start off by saying this post will be controversial (to put it mildly), but this is the Balanced Mary Kay blog, and I think this is a very important issue.

I saw a reference to how Dave Ramsey counseled a Mary Kay rep about inventory debt on a WAHM board I visit.

You can see the original source here. Please be sure to listen to the live recording because the written part is not complete by any means.

The consulant in question has about $4000 in inventory. She is selling, but she is using 50% of her sales to restock her inventory. She and her husband have a lot of debt (not just from Mary Kay). Her initial inventory purchase was $3600 and she also bought about $1000 in marketing materials, the carrying case, etc.

Her husband wants her to sell through her stock and use that money to pay off her MK debt.

There are a few points I want to make about what Dave Ramsey says:

• Dave says several times what a "wonderful" company Mary Kay is.
• Dave says he believes Mary Kay is an excellent opportunity.
• Dave advises to keep "a few hundred dollars worth" of her "best sellers" and then for other stuff order often enough "to keep the UPS man busy." Since it only takes a few days to get products, having a fully-stocked store isn't a problem.
• Dave says that "some leaders" have the "mistaken process" of loading up their consultants with a garage full of stuff so they can get their pink cadillac, and that is the problem - not with Mary Kay the company in general.

So, what do you think?

Mary Kay is one of the few Direct Sales companies that encourages inventory.

On the other hand, it is one of the few companies that hands customers product as soon as they purchase it. Most other companies have a wait of up to 2-3 weeks for orders.

I know we will have people on both sides of this issue, and that's fine. Just keep it civil, folks. :D