Selling Mary Kay - Any Success Stories?

[BWV Dreamin]

I just went to a recruiting meeting for Mary Kay (I got a $50 discount off of my purchase for going.) The testimonials were very inspiring. I actually met 3 people making $95,000 annually and up.

Is this typical? I wonder what the average salary is for a Mary Kay consultant?

 

[jrsmom]

A few questions to ask yourself

Do you have to stock product? If so this can be very costly. I have a friend who lost a couple of thousand dollars because of this. She also found them to be very high pressure.

Do you have a wide base of people to help you get started.

I sell tastefully simple and do well with it. I sold it for several years, took a break to go back to school. I was able to start right up without any problems. When I first started we used to stock product and I thought it was too much of an investment so I basically stopped doing that on my own and then the company went in the same direction. Like skincare, it is a consumable product so reorders are a plus. I have a lot of men who come to my parties, they love them! I know several that do fantastic with ts, I am rebuilding after going back to school and it is going well.

Vickey

 

[MAJPLO]

My mother sold Mary Kay for over fifteen years. This was her exclusive job and she was a single mom. Throughout this time she was able to provide for our family (sometimes supporting my out-of-work, addict stepdad), volunteer in my classroom, and be home with me after school and on weekends. I won't say I think it was easy for her. She worked hard and there were times that were difficult. But I will say that I am grateful for the Mary Kay story, the independence it gave my mother, and the inspiration and work ethic I learned from watching her.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I think the higher you go in MK then you do want to stock the items. This was mentioned when I asked how much of investment besides the starter kit was involved. Many of the stories did reflect the single mothers and how this was a way to stay home with the kids and still make a living.

No I have no circle of people whom I could call upon to even give a demonstration let alone a party. There was some pressure at the end to give them an answer if I was interested or not. It also felt like I was to join a "sorority" in that they said MK was based on a "love" philosophy and all of the directors and consultants were a network of support for each other.

I felt it was very interesting and surprised how well some people have done. I just wonder what the overall "average" income consultants made. They would not provide me that information.

 

[3boymthr]

I personally do not sell Mary Kay but have a neighbor who does. She sells two or three thousand dollars worth of product a year (not sure what her profit is on that). She sold a lot more at first - doing two or three parties a week but she found it to be a lot like other sell at party products, unless you have a HUGE circle of friends who will host parties and who will help you get started and you are willing to spend any night of the week (sometimes every night within a week) doing parties it's hard to keep it going and found it conflicted with her family's schedule once the kids got involved in sports and after school activities. She felt she had to put her family first and no longer does parties unless asked. Now she just does repeat sales and is very happy with it.

 

[Fortune1211]

The people who are making HUGE money in Mary Kay are those that have a big downline. Those are the people that you recruit and then they recruit etc. When they order product, whoever they're recruiter is gets a percentage. I've sold Mary Kay. Twice. The 2nd time I actually went to the big conference in Dallas and that's when I realized this was not something I wanted to be a part of. There used to be a blog, the pink truth....I don't know if it's still around but even if you can read the archives it will give you all the info you need to know this isn't a good decision.

 

[ToddyLu]

I wear MK exclusively and love it. My only advice would be to make sure when you set up that costumers can purchase from you on-line. My supplier does not do that and at times I would like to order and pay in the same evening. I send her an email, mail her a check or take it to her, she drops off the product at my house.

I would think that you have to be dedicated to the line--a people person and now the products well enough to make suggestions and help pick colors for people. I have often thought about selling it becasue I beleive in the make up line---but after a month the party giving would get old and I think I would loose interest.

Best of luck to you. My supplier only sells enough to stay active and get discounts--she has another full-time job.

 

[ToddyLu]

I would ask to see thier W2s.

 

[gr8leg8]

Run.

This was a total bust for me.

 

[ceecee]

A friend of mine sells it and does very well, she is a Sr Sales Director so she gets the car and she has had one for years. She had a sales background before and does very well, so it is possible.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

If you want to try something less aggressive, try Avon. It's pretty reasonable and you don't need to keep any stock. They'll take anything back. The biggest expense are the darn books. There's a lot of competition, so the market may be saturated. However, so many women give up after a few months, you'll find yourself picking up sales from shoppers whose rep abandoned them. Also, they actually do have nice stuff you and your family can use and buy at your discount.

 

[DizMe]

My sister tried selling MK. She finally quit after realizing it was seriously harming her relationships with friends and family. None of us wanted to buy MK or hear the glowing reviews about it, host a party, etc. You are essentially dependent upon those closest to you to pay your salary and it does put a lot of pressure on them when you ask if they'd like to buy. Personally, I can't stand that kind of business setup.

 

[indimom]

I sold for a few years. I only knew one woman who made that kind of money. As others have said, she had numerous reps under her, that's where the money is.

Stocking product (and dragging it all to your demos ) helps make sales.

But, if you do stock merchandise, make sure you don't fall asleep and leave a 3yo girl unsupervised.
That's a great way to lose about $1,000 worth of merchandise.

It wasn't so much the makeup she put on her face that upset me. It was the 10 tubes of lipstick she rolled up and then jammed the lids back on that made me want to cry.

Lucky for me, that's been about 12 years ago now, I can at this point.


For the record, I did not lose any money selling MK, and it was a good experience. I just didn't have time to really go for it with two little kids and another full time job.

 

[DawnM]

I have a friend who does very well with it and even had the SUV from MK.

However, I also know many who couldn't make it and spent $$ they didn't have and lost more than they made.

I couldn't do it. I am NOT a sales person.

 

[pinkvol7]

Run.

This was a total bust for me.

^^AGREE!! Just know this, those that have the cars aren't always driving them for "free"!! If they don't make their quota, they make the car payment themselves. I, too, used to sell. I even went to Dallas. It was not for me! Like another poster said, do some research and make your own decisions. Don't give in to their pressure.

 

[brunette8706]

Selling Mary Kay was a scam in my humble opinion. They wanted me to travel 35 miles ONE way for training once a week. No thanks. They hated pants suits (dressy career pants suits mind you) they wanted me in a dress! NO THANKS!!!

Read this:

http://www.pinktruth.com/

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Thanks for all of the stories and advice!! I knew I could get a true opinion coming here to the DIS!!! You guys are awesome!

Well no, I am not going to give it a try. I love their products but that's as far as I am going. It just sounded too good to be true, and is the case here, it is.

 

[ladylyons]

I sell Mary Kay. I don't have anyone under me (unless you count my sister who makes about $100 a month in sales and only places an order once a year, which I'm fine with) and I make about $750 a month (we don't get W-2's since we are not considered employees). It's our Disney/Vacation fund. I don't push it to my family and friends unless they are already buying from me. I told everyone at the beginning (2 years ago), had a party (which a lot of people came to), and now I just talk to people I meet. If I happen to be in the beauty aisle I'll ask if they've tried MK. If not I offer to host a demonstration for them. If they say no I'm good and move on. If they say yes then I book them right then and there. I am not a very outspoken person. Mary Kay helped me out of my shell. I now have a great reorder business and am able to continue to stay home with my children and have us go on vacation. My husband makes a decent salary but we are trying to save for our future and our children's college also. We gave up a lot for me to stay home and I really missed our vacations so I found something that worked for me. I don't drive the car but I feel like I'm still successful in what I do. It give's me my adult time which you don't get very much of by staying home with a 6 year old, 4 year old and 2 year old!! You'll know if it's right for you. It was right for me at the time and I'm glad I did it. I also know if I want to step it I can (I earned a trip to Disneyland last year by stepping up and making a few more sales that I normally do). Good luck with whatever your decision is.

 

[rebeccalizzie]

I told everyone at the beginning (2 years ago), had a party (which a lot of people came to), and now I just talk to people I meet. If I happen to be in the beauty aisle I'll ask if they've tried MK. If not I offer to host a demonstration for them. If they say no I'm good and move on. If they say yes then I book them right then and there. .

See to me, that's the definition of someone who is going to do well in a direct sales position. The idea of going up to someone at the grocery store to try to sell them anything makes me want to throw up. Which is why only I make around $150 a month and you make enough to go to DLR!

My directors and team leaders are really honest--you HAVE to be willing to put in constant selling to do really well at this. That means calling people every day, talking to everyone you run into in the constant hope of getting a sale or recruit. That's not me, and a system like MK would never work for me as a result.

OP, there are lots of direct sales companies if you want to go that route. The biggest thing IMO is to find something you absolutely LOVE and then it doesn't feel as uncomfortable. I can talk about freezer meals ALL DAY LONG because I love it and it's fun If you love MK that much you might do fine with it, but if not you need to find something else

 

[Eeyore's-tail-tack]

Lol, it's funny how answering a question turns into a sale pitch. Just noticed the irony.