Mary Kay Nuts & Bolts
Having a simple understanding of how your consultant's business works can help in many ways! Consultants often rely on their men for a sense of security and guidance. When they might come to you for an opinion or some encouragement its important that you understand what she is mentioning. Together you can make informed and appropriate business decisions!
01
How do beauty consultants make money?
There are two different ways that consultants make their income.
-
The first way is by selling Mary Kay products. By starting your business Mary Kay allows consultants to purchase products for 50% of their retail value. Your consultant then is able to sell it for twice what they purchased it for. Btw this 50% profit is the highest of any direct selling business out there!
-
Their second source of income is from building a team of consultants, who also started their own business and are now selling Mary Kay products. Beauty consultants can make 4%, 9%, or 13% commision from their team's sales based off of their current level on the Mary Kay career path. If a consultant decides to enter into leadership with Mary Kay and become a Director she can then earn 13%-26% from the team's sales. Their team's success is a large part of their income potential.
02
What does it cost to start a Mary Kay business?
The only thing it takes to become a Mary Kay beauty consultant is the purchase of a $100 Starter kit. That kit includes over $450 dollars of Mary Kay products along with business materials to start her business. The products in the kit are enough to complete approximately 30 facials (1 month of Mary Kay work). In addition to purchasing the kit (which is the only required cost to become a consultant) their are other important decisions she will want to consider that can strongly impact her business success. Examples include the amount of product she wants to have on hand, what business resources she finds helpful (business cards, sales slips, etc.), having a Mary Kay website where customers can purchase online, and even a ProPay account so she can process credit cards. These are all options that your consultant should consider and will discuss with her Director in her first days of business.
03
How do consultants create a customer base?
Every consultant follows the same career path so your consultant will be guided by her Director to form her first customer base. Many of her first customers and business connections come from family and friends. Your consultants Director will support her in having her first appointment (New Business Debut) within the first few weeks of business. She will receive training on how to book follow-up appointments with those who attend her debut along with others in her personal social circle. Consultants with minimal personal connections shouldn't be worried. There are many other ways to find new customers, and consultants are trained at New Consultant Training on how to do this.
04
Are there expectations for your consultant?
There are no sales quotas or geographical territories in Mary Kay. By placing one product order of $225 wholesale(receiving $450 of retail product) she will remain a consultant for a full year! If she were to decide not to order after a full year she would no longer remain a consultant and would need to repurchase a starter kit to continue working.
To continue receiving their 50% discount consultants only need to order that $225 every quarter (three month period). Working consultants never worry about this as their customers will be ordering products consistently. But for non-working consultants who may not order every 3 months, they will need to make sure their order is at least $225 wholesale to receive their full 50% discount. These standards are put in place to protect working consultants from women who could sign up for the 50% off discount but never had intentions to work their business. And FYI the $225 wholesale amount of product is barely enough to cover one woman's annual skincare/cosmetic needs. The only true sales expectations of a consultant are based off of her desired income. This is her own personal business so the responsibilities for finding success are her own. The more appointments she holds the more earning potential she creates!
05
What does it take to be successful?
Us guys are often more numbers driven and like to see what needs to be accomplished to create a desired result. I too am that way so I thought you might enjoy knowing some company averages for a Mary Kay business.
-
The company average for a skincare party is $300 in retail sales (with half being profit=$150)
- A skincare party is just when a consultant as an appointment to show 3 or more women the product
which typically lasts no longer than 2 hours (Simple math, that is $75 an hour)
-
When sharing the Mary Kay business opportunity to other women(with the help of your Director) the company average is that 1 out of 5 women will decide to start their own business.
- These sharing opportunities are often held in personal but also can be done over the phone or at a weekly success event.
Thankfully success is relative in the Mary Kay world. For some women just picking up the phone to book an appointment is a success in itself. For others nothing short of replacing a full-time hourly income and driving a Mary Kay career is seen as success. If your consultant has a specific goal in mind for her business please have her reach out to her Director to gameplan for how that can be accomplished! Also, don't ever hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions about your consultants business. Trust me, talking guy to guy is often super helpful. Most questions you ask of your consultant, no matter how simple, might come off as you are questioning their knowledge! Give me a call with questions or concerns!