Career
Shadow
Lady in Pink
by Lauren Williams
9:45It is a little too early to be up on a Saturday in my opinion, but Mary Palmer, an independent Mary Kay consultant, has been dressed and prepping for an hour now. While I rub the sleep out of my eyes and fight my overpowering desire for Dunkin Donuts, Mary prepares for her first Mary Kay (MK) Skincare party, scheduled for 1:00 this afternoon. Since she has already conducted phone “interviews” with each of the participants, she has a good idea of what to bring (This is lucky for us, because if she had to pack everything, one of us would be walking to the party); she packs the various foundations, face serums, booklets and we get ready to leave.
10:30
We are out the door to our first destination. I hide my disappointment that it’s not DD when we pull into another driveway. Mary explains that since there is going to be several guests participating at the party, it helps to bring along another consultant so that things go smoothly.
Elena, a Senior MK consultant, holds the door open wide as we rush in to continue stocking up on supplies - Satin Hands set, TimeWise Skincare line, pedicure set . Elena’s living room looks like a full fledge MK stockroom. There are plastic dressers behind the dinning room table with every shade of lipstick and blush you can imagine. It’s only the barking dog that reminds me I’m not at Sephora and I should not proceed to the check out counter with my selections .
11:15
Out the door again with more products and Elena in tow, and this time we are heading to the site of the party to set up before the guests arrive.
In the car I flood Elena with questions about MK. I figured as a Senior Consultant she must have a few years of experience under her belt. But I come to find out she’s a sales super star, with only 3 weeks under her belt and 2 fresh recruits (Mary being the 1st), she is already on her way to team leader. Apparently, once you’ve recruited four people on your own you become a team leader. Then once your team members start their own teams, you become a director. Then each team member can become a director … it’s endless. There is a whole commission plan worked in there somewhere, but like I said, we passed Dunkin Donuts!
11:53
The party host greets us warmly and welcomes us into her home with ice tea and fruit. I get the grand tour while Mary and Elena start turning the living/dinning room area into a makeup paradise. They set up the extensive counter display, not just limited to skincare products. At the kitchen table a place is set for each guest, complete with mirror, color cards, makeup trays and profile cards. I’m most intrigued but the profile cards - each card asks questions ranging from “what is your skin type” to “what kind of products do you want”. This helps the consultants cater to each persons needs/wants.
Mary shows me the elaborate “cheat sheet” - it’s a miniature flip chart that has pictures and MK facts that the audience sees and a full out script for the presenter. Genius! Though when the presentation begins both consultants prove their expertise without the help of this fantastic crutch.
12:45
The guests start arriving soon after we are done setting up and we go through multiple rounds of awkward introductions before the party gets rolling. Mary assigns me to raffle duty. The MK consultants are big on raffles - raffles for coming on time, for winning games, for having the name Mary. Unfortunately, I’m ineligible to win. But I do get to hold the drawing bowl. The honor!
1:00
The festivities begin promptly at 1:00 with the introduction of the host and all participants. Next the host takes guests into the kitchen two at a time to demonstrate the Satin Hands products. It’s a four step procedure - 1. emollient, 2. buffing cream, 3. cleansing gel, 4. moisturizer (I do say my hands feel extra soft). Meanwhile, the consultants are working with the other participants to remove their make up and fill out their profile cards.
Around 1:25 Mary and Elena’s Mary Kay Director (we’ll just call her Perky) shows up. She gives a frightening, over excited, cultish performance - that has Mary and I exchanging girlish looks with each other and trying not to lose it in front of everyone. It’s was like a misplaced cheerleader on speed! Out of control!
Perky, though a little high strung, knows her stuff. So listen to this, there are more women in MK earning six figure salaries than any other company in America! That surely got my attention! Not only do the directors make from 50K to upwards of 100K, they have completely flexible schedules. This is a fast sell to someone who is ready to ditch the 9-to-5 life for good. Technically as a MK consultant you are an independent business owner. As your own boss you have control over your schedule and even your advancement. Perky made no effort to hide her sales pitch. But the interesting thing about MK, as Mary and Elena both stated, the product and the company practically sell themselves.
The party really gets started once she leaves and everyone can relax again. Mary and Elena present the Timewise products and show everyone how to use them while explaining all the benefits. They also introduce skin specific products - for normal to dry skin and combination to oily. After foundation demonstrations, lipstick and cheek color and it’s time to wrap up.
1:55
The last portion of the day is reserved for one-on-one consultations. Mary asks each guest about their likes (raffles!) and dislikes (cultish sales people!) and collects their order forms which she processes online when she gets home. She usually has the products sent to her address, she wraps them and hand delivers them to her clients. She also has her own site link so that her clients can order products “from” her and she picks up the commission. Pretty sweet.
In the meantime I chat it up with the other participants. Most seem to be pretty impressed with the lightness of the foundation. Especially those who remember the original “cake” foundation - we’ve come a long way, baby.
After watching Perky give her presentation, I realize that at the right moment, I too might take out my fuchsia pen and sign the pink dotted line. There are so many perks to joining the Mary Kay team. Mary tells me later that they have a group that meets weekly to talk about success stories and inspire each other to keep the faith. She ops to skip the group therapy, but says it’s nice to know that if you want it, the support it out there. It seems keeping the faith and sticking with it long enough to see the benefits is the hard part. While there are many great perks (like the pink Cadillac that I know we all covet), as an independent consultant you must have the drive to push yourself to achieve your own sales goals or you won’t see a profit. Mary and Elena are lucky (or unlucky) enough to have a hyper active director that takes personal responsibility to keep them on track, but ultimately their success is up to them.
It’s definitely a career worth checking out. The start up kit is only $100, so the risk is comparatively small for starting your own business. Mary’s hoping the additional income will help her move back to a new city after she finishes school. And I’m hoping that she wins that pink Cadillac so the two of us can finally take that cross country road trip!
Lauren Williams is a graduate of New York University with a degree in Psychology, and was last seen in a psychotherapy session with friend and business partner, AiLun. Currently, Lauren works for a Fortune 500 company developing and implementing training, and planning training events across the country. A misfit to Wall Street, she channels her non-conservative energy through tap dancing, bargain hunting, and the POISE blogs.