Book....Sell....Recruit that is....

I had a Skin Care Class - one of the women - let's call her J - loved the product and wanted to buy the roll-up bag.  She was also interested in hosting a class of her own and scheduled one right on the spot.....

We had been taught by my director to Book the skin care class, and then Book from the class (usually to the most interested in the product, highest sales, etc,).  I did this.....and planned to provide her recruiting information at her own class.

Well, J had to cancel her first appt but rescheduled immediately and in the mean time ordered a few more items for herself and a co-worker.  The Sunday before her show (during my "POWER HOUR") I call her to confirm her class....again doing what I was taught....RIGHT?  Well, she tells me she has signed up with her cousin, we'll call her S, who happens to be a Mary kay consultant in our area (not unit).  I recognized the name from my Director, because she was very upset when my SD recruited S because she was her cousin.....keep this in mind as I finish the story.....

Well J and S are cousins - so while I was a little upset I understood why she would sign up with family....but hey girls, how does S not realize that J is a BAG CUSTOMER - I mean the whole kit and kaboodle!! ??? S said she had NO IDEA.  We are taught in MK - or at least we used to teach this - that you NEVER take or service another Consultants customer.....

Career Conference was the next week and I rode up with my director...when I told her the story she was furious and called up SD right then and there on the cell.  Amazingly, S was in the car with her....and do you know what SD said.....

"Well, if she bought the bag then you should have recruited her on the spot!!" :o >:( :o >:(  I guess it was OK to take a great customer and possible recruit as long as it was to her benefit.....

Yeah, well I just don't go for the - "Let's offer everyone this opportunity" and I really thought I was doing things the MK way....I was picky about who I recruited....I wanted solid team members that really wanted to work the business....that I wasn't pushing into debt.

Needless to say my director was still fired up!  They didn't get along anyway and this added fuel to the fire.....this one still gets me going and it was years ago! >:(

S went on to become a director - but kept telling my director (remember they were cousins) how much production she was "being coerced" into putting in - it took her a few tries but she made it and was miserable....she was a director less than 6 months and sent her product back to the company.  I am not gloating over that - I feel very sorry for her that she got caught up in the whole mess.....I thing the blog had a post on this but I just don't think this is the way Mary Kay herself planned this business to be....maybe I am wrong?

Anyway, thanks for listening!  I am really enjoying this site and just being able to vent about these things makes me feel so great!

Yep. Sounds all too familiar. What finally started doing me in, besides the non existent money I was raking in as a director, was when I lost about 20 customers all at once. I had a great customer. In fact, by marriage, we have a relative in common between us---anyway, that doesn't matter.
So, I had this customer and her family, friends, they all bought from me. I alwas did a party with them each new quarter, they would take turns being the hostess, get their free stuff, have fun and I would just show them what was new, sample, etc. It was always very relaxed and casula (gasp, I actually wore pants to their parties!! And I was a director!!)
 This had gone on for over a year, I had been around these women, this huge group of family and friends, many many times, I had gotten to know them, like, you know, a hairstylist would. I actually considered them friends too- so anyway, along the way the subject of the companyhad come up, and I had answered a few questions, but I didn't share the "marketing plan" each time I had a party w/ these women because, they'd heard about it and I wasn't going to shove anything down anyones throat- so I didn't. Which I still do not regret.
However, what happened? I called one of these girls, it was about that time when they usually wanted to ahve a party and get free stuff and see what was new, etc, and she had signed up w/ someone else. Someone who knew very well that these women were my customers and were serviced very well ( I hand delivered, wrapped in tissue paper, tied the bags w/ bows, oh yeah, I went all out for my customers)
In that moment, I almost threw up. My business already wasn't doing awesome, I couldn't book a party to save my life, and I found out that this girl, and her entire familyand friends, obviously, were no longer my customers. And that was that. I was so upset- I lost almost 20 customers like that. That's the straw. That is when I couldn't take it anymore, andI knew I was going to quit.