Real estate investors have a lot that can be learned from Mary Kay and other direct selling companies for ensuring their short and long term success, achieving their maximum potential and minimizing risks…
International makeup and beauty product brand Mary Kay is the 6th largest direct sales company on the planet and boasted $2.9 billion in net sales last year alone. So what can real estate investors learn from the sales juggernaut and apply to their own investing businesses?
1. Sales Strategy
Most Mary Kay sales reps are poorly trained if at all but their independent contractors’ strategies generally fall into two categories. One is the hard ‘door-to-door salesperson’ sell which relies on capitalizing on every opportunity by hammering the prospect until they run in fear or give in. The question is will this stick or will it alienate prospects and future prospects. Compare this with those who choose to introduce their products as friends and trusted [beauty] advisors. They may miss a few sales which could have been nailed by the hard sell but they are also creating fans versus victims. Which seems smarter to you?
2. Recruiting Others to Do the Work
Despite all of its glory and high profile brand Mary Kay is really just an MLM in disguise. Just 0.05% of Mary Kay reps make six figures or more according to recent data but those who do make the big bucks do so not from just pushing tons of product themselves individually but by building a team. Applied to real estate investing this can mean affiliates, hiring sales and marketing help and recruiting bird dogs to scout for deals as well as building partnerships.
3. Don’t Overload on Debt
The biggest trap Mary Kay presents for would be representatives is that they are pushed to buy a ton of product upfront and even take out 100% bank loans to load up on supplies. This is almost like speculating for real estate investors. Just because you are getting a discount doesn’t mean you should buy 100 homes and take on a ton of overhead. Isn’t it smarter and more profitable to take orders first and slowly expand with profits as you never know when your color lipstick may fall out of fashion?
