Maximizing Your Inventory

You Can't Sell From an Empty Wagon,

 But you Surely Can Empty a Full One!

We have Heard it said at the beginning of the Mary Kay Career, "You Can't Sell From an Empty Wagon". So you have made the decision to stock Mary Kay Inventory. That's a business choice, a financial choice, a family choice and a personal choice. Think of this: No matter when you started your business, whether it was in the winter, spring, summer or fall, there is always going to be an occasion or holiday to cerebrate. So your inventory investment will not have been done in vain (unless you don't sell it - and that too is a choice!). So here are my recommendations for:





Regular Line Items

If  you feel  that certain items are not popular, offer them at your selling appointments as "Today's Special Value!" - That way potential customers will feel the urge to buy because it is a right now, at this moment, special low price bargain. And what woman do you know who can resist a bargain? 

Consider this: Perhaps customers don't buy a certain item because they don't know how to use a certain item. Start your shows with a "Special Clinic" to use product Xyz. Use the first 15 minutes of your show time (The time when guests are arriving)  to demonstrate the product. This won't take away from your regular demonstration and it may increase sales of product xyz and that will increase your total show sales. Not to mention that if you include this special 5 - 10 min. clinic on your party invites and pre-profiling calls, you will increase excitement, chatter, and attendance to your shows. It's up to you to give a small discount for the product or a "party prize ticket" for early attendance. The point here is to promote and  gain customer interest in product xyz, so that you can get it off your shelf and have customer re-orders for the product.  Can You Get Excited?


Limited Editions

Having Limited Edition products is always tricky. The biggest concern is that you don't know how your customers will receive the products or if you will be able to sell them. Make now mistake; Mary Kay has already "vetted" the products and you can be assured of the great quality and that it is  is "cutting edge". My rule of thumb here is purchase 3 or 4. That way you have one to demonstrate (or show as a "Look but Don't Touch" item) and have the others to sell. You have heard it said that "the Limited Edition Products don't last long on In-Touch so you need to order fast or not at all". Once you have Whetted the Appetite and Gained the Attention of the guests at the party, someone will buy. And what woman will let her friend purchase something without buying herself? (I count 2 orders.) Can You Get Excited?

Discontinued Colors And Extras.

In Step with the New,

 the Now and the Happening!

Mary Kay is always striving to improve it's product lines, to be "in step" with the new, the now and the happening. So there are times when certain products (that you already have on your shelf) will be discontinued. This will be because MK has more exciting colors (or other skin care products). And of course, product packaging is revamped from time to time. Fear Not! Change is good and when Mary Kay makes a change, it's GREAT! So What can you do with your discontinueds?  Here are a Few Suggestions:

• Contact customers who you know have the product, liked the product or wanted more of the product and let them know it will no longer be available. Tell them you have a secret stash and would like to share it with them. Ask them how many would they like because "it will no longer be available and definitely will be hare to find". 
  
• Offer them as hostess gifts. Sometimes a pricey product is a bigger incentive  to have a class/show than the regular hostess gift. The pricier the product, then the bigger the guest requirement is needed to qualify for the "gift".
  
• Host a Special Discount Party or Auction either at your own residence or On-line as a Facebook or Twitter Party. The sky is the limit here. All you need are the products and an imagination. 
  
• Make "Special" pre-packaged gift sets to sell at your upcoming party or show. There is an anniversary, birthday, holiday or some other special occasion coming up. Take advantage of it. 

In closing, I leave you with this: Managing your Inventory is much like your Mary Kay Business. It is "Simple, but not Easy". It takes a little Work. And all you need to do to turn that Full Wagon into an Empty Wagon is imagination and the same gumption you had when you started your business. So Let's Get To Work. 


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