In 2001, Mary Kay Ash passed away. Back in 1963, she founded what is now the third largest cosmetics and skincare provider, Mary Kay Cosmetics. At the time of her death, the company had over 800,000 representatives in thirty-seven countries around the world, and annual sales around $200 million.
Prior to launching her company, Mary Kay was married twice; one marriage ended in divorce, while once, and widowed once. While her husband served in WWII, she gained a wealth of sales experience selling books door-to-door. She then moved to Stanley Home Products where, in 1945, she was frustrated that a man she had trained was promoted to a salary twice that of hers. In 1963, she retired from her job, planning to write a book to assist women in business. That book ended up turning into a business plan for Mary Kay Cosmetics, which she took public in 1968. The sales strategy relied on women to sell merchandise to their friends and acquaintances through direct sales. Furthermore, she was a strong believer in positive encouragement and pioneered the use of sales incentives, rewarding her top-selling sales associates with signature pink Cadillacs.
Beyond her business success, Mary Kay has been praised (even past death) for her entrepreneurial attitude, her charitable giving, and for creating an incredibly attractive company culture. More than anything else, the most likely source of her success was the Golden Rule, which she considered to be the founding principle of her company’s marketing plan. She wanted women to advance by helping others succeed, which is why her company has grown since her death to net wholesale revenue of $3 billion last year, coming from more than three million sales associates around the world. Perhaps Mary Kay’s slogan “God first, family second, career third” best expresses the thinking which informed her sales strategy, and which any aspiring salesperson should keep in mind.
Trinity Blank 
Daniel 
Tessa