Lee Kirkman: Breaking In to a Woman's World
By Dena Harris
Ladies, the tables have turned. Instead of women trying to break into traditionally male-dominated business segments, the men are now trying to break into ours.
Meet Lee Kirkman, a Mary Kay independent sales representative who has created major success for himself in the one year he has been selling the Mary Kay line. But Lee is going one step further than just selling to women -- he's also giving back to them.
Lee has joined forces with the Women's Resource Center (WRC) of Greensboro, NC a non-profit whose mission is to "empower women to lead self-directed lives." What Lee brings to the WRC is 13% of his sales proceeds. "All a person has to do is tell me they would like their sale to benefit the WRC and I'll donate 13% from their sales," says Lee. "The sale can be from a show, an individual order, anything." Several of Lee's team members have also agreed to donate the 13%.
|
Lee connected with the Greensboro WRC through a mutual friend, Ashley Brooks Reckard, the Executive Director of the Center. "Ashley and I got together and talked about the goals of the WRC, and what I could offer them," said Lee. "The goal of Mary Kay is to enrich women's lives. It doesn't matter if it's through skin care, self-esteem, whatever. The mission of the WRC is similar, and I truly value the work they do. It's a win-win situation." Lee became a Mary Kay Representative on April 1, 2000. He says, "If Mary Kay could begin her business on a Friday the 13th and grow to be a 1.3 billion dollar business, I figured April Fool's day couldn't hurt to begin my business. Although Mary Kay's independent sales force is well over 850,000, Lee estimates that less than 1% is male. His gender works well for him as an attention-getter. "Of course the first thing everyone wants to know is how I got started," he says. "Go figure." He got started through a friend of his sister's, Susan Carson. "Susan called me up on a Thursday and asked me if I thought my sister would be interested in selling Mary Kay. One thing led to another and my sister didn't have the time. While working on makeup for a theatre production, someone said she was frantic because her Mary Kay rep had moved. I told her I could hook her up, and the rest is history." For the past 5 years I've worked as the Circulation Director at North Carolina's Our State magazine," said Lee. "Right now I'm devoting maybe 14-16 hours a week to my Mary Kay business and from that I'm earning half of the salary I make at my full-time position." Lee's business, as with many Mary Kay representatives, thrives on word of mouth. Is it hard being a man and asking to give women makeovers? "Yes and no," he says smiling. "My team members (all women) tell me I get away with saying things to women that other women wouldn't be able to. I can tell them when something looks bad." He also sells Mary Kay products to men. "We have a men and teen line of products," says Lee. "But the women's product is so fantastic that a lot of the men just use that." So there's no hang-up for men buying Mary Kay? "Oh, some of them insist on it being secretive, " says Lee laughing. "I don't mind. And you'd be surprised who buys it. The husband of one of the women I work with owns a construction company and his crew is always placing order for Satin Hands. The guys at the site swear by it." So what is Lee's best selling product? "Definitely Satin Hands," he says. "Even my dad uses it. It sells itself." Lee says what he enjoys most about his work is helping women feel better about themselves. "Even if it's just for an hour, I help women forget about all the other stuff that's going on in their lives, and I just get to pamper them and watch them enjoy it." Lee also believes in the benefits offered by Mary Kay. "Every summer our division of about 8,000 sales reps meet in Dallas, and I just sit and listen to the most fantastic stories of women who were housewives all their lives, who start with a $114 expenditure to start their Mary Kay business and are now millionaires. I'm in awe of them. It's really inspiring." Erica Derr, a Mary Kay representative said when asked what she thought about Lee Kirkman selling cosmetics, "Lee fits right in. It's inspiring that a man realizes what potential is out there. Putting your best face forward really does effect everything you do and everything you can be." Lee Kirkman, Independent Image Consultant, can be contacted at 336-392-4004 or visit his website. Find out more about Dena Harris. |
|
