QUESTIONS FOR CURRENT MAC EMPLOYEES, PLEASE HELP!

[Luuna]

I got hired as a permanent part time Artist for MAC and my first day is the 19th. Yes, DECEMBER 19th. I've never worked for a makeup counter, much less a retail job where I have sales goals. I do work in a restaurant, where salesmanship is important but we don't have any REQUIREMENTS as far as those go. I'm working 19th, 20th, 23rd and 24th!

Christmas Eve! My manager tells me that it's going to be crazy and altogether that first week I won't have sales goals, I'll be 'rotating sales' and doing a lot of learning. I have a few questions ...

What is 'rotating sales'?

How to do you make sure you meet goal/exceed goal? [I REALLY want to do well and be offered a full time position] How do you turn someone coming in for a lipglass into a 60+ dollar purchase? Or eyeshadow?

I know I'm only allowed to wear MAC nail polish and I'm OBSESSED with my nails, and I have a few,and a few dupes but does it have to be one they currently have IN STOCK or can I wear some from past collections? Because I have a few, including Ocean Dip which I know is discontinued and they no longer sell at counter.

What is the hardest thing to learn at counter, besides obviously everything, what is super important for me to pay attention to during my first week?

I'm an NW45 or 7.5/8 in Match Master .. I have done a few looks for people who are around the same complexion as me, but does it get to the point, if a lighter skinned person, or a Caucasian client walks in how will I be able to just eyeball and tell what range she falls in??? I feel like I'd try 100 shades before I got it right!

I go to basic soon [Jan. 16 - 20th] but I want to hit the ground running!

I really, really want to do well .. and not just passing, but exemplary!

Please help! Thanks so much!!

luuna

 

[glittergoddess27]

I freelance but have been doing it almost 7 years now and have been offered many perm positions. I can answer a few of these and hopefully someone else will pick up the ones I cannot.

When we say "rotating sales" for a newbie or a freelancer it means you will not yet be able to ring your own purchases so you will make sure that you don't have the same person ringing your purchases for you at the register. Say Employee 1 rings for you the first time, the second time you have a sale you'll want to pull Employee 2 to ring it for you. This may be different at counters??

When you want to work a sale. Don't try to hard or push something on someone they don't actually need. Chat them up,.. find out what they are happy with in their regular daily makeup and what could be improved. If someone is just buying that lipstick ask them for example, "Did you know that Viva Glam VI looks super awesome with Vino lip liner and Viva Glam VI gloss on top?? No, let me show you,.." But if they don't seem to care, don't push. Stress free, trust me they'll come looking for you next time if someone else has been pushy with them. Let your excitement about a product show how much you love it, if you believe in it then so will they. Be as honest as you can. You don't want them returning it,.. if you have tried it tell them so and why you like it or use it and if not then say you haven't but relate what good things you have heard about the product from others. I normally hit my sales goals and exceed them unless the store is completely dead.

You should only wear currently available MAC products. Now if you can recreate an old limited item by mixing together some existing stuff then go for it and wear the old one. But make sure you can re-create it. I get a LOT of people asking me to recreate my exact looks on their faces. If its out of stock that is okay, rope them into getting on to the call list so you can call them when a product comes in.

And other MA's will laugh, but please do not fan customers with the MAC hand mirrors. We had a newbie at our store doing that and I had nightmares about it slipping from his hand and clocking a customer in the face. He was fanning a women that he was trying to dry the eyelash glue faster on.

With foundations, pay attention. That is where practice makes you faster and better. I have been doing it so long that I normally hit the right color on the first try,.. Note that a person with Fair Olive Skin can normally wear either NC or NW foundations. Just because they might look warm doesn't mean that is always the foundation that will work for them. For your typical girl with average causcaison (sp?) skin start with an NW20, NC30 or Matchmaster in 1.5-2.0 and go from there,. if they are Whitey McWhite, Matchmaster in 1.0 normally nails it well. This sincerely just takes a lot of practice to eyeball it. Experience.

Good luck and have fun with it. If you love what you are doing and love the product it shows and that will help you keep those sales going.

 

[glittergoddess27]

Duplicate post and I didn't see that till after I responded here. My responses here are pretty much what all the other said.