A cosmetic sales representative educates potential customers about cosmetics for a specific company or companies. He or she encourages potential customers to buy cosmetics from the company’s line of cosmetics. Many cosmetic salespeople are paid on a straight commission basis, which means they are paid a set percentage of sales. Others are paid a salary or an hourly wage. Many cosmetic sales representatives are expected to recruit new reps to the company in addition to selling cosmetics.
Cosmetic salespeople who work from home are usually self-employed. He or she acts as a representative for the cosmetics company, attends sales meetings, and works to recruit new customers and representatives. The cosmetics company usually charges a fee for a starter kit and provides training and support while the rep gets started.
Cosmetic sales representatives contact friends, family members, and business acquaintances to book cosmetic parties for companies that recommend them. The hostess invites her friends to the party, and the representative arrives to demonstrate how to use the company’s products. At the party, there are usually fun games and prizes to be won, and the hostess usually receives free products based on the amount of sales generated. The representative signs up guests for future cosmetic parties while they are at the party.
Another type of cosmetic sales representative does not attend group parties, instead handing out catalogs and taking individual orders. Product samples are available for purchase and distribution the sales representative. The purpose of the samples is to entice customers to buy full-size cosmetics.
The cosmetic sales representative is paid a percentage of total sales, whether at parties or individually. For those who meet benchmarked sales goals, many cosmetic companies have tiers of recognition. These levels of recognition are usually proportional to the number of recruits signed up under the rep’s name.
The cosmetic company will usually encourage self-employed cosmetic sales representatives to create a company Web site in their own name. Customers can order directly from the website and have the product delivered to their door, and the site’s owner, a cosmetic sales rep, receives a commission. While the majority of cosmetic sales representatives work from home as self-employed individuals, some do work in stores. In these situations, the cosmetic sales representative is usually paid an hourly rate plus a commission or bonus for each sale made.