Training Mystery Shoppers Part 1

 

Guest articles > Training Mystery Shoppers Part 1

 

by: Daniel Milstein

 

To mystery shop a company means to call then as if you are looking to buy what they're selling and gather data on how they present themselves to the prospective customer. We have made mystery shopping a staple of Gold Star's overall sales strategy.

All new originators are assigned to mystery shop during their first days on the job. They develop a specific scenario and call a number of companies. For example, they introduce themselves as a first-time buyer relocating to that particular city, seeking a $250,000 mortgage, putting 10 percent down and expecting to close the loan in 28 days. Then they listen carefully to the lender's responses, offer a few objections, evaluate each call's strengths and weaknesses, and use the appropriate information to prepare their own 'talking points' script.

From our experience, the responding salespeople generally can be described in one of three categories: ¥ Extremely knowledgeable and helpful. They listen to the mystery shopper's questions, inquire about their current situation and future plans, answer objections, and appear genuinely interested in providing the best possible solution. ¥ Somewhat knowledgeable, not quite as attentive. These salespeople focus more attention on their latest products and spend less time discussing customer needs. At least they appear interested and answer most of your questions. ¥ Inept and abrupt. They are not nearly as knowledgeable as their counterparts. They sound rushed, not able or willing to answer customers' questions in detail. These salespeople are often overly aggressive in getting you to commit without having all of the appropriate information. They are the type customers generally prefer to avoid.

Mystery shopping can be helpful not only to learn more about your competitors, but also to refine your own sales strategies. Take the strengths from the responding salespeople and develop them into your strategy and turn their weaknesses into your successes.

 


Daniel Milstein is the bestselling author of ABC of Sales. For more information, visit: http://amzn.to/ABCARTICLES.


Contributor: Daniel Milstein

Published here on: 27-Sep-15

Classification: Sales

Website: http://amzn.to/ABCARTICLES