Many people think mystery shoppers are only used by restaurants and retail stores where customer interaction is ever-present. And historically speaking, these have been two of the most common users of mystery shopping services. And it makes sense; when a company relies on hundreds or thousands of successful interactions to generate all of their revenue, it’s critical that all of those individual interactions are of the highest quality to ensure the bottom line stays robust.
Taking this philosophy a step further is an emerging trend in the industry: using mystery shopping to measure competency and efficacy of salespeople in companies who focus on high-dollar interactions. Rather than monitoring hundreds or thousands of interactions, companies are using mystery shopping to ensure they are at the top of their game once they get in front of a client that will bring in game-changing revenue.
These companies have a lot on the line in these scenarios. If you are selling burgers and you lose a customer, you might miss out on selling a couple dozen burgers over the next few years to that same customer. But if you are selling a high dollar or recurring product – say anywhere from $250 to $5000 or more per month – with the potential to go on for decades, imagine the impact a few extra customers can make.
So how are these types of companies using mystery shopping?
Initially, the basic principles are the same. A positive interaction – whether you’re selling fast food or a luxury car – consists of several universal actions:
- Being greeted with a smile
- Making eye contact
- Having a professional appearance
- Saying thank you
But beyond the universal actions are unique and sophisticated items that can be critical for success in these types of high-dollar sales:
- Asking appropriate questions in order to determine needs
- Presenting solutions or products based on those responses
- Building value by pointing out 4 or 5 features and benefits of the product or solution before going in for the close
- Offering a demo
- Asking directly for a customer’s business
- Successfully overcoming customers’ objections
- Asking for a follow up appointment or meeting
It’s amazing how sometimes you only need to be a little better than your competition to win the sale or win the business. At first glance, these may appear to be small things, but they really are the BIG things. They literally can affect your bottom line by hundreds, thousands, or millions of dollars!
Every sales system will vary a little bit, but the concept still applies. In the next couple of weeks, we will dive into 7 unexpected industries who are taking notice and using mystery shoppers to gain an edge on their competition.