Details on the MSPA Educational Conference:  http://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/conference.php

The May article on Shopper Networking leads naturally to  asking yourself: "Is it worth my time and money to go to Anaheim, CA this year?"   The first logical objection may be cost.  For half the country the distance will up price considerations. Last year's in Orlando may have been more cost effective.  Others may insist the time constraint is a problem.  Only you can answer that question, but be advised, other shoppers may be counting on you staying home.

Once you decide on this crucial question you can deal with the logistics of attending the conference.

Who is Attending?

Check with Shopper Groups

www.Meetup.com may inform you about your regional groups.

Volition Forums always has posters weighing in on who will be where when.

Email your most lucrative companies/schedulers to find out if they will be in attendance.

What do I Need to Do?

Getting there:

You may not want to arrive or depart on days that you also plan to attend sessions or activities.  Stress levels may prevent you from learning at the sessions and meeting people in a friendly manner.  If you think you can pull it off, have a definite cut off time that you positively must walk out the door.

Spend the extra money and stay at the hotel with the conference - it is worth it!

Have a planned schedule ahead of time and a backup schedule.  Try your best to attend the conferences you want to attend.  When multiple choices are given spend the extra time to arrive early at your first choice or be prepared to slip out early from your 2nd choice to get in line early for the second chance.  Please have the courtesy to sit at the back if you plan to leave early.

What Should I Wear?

Dress how you want to be scheduled.  Wear professional, yet casual wear.  If you wear open toed shoes, get a pedicure.  The companies rarely see you, spend time on your appearance.  No company will ever assign a  person to a fine dining shop they met wearing  flip flops!

Gear up for the Sell

The Exhibition Hall will be the center of activity.  Do be there when not in session.  Do not be the wall flower, be talking to people, be selling your services and actively asking if the scheduler/company has many projects in your area.

It is not enough to hand them your business card and hope the card sells you.  YOU have to sell yourself and make them want the business card. Have some standard questions you ask them about their business and anticipate their questions to you, be ready with answers.  Or go ahead and stand there counting on your fingers the numbers of years you have been shopping, more jobs for the rest of us!

In Sessions, realize the level of participation that is expected before you take that seat up front.  Forums, in particular, require your participation and the basic prior knowledge.  Do not embarrass yourself by being caught unprepared, that would be a bad move!

If you are always "on" you will soon run out of energy!  Schedule down time in your plans also.  Spend time processing your thoughts, blog, or strategize for the next day.  Share some "off" time with select shopper friends.  If drinking loosens your lips you should use moderation, breaking an ICA would not be impressive. 

What Should I Bring?

Business Cards
Preprinted address labels (clear)
Notepad/pen
Comfortable shoes

Vista print will have the cheapest cards, but order with time to spare.  Or travel to the local office supply store and fill up on colored ink and cardstock.  Could you splurge?  Sure, but do not skip dinners because you spent too much on business cards, mystery shoppers only use them so often!

Have a sheet of preprinted clear return address labels with your information.  This might come in handy for filling out forms for drawings or any situation where the business cards could get lost.

You are at the conference to learn, remember college?  Did you attend class empty handed?  Even in High School you had crib notes!

Comfortable shoes, no one wants to see your bunions.

What to Take Away...

You should expect attendance the first year to be a research year.  You need to figure out the flow of the conference, who is in charge and to whom you should be kissing up.  Do not expect your first conference to net you exaggerated rewards.  Do expect it to help you strategize for the next conference though!  Take notes on the people that seemed most influential and where they were and what they were doing.

Leave space in your luggage for materials you collect during the conference.  Or plan to stop by a Kinko's to mail materials home.

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Do you have any Networking Stories to share?admin@shoplogs.com

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Bloggers - please send links to any entries from the MSPA 2nd Annual Educational Conference!
admin@shoplogs.com

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Blog by Mystery Shopper Coach, Melanie Jordan  - Mystery Shopper Coach's Update features an excellent Question and Answer Exchange

Email veteran Mystery Shopper, Melanie Jordan with your most candid questions and expect answers!

Since December of 2004 Coach Melanie has added a blog to her already informational website.  Instead of waiting until the monthly newsletter comes out your can read the popular Ask the Coach column.

Do you know of a Mystery Shopper Blog that should be reviewed by this newsletter? admin@shoplogs.com

We Shopped ‘em!
Blog entries from the shopped…

"I also found out that our store was mystery shopped by a "mystery shopper" last Friday when I worked. This mystery shopper picks 2 random workers (and of course I was one of them) and I scored a 100! So that was really cool being my first Friday night!"FULL TEXT

"Blah work sucked, they made me "Active Seller" again. You see a couple of weeks ago I was "mystery shopped" and I got a really good rating. Therefore they reward (punish) me by making me be that annoying guy who harasses you and tries to get you to buy Blockbuster Rewards. I've become what I hate most..."
FULL TEXT