What are the benefits of networking?  Those people are my competition aren't they?

Mystery Shoppers could go about their business in entire isolation.  Hiring occurs over the telephone or Internet.  Mystery Shoppers would (should) never know if they see another shopper in a store. Shoppers report to an email address or via fax.  Mystery Shoppers are paid in the same non-personal fashion.

"It is estimated that 65-90% of jobs are found through networking"*.  Mystery Shoppers will not always receive a job offer from an initial contact; those who cannot hire a shopper/direct a shopper to a job immediately still have value. Try to help your contacts if possible for future goodwill; networking is a two-way street.  Remember that follow-up is critical. When you are given any referral, be sure you follow up promptly. Otherwise you will disappoint two people, the person who gave you the tip and the person who might be waiting for just the right shopper to email or call.

Shoppers that are interested in making the transition to editor or scheduler have an uphill battle without some key networking.  There is minimal chance for advancement without face time with MS company workers, schedulers or owners.

How do I Network?

Network Online

Meetup.com has groups that are designed to meet monthly.  Many areas have Mystery Shopper groups.  This website charges a fee to join.  Once you join you can see the monthly meeting place.  Some groups still need organizers and offer a discount to join if you agree to organize.  You can sign up for free and look at others that have signed up in the area.

Volition Forums has a new category called "Independent Contractor Networking" since this winter.  In this section of the forum people talk to each other within the same state to compare notes on Mystery Shopping. 

Some conversations through Volition result in face to face meetings.  The Michigan group has held two meetings this year in August and September.  One was on the west side of the lower peninsula and the other was on the east side.  Michigan shoppers held family barbeques.  Texas shoppers (The Houston Space City Shoppers in particular) meet quarterly at restaurants.  Shoppers are requested not to bring children.

Network In Person

Annual Mystery Shopper Provider Association (MSPA) Educational Conferences, or more frequently scheduled MSPA Gold Workshops are one of the first places shoppers are likely to meet a wide variety of shoppers, schedulers, editors and owners.  These can be costly.  Gold Certification workshops through the MSPA cost $99  and a reduced rate  each additional time you attend.  People who attend certification courses more than once actually mention networking as the number on reason for attending. 

The MSPA is holding the second Educational Conference this summer in Anaheim, California. The first Educational conference was in Orlando, Florida.  This looks to be an annual event which the MSPA plans on moving about the country to allow for maximum participation over the coming years.

When attending either event a shopper staple has been the business card.  Since the very nature of the Mystery Shopper's job is secretive this is one of the rare opportunities to advertise one's services!  (Vistaprint offers a cost effective business card service) Cards can be handed out to other shoppers or the aforementioned scheduler or owner. 

With a shopper, cultivate a relationship with someone who is generally familiar with your geographic location, but does not directly compete with you.  Likewise, you need to be aware of his or her area of operations.  Once you have struck up an alliance you can agree to email or call each other when you see a shop come up in the other's area.  Start by committing to only one other shopper and expand as your capacity to network grows.  If you over commit  you may take more leads than you generate and be left out of the loop eventually.  Even if you have not agreed to help another shopper, if you note a shop in their area, send the tip to the shopper.  A referral unrequested can be an excellent overture that has great yield down the road.

With an owner or scheduler have your best interview techniques on hand.  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.  As with any person, ask intelligent and business related questions.  They are not a human computer, do not ask them if they have jobs in Smallsville, Wyoming.  If they know a mall near you confirm it, but be certain the locations/malls/bases/airports near you are already present on your card.  Hand them your card at the end of your conversation and tell them you would like to work for them.
 

Any workforce that completes assignments in isolation runs the risk of being exploited.  The opportunity to network allows shoppers to communicate past experiences and hard gained wisdom to newer generations in our unique industry.  There is no union for us as Independent Contractors, our power must come from our collective experience.  Tips and advise are precious in such one-man (or woman) businesses.

You are the only one who can gauge your productivity or the effectiveness of your work.  Networking in any fashion with other professionals can allow you to bounce ideas off other shoppers.  This feedback is rare and can impact your efficiency to complete work.

Companies make more money when shoppers undercut each other by taking increasingly cheaper jobs.  Decide what your break even point is and try to stick to it.  This is another area where increased support from fellow shoppers can help improve the overall conditions of Independent Contractors in our industry.

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

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"Whether it's a formal meeting at ... or a more casual Starbucks break, in advance of a prospect meeting I always conduct research (starting with the requisite Google search, of course). I seek to develop a working understanding of the business in question... and consider a menu of ways in which my services ... enhance [the business]. The trick is to be prepared, passionate and 100% confident that I can offer a solution to a problem. Naturally, a proposal of services will accompany my thank-you e-mail."

Learning to Network
By Trial and Error

By ROB LEVINSON

StartupJournal.com
The Wall Street Journal

More Blogs by Mystery Shoppers  - Tall Poppies Diaries featuring an Excellent Primer for Beginning Shoppers - Mystery Shopping 101

"A group of girlfriends and I were discussing why so many women feel obligated to cut down other women ... I suggested that it was the result of envy... My friend, Laura, spoke up and said:

"My friend Karen lived in Australia for a while. She told me that in Australia they call high-achievers 'Tall Poppies'.

When you have a poppy field, it's most desirable for all of the poppies to be the same height. The entire field of poppies looks better when they appear to be all the same. So if one poppy grows taller than the other poppies around it, they just chop it down so that it doesn't make the rest of the poppies don't look bad.

It really is the same way with people. When someone achieves too much and 'grows too tall', it seems like their peers feel obligated to try to knock that person down."

Eureka! Those Aussies were onto something. Tall Poppy Syndrome is alive and well in America, and I know lots of tortured, but lovable Tall Poppies who are living proof of it's existence. I also know lots of prickly Weeds who are ready and willing to cut down any Tall Poppy who dares to move up a rung or two on the ladder to success.

So what's a Tall Poppy to do? Who REALLY empathizes with a girl or woman who is successful, and happy; who always seems to get what she wants (even though that isn't the case)? OTHER TALL POPPIES DO, that's who."

Since July of 2004 Tall Poppy Diaries has been building other women up.  Adventures in parenting, love and shopping have been explored in a positive community.

"Being a Tall Poppy is about being confident. Part of being confident is knowing that YOU are responsible for your happiness, and that YOU can make changes in your life to make you comfortable and happy. When I see a hole, I fill it--and that is what Mystery Shopping is doing for me."  The author goes on to explain in some detail some of the common pitfalls beginners should avoid:  do not pay to apply, only give a Social Security number when you confirm a legit identity, the stellar qualities of a form filler, save application writing samples, certification and the idea of finding your personal time to money ratio.

This blogger does take upscale shops and it is fun to read about shops that are higher end.  This blogger also writes in an engaging fashion making this a great blog to subscribe to/bookmark.

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…

"... when I talked to my boss tonight about tomorrows shift a 3-8pm(close) she told me that I was mystery shopped. WoOOot! Which means that someone from our head office comes into our store shopping, and IF they see that I'm following all of the store procedures with a customer then I win a $25 gift certificate for certain stores and I shop for what I want online or somein.. hehe Weeeeeeeeee!! Go Me!! I really didn't think that IF I got Shopped I'd get it."
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"However - much more important than any of this, we got Mystery Shopped at work tonight, and didn't do very well. It's roughly monthly, and we're judged on 33 points. Normally the staff score either perfect or one error maximum. But tonight there were five faults, one of them my own. This might cost me and my colleagues mucho annual bonus, later in the annum."
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"Have you ever heard of a Mystery Shoopper? I work at walgreens and I know that we have had mystery shoppers come in before.But the other day o got an e mail from some one at USF who works as a mystery shopper. I think that it sounds like a good idea. I was reading into it and you go to different buisness and act like a regular suctomer, and you rate the customer service. I think that it sounds really easy. I wouldn't quite my regular job for it, but as an extra I think it sounds good.  They charge you though to sign up for the site. The charge was $30 but they have a special promotion thing now for $10. So, I signed up for it. I figure, it's only $10 and i go on one of these things and if I like it, then that's good. If i don 't like it then I earned that much in one trip anywayz. I don't know. Once you apply to that you have to apply to all of this other different buisness and then they e mail you all the differetn jobs. You don't have to do all of them. You can chose to either accept or decline. I don't know how it will go. I wil keep you posted and let you know about my first assignment! "
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