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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, our diary of the secret shopping and mystery shopping world.

One way to make your secrets shopping efforts work is to make sure you sales strategy works. Study your customers, your staff and your offering and make sure the strategy lines up with your customer’s practical and emotional needs, your staff’s capabilities and your offering’s uniqueness.

I can probably help you with that. I will be in Miami on Oct. 28th giving a seminar called “Winning Sales Strategies” for the Inside Self storage conference. This will help you fine-tune your existing strategy or help you scrap your old and create a new. For details, look at www.insideselfstorage.com .

Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, where we watch the world of mystery shopping and secret shopping.

How specific is your evaluation? Is it geared to the subspecies of customer service or sales effort you are watching?

Selling a car is different than selling clothes, isn’t it? Even though there are a lot of similar elements. You are choosing size, style, color and function. How do your evaluations take into account the similarities between all customer service efforts?

We find for instance, that secret shopping self storage properties and apartment rental communities is very similar. The buyers are in similar situations usually and often have similar concerns about value, location and atmosphere.

What customer service areas do you look at and how are they similar and different?

Bye for now, Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, our diary of the world of secret shopping.

When evaluating a sales performance, make sure you understand the sales person’s goal. When you are secert shopping a rental property and there are no vacancies, the sales person needs to take a different approach than if there are vacancies. So don’t be quick to fault the sales person unless you are clear what the goal is.

Basic customer treatment is non-negotiable. Polite, helpful and professional is always a must. But where the sales person needs to go from there will vary with the situation.

bye for now,Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, where we look at the world of mystery shopping and secret shopping.

Sometimes we think a sales process is very simple when we are doing evaluations. In the big picture, this is true. But once a sales person masters the basics, things can get very complicated. Here are some ideas from Robin about handling concerns. Keep in mind that at a certain ppoint, some of the people you are evaluating will get better than your evaluation and you will need to get a step ahead of them again.

HANDLING OBJECTIONS

The word “objections” is used here because it’s the word you’re used to. However, we have learned that the word that best applies to a prospect’s hesitations is “CONCERNS”. Concerns can be in the form of a statement or question. (These should always be handled routinely, as if they are no big deal-and as if we are prepared).

The following are concern handlers. The first one refers to all concerns and the rest refer to a more specific concern.

1. Use how other clients have overcame the concern this client brings up. (For example, “we have no climate controlled units that are large enough”). Ask them to isolate what needs to be climate controlled and what items don’t. Then you can put them in a standard unit for part of thier belongings and a climate control unit for just a few things. Problem Solved! Plus, you probably saved them money.

If it is a price issue for someone who’s trying to sell their home and wants to move stuff out so that their home looks larger; ask them which is the better value, having their home on the market 6 months longer because it looks small… Or, selling it in a couple of months because it looks spacious. These are our chances to customize the product to fit their needs.

2. Don’t assume a price concern brought up by this client is the same as the last. Explore. Ask them what they expected and why (again customize).
• If you have a smaller unit their belongings will fit into and the price is in their initial range, you’re a hero.
• If they have found the same size at another company for a lower price, STRESS BENEFITS. Find something they liked and point out to them how much more important VALUE is over cost. Would you rather buy an umbrella for $5 that blows apart in the first rainstorm, or spend $15 for an umbrella that lasts for years?
3. “I’ll have to think about it”, or “I’m just shopping”, “I need to speak with my husband”, Etc.
“Well Mr. Client, as I was telling you this I realized I might have put too much emphasis on the security features and didn’t mention our extensive line of moving supplies. Or even the fact that there are no deposits required.”

This gives the client a chance to tell you what’s really holding them back and we get another chance to meet their concerns. It’s a good time to give them an example of a “Success Story” we’ve had with another client.

Final Closing Tips
The entire phone call SHOULD NOT be one long opportunity to close. Remember that you’re trying to find something in common with them.

Listen to them; let them help you to know what they need. Meet Their Needs!

When there is resistance, let them know you understand their hesitation. “But a lot of folks felt this way at first. Before they learned how secure our site is, about the free rental on a truck, etc.”

At the end if they still won’t give their credit card, express concern that you might have mis-handled the conversation and isolate good points.

These tips apply no matter what your are selling or promoting. How would you customize your evaluations to test and evaluate more advanced selling pratices?

bye for now, Tron

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The other day Natalie, Tron and I had a meeting with a prospective client. We went to a fairly new restaurant in town. It was a nice, dining restaurant. They brought us freshly baked bread and olive oil. The three of us arrived shortly before our client, so we had some time to chat and talk about some of the new projects coming up. When our client arrived we all introduced ourselves and began chatting. (In order to keep some anonymity, but allow you to feel familiar I’ll tell you that our client’s first name was Bob.)

When you meet Bob, you know from the start that he is a seasoned sales man. Not the cheesy, pushy kind that we stereotype as a used car sales man. Bob is the witty, quick on his toes type that could sell an Eskimo ice cubes. It was fun to listen to him and hear some of his catch phrases.

I think we all walked away from the meeting with a better understanding of each other’s business, and what our goals were in working together. We set up a future meeting, that is coming up pretty quickly, with Bob and his peers to give them a short presentation of what training and other services we are offering them.

Bob suggested that we use one of his locations as a prototype, in order to determine effectiveness, and work out any of the kinks. This is always a great approach to trying something new. It allows a business man to dangle his feet in the water before he jumps in head first. And it allows us to dazzle him with our services. We can build some wonderful loyalty this way and help him increase his profits, which would build loyalty with anyone.

I look forward to meeting with Bob again and working out a deal with him. He seems to be the kind of man who has a vision and knows how he’s going to accomplish it. He really makes it enjoyable to work with him because he gives us feedback as to what he likes and doesn’t. If we can change something to make life easier for any of our clients we are glad to do so; all they have to do is ask. It’s surprising how often a person wants something but never gets it only because they didn’t ask.

I feel it is important for not only the boss, but every level of employee to have a vision or goal of where they want to be in the future in their personal life, and within their company. And when you reach your goal you will feel a great sense of achievement, and be motivated to make a new goal. Before you know it you’ll be farther than you imagined.

Ta ta for now…
Sarah

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Sell Your Worst Feature Early

One effective rule of selling says, “Sell your worst feature early.” This may not make a lot of sense right off the bat. But think about it for a second. If you have a feature in your offering that is not attractive and could turn off a customer, you don’t want it to become apparent late in the sale and ruin the deal. You have to be careful to sell the worst feature, not just mention it. If you just mention it, it will turn off your prospect and kill the sale.

Sell it. For example, you are looking to buy a Hummer. The worst feature might be that it won’t fit in your garage. If the salesperson just told you this and left it at that, you would become annoyed and leave the dealership. If however, the sales person said something like, “You might have trouble getting it in your garage, but man are you going to look good riding around town in this! And since the heat and A/C produce comfortable temperatures in 2.6 seconds, you’ll never even miss your garage. Hop up and get behind the wheel and you’ll see how easy the control panel is to view.”

If you were looking at a health insurance plan with high co-pays, the salesperson would have to find another feature to off-set the displeasure high co-pays costs. It might go like this: “Now the co-pays at our company are generally higher than you are used to, but our company has one of the fastest turnaround times for payments in the industry. You won’t be waiting for months and wondering if your provider has been paid. Also our telephone support reps have one of the best speed-to-answer rates in the industry, which means you will not be on hold half the day waiting for an answer. We are responsive to our customers. Did you want to just cover yourself or are there any dependents you would like to add?”

Selling a worst feature can apply to something as unglamourous as self-storage. What worst features are there in the industry? Some facilities are older and have not been updated. This can be sold by explaining how the basic needs of dry and secure are being met and the fact that the facility is older means you have less cost to run it and can keep rates down. So you take what could have been a discussion about your place being old and turn it into a discussion of your place offering the same safe and dry spaces as your competitor at less cost.

Some facilities are a little hard to find. You can sell “off the beaten” track by emphasizing that it is easier to keep a place secure that has less traffic and that it costs less to have a location off the main street, which translates to better rates.

Some facilities have walk-up units. These are easy to sell. “One of the nice things about our store is that you can save a bunch of money by storing upstairs. Now we don’t have an elevator, but a lot of people are glad to go up a few stairs to save the money. If you prefer we have some convenient first floor drive-up units, too. Which would you like to look at first?”

Some facilities don’t have 24 hour access. You can sell that by explaining how no one is on the property after 10PM, so everyone’s belongings are secure over night.

Some of you require that people insure their belongings while storing with you. You may think this is a worst feature for prospects, but people are actually glad to know that they can buy insurance for a few dollars a month to add an extra level of protection to their goods. “We do require that you insure your belongings when you store with us. You can buy the insurance through us for as little as $8 or $12 per month. This adds an extra level of protection. Not that we have ever had a problem here, but if anything ever did happen, we want you to be protected. Did you want to purchase the $2,000 value or the $4,000 value package?”

Some of you may have limited access to the road that runs by your property. In this case tell people that it is a pain to get in the drive-way from the east and tell them how easy it is to get in the driveway from the west. Blame it on the road planners or the mega store across the street. You might be shocked if you knew how many people tried to turn in from the east and kept going to rent with someone else.

Even if your store doesn’t have a worst feature, you may not offer a few things that your competitor does. So take away your competitors advantage by telling prospects, “We don’t have feature X, which most of our renters don’t miss, because we have feature Y, which our renters really like because…”). This takes the thunder away from your competitor. If your prospect goes to your competitor after talking to you, feature X will not be so impressive because you have planted a different view in the prospect’s head.

Now you have to be careful how you do this. You have to be realistic and sensitive to customers’ needs. If you live in South Florida, you can’t say, “We don’t have humidity controlled units like some of the other storage places because you really don’t need it and it drives your cost up. So we can offer you just as good a place to store for less money”. You could say though, “One nice thing about our place is that we don’t have climate controlled units. Since not everyone wants one, we keep our cost down by not offering them. So if you don’t think you want climate control, we can offer you a good price. Would you like to come down today to take a look at our site, or would tomorrow be better for you?” You might think this is a subtle difference. But if you tell people what they should want or need, they will usually take what you say as BS. If you tell them what other customers have said, they pay attention and consider their options.

Pay attention to the worst features at your facility and learn to sell them. You may find out those features aren’t so bad after all.

bye for now, Tron

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Thanks for looking at the secret shopping blog, our diary of the secret shoppng and mystery shopping world.

Here is a sample of how you might try selling an apartment lease to someone.

Greeting:
“Hi, thanks for calling _____ Apartments. This is __, how can I help you?”

Do you have any ____bedrooms/vacancies available right now?
“We sure do. We have several floor plans available right now. We have…”
…………..Or…
“We sure do. We have several different floor plans to choose from. How many bedrooms are you interested in?”
2 bedrooms
“Well, we have a couple different floor plans to choose from….we have….
A 2 bdrm 2 bath @1100 sq. ft. and a 2 bdrm 2 bath deluxe @ 1200 sq. ft…
Both have very nice floor plans. Do you have a preference?”

Location:
“Do you know where we are located over here on _____?

Amenities/appliances:
“We have great amenities here …we furnish all of your major appliances, such as dishwasher, refrigerator; stove…we also have washer/dryer hook-ups. Now if you don’t have a washer and dryer, we do have an on site laundry facility that you can use…. (as applicable)

(Amenities plus # of tenants)
Now are there going to be adults living there, or children, too?
2 adults and 1 child.
(Other Amenities Offered on Premises)
Nice…we have some great stuff for all of you. Let’s start with the kids first, because you know you got to make them happy …
We have 2 swimming pools, plus there’s a picnic and play area.
There’s an exercise room, which you guys can use, as well as…
A new clubhouse with a kitchen and a fireplace…
And there’s also an exercise room.
We are also close to public transportation…….
(as applicable)”

Lead with Pricing
“The 2 bedroom, 2 bath is only $___. That’s not a bad price is it?

(Comparison pricing with tenants current rental)
Are you renting now, in ____? And what do you pay, where you are?”

Get the Tour Appt.
“Yeah…well, for you to come down and take a look at it and make a decision, you probably want to come down and see it, right?
When would be a good time for you to come down?
The best time for us to set up a time would be 10am, 1pm or 3pm m-f….
Which day is best for you? What time….10am,1pm or 3pm? (Confirm …Fri. 10am would be great).”

Getting Personal Info.—
“What’s your first name?

Last name? Address?

Phone #? ”

Confirm date & time again… “and this is the number she could get a hold of you in case you need to reschedule for some reason.

I’ll tell you what…in order to get the ball rolling, I can take a little more information from you, if you’ve got some time, like your address – sometimes we like to send out information as well…

We don’t start the credit application until you come down here and you like the apartment and you’re going to o.k. that you want to rent here. ”

What do you notice about this that might make it work? How would you rate an apartment leasing agent who treated you in this manner? Would you maybe rent from him or her?

bye for now, Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, where we look at the world of secret shopping and mystery shopping.

We looked at a report from a live secret shop of an apartment today. What we found is no surprise. There are two possibilities it seems. The staff either shows someone around or sells them an apartment lease. In this case the leasing agent was just showing the shopper around. The leasing agent did not qualify the shopper, did not determine the shopper’s needs or likes or wants. So basically it was wasted effort.

Don’t just take someone on a tour of your property or business to show them around and wait for their decisions. Find out what they want, need, desire. Show them that you can meet those requirements and ask for the business. If you don’t ask for it, you won’t get it.

So are you taking people on tours, or are you selling?

bye for now, Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, where we look at customer service and sales trends as they impact mystery shopping and secret shopping efforts.

While I was doing evaluations this morning of some of secret shops we had completed, I noticed a common objection that was causing a concern for the people we were calling. When the store asks for the caller’s name and phone number and the caller does not want to give the number out, you can hear the wind come out of the sails of the store staff. Deflated, dispirited and let down the staff people don’t even try to close the call/sale. Objections and concerns happen all the time. Why would they call it selling if every sale was handed to you on a silver platter? Some examples of other objections are; price concern, just shopping, not ready, spouse/boss permission, doesn’t have a credit card, waiting for help, are just a few that we hear on a daily basis.

Ok, it happened. A potential customer gave you a concern. Now what? Do not let it get you down. If the caller does not want to give their phone number for instance, don’t let your voice change. Agree with them if you have to, “yeah, I don’t like to give my number out either,” then ask them to come by for a visit. Let them know when your office hours are and then try and nail them down for a specific day or time. More than half the battle is getting the caller to the property, once there, we’ve found the turnaround to be very lucrative. Same idea for the credit card refusal, it’s not that they don’t want to rent with you; it really might be they don’t want/can’t use their credit cards. Now, some callers will use this as a concern just so they aren’t locked into the reservation. Again, agree with them, “well that’s ok, I don’t like to use my cc over the phone either, is there a day that you would like to come by for a visit and look at that unit?” Turn the negative into a positive. After the cc refusal, try again to stress the limited availability. Let the caller hear the urgency in your voice. Try and think of some of the concerns you hear on a regular basis, write down some good comebacks so you will be prepared when the concern comes up again. Be ready.

And then after you have gained a little more trust from the caller, you can ask again for the name and number, or ask again for the credit card reservation or appointment…and you will get it more times than not.

Give the caller the best customer service from the time you answer to when you hang up the phone. And don’t assume a concern is not going to turn into a sale down the road. (See Laura’s blog from yesterday about assuming)

“There is a great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem.”
Harold Stephens

Thanks,
Natalie

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog. We look at sales and customer service issues from our mystery shopping and secret shopping perspective

When I think of product consistency, I think of McDonalds. I have had the opportunity to eat McDonalds not only across our great nation, but abroad: McDonalds in Rome, Mexico, and England. It doesn’t matter where you go, it’s always consistent. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “Why would you eat at McDonalds when you can eat anywhere else, especially abroad”.

Well, after being in Italy for six weeks, I really wanted a meal that was consistent and plus, I was a little homesick. Every meal at McDonalds tastes the same; it doesn’t matter if it is down the street or an ocean away. Now, there are some deviations to the traditional USA menus. For instance, in England they charge for the ketchup packets, and in Rome you can have a cold beer with your Big Mac.

How long do you think it took McDonalds to develop a consistency plan? My family has been in the restuarant business for years and I “grew up” in the restaurant. Coming from a restaurant background, I believe this plan is harder than it seems at first glance. Say there is a person that is cooking the XX today, and as they are making it they put just a little bit more of la la in it. Now the XX is different.

The person didn’t mean to make it different they just made it the way they wanted, or thought it would taste even better. Or, what if the big boss ordered a different kind of la la than what they normally get? It changes the XX completely. If you want to start consistent and stay consistent you must control all the variables from the beginning.

Is change wrong or bad? No. You see it all the time: new and improved, better tasting, no more late fees, bigger and better and faster. It’s just that every one of your customers might not embrace the change. People get used to being in a routine, having a plan, and when that changes it can cause upset. (Think of New Coke)

Is your sales force consistent? Are the variables controlled? Does your company have a consistency plan? Are all the ingredients there? What are your company’s sales goals?

One of the things we use in our sales force is a “one thing at a time” strategy. We work on improving just one area till it is accomplished. Then we move on to another area, and so on. Pretty soon many of the areas are improved and sales are increasing across the board. We also strictly monitor our sales force, not just for internal purposes but for use as a reference point if needed. Each person is evaluated at least four times a month on sales calls. We use the same evaluation form we use for our customers. We expect and get great things from our team, do you?

Natalie

“They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

-Andy Warhol

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