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

Here are a few things to consider as you fine-tune your expectations and evaluatinos…

12 Powerful & Positive
Steps to Selling

 Listen to Prospect – you won’t have the right answers unless the client helps you w/it.
 Features are important, but stress benefits. (I know we repeat most of the same things a hundred times a day – but it’s the 1st time your client has heard this and some of it is not self-explanatory).
 Know all possible applications of your product – this shows them we can do the job. (Example; drive-up access as opposed to inside storage, how to take advantage of drop shipped delivery, etc).
 You must firmly believe that our company provides the best service, best value, and best customization and has a stellar reputation. (All of these things apply to our company).
 Don’t assume – ask all the questions (all the way to the credit card, no matter what negative feedback we think we’re getting).
 You cannot force a prospect to do anything. When you try to force, YOU LOSE! This is a good time to find all areas of agreement and highlight potential solutions.
 Verify your information – just because they sound interested doesn’t mean they are. (Same as getting agreement).
 When you’re verifying information, never sound the same twice. (Put a new twist on the benefits you previously mentioned).
 Don’t think a negative response is a MAJOR ROADBLOCK. This is the time to shower them with all of our benefits.
 Be their partner, not just another vendor.
 No one can guarantee success! You can only deserve it, and you deserve it by:
 Accurately identifying the opportunity to help the caller and take active steps to move the relationship closer to the point where we can be of help to them.
 Deserve it by focusing on finding situations where you honestly believe you can add value and then deliver on that value. (Remember we must close the sale to get the chance to produce).
 Closing sales means building relationships.

good luck and good selling, Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, our window into the world of cusotmer service and sales.

When it comes to answering the phone, truth is stranger than fiction.

Complied by Tron Jordheim, PhoneSmart Director.

Our telephone sales reps at PhoneSmart try to have an answer for any concern a caller raises and tries to be able to professionally handle any situation that comes their way. PhoneSmart takes overflow calls from self storage facilities all around the country. We get some calls that make you shake your head. Here are some of the odd and curious calls we have actually taken.

We got a call from a desperate mother trying to save her teenage son with some good old fashion discipline. He was misbehaving and running with the wrong crowd. She described a scenario that is every parent’s nightmare. She was trying to use grounding to get him to slow down, but realized that grounding him to his room did not work so well because he always found something in his room to fiddle with… so her purpose for storage was to store away everything (TV, games etc) except his necessities (bed, dresser and clothes). Then he would have to earn back his luxuries one by one. I hope it worked for her.

Husbands and wives sometimes want storage so the other half cannot take belongings from the home. We get calls like this more often than you might think. There is a divorce brewing, an abuse issue, a spouse who is stealing from the home to support a bad habit or issues the callers don’t care to share with us. You know the callers are up to their elbows in trouble when they ask about confidentiality, refuse to give a home number or ask that the spouse not be informed. These are difficult calls to take, but you have to be polite and help the people without upset yourself.

One time we had a man-on-the-run call us. He explained that he was running from the law and thought he would be caught soon. His arrest warrant was apparently well distributed. He wanted to get all his belongings in storage before he got caught and locked up. Isn’t it odd that he would open up like that and tell his story to a perfect stranger on the phone, especially since was wanting to rent a storage unit us.

We have had calls from people who wanted to know if the storage place needed identification and if a contract was required, because they wanted to be invisible. One caller explained to us that he did not want to be traced to his storage unit and needed everything to be on the hush. These kinds of calls make you shiver.

One day we got a call from a lady crying and screaming on the phone claiming she was being held captive by some crazy man threatening her near a storage facility. She gave us clues about the location, but she was calling a nationwide toll free number for one of our client companies, so we had to guess which store she was near, based on her description. We contacted the store manager for the store she described. The storage Manager thought we were getting dingy and said that she gets crank calls on occasion, too. The lady who claimed to be captive sounded so terrified that we could not believe it was a crank call. PhoneSmart reps tried to contact the police in that area. The police didn’t think the location made sense based on the description and were not sounding motivated to investigate. BUT by the next day we found out that it was all true. The police had found the woman being held by a man in a parking lot across from the storage facility we had told them about. The police had responded to a call from someone locally who had seen the man and woman scuffling in the parking lot. The woman, it turned out, was ok. Very strange indeed.

Then there are the calls that are just plain odd. We talked to a guy who did not need a storage unit for four years. He was retiring in four years and was going to put a lot of his household stuff in storage while he hit the road in his RV. He just was curious what a unit cost. How is that for getting prepared?

One day we got a caller who asked, “How many golf balls will fit into a 5×10?” Okay, that would make a rep stop and think a second. We can talk about boxes and dressers and couches, but golf balls? The caller was starting a golf-ball cleaning and refurbishing business and needed someplace to store the balls after he pulled them out of lakes. We took the reservation, so I guess we answered the question right.

Just the other day we got a call from a lady who was potty training her son while talking to us on the phone. She put the phone down in the middle of the rep’s sentence and all we could hear was the lady praising her child for making potty. Ah, the special moments we get to share with our customers.

We also took a credit card reservation for a man riding his bicycle. Our rep thought he was on a cell phone, but assumed he was in his car. This is not unusual. She walked him through the sales process and took down his credit card number. When she tried to give him his confirmation number, he said, “I can’t write at the moment, I’m on my bicycle”. Who would have guessed that people call your stores on their cell phones while out riding their bikes?

We also participate in a global economy. Our call center may be in Missouri, but the world seems very small to us. We once took a call for a lady in Honduras who was moving to Hawaii. So we booked her a unit that would be waiting for her when she arrived in two weeks. We occasionally get calls from US service people from over seas who are calling to make a payment on their storage unit back home in the states. We booked a unit in Florida for a couple that was moving down to the sunny climate from Toronto Canada. It’s a small world.

It happens to us about every day that we have an odd situation or a funny circumstance that we can use to lighten up the atmosphere. Occasionally we get a bizarre or scary call that makes us glad we are not at the location the person called. We know each of you could write a book about some of the odd and strange calls you have taken. Just like you, we take them with a smile.

bye for now, Tron

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

Let’s pretend that you walk into a shopping center looking to buy a fuzzle. There are three vendors that sell fuzzles. You walk up to the first and he says, “We have the mini fuzzle for $40, the medium fuzzle for $60, and the super fuzzle for $80.” You thank him and walk to the next vendor. He tells you that they are sold out of every fuzzle except the super fuzzle, which costs $90. So you leave and go to the last vendor. Here you walk into the store and are greeted by an associate. He asks you a few questions and then says, “Well, each of our fuzzles are hand crafted. They have a lifetime guarantee by the manufacturer. One of the great things about your fuzzle is that it will dance and sing, clean your house, and walk your dog. And with our super fuzzle special offer, they are only $85”

Even though the third vendor’s fuzzle may be slightly more expensive, you are excited to own such a valuable fuzzle and buy it.

The reason that customers are willing to pay extra can often be that they feel they are getting addional value. If you have two car mechanics next to each other and the cheaper mechanic just tapes your bumper back on, you may be persuaded to pay a little extra to permanently attach your bumper.

My point here is that if you tell your customers a little bit about your store or product you can build a sense of value in that product. The customer will feel a peace of mind purchasing your service and be confident that you will back up what you sell.

“Selling” your service before you give the price can also help absorb any sticker shock a customer may feel.

In the secret shopping world, we see a lot of people who are too quick to give the price. They shoot themselves in the foot by not highlighting some of the wonderful things about their business. So don’t sell yourself short by forgetting to tell your customers what great features your store or product has.

Ta Ta for now…

Sarah

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