Keeping Track Of Your Secret Shopping Business 

Let’s assume that you are doing all that you need to and you are getting shopping assignments.  You are completing them.  Everything is rolling along smoothly.  Then, you lose track.  What was I supposed to do today?  You get that awful email from the shop’s scheduler only to learn that you did not submit your report on time!  How did that happen? 

Many people who work as a mystery shopper often find the biggest problem is when it comes to staying on track with what they have to do and how they will do it.  They work hard and they just lose track of something.  It is easy to do when your only form of communication is by email!

Working Out Your System

Each of us has our own way of doing the things in our everyday lives.  For example, we all know how to wash our laundry yet we probably do it just a bit different then the next guy.  Therefore, we need to do the same thing when it comes to finding your own system to keeping yourself organized and on track. 

It is important that you come up with a system, that works for you.  To do this, you will want to make sure you have all the tools necessary to accomplish your assignments.  You should also get into the habit of doing things the same way every day so that you do not lose things as you go.  Sounds hard?  It doesn’t have to be.

Here, we will give you some tips and hints to managing your own secret shopping business.  But, before we can do that, we need to get in place a system that will help you to make all of the necessary decisions when it comes to your assignment.  Let’s work out your method of organization first.

Remember that you can change this up to fit with your own specific needs, but this will allow you to have some idea of what you need to do.

Step 1: Get a Planner

The first thing that you need to do is to get some way of marking all of your secret shops down.  Do this always in the same method and in the same place.  The best way to do this is to get yourself a day planner and use it to write down a shop as soon as it comes in.

Another very useful tool, if you have it and know how to use it, is a basic spredsheet program such as Microsofts Excel.  There are many things that you can use this for.  Firstly, you can use it to store all of your assignments as they come in and record such details as:

Shop date and time

Shop location, city

Amount you are being paid for the shop

Date the shop is being sent in

Date the shop was paid to you

Mystery shopping company’s name and website address

Scheduler’s contact information

Tally for amount made per month/week

You can even prioritize them so that when a shop needs to be done today, it is highlighted red as a warning of the due date.

Step 2:  The Morning Routine

For most of us, getting up in the morning is already a routine.  Whether you stumble out to the kitchen as soon as you wake for a cup of coffee or head to the shower first, you have a routine.  Add in secret shopping here.  You will want to make it a habit to check your email in the morning. 

Find out if any new shops have come in to apply for and do so right then and there.

Determine if you have got any new shops overnight.  If so, write them in your planner right away.

Determine which shops have to be done today, print out any necessary paperwork and plan out when you will do them.

Determine if you have any questions, problems or other notes to take care of from the shopping company schedulers.

Get your routes planned out for the day to insure you know where any and all locations are located for today’s shops.

It's also a good time to go through your favorite shopping websites and apply for any new leads that may have come up.

Step 3:  Perform the Shops

OK, se we've gone over just how you need to do your mystery shops, paying close attention to the details and following the necessary instructions to the letter.  Now, how de we keep it all straight?  One way is to take with you a notebook.  However, make sure never to write anything telling on the outside of it or leave it open.  Just keep it in your bag.

After you have completed your shop, drive to a nearby parking lot (don’t do this at the location!) and write down the details.  Make sure to answer all necessary questions about the mystery shop and to be as honest yet positive as possible.

Some shopping companies do not want you to overload on mystery shops in any one given day.  Some may even limit how many you can do for them within a given period.  It makes sense.  Too many shops mean that the details can get messed up.  Instead of taking on too many assignments, make sure you have enough time to input data and to keep track of everything carefully.

Step 4:  Input Your Information

Make sure that you submit all the details of your shop to the sponsor's website correctly.  Some people do this after each shop is completed.  Others will put them together all at the same time.  In any case, you will want to provide all the necessary details of your shop into your system carefully.  Make sure to make any necessary marks when the shop is complete that you have completed in it in your day planner or your excel file if you created one.

Step 5:  Nightly Routine

Remember, secret shopping companies release their assignments during all times of the day and night.  Some shoppers will schedule themselves a fixed time to apply for shops during the day.  Others use the evening to get their applications in.  It can also be helpful to go back an extra time about the third week into the month when shops that have not been done may now have additional bonuses attached to them. 

Develop a nightly routine in which you can go through and check all of the necessary websites for additional shopping opportunities.

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