MARK 3337 – Professional Selling

Secret Shopper Assignment

You will be completing a secret shopping visit to one a selected company, all of whom are corporate partners
of the Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute. The goal of the assignment is to present yourself as a
legitimate customer, so you can experience the selling process in real way. YOU ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BUY.
You will select ONE company from the list below as your target secret shop. You will be responsible for
completing ONE store visit OR ONE call center contact to get credit for the assignment.

● Mattress Firm (Store visit/Virtual call/Call center)

● Fidelity (Virtual call)
● State Farm (Store visit/Virtual call)
● TDECU (Store visit/Virtual call/Call Center)
● Verizon (Store visit/Virtual call)
● Delta Airlines (Call Center)
● Dell (Call Center/Store

Secret shopping assignment:

1. Complete Online research to determine a specific product or selection of products from the list of
companies above you are interested in purchasing.
2. Conduct store visit or phone call to call center
3. Make observations on the following items:
a. Introduction/Rapport – what did they do to get to know you?
b. Need discovery – what questions did they ask to understand your needs?
c. Presentation and transferring features to benefits – did they present solutions to your needs?
d. Did they ask you to consider making a purchase?
4. Take notes during your interaction
5. Fill out the survey online to complete the assignment.
a. LINK to SECRET SHOPPER SURVEY: Section 16109
b. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/
1FAIpQLSeW9NWd_9ueXT1cngXWEau6eraRVnQzFttLyxbb1CnJz0ObQg/viewform
6. DUE DATE – Monday, September 20th by 11:59 pm

This is an exercise to gain insight on what it’s like to be a buyer at one of the selected companies. It will help
you to develop a deeper understanding of the buying experience and sharpen your understanding on what
makes the best salespeople different. The more you engage the salesperson you are in contact with during
the assignment, the more you will learn what separates the best salespeople from the rest of the crowd.

Note: To aid you in your secret buying, here are a few helpful buyer prompts:
• “Hi, I just graduated, and I am looking at _______.”
• “Hi, I am starting a job in a few months and figured I’d look at some _____”

Think as a buyer and act naturally based on the interaction you have with the sales person.