Getting Started In Mystery Shopping (The Right Way)

One of the most common questions I get from people who are
looking to get started in mystery shopping is "how do I get
started?" If you intend to make mystery shopping a real career
rather than just getting "paid to shop" it's important to get
started off on the right foot. Mystery shopping can either be
the road to overworked and underpaid, or if you do it correctly,
it can be quite lucrative for a legitimate, work-at-home,
flexible job.

Unfortunately, the most common error newbie mystery shoppers make
is that they go berserk applying to mystery shopping company web
sites left and right. Signing up with companies is the last
thing you want to do when you are just starting out--unless you
want to be a new mystery shopper with sore fingers saying "I
applied to 100 companies but I didn't hear anything". Going
directly to companies, especially if you don't have any, or
have very little mystery shopping experience, is a waste of time
in my opinion. Most companies are inundated with requests from
newbies wanting to become mystery shoppers; what they want are
experienced shoppers they can count on. Think of a "real world"
job search. If you just apply to companies all over the place
without any experience, or knowing if they even have any job
openings, it's going to be a fruitless effort.

Another big reason why applying to company web sites is a waste
of time is that the largest and best companies outsource their
assignments to schedulers--the middlemen of the industry. So
companies don't bother going through their own databases. The
real way to get started in mystery shopping is to get connected
to schedulers in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd
and gets assignments coming to you. Okay, you ask, how do I get
connected to schedulers? I go over the many ways to do this in
great detail, along with lots of other great tips and techniques
in my book "The Perfect Work-At-Home Job: Mystery Shopping". But
here's one way:

Go to http://mysteryshopcoach.cjb.net. At the bottom of that
page is a link to "Mystery Shoppers Resource", a great site for
mystery shopping leads almost exclusively posted by schedulers.
The webmaster, Julie Moreau, will even e-mail you each time she
updates the page (e-mail to jmoreau1@aol.com, please mention I
referred you). When you see a job posting in your area, simply
follow the instructions and apply. There's a lot more to being a
professional, top-earning mystery shopper than just this, but
it's a way for you to dabble and get a feel for what is possible.

Summary: Despite what others may say, the biggest mistake you
can make as a newbie shopper is wasting your time applying
directly to mystery shopping companies. You wouldn't look for a
job in the "real world" this way, and the "mystery shopping
world" is no different. Learn to work with schedulers and you'll
have started your mystery shopping career the right way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
"The Perfect Work-At-Home Job: Mystery Shopping"
by Melanie Jordan can be downloaded at the following URL:
http://www.infopost.com/ItemDescription.asp?navtyp=SRH&ItemI=79676
Subscribe to the free e-zine "Perfect Work-At-Home Job Update".
E-mail to: mysteryshopcoach@aol.com.