Make Money While You Tour
Luxury New Homes
How would you like to make some money by visiting luxury new homes? Mystery shoppers can apply for many different assignments to visit new home builders. Mystery shopping companies are always looking for new people to do many of these assignments.
The objective for mystery shoppers for luxury new homes is to evaluate one of the sales counselors in the sales office. The management for the new home builder wants to know how well their sales counselors are selling their product. They want to know if the counselors are giving accurate information and asking the right questions to prospective buyers. Sales counselors have to find out as much as they can about the potential buyer and be good listeners to what the buyer says.
The key for the mystery shopper when visiting luxury new homes is to follow the directions closely. There are a lot of specific requirements for these shops and specific people to see. Sales counselors usually ask the potential buyer if they want to see a model home and/or visit a lot to build the home on. The mystery shopper must say "yes" to this question. If the answer is "no," the mystery shopper will not get paid for the assignment.
Once the sales counselor gives their presentation, they will ask the potential buyer for the sale. Of course, the mystery shopper will not be buying the home. The counselor will ask several times for the sale. They end up giving you information and they will follow up with you by phone call or email. [Some mystery shopping companies will provide email addresses and phone numbers for you to give. That takes the burden of follow ups off the mystery shopper.]
Some assignments require a husband and wife to visit some of the higher-end homes. It's more believable that way. The sales counselors will focus the conversation on the wife to know what she wants in the home.
Mystery shopping for new luxury homes can be a challenge. However, there is a great need for people who want to make some extra money in this field. It's one way for new home builders to evaluate the people they employ. Plus, it will give you some ideas on how to decorate your home or apartment.
Video Mystery Shopping at Luxury New Homes
Sales counselors at luxury new homes know in advance that there will be people doing mystery shops and that some will wear hidden video equipment. Video mystery shopping is very popular for new home builders. Getting video and audio of a sales presentation helps the client learn more about how the sales counselor sells the product. They use these videos to train their people and tell them what they did wrong and what they did right. Video mystery shoppers usually earn at least twice the amount than a written assignment.
My testimonial about Video Mystery Shopping.
Competition Assignments
Competition shops for luxury new homes are handled differently. Many home builders [for luxury new homes] want to know what the competition is doing, what they are saying about them, and what their prices are. You may have to approach a specific person, but you can bother them on weekends if necessary.
I had some assignments for some custom made homes worth $3-million and up in 2016. I had to call them up and make an appointment before making a visit. I had a list of 20 questions to ask every home builder. The client was eager to hear the response to every question. There would have been a reduction in pay if I forgot to ask one of the required questions. I was also required to get as many brochures on pricing and mail them to the client.
A mystery shopper for luxury new homes has to allow some time for their shop to be completed. Most of them will last between 45 to 90 minutes. The shortest assignment I've had was 30 minutes.
Learn More About the Mystery Shopping Business
It's important to complete reports and meet deadlines in
mystery shopping. Any report that is
incomplete, late, or missing a lot of details, may result in partial payment or
NO payment for the work done.
Not only does the mystery shopper lose out on the money, they may be banned from doing any more assignments with that company. Mystery shopping is a legitimate business that wants people who are serious about each assignment.
When you're assigned a mystery shop, you'll be given an online questionnaire that you will use to submit your report. Make sure to study it before you do the assignment. Print it if you have to. (Questions like what was listed on a marquee is pretty tough to answer if you didn't look at it.) Take it with you to take notes, but don't leave it in plain sight for an employee to view.
I wrote an book about my mystery shopping experiences for both written and hidden video assignments. I include a list of mystery shopping companies that I have worked with and companies that I would consider reputable. The book (and eBook) is titled Take That Job And Mystery Shop It!
There should be no fee to join a mystery shopping company. If there is, even if it's $2, stay away from them. Mystery shopping companies should pay you after you complete assignments for them.
Do not cash any checks before you do any mystery shopping assignment. There is a popular scam where people are sent checks for as much as $5000 to perform mystery shops at check cashing locations. These checks are fake. If you cash them, you will have to repay the bank and all associated fees.
Read more about mystery shopping scams.
