Why Secret Shop Your Own Business?

The way your business handles calls, emails, and contact forms matters. That first interaction often determines whether someone books… or bounces. By secret shopping yourself, you’ll hear exactly what your prospects hear, and that gives you the power to fix what’s broken.

This matters for a few reasons. 

First, when patients are selecting a provider, it is common for people to research and compare different options. This makes it vitally important to train your team on conducting a call in a way that is conducive of it converting into a patient (mentioning differentiators, actively listening & asking discovery questions, sharing a positive patient story, etc.) 

Another reason this exercise is critical is the revenue opportunity at stake. When you calculate the Lifetime Customer Value (LCV) of your typical patient, the realization of the potential value attached to each new lead becomes more clear. 

Let’s say your average patient spends $2,400 per year with your clinic.
One mishandled call? That’s potentially $2,400+ in missed revenue, and more if that patient would’ve become a long-term loyalist or referral source.

You may be a great owner/practitioner, but in the first-contact experience and line of defense is mediocre at best, that patient will never get to know and experience all that your clinic has to offer. 

That’s why secret shopping your own clinic is one of the smartest, most underutilized tools you can use to uncover what’s actually happening during those critical early touchpoints.

Many teams think they follow protocols, but what they say in theory doesn’t always match what happens live.

Phrases like:

• “We always ask how they heard about us.”
• “We definitely explain our differentiators.”
• “We never forget to offer a consultation.”

…sound good on paper. But until you hear those calls for yourself, you can’t verify the consistency, or quality, of what your leads experience.

This Is a Coaching Tool, Not a Consequence Tool

If you want your secret shop program to work, it must be framed as a coaching and accountability resource, not a “gotcha” moment.

Using these insights to punish or reprimand staff will break down trust and damage morale.

Instead, use the secret shop call as a training opportunity to:

• Celebrate what’s being done well
• Identify areas to improve
• Remind your team how much is truly at stake (aka LCV)
• Reconnect everyone to the mission of delivering great care, starting with that first interaction

How to Secret Shop Your Own Business (Step-by-Step)

Here’s how to do it right without raising alarms with your team:

1. Pick a New Alias

Create a name and fake email address/phone number. Choose something realistic, but not tied to your personal contacts.

Pro tip: Use a voice your team won’t immediately recognize if you’re calling yourself. Or better yet, ask a trusted friend to help.

2. Prepare a Question

Don’t just call and say, “Tell me about your services.”

Instead, come up with a believable inquiry a real customer might ask.
Examples:

• “How soon can I get a consultation?”
  
• “Do you treat [specific condition]?”
  
• “I saw your ad on Instagram, how does that service work?”
  

Make it relevant to your industry and keep it short.

3. Call During Normal Business Hours or Submit an Online Form

Don’t tip your team off with odd hours or unusual phrasing. Call or fill out a form just like a regular prospect would.

What to Listen & Watch Out For

When learning how to secret shop your own business, it’s not just about what’s said, it’s how it’s said.

For Calls, pay attention to:

• Your automated phone system experience, if you have one
• If your team greeted your call with the name of the business and their own name
• Friendliness and tone of voice
• Whether your name was asked and used
• Clarity and confidence in answers
• Whether they asked for the business (arguably the most important part) and steered the conversation toward an invitation to come in
• Whether they asked for your contact info or offered next steps
• How follow-up is handled (do they send an email or leave it open-ended?)
  
  

For Form Submissions, pay attention to:

• How long it takes for someone to respond (within 10 minutes is an A+ job, over an hour would be concerning).
• What form of communication they use to reach out first, and as a whole (did they just email, call first and then text, call and email?). See if this aligns with what you’ve taught them to do.
• How their communication and writing-style is executed and whether or not they ask open-ended questions that prompt a response, such as:
  • “Can you tell me a little bit about what treatments/services you are interested in?”
  • “We have an opening for a complimentary consultation on Wednesday at 2 pm or Thursday at 10 am – which one works best for you or do you need other options?”
  • “We are excited to get to know you better! Can you tell me a bit about yourself and what brought you to [Clinic Name]?” 
• If the communication actively prompts the next step in the process to getting them booked

Secret Shop Don’ts

• Don’t do it too often, you’ll risk tipping off your staff
  
• Don’t use accusatory language if you find a problem
  
• Don’t forget to document what you learned (or you’ll forget the details)
  

After the Shop: What to Do With What You Learn

Once you’ve completed the call or form, write everything down.
Then ask yourself:

• If I were a real prospect, would I feel confident booking?
  
• Did the team build any kind of trust or value in the conversation?
  
• Were there clear next steps, or was it vague and rushed?
  

From there, you can decide where your intake process needs clarity, structure, or training.

Make This a Habit

Knowing how to secret shop your own business gives you one of the best perspectives possible: your customer’s. It’s not about catching your team doing something wrong. It’s about creating a business where every lead feels like a priority from the very first touchpoint.

Need a Neutral Third Party?

If you’re worried about hurting your rapport with staff or making things feel tense, bring in a consultant like us to handle the audit and training.

At Cultivation Consulting, we offer:

• A fully customized secret shop call (and/or contact form test)
• A scored intake performance audit
• A 1:1 session with ownership/management to walk through results
• A live team coaching workshop that turns findings into action, without the awkwardness

You get the accountability and strategy your clinic needs, while preserving the trust your team deserves.