How can I find companies with shops in my area? I already work for a number of companies, but there are still so many businesses that I know get shopped that I can't find a MS company for. I am interested in shopping businesses such as the discount stores that are in every city (I know we are not supposed to use business names) but do not know who to sign up with. Any tips?

i've got this same question. all i've done is signed up with the major companies, but there are likely many more small ones that i've missed.

simple... you cant... ask around though someone can give you hints...

as it is a legal matter no one can post it... so you will not be able to find it by searching the internet...

Thanks for your answer! I sure would like to know of some MS companies that shop National chain discount, retail and convenient stores. I shop South East Texas.

Which brings up a good question, and something I have often pondered. Why is it search engines such as Google fail to index such companies? You would think that would pop up somewhere, somehow.

My guess is that part of the reason that companies use purchased 'platforms' for shop reporting etc. is to have a good way to block the bots that cruise the web collecting information.

As for finding who shops whom, first step is to sign up with the free version of Jobslinger.com and see who has shops in your area and/or has had shops in your area recently. Jobslinger pulls from the SASSIE companies, from the MSPA job board and from the Volition.com job board and I believe a few other places. Make sure you are signed up with those companies you see on Jobslinger because they DO have shops in your area.

As you go through the job boards expand your horizons. I could look for jobs within 30 miles of my zip code, but from time to time it makes sense to look at my whole state and see what is out there. If I see a company is shopping Purple Petals in another area of the state and there is one here, chances are good they shop that client here as well (or will in the near future). From time to time I also search beyond just my state. As part of my overall Excel spreadsheet I have a page to keep track of who is shopping whom. This changes every year at least somewhat, so around the beginning of the year I will be taking a little time between sips of egg nog to spot check the whole country or at least expand my search area to see if I can spot new clients or clients who have moved.

mysteriouschad Wrote:
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> Which brings up a good question, and something I
> have often pondered. Why is it search engines such
> as Google fail to index such companies? You would
> think that would pop up somewhere, somehow.

google can't pull up information which requires a password and special account to access. that would be like google pulling up your social security number or bank account figures from your online bank account.

I read a post last week that gave the specific key words to put in the search engine. It had to do with the reports that we submit. You would substitute the business name you were searching for and the search would pull up the survey, in turn providing the company name. I am searching through my inbox trying to find it.

sassyshopper Wrote:
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> I read a post last week that gave the specific key
> words to put in the search engine. It had to do
> with the reports that we submit. You would
> substitute the business name you were searching
> for and the search would pull up the survey, in
> turn providing the company name. I am searching
> through my inbox trying to find it.

place the following paragraph in google search for interesting results:

IMPORTANT : To avoid losing your SASSIE connection, save your work by submitting your survey every 30 minutes,
even if it is not finished (you can continue afterwards). Your remaining time is displayed in the lower left hand corner of your browser.