Competitive intelligence (CI) is one of those areas that’s far more intense behind the scenes than most people realize. At Hindsight, we’ve seen some wild tactics—companies hiring ex–special forces operatives to run CI, setting up elaborate systems to monitor competitor moves, and more.

Most of it never gets talked about.

So we’re starting a series digging into the more interesting, questionable, and sometimes outright shady tactics teams use to gain an edge. First up: mystery shopping.

The Setup

A few AEs told us about "buyers" who went through multiple sales calls, asked smart questions, got detailed info—then vanished. No follow-up, no response, just gone. At first, we thought it sounded like a conspiracy theory.

Then we started seeing posts in Slack communities where people were openly looking for mystery shoppers. And not just for B2C secret shopping—this was targeted B2B SaaS playbook snooping.

Some of these firms even brag about working with well-known names like Slack, Salesforce, and Ramp. Hopefully not doing this kind of work for them—but mystery shopping is something they proudly offer.

What Is Mystery Shopping (in B2B)?

It’s when someone pretends to be a buyer to get competitive intel during a sales process. They sit through discovery, get a demo, maybe even get a proposal—all without any real intent to buy. The goal: collect details on roadmap, pricing, positioning, and how your reps sell.

In crowded markets, some teams see this as a shortcut to stay informed.

Why It Happens

When you’ve got 5, 10, or 20 competitors and no good way to track them, the temptation is real. PMs and PMMs want to understand how others are positioning, what they’re launching, and what their sales motion looks like.

So they resort to this. Hire contractors to run fake buying processes and report back.

Why It’s a Problem

It’s deceptive. It wastes time. It takes attention away from actual buyers. And depending on how it’s done, it could cross ethical or even legal lines—misrepresentation, privacy, TOS violations.

It’s a quick hit of insight, sure. But it undermines trust and sets a bad precedent.

A Better Approach

The good news: you don’t need shady tactics to get good CI. There are ethical, scalable ways to get the same insights:

• Schedule interviews with buyers who evaluated your competitors

• Mine your own CRM, call recordings, and notes for real intel

• Use tools that surface and organize that info for the whole team

AI makes this easier than ever—CI can be on-demand, surfaced automatically, and shared in places like Slack without anyone faking a persona.

So if you’re thinking about mystery shopping to stay ahead, take a step back. The best teams win by building better products and tightening execution—not by playing spy games.

Have you been mystery shopped? Think it’s unethical—or just part of the game? What’s your take?

Got a CI tactic you’ve seen (or used) that pushed the line? DM us. We'll keep it anonymous.