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Are Pets Not As Valuable As We Think? (And 2 Solid New Service Ideas to Offer Your Clients)

Joshua Cary — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:07:10 +0000

Have you ever considered the idea that pets might be a ‘hazard’ to the elderly?

Personally, I have not considered that absurd thought, but one article I recently came across revealed this intriguing fact:

“Over 86,000 people per year have to go to the emergency room because of falls involving their dogs and cats, and these fractures can be devastating for the elderly,” said Judy Stevens, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

I was going to present that as the topic for this blog post, but it got me thinking about something else you will appreciate much more.

Instead of debating the merits of that statistic in this article, I would rather offer you a solid actionable service that you can add to your website today and offer your potential clients to help grow your business.

(Something to help you grow your business is much better than trying to debate the value of pets, right?!)

Steal My Idea, Please!

While I was reading that wacky article above about how pets may be hazardous to the elderly, I thought about an idea pet sitters could use – specifically offering a service geared towards the elderly, retired, or senior community could do wonders.

First of all, what are services, in general? Nothing more than a solution to someone’s problem, yes?

So, what problem might the elderly have when it comes to their pets?

Perhaps they don’t have the strength or energy to walk the dog as often or as long as needed. Perhaps their dog doesn’t get to go running in the park anymore. Perhaps their dog doesn’t get to socialize as often as before.

See where we’re going with this?

Consider adding a page to your site highlighting this brand new service and addressing these issues directly.

It could read something like this:

Pet Sitting for the Senior Community (over 55+)

Example: Having a difficult time walking Fido every time he cries at the door and wants to go for a walk. Is Fido not receiving the same kind of exercise regimen as he once enjoyed? Is Fido becoming less socialized in recent years? Does he desperately miss his friends at the park?

We know that sometimes the elderly, the retired or the senior community can use an extra hand. Allow us to offer that hand and take the stress out of your day by giving Fido some much needed exercise while providing you a wonderful break from that responsibility. We’ll even pick up the mail, bring in your newspaper, and water plants while we are there, if you wish.

And consider this: You can expect non-elderly pet owners to read about your new service and get excited on behalf of their friends, neighbors, loved ones, relatives, etc. (IE. “Oh, this would be PERFECT for my mother. I didn’t even think of it!”)

You can choose to end your service description with this:

“Make someone’s day! Do you know someone near and dear who can use a helping hand with our professional service? Click Here to share this page with them – or Click Here to print this page for them!”

Simply put, you are addressing the solution to someone’s problem.

Steal This Idea, Too! Offer Last Minute Service.

While this may not be appropriate for every pet sitter, on a similar path, plant the seed for pet owners who otherwise would not have a need for a pet sitter, to establish a relationship with you now for any last-minute, or unexpected emergencies in the future.

If a pet owner has a last-minute or unexpected emergency pop up, chances are she will not have the time to establish a relationship with a new pet sitter OR the pet sitter might not be able to accommodate the pet owner on such short notice.

So, what you do now as the pet sitter is offer the opportunity to get set up in your system – with no obligation – to get the ball rolling, to meet, to get forms filled out, so if/when the day arrives she desperately needs you, all it will take is a phone call.

It’s sort of like a built in backup plan, or insurance policy that you can promote this way:

“Life Happens.” None of us plan on getting sick, but sometimes life does take a toll on us.

The last thing you need to worry about is walking Fido 3 times a day when you can barely get out of bed or walk to the kitchen.

Get the ball rolling with us today so we can be there at a moment’s notice any time down the road.

That way, when life hits unexpectedly – or calls you away – one quick phone call will have your precious pet cared for, so you can care for yourself.

Get the idea? You might even choose to charge a premium for this “When Life Happens” service.

In my own pet sitting business, we provide a similar “On Call” service and are able to charge a small monthly fee just for the opportunity to be able to call and have us arrive at a moment’s notice. (Look at the way we market our offer on that page.)

Again, if you can find ways to offer solutions to people’s problems, you will continually find yourself serving clients.

Find ways like the suggestions above to be there for your community and get your foot in the door. When someone takes action with you (IE. getting in touch, setting up the meet-n-greet, filling out a service agreement) even if they are not hiring you for a specific service right now, they are more likely to follow through and remain/become a client.

Take these ideas and run with it.

I hope these ideas get you thinking a bit. They are ideas for you to use and make your own. The bottom line is that the more solutions that you provide your potential clients, the more likely they will be to count on you as their lifelong pet sitter.

Are your wheels turning? What do you think? Share with me in the comments below.

What A Grade School Assignment Can Teach You About Growing Your Pet Sitting Business

Joshua Cary — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:58:09 +0000

Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who would tell you that they love you, but would never really show you?

We are very aware of the difference, right?

When somebody only tells you something in words without ever showing it through action or effort, you naturally begin to feel a bit short changed.

The words alone have less and less meaning.

Well, this may come as a surprise but…

Your website visitors are no different, and if you want to have a powerful effect on each visitor (you know, on the pet owners who can become your potential clients) begin to utilize the grammar school assignment of Show & Tell.

Who Didn’t Love Show & Tell Day?

Show & Tell, as you remember, was where you got to pick something that you loved from home to bring in to show the class and tell them all about it. If it was just called Tell it would not have the same effect.

Sadly, many pet sitters are only telling their website visitors what they offer with nothing to show for it.

Here is a quick story about comedian Dana Carvey and how you can apply the Show & Tell technique to your own pet sitting business.

Comedy Is Funny.

I was watching an episode of Conan recently and Dana Carvey was the guest.

I grew up watching Dana on Saturday Night Live and in his movies, and he was equally as brilliant in the Conan interview as he was twenty years ago.

He, in the span of 9 minutes, must have went through a dozen or so impressions from people like Presidents Obama and Bush, to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pierce Morgan.

All flawless.

I was inspired to jump online and post something on Facebook about how hysterical he was.

I got to thinking…

I could post a simple status update, as in:

“Just watched Dana Carvey on Conan – as brilliant as ever!”

and leave it at that. OR…

I could post the same status update and attach a short Youtube clip demonstrating the brilliance.

Which would have a more direct impact and emotional response from you?

So, what’s the difference between the two, and what does this have to do with your pet sitting business?

In the example above, by just posting the status update alone, you are doing nothing more than telling your audience.

By including a video clip along with the update, you are now showing your audience. You are giving them proof. You are giving the status update some context. You are actively engaging the person.

Without the video clip to show, it would be as if you are standing in front of the class just telling them about this neat thing called a Cabbage Patch Doll you have at home.

Revisit Your Pet Sitting Website Content

Go back to your pet sitting website and read through your own content.

Are you doing nothing more than simply telling your audience how you good you might be, and how excited the pets will be, and what the benefits of hiring a pet sitter are?

By the way, while displaying logos of your accomplishments are advisable, they are not enough to stand on their own.

Go one step further and find ways to SHOW your audience, too.

Take photos of you playing with every pet you care for.

Allow your website visitors to see just how much you enjoy your job. And how much the pets enjoy you.

Video the pets.

All you need is a about 30 seconds of you interacting and bonding with the pet. Your smart phone can handle this with ease.

Get reviews and testimonials.

You may have tried to get some testimonials in the past and it didn’t turn our so well. If that’s the case, you may need to be a bit persistent with asking for a testimonial. Don’t be afraid to call the potential client and ask directly for a testimonial. Don’t be afraid to leave a paper form for them to fill out and leave for you the next time you visit. Keep at it.

Since not everyone will provide a written testimonial, you have to ask plenty of clients to get a decent return.

Want the ultimate way to show your website visitors why they should hire you?

Ask a client for a video review. Have them fire up their smart phone (or you fire up yours with them) and ask them to speak for 30 seconds on what they love most about you and your service.

This will put you well ahead of your competition (who else is doing this right now?).

Don’t think your clients would shoot a video testimonial for you? Ask and you may be surprised.

The bottom line is that people LOVE (really love) giving feedback on a service they enjoy.

Continue to find ways to show your potential clients what you do, how you do it and why you do it and more clients will naturally gravitate to you over your competition.

Doing the same as everyone else does nobody any good.

Find ways to stand out and differentiate yourself from your competition and you will have more potential clients begging for your business.

Tell us one thing below

I want to know… Right now, what is one way you could SHOW your website visitors that you are the pet sitter they need to hire?

(Feel proud of the professional service you provide!)

How Is Your Pet Sitting Business Like Baking A Chocolate Cake?

How To Never Lose Again To The Kid Next Door When It Comes To Price

Joshua Cary — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:25:45 +0000

How many times have you weighed in on the hot topic of “should you list prices on your website, or not list prices on your website?”

You’ll be happy to know that this article is not about that specific debate, but rather will offer a solid middle ground that should make both sides happy.

Whether we are talking about “ICs vs. Employees” or “does advertising your pet sitting business on your car compromise the pet owner’s security,” nothing is more highly contested than the ‘prices on your website’ debate.

There Are More Than Two Options.

At first glance, it may appear that the only two options you have is to decide to list prices on your pet sitting website, or to not list prices on your pet sitting website.

Allow me to introduce a third option, and it’s the very option I choose for my own pet sitting website.

For the record, I am of the school to not list specific prices on your website (but remember, that’s not what this article is about).

While we chose to not list specific prices, this does not mean that we avoid it at all costs.

In fact, we have a menu item on the site named ‘Pricing’ that directly addresses the topic head on.

Since, like many other pet sitters, we offer a very customizable service and actual price depends on a variety of factors, I’ve had a hard time justifying an exact price for each service.

Some custom factors include:

Discounts for length of stay
Discounts for number of pets (our dog boarding service discounts the second dog)
Discounts for the elderly (pet or owner)
Discounts for newly rescued or adopted pets
Additional charge for number of pets (our cat sitting service has additional fees for more pets)
Additional charge for injections
Additional charge for last-minute bookings
Etc.

Plus, consider this:

Your Potential Client May Not Know What The Best Option Really Is

We’ve learned early on that when pet owners call, they don’t necessarily know what the best service for their pet is. For example, we offer in-the-sitter’s-home dog boarding and we also offer overnights where the sitter sleeps in the client’s home.

As a professional service, we like to get all the facts about the pet and the owner’s situation first and then together make an informed decision on what the best possible service for their specific situation is.

Perhaps they’ll want two overnights in their home followed by two days of walking the dog 3 times per day. (It has happened, and is an option the pet owner didn’t realize was possible)

Or perhaps they think their newly adopted puppy will be just fine left alone for several hours without accidents or chewing up the furniture. (A little education goes a long way in this line of work!)

The way we approach our service is not by presenting a set of options like a Chinese takeout menu (choose your service from Column A and your add-on service from Column B) but rather like how a professional dentist might approach it.

You present the facts about your situation to the dentist (through dialogue and by sitting back and opening your mouth), and she will assess the situation and make her best professional recommendation. From there, the two of you will discuss all possible options.

You are different than the ‘kid next door,’ right?

If we as an industry are to position ourselves as professionals, and as the educated service provider, and as completely separate from the ‘kid next door,’ why leave it in the hands of the pet owner themselves to decide what is best for their pet and unique situation?

Shouldn’t we want them to turn to us as the professional, and as an adviser, and as the trained pet sitter that we are, to best determine together what care is in the pet’s best interest?

The more often you can position yourself as the knowledgeable, educated and go-to pet sitter for the clients in your area, the more often you will win out over the kid next door. You will less often find yourself wondering how to compete on price, and gain a ton of confidence in the price point you have set for your service.

Inspiration From An Example Selling Pools

One of my favorite blogs is The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

Marcus recently touched upon this exact concept of making sure to (at least) address price, instead of avoiding the topic all together (in a guest article on Social Media Examiner).

The entire point of his article (from a pet sitter’s point of view) is not to go and put exact or specific prices on our site but to address it.

The author of the post has a link to a web page of his pool site that addresses price in a big way but does not list specifics. You’ll see he talks extensively about price ranges and this has landed him very high in Google for people searching for the cost of fiber glass pools.

Finally, you’ll see in this short 2-minute Youtube clip that he confronts one of the people in his seminar – a software developer – about why he won’t list prices.

The software developer responds with things like, “Because it varies greatly… it depends on the client’s specific needs… they may want some add-on options… we may be able to discount…” (Sound familiar?)

And the author’s direct reply to him is, “Perfect. So why not put that on your website?”

That is addressing price in a big way.

In the words of the post’s author, Marcus Sheridan, “There is a big difference between answering questions and addressing questions. What does Google want you to do? They want you to address things.”

How To Phrase It on Your Website

While I do not list specific prices, I do *address* price. And that is important.

Since every single visitor to your site naturally has the question of price in mind, you do want to at least address it for them.

Instead of listing something specific like “$17 for a 30-minute visit”, it’s OK to say something like:

“Our service varies from pet owner to pet owner. Each pet has different needs and requirements and therefore our service is never one size fits all. We take great pride in the personal service and attention we provide each pet (and their owner) and are certain you will love what we do and how we do it. Please take a moment to give us a call so together we may discuss and put together the perfect solution for you and your furry friend.”

The specific way I address it on my own pet sitting website is this:

“Since fees are based on a variety of factors including length of stay, special needs of pet and service requested, please contact us today for an accurate estimate and so we may answer any additional questions you may have.”

(This is written after we reiterate on the pricing page how our service differs from all others, and after we reiterate the value they will receive from us over all other options.)

That is addressing price. And it does not give a specific price or leave the visitor a bit frustrated because there is no mention of price.

Finally, The Professional Pet Sitter Rules

The goal of what I teach is simply to position yourself as the trusted, capable, and professional choice. Only then will pet owners look to you for you, and not to the ‘kid next door’ so she can save a few dollars.

Do you think this option of addressing price could work on your website? And, do you currently feel that pet owners look to you as their trusted source?

I look forward to your thoughts and feedback below.

10 Elements On Your Pet Sitting Website That Will Bring In More Clients

Joshua Cary — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:25:25 +0000

How exciting would it be for you to have more email submissions from your pet sitting website and to have your phone ringing more often?

Some weeks back, I made available a document (link to the file is below) that highlighted the 10 elements from my own pet sitting website that have been responsible for bringing in more leads every day.

And, as you know, converting more of your website visitors into leads is the quickest way to grow your pet sitting business.

Surprisingly, the way to accomplish that is NOT to simply get more visitors to your site (because you could have a ton of visitors with no one choosing to get in touch with you!) but rather to understand exactly what inspires, encourages and entices your users to take action.

Learning what gets more of your current visitors to make contact with you is not done by accident.

Push Play on the Video

Here is how to get your own WordPress pet sitting website here » (Link opens in new window)

Inside this 34-minute, content-packed video, you will discover each of the 10 elements responsible for my business success and detail everything from:

What the website element is.
Why it’s important to use.
How it turns more of your visitors into potential clients.
The way to implement it on your own pet sitting website.

Download the MP3 ipod-compatible audio file to take on the go » (15.8mb)

Download the “10 Elements” PDF File

Follow along with your own copy of the original document I made available to PetSittingOlogy readers. Click Here to download the PDF document.

Would You Like A Pet Sitting Website That ‘Works’?

At the end of the video, I finally announce publicly the pet sitting website project that I’ve been working on with Laura Roeder for the better part of a year.

You can read all about the WordPress pet sitting websites here » (Link opens in new window)

Simply put, you’ll see how to get your hands on your own WordPress-powered pet sitting website designed to work well in the search engines and – you guessed it – convert more of your visitors into happy clients.

Have Your Say…

Now it’s your turn. Please leave your thoughts, questions and comments in the section below. What did you enjoy, what made sense, what have you found success with?

6 Things Football Teaches Us About Pet Sitting

Joshua Cary — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:14:35 +0000

After a magnificent win by my favorite football team, the NY Giants, to win Super Bowl XLVI, it only seems fitting to discuss how many of the strategies and qualities it takes to win games can also be applied to success in your pet sitting business.

Vince Lombardi is one of the (if not the) most respected and admired coaches in football.

In fact, it is the Lombardi trophy that is awarded to the winner of each Super Bowl, so the guy must have been pretty special to the game.

Lombardi is known for his motivational speeches and after reviewing some of his famous quotes, it becomes more evident how he was talking about much more than simply football.

6 Ways Winning Football Games Can Help Your Pet Sitting Business

Here are 6 qualities Lombardi felt important to the game and a quote related to each quality.

SACRIFICE

“To achieve success, whatever the job we have, we must pay a price.”

As pet sitting business owners, there is always a price to pay for success. Many sitters have left a corporate world behind that, perhaps, was providing a steady pay check.

The sacrifice in that situation was financial stability in exchange for the opportunity to live a happier life.

Being a business owner or entrepreneur is never easy. Pet sitters must also sacrifice being available on major holidays since those are often our most profitable days.

What sacrifices have you made in order to pursue your dream as a pet sitting business owner?

BELIEF

“Confidence is contagious and so is lack of confidence, and a customer will recognize both.

This is one of the best kept secrets when it comes to succeeding in business, in general.

When a potential client calls, your biggest job is to instill a ton of confidence that you are the perfect one for the job.

The fact that she initially made contact suggests that she wants to get to know you better. She wants absolutely nothing more than to have you ease all of her fears and be her saving grace.

Learn how to speak confidently during the initial phone call. Learn how to lead the conversation by asking the potential client the right questions.

Learn how to be confident in your knowledge and ability so you can turn more potential clients into lifelong happy clients.

How confident are you when you speak to first time callers?

COMMITMENT

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

Choosing the path of pet sitter is never easy.

There are no tests to pass, or applications to fill out. You can simply wake up one morning and declare yourself a pet sitter.

The only difference between someone simply calling themselves a pet sitter and someone choosing to pursue life as a professional pet sitter will be their commitment to the business.

In order to succeed in business, you must constantly be learning. You must participate in your industry. You must read to understand the nature of business and the nature of a sale.

You must consisitently grow as a person.

How committed every day are you in your pet sitting business?

LEADERDSHIP

“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”

Whether you realize it or not, you are – and must remain – a leader.

You are the leader of your pet sitting business whether you are working solo or have a team along side.

Every pet owner looking to hire wants nothing more than for you to lead. She wants you to lead the conversation. She wants you to lead meet-n-greet.

This shows a great deal of confidence (see above) and puts the potential client at ease. The minute you allow a potential client to lead the way is the minute you lose control of your business.

Remember that you are selling yourself. You are not selling pet sitting services.

Anyone can watch a pet. But not anyone can watch a pet while recognizing emergencies, keeping the client’s valuables safe and taking appropriate action every step of the way.

Your potential client wants to trust that you are the perfect person for the job.

How comfortable are you in the leadership role?

DESIRE

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”

If I asked you how badly you want to succeed as a pet sitting business owner, how would you respond?

Sure, you’d say something along the lines of “I want to succeed desperately.” But have you ever asked yourself WHY you want to succeed?

Why do you get up every day and pursue the life of a pet sitter? The more clarity you can answer this question with, the more focused you will become.

Yes, you want to be successful. But there is more to success than ‘want.’ You must get up everyday and dedicate your life to growth, knowledge, learning and training.

You must follow (or create) that burning fire for success in your being.

What are you driven by each day to keep pushing ahead?

WINNING

“Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing – the result.”

The result, or ultimate pay off, of our labor of love may not come for some time. Successful businesses take a calculated plan to get that way.

Nothing happens overnight and nothing happens by accident.

Let it be known that no matter what happens in your future, you are already winning!

The fact that you have chosen to pursue a career in the pet sitting industry and have taken action is a massive win.

Your only job now is to continue on this path by having a goal in mind, putting a plan in place, and following it to completion.

Where are you right now on your pursuit to your own Lombardi Trophy?

What do you need to accomplish next to keep moving in the right direction?

Now It’s Your Turn.

The six quotes above each left you with a question to answer. Take a moment to go back and read through the Lombardi quotes.

In the comments below, leave your answer to the quote/question that hit home the most.

Image Credit: ElvertBarnes

Can This Sleep Aid Also Work For Pets?

Joshua Cary — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:34:49 +0000

Who knew that one of the best sleep aid tools I have found for myself might also be incredible useful for pets?

Allow me to explain…

I’m not sure exactly how this came to be, but for many years now I find in near impossible to fall asleep in complete silence.

I use and require the aid of a white noise maker.

I’ve heard some like those machines that make the sound of the ocean, a rainstorm or the jungle.

Personally, I prefer simple white noise (practically like static sound).

Since I don’t have my white noise maker anymore, I went online to see what solutions I could find and wouldn’t you know there are entire websites dedicated to creating a variety of white noise directly from your computer.

The best one I found (and currently use to fall asleep) is SimplyNoise.

Is White Noise Good For Pets?

I then did a bit of research and discovered that white noise can be extremely beneficial to our pets, too.

Think how the use of this can help drown out the noise of a thunderstorm to a fearful pooch.

Or how a dog that likes to bark at cars passing or other outside distraction can relax by not even hearing it.

So, now it’s your turn.

What do you think? Do you know of any specific ways you might be able to offer this tool (solution) to your clients’ pets.

Are you currently leaving the TV or radio on as a way to achieve a similar result?

Leave a comment for the community below.

Image Courtesy of Flickr’s dominiqs’

What Happens Now That Thanksgiving Has Past?

Joshua Cary — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:04:23 +0000

Don’t you agree that this is one of the most exciting times of the year?

Having spent a few years in San Antonio where it rarely falls below 60 degrees this time of year, I am now back on the East coast, able to enjoy and experience one of my favorite seasons: Autumn.

The leaves change color. Fireplace smoke is in the air. And Holiday music is upon us.

Although, oddly enough, it did reach over 60 degrees a few days this weekend here in New Jersey.

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s time to look forward and focus on the upcoming holiday.

As pet sitters (and therefor small business owners), we have the opportunity to land new clients, service current clients, and have one of our best months all year.

Want to see something I rarely show anybody?

Alitia and I, with the help, of course, from our team of pet sitters, brought in a total of $22,308.50 in pet sitting services during the very first December we were in business with Alitia’s Animals.

Granted, we worked practically 24 hours a day to keep things going, but the hard work surely paid off.

Here is a screenshot of our Dec. 2008 bank statement – Click for full size.

So, How Did We Do It?

First of all, let me just say that I understand if you are a solo pet sitter, or even have just a few pet sitters on your team, it might be difficult to reach that figure during one month.

What I am saying, however, is that no matter where you currently are in your pet sitting business, there is ALWAYS opportunity to increase your client-base and grow as big as you wish.

So, what’s the secret to growing month after month?

The bottom line is that we simply knew we had to position ourselves in the most professional way possible.

You’d be surprised how often potential clients will jump at the chance to hire you simply because you APPEAR to be the most professional, most reliable, most trustworthy, and most capable – even before they ever make contact with you.

We understood early on that our website had to be professional. Our emails and phone conversations had to be professional. Every interaction from first phone call to Welcome Home email had to be professional.

(Notice SEO – search engine optimization – or landing in the search engines was not mentioned. Too many pet sitters only focus on landing in Google and disregard the important elements once a visitor finds your site!)

Improving Your First Impression

I talk plenty about how to optimize your web pages and how best to land in Google. That’s not what this note is about.

In order to gain more clients, you must make the best impression possible once they arrive on your website.

And what’s often the first thing about your website that a visitor sees?

That’s right, your logo.

Your logo speaks loudly about who you are and what you stand for.

Is your logo making the best first impression?

First, Consider Your Own Surfing Habits

Think about how you yourself go about making a new purchase online. You might start with a general search like, “buy ipad.” Naturally, you’ll come across the big guys like Amazon, ebay and Apple.

Chances are you’ve made several purchases in the past with all these companies, but let’s say money is tight and you’re a savvy shopper and know that a better deal is out there somewhere.

You go back to your search results and come across another site. Would you buy from (trust) a website that looked like the one here?

Now, Consider Your Potential Pet Sitting Clients

When a potential client is searching around for the best pet sitter, she’ll have to consider the same sort of things you consider when making a new purchase.

Of course you are professional, responsible and trustworthy, but if a visitor can not get past her initial first impression, you’ll never get the chance to prove it.

Take a moment to view your website with fresh eyes from a new visitor’s point of view.

Here Is My Holiday Gift Offer To Help You Succeed

You know those websites you visit this time of year that have a modified version of their logo to include a holiday theme with snow and Santa?

Why do they do that? For one thing, it helps put their visitors in a buying mood. It also grabs the visitor’s attention and looks professional.

I recently started making some holiday-themed additions to a few pet sitter logos by adding a Santa hat, snow and a snowman and the response was amazing!

I decided to offer it to all pet sitters at a crazy, affordable, ‘OMG this is a no-brainer’ price.

I want you to have a successful December, and this is one way to help you out.

Check out the examples and submit your logo for me to make holiday-themed today.

(I can only do so many of these.)

Visit http://petsittingology.com/blog/holiday-logo/ right now.

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve this industry.

No related posts.

How Is Your Pet Sitting Business Like Baking A Chocolate Cake?

Joshua Cary — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:13:12 +0000

Truth be told, I’m not much of a cook. Ironically, I love food so that’s a bit of a dilemma.

What I’m most comfortable treating myself to is the quick and easy chocolate goodness provided by Duncan Hines Chocolate Cake – yes, right out of the box.

For my money, there’s nothing much simpler than following the directions:

Step 1 – Preheat oven.

Step 2 – Blend ingredients.

Step 3 – Bake 30 minutes.

That’s all there is to it. And the outcome greatly outweighs the skill involved to achieve the result.

But, What If…?

Baking a cake from a box is admittedly a simple process. Follow a few steps and wait a bit and you’ve got yourself a delicious cake.

But let’s not take the step by step process for granted. Because whether you realize it or not, most everything we look to accomplish in our day to day life is the direct result of following small, specific steps to reach the desired goal.

For example, what would happen if you didn’t follow the cake direction steps in order, and decided to ‘bake for 30 minutes’ before blending all the ingredients?

Or what if you looked for a shortcut and instead of baking at 375, you baked at 575?

Clearly the results in both cases would not yield the result you are looking for.

A Simple Example Makes The Case

The cake example may sound ridiculous because we know that no one would alter such a basic recipe and expect good results.

Yet, in our pet sitting business the danger is a bit less obvious.

Think back to the last new client that you successfully landed. What was the process like?

Contact was made either by email or phone. Communication was established. Questions were answered. Stories were shared. Information was exchanged. Appointments were set up. Forms were sent, filled out and returned. Payment was accepted.

Those are steps. If you could replicate the exact steps you took with the last new client you successfully brought on board each time contact is made, you’ll have a much higher ‘new client’ ratio.

The biggest problem we face as pet sitting business owners is one of two things:

1) We either wing it each time a potential new client comes on board and wind up missing some integral steps in the process.

Or 2) We subconsciously veer slightly from what we know works and the entire outcome is compromised.

Yes, This Can Be Learned

The whole thing is an art and science that can be learned and perfected.

And once you learn and perfect the process of converting more potential clients into new clients, you will certainly grow your pet sitting business as big as wish.

Do you want to know what the best part of all this is?

The steps you want to master are as easy as that Dunkan Hines cake recipe. No joke.

To prove this point, I asked my good friend and fellow pet sitting business owner, Bella Vasta, to share with us her 7 basic steps that she follows each and every time she speaks to a new pet owner.

It literally goes back to the basics and is responsible for year after year growth in Bella’s business.

PetSittingOlogy readers are invited to attend my upcoming webinar with Bella at no cost whatsoever to discover these 7 basic steps that will lead to more new clients.

Here are the details. There are only a few dozen more spots available, so register now.

Live Webinar Details

7 Ways to Give Yourself a 20% Raise This Year Simply By Going Back To The Basics!

Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Time: 8:00pm Eastern / 7:00pm Central / 6:00pm Mountain / 5:00pm Pacific

Bella will spell out in detail each of the 7 BASIC steps that you must follow to land more gigs, close more sales, and live happier!

As she told me, it’s the exact plan she uses herself to continually increase her income year after year.

Space is limited to a first come (those who sign up) first served basis. Won’t you join us?

Sign up right now to reserve your seat:

–> https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/992738798

And please leave your thoughts, questions or comments for Bella or me in the comments below.

See you on the webinar soon…

Photo Credit: texascooking

The Worst Business Practice Ever (All Over 22 Cents)

Joshua Cary — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:14:47 +0000

Every morning, I head over to my local 7-Eleven (convenience store) to fill up on my much needed cup of coffee.

Always offered are 4 cardboard cup sizes; 12oz, 16oz, 20oz and 24oz.

My routine is to grab the 16oz. cup, fill it up with regular black coffee and head on my way.

This morning, however, something was off.

As I made my way to the coffee section, I saw other customers looking a bit confused.

Getting closer, I immediately became confused with them.

The 12oz and 16oz cups were nowhere to be found. Instead, there were big empty voids where they usually are.

I turned to look at the closest employee and she simply offered, “We didn’t get our delivery.”

Odd, I thought, that one late or missed delivery would cause 50% of the coffee cups to run dry.

Does 7-Eleven order just enough cups that if a delivery is missed it causes their entire inventory to run out?

My head was already beginning to hurt and I just needed my coffee.

So I did the next logical thing.

I took the bigger 20oz cup, filled it up 3/4 of the way with coffee and headed to the counter.

It was my turn and I quickly said to the cashier, “This is 16 ounces…”

Ignoring my remark, she replies back with, “$1.92.” (The usual price for the 16 oz is $1.70.)

I said, “No, look, I filled it up just 16 ounces. You don’t have the smaller cups.”

“That’s not my problem.” she said, as I couldn’t believe my ears.

“But it is…” I said back. “You don’t have the smaller cups…”

“Sorry, nothing I can do.” she said and waited my next move.

I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. I placed my cup on the counter and said that I didn’t want it then.

The cashier took my cup of coffee, said OK, followed by, “No problem. Thank you.”

“No Problem?” I kept thinking…

I left the store and went a block up the road to Dunkin Donuts and got my 16oz coffee, still thinking about the terrible customer service I just experienced.

Is This Just A $0.22 Principle?

So, what do you think? Should I have agreed to pay the ‘forced’ extra change for the coffee I didn’t take in the only size cups they had?

Or should 7-Eleven have honored the amount of coffee in the cup because they didn’t have the smaller ones delivered?

What would you have done as customer? What would you have done as business owner?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

* Update – Update – Update *

Just one day after this article was posted, I have an interesting update on the situation. (This just shows the power of the Internet today.)

Funny enough, a pet sitter active in our community here happens to work in the 7-Eleven corporate office. When he saw my email, he immediately got in touch with me and said he will pass along my story to the appropriate people.

By day’s end yesterday, I received a very apologetic email from a 7-Eleven business manager from the Northeast Division. He assured me that the franchise owner, quote, “will take the necessary measures with the employee and I could assure you that is not in his policy to take that action and the employee took it upon herself to make that decision.”

He then asked me to call him so he could ‘make it right.’

We spoke for a short bit and he handled it perfectly.

I may not return to that specific 7-Eleven but at least now I feel comfortable again giving 7-Eleven my business.

So… What can we as pet sitting business owners take away from all this?

Leave your thoughts below.

No related posts.

The Simple Way To Stop Confusing Your Website Visitors and Start Helping Them

Joshua Cary — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:24:30 +0000

Do you know what I love most about receiving email inquiries from my pet sitting website?

Besides enjoying the obvious lead, I love getting to learn more about how my website is actually performing.

Here’s what I mean. I recently received an email that said the following:

“I wanted to inquire about pricing info for in-home boarding. Your site was very informative and I wanted to look into this option further.”

It’s no secret that I take pride in my pet sitting website and work hard to make sure it converts as many visitors as possible into leads (which could become potential new clients).

When I read the statement about how informative my site was, I knew what I always thought was correct:

Every visitor arrives on your website with certain questions in mind. The better you help answer those questions, the more likely the visitor will take action and get in touch with you.

Is your pet sitting website helping or confusing your visitors?

You’ve probably already heard that content is king. Simply put, the more relevant content you have on your website, the more your visitors – and Google – will love you.

Below are 9 questions that your visitors need to know the answers to before they will even consider getting in touch with you. (It’s also a perfect way to add more content to your site.)

Side Note: #4 is my favorite secret weapon. Focus on that one alone and you’ll see results.

1) How much does your service cost?

Whether you choose to list specific prices or list a ‘call for quote’ option, your potential client needs to know how the fee is calculated.

If you choose not to list specific prices, at least make them aware why specific prices are not listed (unique to each pet’s needs, based on a variety of factors, etc).

2) What service area do you cover?

Obviously, your potential client will want to know if in fact you serve her area. One thing I have found good success with is offering a list of neighborhoods we serve followed by the statement: “This is just a partial list of the areas we serve. If your area is not listed, please call us to see if we can accommodate.

This accomplishes a few things.

It allows us to decide on a case by case basis if we want to make an exception for certain areas based on service, time of year, availability, etc.

I’d hate to lose a potential client who did not see her area listed because we refer to it as two different names or it was just outside the limit.

3) What services do you offer?

A dog owner looking for mid-day walks. A cat owner going on vacation for 2-weeks. A new puppy owner looking for boarding and training.

Each of these potential clients are desperately trying to discover if you offer the exact service for their specific situation.

Do you make it blatantly clear on your website all the services you offer? Make sure you target the market that you serve.

4) How does all this work?

It would help more than you know to approach every aspect of your pet sitting website with this one motto:

“I must assume that every visitor to my website has never used a pet sitter before and has no idea what I do, how I do it, and what this is all about.”

Trust me. If you build your website pages (content) with that thought in mind, Google will love you, and your potential visitors will love you even more.

Don’t be afraid to spell out and break down how every part of the process works and why it’s in place. Explain in detail why the services you offer are better than every other option the pet owner can choose (kennels, friends, boarding houses).

Walk her through what the first phone call is like, what she can expect, what happens on the meet-n-greet, what forms she’ll fill out to make sure you can take the best care possible, how you send text message (or email or phone) updates during the job, etc.

5) Can I see some references?

Testimonials and reviews are something you should clearly offer on your website (most of us already do).

If you haven’t yet been asked directly to provide some references, assume that every visitor is thinking about it.

How comforting would it be to list prominently on your site something like: “If you’d like to be put directly in touch with some of our happy clients, please get in touch with me and I’d be happy to connect you!”

Guess what that does? It shows your visitor that you are more than willing to get others to vouch for you. It says you have a history of happy clients that you are confident with. And it encourages the visitor to get in touch with you (and isn’t that, afterall, what we are after?!).

6) How does payment work and what payment methods do you offer?

Do I have to pay up front? Can I pay afterwards? Do you bill me or send me invoices? Do you accept Paypal? Can I write you a check? Do you take credit cards?

Give your visitor the peace of mind of knowing how the crucial aspect of payment is handled.

If you are in fact flexible with your payment methods, promote a ‘what ever is simplest for you’ attitude.

For example, you could write “We aim to accommodate each of our client’s personal payment preferences. We happily accept cash, check or paypal (credit cards) for your convenience.”

More content, more questions answers, more understanding.

The more your potential client understands about the entire process from first contact to new client, the more likely she will get in touch with you.

Remember, spell everything out in as much detail for her as you possibly can on your website.

7) Will you keep in touch and keep me informed during/after each job?

Reassurance. It’s one more thing your potential client wants from you before fully committing.

She wants to know she can trust (and believe) you are the best one for the job.

Let her know up front that you will leave a report card after each visit. Or that you will follow up each visit with a text message and a pic of her pooch having a blast.

You may even decide to display an actual report card or update as an example.

8) What experience do you have?

Growing up with animals, or loving pets is not impressive experience. Sure, it’s nice for the visitor to know, but go a step further and highlight your skills, talents and abilities.

Focus on things that will assure your potential client that what ever happens, what ever could possibly go wrong, you have the ability and capacity to handle it professionally and make the right decisions in the blink of an eye.

All your visitor ever wants is to know that she made the right choice by choosing you, and that you will not let her down.

9) Finally, can I really trust you?

If you haven’t tied everything together yet, TRUST is really all it comes down to.

Whether a potential client (your visitor) trusts you or not from the short time spent on your website is what will dictate the level of success you reach.

All of these questions bring you a step closer to achieving trust between your visitor and you.

The more content (and transparency) that you provide, the more understanding you shine on the process, the more you reveal about yourself and business practices, the more happy clients you will discover fighting to hire you.

Action Step:

Take just one of the questions above that you think is not fully (or clearly) answered on your pet sitting website and add one page answering the question for your visitors.

They will literally thank you for it.

Leave a comment below with a link to your website so we can all celebrate your progress.