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’

Related posts:

1. Are You Treating Your Pet Sitting Clients As Wonderfully As Their Pets?

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.

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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

Related posts:

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2. 13 Best Places To Get Business Cards For Your Pet Sitting Business
3. Fully SEO Your Pet Sitting Website – Look Beyond Keywords [Video]

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.

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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.

Related posts:

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2. Is Your Pet Sitting Website A Magnet For New Visitors?
3. 6 Ways To Turn More Of Your Website Visitors Into Pet Sitting Clients

Call me a website nerd, geek or junkie but I have a passion for doing just that. And pretty often, too.

Especially when it comes to pet sitter websites. As you know, I love all things website, and focus on that as the main topic of my teachings.

Put another way, turning more of your website visitors into happy clients is not something that happens by accident.

When creating my own pet sitting business website a few years back, I was certain to place specific elements on the page that would strategically increase the chances of a visitor taking action by getting in touch with us.

This effectively turned visitors into leads, and turned those leads into clients.

Here’s A Pet Sitting Website That Got It Right: A Case Study

I came across the website DogsLoveRunning.com recently that contained 7 strong sections that I would recommend to any pet sitter. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Big Bold Headlines

We are bombarded with dozens of different websites throughout our day. Nobody reads every word on every site. Instead, we learn to scan pages before making a full commitment to stay in the hopes of getting a general idea of what’s offered and how we feel about the site.

All this literally happens in a matter of seconds, and usually on the subconscious level.

So, how do site owners combat this? By making your website easy to read and scan-able. One of the best ways to achieve high scan-ability is to utilize big, bold headlines that instantly speak to your visitor, letting them know exactly what your site stands for.

2. Testimonial From Reputable Source

It’s no surprise that testimonials and reviews work to help establish your credibility to a brand new visitor. Whether purchasing a product or service, consumers want to know that others have bought here before and were happy with that decision.

It’s all human nature. While most pet sitters have reviews or testimonials on a page on their site, how many have a glowing quote front and center for the potential client to see shortly after arriving?

Try finding a glowing sentence or two that a past client has raved, and add it to the top part of your web page.

3. Social Media Icons

Yes, we’re all on Facebook and Twitter these days. But did you know that placing a link to your Facebook or Twitter profiles can have a big impact on building trust with your visitors?

How? Through social accountability. When a potential client visits your site, simply knowing that you are connected publicly through social media will give them a sigh of relief that you are accountable to a bigger group.

Whether you actually participate in any of these communities is a different story, but the psychology behind the icons on your site remains the same.

4. Tip Sheet for New Clients

Whenever a potential client lands on your site, they are coming with a few key questions they need answered. Any good pet sitting website will naturally answer these questions through the course of their pages, but offering a downloadable tip sheet for new clients will do a world of good.

First, it makes the process of answering their questions completely easy and stress-free. Next, it shows you are professional and understand your clients’ needs. And finally, it acts as a lead capture by requesting their email address in exchange for the tip sheet.

5. Video

Video works. It’s become the norm on many media websites and Youtube is growing at an astounding rate.

We love video. And you don’t need to be a filmmaker or editing genious to pull it off. There are plenty of inexpensive and free tools to create visually appealling video.

Or, you can simply fire up your computer’s webcam and create a compelling video that way. Dont’ like that idea? Then capture your furry clients doing what it is they do best and your in business.

Whichever path you choose, highly consider adding video to your website. Many pet sitters already have.

6. Clear Photos of Owners

Pictures and photos are one of the quickest ways to connect with your visitors and establish trust between the two of you. Without a photo of you on your website, your potential client has no real way of connecting.

You do not need professional photos taken. Any candid, clear and direct shot of you will work fine. If you do not have a picture (or pictures) of you with and without pets, I highly recommend adding one to your homepage.

It will personalize the whole experience for your visitors and will get you more calls.

7. Free Trial!

This is truly something you do not commonly see in the pet sitting industry. DLR offers any person who requests it a free trial of their service. How’s it work exactly? Simply schedule an initial consultation with them, and directly after the meeting, they will take your pooch on a complimentary 15-minute walk (or run)! How many of those consults do you think are going to look elsewhere?!

How Does Your Current Website Compare?

There you have it. After reviewing your own pet sitting website, leave in the comments below how many of the 7 elements above you already use on your site, and which you might consider adding.

Speaking of adding, you’ll notice the DogsLoveRunning.com site has gotten pretty successful that they recently sold their first dog walking franchise.

Related posts:

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2. 6 Ways To Turn More Of Your Website Visitors Into Pet Sitting Clients
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It addresses something we all have to deal with at one time or another in our business: Confronting a client with an observation we think is not in the pet’s best interest.

Really good question. And one that many of us face in one way or another during the course of our pet sitting career.

Whether it’s having to tell a client that their feeding habits are less than ideal, a training method is more counter-productive than productive, the dog is not getting enough exercise, or the collar is on too tight.

Nobody likes confrontation. As the person put in a position to do the confronting, we start to play the worst case scenario in our heads and anticipate the other person getting defensive, lashing out and start screaming.

Nobody wants to be on the receiving on end of that. So more often than not, we’ll bite the bullet and simply say nothing at all.

First and foremost, please understand that it is our responsibility as the professional pet sitter to provide input and feedback to the pet owner if and when we see a glaring problem.

The worst case imaginable would be to say nothing and have what could have been prevented take a turn for the worse and harm the pet.

How Do You Approach The Conversation?

So, how can discuss with your pet sitting client something you see that does not aqppear to be in the best interest of their pet?

Approach The Topic Non-Threateningly

How we approach any conversation sets the tone for the entire talk. Instead of saying something like, “I think you have the collar way too tight around your dog and it doesn’t look good.” Try an approach like, “I noticed Pooches has outgrown his collar a bit. I tried loosening it one notch but really he’ll be much better off with a whole new collar. Do you mind if I pick one up for him?”

Your client will say one of two things.

A. “Oh, I didn’t notice that. I’ll get him a collar next time I’m out.”

B. “Oh, really? OK, sure, that would be great.”

Personally, I would much prefer him to say B so I am sure the collar gets purchased in a timely manner.

What about paying for it?

If your client does not say something like “OK, pick it up and I’ll repay you for it” I would still happily spend the money for a brand new collar for the dog you love and the client you appreciate.

Make sense?

What About The Overweight Issue?

Now about the dog’s weight issue.

In the same tone, open up another conversation with him about what he’s feeding (IE. “Has Pooches’ diet changed in the last few months? … It looks like he’s put on a few and as you know weight gain can become stressful on a dog.”)

Add some lighthearted dialogue to ease the tension you may feel.

For example, when beginning talks about the dogs weight, lower your voice or have it away from the dog’s ears, as if he’d be offended or embarrassed by the conversation you’re about to have!

IE. “You know, I don’t want to say anything in front of Pooches about this, but has his diet changed?”

This way both you and the client can chuckle up front and he’ll become less defensive.

If it helps, you can also send him an email, or print out an article about the dangers of weight gain in the specific breed.

“Thanks! This Means A Lot.”

Last but not least, make sure to thank him for being open-minded about all this and reassure him that your job will always remain keeping his Pooches happy and healthy.

Now, your turn… If you have had to have a confrontation with a pet sitting client, please let me know how it went, how you approached it, how your client reacted, and what it is was about.

We can all use a little motivation and encouragement when it comes to confronting clients. I truly believe that in this area practice makes perfect. In other words, the more often we can talk directly and honestly with our clients, the more often we see that they actually appreciate the dialogue.

Related posts:

1. Do You Remember Your Very First Pet Sitting Client?
2. Do Pet Sitters Adjust Fees Based On Client Circumstance? [video]

What about your first car, or the first house you bought?

Our lives are filled with a long series of firsts.

Sadly, as life moves from one day to the next, we give less thought to our firsts of the past, and focus more on the issues we personally face today and tomorrow.

Working in our pet sitting business is no different. In order to survive and grow, we constantly find ourselves looking for the next client to serve.

Long gone is the day we celebrated the success of gaining our first client ever.

Maybe nostalgia is kicking in because Summer is coming to an end, kids are heading back to school, or the hot air is beginning to cool.

Whatever the case, I began thinking back through all the clients I’ve served in my pet sitting business and remembered Snickers.

Snickers was our very first pet sitting client.

He was an adorable Beagle, whose family was visiting the great Big Apple for the week and needed a place for Snickers to stay while they spent the days sightseeing, catching a Broadway show and wandering the streets of New York.

I couldn’t actually believe this was happening. A strange family from Michigan trusted us after a couple of phone calls to drop off their sweet Snickers for the weekend.

And they were paying us for the opportunity to do so.

Our pet sitting business was officially born. And little Snickers was the start of it all.

Who Was Your Very First?

What can you share here about your very first pet sitting client?

How excited (or nervous?) were you setting up service with your very first pet sitting client? Do you remember the whole situation? How it came to be? What the job was? How long it was for? Do you still follow the same format when bringing on a new client, or have you adjusted your process along the way?

Celebrate and re-live the moment that started it all for you in the comments below.

Related posts:

1. Your Dog Is Fat: The Secret To Confronting A Client With Uncomfortable News
2. Your Favorite Pet Sitting Client Just Handed You $1000 Cash – Now What?
3. The Easiest Way To Gain Many More Pet Sitting Clients

No matter who you are, or what line of work you are in, most everyone suggests Facebook is the way to go.

Or at least part of the way to go.

But I’m not so sure…

Is Facebook Right for Pet Sitters?

The strangest thing happened to me on Facebook recently.

You know when you are on your profile and they “suggest” friends for you?

Well one of my suggestions the other day was my best friend David’s mother.

I know!

Facebook thought that I’d be interested in being FB friends with my friend’s mom.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s surely nothing wrong with David’s mom, she’s a wonderful woman.

I’m just not sure if being in each others’ feeds will accomplish anything.  And we’re not even in the same part of the country.

Sure, it doesn’t cost anything to friend request people, but where does Facebook for personal life end and Facebook for business start?

I’m not sure of that line anymore.  Does it even exist?

Do You Have A Pet Sitter Account on Facebook?

So, I’m quite certain you have a Facebook personal profile, right?  But do you also have a Facebook Fan Page for your pet sitting business?

You know, that page that everyone swears will bring you heap of new clients.  Now I know there are pet sitters who swear by Facebook and have found new clients that way.

Yet the majority of pet sitters I speak to are struggling to make it work.

What’s your story?

Do you have a Facebook account for your pet sitting business?  Do you “use it?”  Is it working?  Can you share any tips or tricks to help bring in more clients?

Do you use it to keep in touch with and communicate with current pet sitting clients?  Or are you able to locate and attract new clients?

Also, feel free to list your Facebook links in the comments below.

Related posts:

1. Is Your Facebook Fan Page Hurting Your Pet Sitting Business?

And how often do those conversations directly lead to gaining a new client?

Imagine spending 10-15 minutes on the phone with a pet owner and have a play date set before hanging up each and every time.

Are you keeping track of, or aware of, the biggest objections you continually hear?

You know the ones I’m talking about:“I need to discuss this with my husband.”

“I’m just gathering information for the future.”

“I just can’t afford it right now.”

If you’re not keeping track, you may want to start. Only at that point will you be able to focus on changing your success rate.

Here’s an interesting point to remember: Each and every person you are given the chance to speak with about your pet sitting service CALLED YOU.

You are not cold calling pet owners and offering to watch their pet, right? They call because they are in the market for pet care.

Your website gave them a brief overview of how the service works, a bit about you, and perhaps information on your fees. So what went wrong?

Don’t miss another opportunity to gain a new client by falling victim to “I’ll have to discuss this with my husband and get back to you” or any number of other stalls.

Why Not You?

There are dozens of reasons why you don’t win a new client after a phone call with them. A few of these reasons include:

They don’t trust you

If I’m going to be handing over the keys to my home to an otherwise stranger, I better be able to trust that person completely.

They don’t see the value of your service

Your pricing structure may either be too high or too low – both of which can hurt the deal. Or you simply didn’t communicate the value effectively.

They don’t see the benefit of your service

I always say “Why should a potential client go with you over the next name on their list?” If you don’t know this answer, find it.

They don’t think you are the most qualified

Anyone can say “Pet Sitter for Hire.” Are you talking like the qualified, experienced pet care expert that you are? How so?

Keep this in mind before your next call to increase the chance of adding a new name to your client list:

Build rapport, establish a relationship, listen closely, ask questions, display credibility.

What Do Your Phone Calls Sound Like?

In the early days of Alitia’s Animals, we recorded a bunch of phone calls so we could perfect and adjust as necessary. They have also become a great training tool for others who have never taken a phone call before to hear the general gist of things.

Here’s a phone call Alitia took:

How Much Money Are You Missing Out On?

Can your pet sitting phone pitch use improving?

Perfect, cause I have something right up your alley.

I’ve got something brewing that is sure to make your life easier and your pet sitting business more money. I’m looking for a few good pet sitters who want in.

It’ll take less than an hour of your time and won’t cost you a red cent.

If you’re ready to take part in my maniacal plan, leave a comment below and I’ll email you privately with details.

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