Happy to hear you found it inspiring. You can also keep me updated on your progress on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/petsittingexcellence

See you soon…

Happy to hear you found it inspiring. You can also keep me updated on your progress on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/petsittingexcellence

See you soon…

Without it, you’ll simply float around hoping to accomplish various things, instead of strategically working towards your specific goals.

I combat this with a simple daily to-do list. A notebook kept near my computer at all times keeps me moving forward and on track.

And yes, keep track of statistics any way you can. Jot down the number of phone calls or email inquiries and the result of each one, so you can gauge how successful you are at closing. And you’ll have solid numbers of incoming leads each month. (Google Docs works well for this use!)

One thing I started implementing to avoid the “shopping for the best deal” is to require a small deposit ($25) if the person wants to go ahead with the M&G. I require this deposit before I even put them in touch with a pet sitter on my team.

Before this, we’d all be running around to accommodate the potential client, and they’d ditch, even after M&Gs. This is working out well for all of us involved.

You could also try implementing a “last minute” fee for those booking within 24 or 48 hours. I’ve seen plenty of sites that do that.

Yeah, I’m happy to make my goal. Now I want at least one more before the end of the month, so I better get busy!

They both contacted me from me from my website. I haven’t done any marketing other than my site. I know I need to, but haven’t made the time. What I really need to do right now is strategize and plan. I have too many things swirling in my brain and I’m stuck because of a lack of mental clarity. I keep skipping around, doing this, then that…very ADD behavior :).

One thing I’m working on improving is contacting the client and setting up a M&G STAT. I think that was mentioned somewhere else on this blog. I do think that makes a big difference. Pet owners are a bit capricious, they tend to get all in a tizzy to line up care for their pets, so they make a flurry of calls. You need to get your “foot in the door” right away. I also have stopped asking them to fill out paperwork before we get together. They seemed to get overwhelmed and move on to find something easier. I takes more time at the M&G, but I think it’s a better approach. If I actually WANT to discourage someone for some reason, maybe a last minute request or some kind of red flag, then I do give them all the paper work up front and tell them I’ll set an appointment with them when I get it
back. Usually works, which is why I no longer do that with folks I do want to meet with. Live and learn :)

Congrats.

Did it-two new clients this week.Yippee! One is a 2x wk dog walk, the other for boarding, booked two trips to start with. I’m on a roll :).

Well, you certainly have a lot on your plate. But they are all the right things to have there!

Website redesign and SEO is an undertaking that requires time, patience and knowledge.

I assure you it’ll all happen for you.

I have a new hosting account with Go Daddy. You may have heard on the PUPS board that my site got hacked. GRRR!! So as I finish with the SEO changes I’ll upload the new pages to my new host, then proceed with the rest of the re-design. Big project, but them’s the way the apples tumble.

Thanks about my pittie pic, that’s my Dezdemona (Dezi) and my grandson, Magnus. She’s fabulous with kids, small dogs and puppies. She’s a Mamma at heart :D. I like to include pics of her because not only do I think she’s adorable, but since we do day care and boarding it sort af lets people know beforehand that we have a pitbull. If they don’t like that, they won’t call and it saves us both time and awkwardness.