Focus On Your Clients

The 5 Basic Reasons A Pet Owner Will Not Hire You As Their Pet Sitter

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The reason a potential client may not go with your pet sitting service is easy to overcome.
Here’s a bit of good news and bad news:

The bad news is that there are five basic reasons a pet owner (potential client) will not hire you.

The good news is that as pet sitters, we can easily overcome the top two reasons.

Have you heard of Zig Ziglar? Simply put, he was (and will remain) the legendary motivational speaker and sales training guru.

One of his most famous quotes goes like this:

“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no hurry, no desire, no money, no trust.” — Zig Ziglar

I received a note recently from a pet sitter who asked if I have addressed the “Let me talk to my wife” objection from a potential client.

This is that article 😉

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Your Personal Secret Weapon to Attract More Pet Sitting Clients

on target photoI was reviewing a pet sitter’s website recently and I read a very intriguing part that was hidden on her About page.

She currently lives with three wonderful rescue dogs.

Can you imagine not highlighting this front and center on your website?

Why would you want to do that? Because this could become your niche – and could increase your client base!

The word niche is defined as a specialized market.

A niche market for a wedding planner, for example, might be specializing in weddings on a budget.

Another example might be found in someone who teaches public speaking techniques. Public speaking is a very big market.

However, someone may choose to target a smaller, yet still profitable segment, like public speaking for students. This would be very valuable for graduates getting ready to enter the work force.

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How To Create The Right Content For Your Pet Sitting Website [Webinar Replay]

Whether you realize it or not, creating content for your pet sitting website is one of the best, quickest and recommended ways to enhance your website.

Creating content will, simply put, help you rank higher in Google, assist in your SEO efforts, and make each of your visitors happy.

All of that adds up to more clients, and increased business. (And who doesn’t want more of that?)

Here Is The Webinar Replay on Creating Content

Forget everything you think you know about creating content!

This has nothing to do with your blog, and has nothing to do with writing articles.

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The Price of Home Invasion Security and How It Relates to Your Pet Sitting Business

alarm photo
Can you put a price on home security? How about a price on pet services?

What sort of price tag can you place on your home alarm system that is designed to protect you, your loved ones and your valuables?

We recently moved into a new home (back in my home state of New Jersey, for those following along) and naturally we wanted to activate service with the alarm company.

There was already a box and keypad installed with a sticker announcing the company that installed it and had previously provided monitoring.

I decided to give them a call to find out the details.

After about a twenty minute phone call with the nice gentleman (the owner of the company), I learned a few things:

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Pet Sitter Emergency Preparation and Safety with Hurricane Sandy Raw Footage [video]

As those of us on the East Coast brace for the worst of Hurricane Sandy, it begs the question what professional pet sitters do to keep their furry clients safe and sound?

My home in New Jersey (monmouth county) was issued a mandatory evacuation, and now I am sitting safely in an apartment in Brooklyn.

Running to the super market yesterday (as most news people instructed) for batteries, candles, food and water was a sight to see!

It was packed and crowded with many patrons in ‘fight or flight’ mode. And all the D batteries were sold out!

In any case, I feel very confident with my location and with the amenities I have should power go out. I also have a full tank of gas (again, as suggested by the pros) but aren’t sure where I’d be required to drive in a completely flooded area.

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How to Become the Most Reliable and Dependable Pet Sitter Ever

strong dependable pet sitterHow would YOU specifically handle this situation?

If you’ve been in the pet industry for any length of time, you no doubt have a certain script that you follow for new client inquiries.

Whether this script is formal and on paper, or simply in your head at this point, you know what typical points you need to cover.

However, every once in a while, you get hit with a certain new client inquiry that requires a more delicate approach.

A Recent Email I Received

Take this recent email submission (pasted in full) we received through my pet sitting business (Alitia’s Animals) and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Potential client writes: “This is my third time looking for a reliable , dependable pet sitter for a long term relationship with my older two dogs. I’m passionate about taking care of my 2 dogs and the rescues that I take in.”

If you replied to this email with your usual approach, you’d be missing out on a great opportunity to gain a valuable client for life!

Let’s look at the email much closer…

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A Rare Look For Pet Sitters Inside The Minds Of Your Clients [video]

How often do we as pet sitters get to be a fly on the wall and listen in on an actual gripe from a pet owner?

And how valuable would it be to hear what is currently bothering a client most about her pet sitter?

Well, through a friend of a friend, I got into a conversation with a woman about pet sitting in general and she decided to share this story with me.

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Everything You Need To Offer Gift Certificates On Your Pet Sitting Website

offer gift certificates to pet ownersHave you ever thought about offering your pet sitting website visitors the opportunity to purchase a Gift Certificate for your services?

It might be a good idea since, according to Consumer Reports, gift cards rank as the second-most given gift by consumers in the United States (and they are the most-wanted gift by women, and the third-most wanted gift by males).

The most challenging thing when it comes to offering your users gift certificates (or Gift Cards if you want to get fancy about it) is just figuring out how to put all the pieces in place.

The concept is surely not the issue. Offering gift certificates is nothing more than simply taking payment upfront for a predetermined number of services or a predetermined dollar amount.

This article contains all the graphics and documents you’ll need to begin offering gift certificates. You may download the files below and use them as you wish.
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Are Pets Not As Valuable As We Think? (And 2 Solid New Service Ideas to Offer Your Clients)

service bellHave 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?!)

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

show and tellHave 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.

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