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The Worst Business Practice Ever (All Over 22 Cents)

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.”

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

confusedDo 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.

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Here’s Why This Pet Sitting Website Gets Lots of Clients

a signle eyeWhen was the last time you visited a website and simply stared at it for a while trying to understand what made it work so well?

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.

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Pet Sitting in Your Own Home: How to Prepare

This is a guest post written by Ashley Spade.

open doorFor the past few months, I’ve used the extra cash I earn from pet sitting to support myself and my dog, Sir Winston Pugsalot (known as Sir WP by friends and family).

I decided to start a pet sitting business as a way to make money on the side while I go to law school in Chicago. I started by mostly sitting for professors or other students, but soon branched out to nearby residents — even some in my own pet-friendly apartment building.

If you love pets, have a fairly flexible schedule, a place to pet sit, and clientele prospects, then you might consider starting your own pet sitting business.

And, obviously, the extra cash is a perk. Did I even need to mention that?

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Your Dog Is Fat: The Secret To Confronting A Client With Uncomfortable News

Here’s a wonderful question I received from a pet sitter.

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.

Joshua, I have a question about how to handle a situation with a client.  The first time I sat for them in the spring, their dogs were healthy and large but not obese.

Sitting for them this past couple of days I’ve seen one dog extremely overweight and his collar was obviously too tight around his neck.

He coughs occasionally and I wonder if it’s the tightness of the collar. I loosened the collar one notch but he really needs a whole new collar to be comfortable. Also, it seems as if he is not getting the exercise he used to since the fat and skin flaps hanging from his collar just seem to me as cruel.

How do I tell this guy in the most tactful way possible about my concern for his dogs weight problem and snug collar? I’m not very good at delivering uncomfortable news and I’m asking you for some suggestions on how to approach this matter. I’d really appreciate anything you can give.

I really don’t want to loose this client.

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Do You Remember Your Very First Pet Sitting Client?

Do you remember your very first kiss? Or the first job you ever had?

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.

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How Do Pet Sitters Respond to Last Minute Bookings? [video]

hourglass photoAs most pet sitters know, the longer you’ve been in business, the more familiar you become with your own steps and processes.

Typically, a call or email comes in, you connect with the potential client, you spend time discussing all options.

Then you would set up a mutually convenient time to meet, receive the keys, get forms and agreements signed, work out payment, and the ball is rolling.

But what happens when a potential client contacts you in dire need for your services NOW?

As in right now. Like, tonight.

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All About The Pet Sitter In-Home Consultation [video]

How do you handle the initial in-home free consultation?

There are truly many ways to go from the first phone call with a potential client to the first day of service.

Many details need to be worked out including receiving payment – do you collect before, during or after the consult?

Do you get the keys at the consultation? Or do you have to make a second trip for them?

How and when does the client fill out your service agreement and forms? Is it on paper, or a digital copy on your computer?

(It’s all about efficiency and streamlining your day-to-day business operations.)

Inside this video, I show you the way my pet sitting business handles the initial in-home consultation.

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WordPress for Pet Sitters: Plugins

The Anatomy of a WordPress Plugin

When you hear the word WordPress, what comes to mind?

For some, it’s complete dread, confusion and frustration. For others, it’s a time-saving platform that is used to power their entire pet sitting website.

I’ve been using and recommending WordPress for many years now, with its power and flexibility only continuing to grow.

As we move forward, there is plenty we’ll be covering in regards to the major benefits of using WordPress for your pet sitting website, but this article is all about the WordPress Plugin.

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