Think Tank
Who are you trusting typography with floating question marks surrounding the silhouette of a dog and cat
to sell your services typography
By Fernando Camacho

I’m guessing your business and its success is important to you. And you probably want to get more customers, make more sales and generate more revenue. But to accomplish that, you need to effectively market your services and convince people to give their hard-earned money to you.

You already know how amazing you are at taking care of your clients (both pets and people) and the positive impact you can have on them; however, they may not. But even if they do and are already an existing customer, if you don’t know the proper way to make and close an offer, you’re letting a lot of income slip away.

All business success really comes down to one thing: sales. If you can make a lot of sales, your business will grow. If you can’t, you’ll be forced to close your doors in no time.

One of the big mistakes I see pet businesses make is that they are entrusting this super-important job to a very young, usually inexperienced, just-over-minimum-wage-paid employee. The average front-line staff member usually has no prior sales training or knowledge of how to properly sell your services to potential customers, yet these are the very people you’re trusting your whole business’s success with.

It’s not your staff’s fault either. How would a 24-year-old kid who’s only had fleeting work experience and real-world business education know how to effectively sell?

Sales is so important that it’s one of the most highly paid jobs out there. And since you likely can’t afford to go out and hire an expert sales person, you need to train your existing entry-level employees on how to sell your services better. But before you can do that, we need to answer another question: Do you know how to sell?

I’m guessing your business and its success is important to you. And you probably want to get more customers, make more sales and generate more revenue. But to accomplish that, you need to effectively market your services and convince people to give their hard-earned money to you.

It’s okay if the answer is no—you’ve got a lot of things on your plate with running your entire business. However, since sales is so important and your business’s success is riding on it, it makes sense to get some education on it.

The good news is there is no shortage of books, YouTube videos, online courses and coaches dedicated to how to sell better. It’s just a matter of finding the right medium and learning the basics—no need to get into anything advanced, just get an understanding of the general principles of the art of sales. Then, train you staff. Teach them all about your service options, how to present the offers, when to make up-sell and down-sell offers, how to overcome objections, and how to communicate it to the customer in a way that is not confrontational or salesy.

It doesn’t have to be very complicated. One of the most successful business sales initiatives was when McDonald’s told their cashiers to ask “Do you want fries with that?” to anyone who didn’t originally order french fries. So simple yet so amazingly powerful, and it made McDonald’s a boat load of extra money.

I want you to think about your current staff sales training and make sure you’re empowering your staff to be confident in selling your services. A simple thing like having them ask everyone coming in for dog daycare “Do you want a bath with that?” might add up to a nice boost in income.

Fern is the founder of Overdog Digital, a digital marketing & consulting agency that helps dog daycare and boarding facilities attract, convert, and keep more customers by creating winning marketing campaigns and providing the business guidance to build momentum and spark long-term growth. Fern also has programs to train daycare staff, is a dog behavior consultant, and has a dog training business in New Jersey. He is the author of eight books and a popular speaker at national conferences and private events. To join The Dog Daycare Business Think Tank or ask a question, go to: www.facebook.com/groups/dogdaycarethinktank