Are you thinking of opening a new shop where there isn’t a grooming salon or expanding into a new market area with your mobile unit? You are probably giddy with excitement over the prospect of all those new clients.
Watching that superstore getting ready for its grand opening? You are probably worried that you’ll lose clients.
Are you fretting over how much to raise your prices? You are probably agonizing over how many clients will look for other options to get their dogs groomed.
These are real worries.
Your current and prospective clients have four options.
- Use your service
- Use a competitors service
- Do it themselves
- Not do it at all
Sometimes the biggest challenge you have with building a clientele is not your competitors – it’s your prospects.
So how do you win clients over? How do you encourage them to patronize YOUR place of business? Simple. Stand out in a positive way!
My Top Ten List ways to start winning clients today.
- Build compassion and trust with pets and their owners
- Look, speak, and act like a professional
- Keep it clean and organized
- Always do more for the client than they can do for themselves
- Never stop learning and growing
- Safety first!
- Keep a comprehensive service menu with fair pricing (that does not mean cheap!)
- Be consistent
- Have a strong web and social media presence
- Smile – it’s the best sales tool you have (and it’s even better when you make the client smile!)
Think about these items. How can you make them unique to YOU? Each one of us is an individual. We all have strengths and weakness. The key to success is to play upon your strengths.
When you are a solo stylist and own your own business, you have to be good at everything. Once you start to grow, that generally means hiring help. When you hire someone, don’t look for a carbon copy of yourself. Instead, look for someone who can complement your personality and work ethic. They will play off your strengths and offset your weakness.
No matter how well you do your job, the client needs to perceive the value of the grooming they receive on their pet. It does not matter if YOU think you are giving great service – the client has to KNOW that.
They have to value that great service. If they don’t – they will look elsewhere to get their needs met. And many times, that means you are competing with the prospect themselves.
Happy trimming!
Melissa
What’s YOUR secret to winning clients? Jump on our Facebook page and share with your Melissa Verplank family.