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How to Encourage Cold Weather Appointments

Dog running in snow depicting how professional dog grooming businesses can encourage cold weather appointmentsDo you live in a climate where you have seasonal changes in the weather patterns? For many groomers, the number of grooming appointments dips with the temperature. This can be a real problem if you rely on your grooming income to pay your bills!

How do you combat that problem? Encourage pre-booking.

It always amazes me how many clients have no idea what their pet needs in terms of coat care when the temperatures plummet.

Professional pet grooming is service driven. That means you must be a problem solver – even when your clients don’t know they have a problem! Thus, you become not only the problem solver but also the educator!

Just prior to some of the coldest weather of the season in the northern hemisphere, we have one of our busiest seasons – the holidays. Take advantage of your good fortune.

blog quoteHere are 6 of the most common problems associated with colder weather:

  1. Pet Hygiene: regular bathing is essential for pets that share our lives – and our homes.
  2. Regular Brushing: keeps the tangles away along with other benefits such as distributing oils through the coat and promoting circulation of the skin.
  3. Nails: they need to be trimmed and/or filed all winter.
  4. Feet: many breeds need the hair between the toes trimmed to keep them comfortable while outside.
  5. Coat Growth: it does slow down but trimming is still essential.
  6. Dryness & Static: both the skin and the coat can dry out – special shampoos and conditioners can combat the both dryness and static.

As you check out every pet, assume the client is going to rebook in 4 to 6 weeks.  Let them know that most pets benefit from regular grooming – even in the winter. It can be very helpful to have a marketing piece outlining the benefits of cold-weather grooming ready to hand out. Focus on the six items outlined above.

Always suggest the ideal time frame between appointments based on their dog’s coat type. Let them know you’ve saved a particular date just for them. If you know the client well enough, you’re going to know what they prefer for an appointment time. Offer that time to them.

If your clientele is price sensitive, try sweetening the deal. Offer a special winter incentive to book within 6 weeks of their last appointment date. 10 – 20% off their normal grooming price is a common enticement to get them back on the grooming table.

Oops. You didn’t ask your clients to re-book?! Now what?

If you didn’t ask every one of your customers to rebook when they were in for their holiday appointment, don’t despair. For many grooming businesses, it is a bit slow right after the holidays. Take that down time to simply pick up the phone – or use your automation software to reach out to recent appointments.

Systematically go through your appointments starting in the end of November and work your way to Dec 24th. Make a simple and friendly “courtesy call” or message to get their pet set up for their next appointment. Don’t forget to include your special discount for booking within 6 weeks of their last appointment.

4 Typical Cold Weather Issues Associated with Grooming

  1. It’s important to remember that coats and sweaters continually rub against a dog’s fur, constantly causing friction against the hair. If the coat is fur is longer, this can lead to mats and tangles. It’s best to remove doggie garments before they come inside. Remember, most of us don’t wear our heavy coats indoors. The same should happen with our pets. If they need a little added warmth, most folks opt for an indoor sweater. They can do the same with their dog.
  2. For dogs that are very short coated or the coat is very thin, doggie garments for both outside and inside are great options. However, constant sweater wearing leads to doggie odor, dry skin, and lots of static. All problems that can be addressed with regular professional grooming.
  3. If the dog normally gets a haircut, many owners enjoy a slightly longer style in the winter. Many of these longer styles are still low maintenance and easy to care for – especially if the dog is going out into the snow for a romp.
  4. Some owners extend the time between haircuts. If their pet has the type of coat that could easily get out of control without regular brushing, you’ll definitely want to encourage maintenance appointments between full haircuts. Maintenance appointments would include a bath using a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, a full brush out, minor trimming around the eyes and feet, and sanitary areas. Nail trimming, ear cleaning, and fresh bows or bandanna are nice touches. Generally, these types are booked every 2 or three weeks and offered at a reduced rate.

Still slow? Plan for it. (Okay, maybe NEXT year plan for it…) But for now – bask in the glory of a little time to yourself! Use the time to dig into those shop projects you’ve been putting off. Shorten your workweek to 4 days or knock off a tiny bit early on select days. Or best yet – schedule your OWN vacation!

Happy Trimming!

~Melissa

 

 


Will You Be Busy in January & February?

 

Melissa Verplank, CMG and founder or Paragon Pet SchoolMost grooming salons in America are feeling the post-holiday slowdown after the Holidays. Your appointment book is extremely light with bookings. The phones are quiet. You’re worried.

For those of you that live in warm climates, you don’t have the same problem those of us that live in a snow-belt area.

Typically, a grooming appointment book is very light during this timeframe. Owners just don’t feel it’s necessary to have their dogs groomed when there’s cold outside or there is snow on the ground. But with a little education you can turn the tide.

There are two plans of action that work well. One is education. The other is a special offer if a client rebooks within six weeks.

Even though the weather might be cold, it doesn’t stop the pet from needing to be groomed. Remember you are a problem solver. These are typical problems most people experience what their pets during the winter.

Education:
1. Dry, flaky skin.
a. Offer a moisture enhancing treatment to combat dry, itchy and flaky skin.

2. My pet will get cold.
a. Many owners put sweaters and jackets on smaller pets during the colder months. If they’re wearing coats and jackets, it’s important to maintain a regular grooming schedule to keep the fur mat and tangled free.
b. Opt for a longer trim style. This allows the dog to maintain a little bit more coat and the owner can enjoy a fuller trim but still keep the dog looking great
c. Opt to do a bath and brush in-between grooming’s. This is a great problem solving solution. Not only will you see the pet regularly but you’ll be able to package together a number of services to keep the dog skinning coat in top condition. You can offer a moisture enhancing shampoo and conditioner along with thoroughly brushing the coat, nail trimming, ear cleaning and minor trimming to keep your client’s pet in top condition.
d. Moisture + Long Fur = Mats. Snow is moisture. If the pet is romping in the snow and their coat is long, they need to be bathed and thoroughly brushed out on a regular basis so they don’t turn into a matted mess.

3. My pet doesn’t need a haircut and the winter
a. During the colder months, the coat growth does slow down. Bump the client’s appointment out a week or two beyond what they normally do and opt for a bath and brush in between haircuts.

Offer a Special:
1. If your clientele is price-sensitive, offer a discount off the pets grooming service if it’s booked within six weeks.

2. Offer something free like an upgraded spa service. Place a value on it so the client knows what type of monetary value they would be getting. Limit the offer to 6 weeks out from the date of the current appointment.

Take a lesson from the fast food chains – they always ask. The worst the client can say is, “No thank you.” You’re not being pushy. You’re just looking out for the best interest of the pet.

No matter which angle you opt to go for, it will be critical that you reach out and ask each and every one of your customers if you didn’t already ask the last time there were in. Better yet, make a rebooking incentive plan for your next busy season to proactively combat the lull.

Yes, in the snow-belt areas, your appointment book will be a little bit lighter. But if you are proactive, you’ll have plenty of dogs to groom. There is nothing like having an appointment book that is 40% to 60% pre-booked. That’s job security.

Happy Trimming!
~Melissa


How Many Dogs Should A Professional Groomer Be Able to Groom?

Melissa Verplank breaks down a frequently-asked question – how many dogs should a grooming professional groom in a day? Tune in to find out Melissa’s metrics for success, and find out how you can improve your speed in the studio!

Want more inspiration? Check out our Online Dog Groomer Training courses or the ALL NEW community at Paragon’s Groominar® Network – Learn2GroomDogs.com, where you can find hundreds of instructional videos by industry experts, all organized by Skill Level. While you’re there, sign up to be notified when enrollment opens.

Transcript
Melissa Verplank: Hi, guys. Melissa here. I want to touch base on a question that gets asked a lot and I see it over and over again. It never seems to get old. That question is, how many dogs a day should somebody be able to do on a professional level in a grooming salon? There’s a lot of different right and wrong answers, but bottom line, if you’re looking to be a productive member of a team or you are looking at professional grooming to be a career opportunity and you’re going to rely on the revenue that you’re going to generate to pay your bills, to enjoy life, then pretty much the minimum that somebody needs to be able to do is between six and eight dogs a day.

When I say six or eight dogs a day, I’m not talking about the big, giant furries, the big doodles that are going to take two, two and a half hours to do. I’m talking more about the low maintenance, small to medium sized dogs, kind of no nonsense kind of haircuts. With that type of a trim, that type of a job, you should be looking at being able to turn a dog a minimum an hour. Anywhere between 45 minutes and 60 minutes to do a low maintenance, smaller type haircut. When I say that, I’m talking about the bath, the dry, and the haircut itself. That is the whole enchilada to be able to do under an hour.

If you’re not hitting that mark, you might want to really look at what your skillset is and look at ways that you can start shaving off some time. But bottom line, as an employer looking to hire somebody, that’s what I’m going to expect. If somebody is fresh out of grooming school, you know what? They’re not going to have the confidence to be able to do those numbers right out of the gate. But that’s definitely a target that they should shoot for, whether it be straight out of grooming school, or they’re just learning in an apprenticeship program, or they’re teaching themselves. Don’t beat yourself up.

First you’ve got to master the core skills before you can speed them up. Give yourself a little bit of grace, but work hard and focus on those core skills. That is, how do you bathe effectively? How do you blow dry effectively? How do you get a dog brushed out, combed out so that it’s totally mat-free? How do you clipper efficiently? What type of tools and skills do you need to master to be able to be efficient with what you’re doing?

I have a saying that I want to see a dog be absolutely super smooth in three passes of the clipper or less. If you’re having to go over, and over, and over, and you’re not getting a smooth finish, then you need to look at your technique when you’re dealing with clipper work. If you’re not being able to brush a dog out efficiently, and when I say efficiently, there’s no hardcore rule of how long does it take to brush a dog out, especially if it’s got mats and tangles in it, because every dog is different. Every dog has got a different tolerance level of what they will accept in the brushing department and how tight are those mats and tangles.

You’ve got to take a number of things into consideration, but there’s still shortcuts that you can do. If you’re not letting the products like the shampoo do a lot of the work for you or your high velocity dryer to loosen those mats up, to blow those mats and dead coat out of a dog, there’s a time saving area that you can really focus on. Even though a dog might be super, super matted, it still shouldn’t take that long to get it brushed out. Even if you’re doing a salvage type job where you still have got to trim the dog down, but you’re trying to keep maybe an inch of coat, there’s tricks and techniques like cutting some of that coat off so you’re not having to bathe all of it, or blow all of it out, or to de-mat all of it. There’s a lot of different things that you can do to help really speed up the process.

But when you start looking at enhancing your speed, you don’t want to sacrifice quality. You’ve always got to keep compassion for the pet absolutely at the forefront of everything that you’re doing and to keep the quality so that that client is going to come back and have you work with them again. Because the whole key with professional grooming is building that repeat clientele base. You can work on your speed, you can work on maintaining quality so that those clients come back, and building up a strong client base so that you have a solid foundation to work from. But when I’m looking at people that are really, really productive…

Shoot, we just had a record day at one of my companies, I want to say, just before Thanksgiving. One of the stylists, and she’s a certified master groomer and she’s been doing this for a lot of years, but she did 16 or 17 dogs by herself. Now, I will say she had an assistant, so she had a bather and somebody was helping her get those dogs prepped. But still, to be able to do those types of numbers, you have to be so focused on what you’re doing. You are not looking away from your table. You are not talking to your fellow groomer. You’re not checking your phones. You are absolutely on task, on focus. That dog on your table is what you’re looking at. If you really stay focused, you’re going to be able to build up your speed. Again, you’re not looking to do it overnight. This is a small, incremental, stay focused, stay on task. If right now you’re struggling to get through four dogs, your target should be to get to five dogs. If you’re being able to do five, then look to move to six.

Just take it one dog at a time, one day at a time, but stay focused and help to master those skills so that you, too, are going to be able to comfortably do six or eight or more dogs a day, every single day that you are grooming and you are at your grooming table. That’s going to make you be a really valuable team member if you’re working in a salon situation. Or if you’re are solo flyer, it’s going to help build your business and make sure that you’re going to have the revenues at the end of the week or the end of the month to pay your bills. That’s what professional pet grooming is all about; being able to love what you do and make a living at it.


Improve Your Speed for the Holiday Rush

Clocking speed is an excellent exercise to help you and your team during the holiday rush – and beyond. Practice makes perfect. Check out Melissa Verplank’s advice on how to get up to speed!

How To Improve Your Speed

We once asked a salon owner about her biggest challenge. The answer was simple – speed.

Most of her staff struggled to get even the simplest trims done in under an hour. That included bath, blow dry, and haircut. Even a basic #7F all trim on a smaller drop coated breed was daunting to some of them.

We walked in and saw a well-organized salon. It was bright. It was clean. The layout allowed for efficiency. The equipment was all top-notch.  Hmmm, we wondered. Why was turning a small to mid-sized dog such a challenge for them?

Then it hit us. There were hardly any clocks around. We only spotted one clock in the main room. It was a smaller digital wall clock set on military time. The owner of the salon was a career military gal who is now retired. I understand why she opted for that style of timekeeper, I’m just not so sure that style of timekeeping is the right one for a staff of non-military groomers.  Plus, when I was across the room, I could barely read it clearly. The clock was just too small!

If you want to be a successful groomer who can pay your bills while bringing customers back again and again – you need to embrace time.

  • Watch the time.
  • Track the time.
  • Race against the time.

Everything we do with professional pet grooming involves time. You need to be highly aware of every hour, minute, and second. Ideally, a professional groomer should be able to turn a small- to medium-sized simple trim in an hour or less. That includes the bath, the dry, and the trim.

Time Chart for Improving Speed in Dog Grooming

Click on the image to Download a FREE Time Chart

The first thing we suggested to this team was: GET CLOCKS! Nothing fancy, they just needed to be large enough to be easily seen from across the room. The simpler, the better. Every room in the salon needed one hung on the wall. By having a clock in every room, it makes it easy for the groomers to track their own time with just a quick glance. But clocks aren’t enough. Every person working on the pets needs to have a watch on, too.

For those individuals that are really looking to increase their speed, having a timer at their stations can be really beneficial. Before you can start timing yourself, it’s helpful to know what your starting point is.

Break the groom down into sections:

Bathing. Drying. Clipping the body. Trimming the feet. Rounding the feet. Scissoring the legs. Styling the head. If you don’t know how long it takes you to do each one of these items, you’ll never be able to improve upon your “best time.”

And it’s far easier to break it down into segments than to look at the dog as a whole. After all, who doesn’t want the opportunity to win at even one or two smaller segments than to get frustrated when they don’t hit the time goal with the overall trim?

Set Time Goals

Once you know how long it takes you to do each segment, you can set goals and objectives to beat your “best time.” Push yourself. Make a game out of it. The clock will be your score-keeper. Each time you gain even a few seconds, you’ve won a mini victory!  But you’ll never be able to do that unless you can easily watch the clock. Even with all the clock watching, always remember, speed and efficiency can never come at the sacrifice of quality or safety.

What are your time saving tricks? Jump over to the Learn2GroomDogs Facebook page and tell us.  You can even click here for a quick lesson in how to use the site.

FREE TIME SAVING LECTURE HANDOUT

Happy trimming,
~Melissa


Melissa’s Top 4 Tips for Getting Through the Holidays

By now, busy salons are bracing for the holiday rush. Thanksgiving. Hanukkah. Christmas. Are you ready?

This isn’t only your busiest season, it’s also the end of the year. It can make or break your earning goals. Will you finish off the year with a bang? Will your books be full for January and February of next year?

I love this time year. It forces us to be on top of our game. To be organized. To be ready. To have our days planned. To keep our communications clear with fellow team members and our customers. To know our limitations.

Most of us who are involved with the pet industry are here because of our passion. We simply love working with the pets. However, even the most passionate groomer can feel the pressures of holiday demands.

If you are one of those professionals who feels the pressures of the Thanksgiving and Christmas crunch, take heart. Get in front of it now and review areas that could use some improvement in the salon.

Here are My Top 4 Tips for Getting Through Your Day with Ease:

#1. Mental Control

Stay focused. Pay close attention to what you are doing at all times. You’re working with live animals and sharp instruments. Chatter between your coworkers and pets breaks your focus. You lose time and you make mistakes when you don’t stay focused on the pet.

Always practice the three C’s; stay calm, stay cool, and stay collected. When you’re working with a pet you want to be friendly but aloof. You want to correct any undesirable action before it becomes a major problem. Frustration and anger have no place in a professional salon setting. If you feel yourself getting frustrated, take a break. Breath. Step back to the grooming table when you have regained your composure.

Work methodically with all pets. Don’t get flustered. Set an even and steady pace when it comes to handling, bathing, drying, brushing, clipping, and scissoring. Set time goals for every step of the grooming process and strive to achieve them.

#2. Invest in Yourself and Your Equipment

What is the condition of your equipment? Are you working with top-quality equipment?

It’s amazing how much time you can save when your equipment is in top condition. Or when you splurge on that new pair of blenders that cut like butter. Or you have a high-velocity dryer that has plenty of punch. Oh, and all of your shears and blades have sharp edges on them — correct? There’s nothing more frustrating than working with dull and ineffective equipment when crunch time is on. Right now you’re in crunch time.

#3. Organization in the Salon

Do you have a smooth process for client check-in and checkout? If you’re computerized, is it easy to pull up client records in a flash? If you’re still working with a card file, are all the records pulled the pets that are scheduled for that day?

Most stylists in a salon setting find working in a minimum of three or four hour blocks of time can be highly advantageous to time management. The more you have to stop to check-in or checkout clients the more you lose your focus on the pet that is on the table. By working in blocks of time, you can check multiple pets in and out in tight windows of time when it comes to dealing with customers.

Do you have a method to track all the collars and leads that accompany the pets? This is no time to be looking for that lost collar or lead! Do you have a bright assortment of those pre-made? Do you have festive bandannas cut and ready to go on the dog?

#4 Mental & Nutritional Stamina

When the rush is on, you need to be at your peak — mentally, physically and nutritionally.

You’re not going to be at your peak if you’re not getting enough sleep. I know … I know. With all the demands between work, family and holiday festivities, slumber can be hard to come by. Normally, a professional groomer is so physically exhausted that when your head does hit the pillow — sleep comes easily. Just make sure you’re getting enough hours each night so you can perform at high levels the next day.

With the holidays upon us, most salons find themselves overrun with holiday treats from their clients. Be careful with this one. Personally I learned the hard way you are not good to feel your best if you consume all those goodies all day long!

I learned in my early 20s to pack healthy food options to keep me nourished all day long. I was mobile so in between every client by reward was to eat. If I had healthy options at my fingertips, it was easy to keep my energy level in high gear. In a salon setting, this might be a little bit more challenging. Still, eating healthy small amounts on a regular basis is the best way to keep you both mentally and physically content.

Pack a nutritional lunch plus snacks. (You know your days are going to be long!) Or do a potluck between staff members. We’ve done this for years at the Paragon School of Pet Grooming with great success. The rule is: Healthy, quick food options only. No sweets. No desserts. Our clients do a great job with that. The potluck is set up so everybody can grab a quick bite in between dogs quickly and easily.

If you’re not a cook – have a stack of local takeout menus available. If they deliver – BONUS!

The holidays are a great time to really test your skills. We’ll find out quickly just how successful you are. If you have a full book and struggling to fit into just one more pet each day, you know you have arrived. Be thankful for creating a service that your customers desire. If you take care of them well — they’ll take care of you. That’s what successful customer service is all about!

Happy trimming!

~Melissa

If you need a brush up on any time management lessons, here are a few titles from Learn2GroomDogs.com that could help you.


Bubble Baths and the Holiday Grooming Rush?

If you have a reasonably busy salon and have been at this for a few years, you know the holidays mean crunch time. You’ll be grooming most of your regular clients in days instead of weeks. Do you have control of your schedule?

You may find yourself racing to juggle the demands of your business and your family. Keeping your customers happy is crucial to the health of your salon, but not at the expense of those you love. Don’t let the insanity of the holiday season put a damper on your festive mood.

I learned the hard way. Grooming super long hours up to 14 days straight before Christmas left me totally exhausted and spent. I was definitely a Scrooge throughout the entire holiday season. I knew I had to make a change when one Christmas I literally slept through the entire day.

Here are a few ideas from myself and my team of seasoned grooming pros to help you make the most of the holiday rush. Read the rest of this entry »


How to Survive the Holiday Rush

Need tips on surviving the Holiday Rush? Check out this roundup of links to our archives on the topic.

Remember Self-Care:

  • Physical Health – You’re an occupational athlete! What does it take to stay in top form?
  • Food Prep – Plan meals ahead to stay “fueled” for top performance
  • Mental Health – What helps you destress? Pre-book a relaxing massage or schedule time for relaxing hobbies.
  • Pace Yourself – Know your limits and when to say no.
  • Stay Merry – Keep the spirit in the season!

Resources for Surviving the Holiday Rush

From the Archive: Videos at Learn2GroomDogs.com

Preparing for the Holiday Rush with Melissa Verplank

Tails from Holidays Past

Creating Holiday Ornaments on Hip Rosettes


Help Pup Relief Tour International Give the Gift of Grooming Tools


Join the ParagonCares team in helping the Pup Relief Tour advocate for animal welfare and develop the grooming profession in its Africa 2025 Mission! The quest is to outfit 50 grooming students at two developing grooming schools with a complete toolkit to launch their careers. You can participate by either supplying tools directly, by purchasing at the Amazon Wishlist, or donating to the Pup Relief Tour’s GoFundMe campaign linked below. For more information, email [email protected].

Background:

The Pup Relief Tour Africa 2025 is a humanitarian initiative focused on providing essential grooming services to dogs in underserved communities across Africa. It’s mission is to improve the well-being of dogs by providing grooming services.

  • 85% of pet owners in rural African areas report lack of access to professional grooming services, which leads to an increase in skin diseases and infections in pets.
  • 60% of dogs in underserved communities suffer from preventable health issues such as parasites, infections, and matted fur.
  • The initiative includes establishing two permanent grooming schools for long-term training and education of local groomers in Nigeria and Ghana.
  • The PRT Team will provide continuous education and certification for local groomers, ensuring sustainability in grooming practices. Students will have access to industry-leading tools, trainers and resources, including partnership with Paragon’s Groominar® Network.

 

Here’s a List of Tools Needed:


Help the Pup Relief Tour International 2025 Campaign

Paragon is proud to support the Pup Relief Tour’s International grooming initiatives! Here’s a quick peek of what the team is up to in 2025 – scroll through the instagram slides to see ways to support the initiative. Check back soon for details on our tool drive and how your old equipment can help new groomers get started abroad!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Pup Relief Tour Inc (@puprelieftour)


Paragon Now Offers Affirm Pay Over Time

We’re excited to partner with Affirm, giving you the flexibility to pay on your terms. Next time you’re shopping with us, just select Affirm at checkout to split up your purchase into monthly payments as low as 0% APR.

Transparent
Affirm tells you the total amount you’ll pay up front. That number will never go up.
Flexible
You choose the payment schedule that works best for you.
Fair
Affirm doesn’t charge late fees or hidden fees of any kind, ever.

How It Works

1. Fill your cart
Select Affirm at checkout, then enter a few pieces of info for a real-time decision.
2. Choose how to pay
Pick the monthly payment plan you like best. You’ll never pay more than you agree to up front.
3. Pay over time
Make payments at affirm.com or in the Affirm app. You’ll also get reminders by text and email.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some common questions that shoppers using Affirm have.

Q: Will Affirm affect my credit score?
A: Creating an Affirm account and seeing if you prequalify will not affect your credit score. If you decide to buy with Affirm, these things may affect your credit score: making a purchase with Affirm, your payment history with Affirm, how much credit you’ve used, and how long you’ve had credit.

Q: Does Affirm charge interest and fees?
A: We don’t charge any fees. That means no late fees, no prepayment fees, no annual fees, and no fees to open or close your account. Depending on the size of your purchase and where you’re shopping, your payment plan may include interest. You’ll never owe more interest than you agree to on day one—so you always know exactly what you’re getting into.

Q: How does Affirm make money?
A: We earn a commission from businesses, and shoppers pay interest on some items. Unlike credit card companies though, we don’t depend on shoppers paying late or staying in debt. Instead, we try to give them a great experience so they come back and use Affirm again.

Q: What does it mean to prequalify?
A: When you prequalify, you get an estimate of how much you can spend with Affirm. You don’t have to use the full amount, and you’re not on the hook to pay anything back until you actually make a purchase.

DISCLOSURE
Rates from (0-36% APR). For example, a $800 purchase might cost $72.21/mo over 12 months at 15% APR. Payment options through Affirm are subject to an eligibility check, may not be available everywhere, and are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders. Options depend on your purchase amount, and a down payment may be required. For licenses and disclosures, see affirm.com/licenses.


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