074- Having Tough Conversations with Clients
Summary:
We break down 10 things to consider when having a hard conversation with a client. Unfortunately, we’ve all been there. Whether it’s a lost pet, a dog that won’t eat, or a service you forgot to render, tough conversations happen in this business. We discuss ways to help make them just a little bit less difficult. Natasha O’Banion is back for another “Ask a Pet Business Coach” segment where she answers the question “What are the basics needed for a successful business?”
Topics on this episode:
Update on business in Missouri
Hard Conversations are….hard!
Decide they’re worth having
Be direct AND specific
Make eye contact and watch your body language
Watch your language
Offer a solution
Managing your emotions
Be empathetic
Allow for their questions
Have an exist strategy
Plan out the conversation
Main takeaway? It sounds disingenuous, but plan out the hard conversations before they happen as much as you can, to help control your emotions and stick to the story and the facts.
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
conversation, client, emotions, dog, pet, policies, cleanliness, business, customer, happened, people, gate, person, point, software, review, trademarks, easy, talk, water softener
SPEAKERS
Meghan, Collin, Natasha
Collin 00:17
I'm Collin
Meghan 00:18
and I'm Meghan. And this is pet sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode. We thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this. And this is Episode 74. So, if you haven't had a chance or this is your first time here, feel free to go back and listen to our other episodes. We have a ton of them from interviews to topical episodes. We talked a lot about COVID the past few months, and we just have some really awesome guests that we've been able to have on
Collin 00:55
and make sure that you are subscribed wherever you're listening so you never miss a new one. We did want to give an update about how we are doing here in Missouri recently, the governor declared that the state is quote unquote, open for business. Now what exactly that looks like moving forward, we'll have to be seen. I know we have seen an uptick in requests or daycares and overnights not too far out in the future. They're mostly people traveling locally, or just a few hours away. No really big or long trips, though.
Meghan 01:25
And we did ask in our sitter confessionals group on Facebook, if you guys have seen an increase in business, and I would say about two thirds of you have said, Yes, we have. So hopefully you guys are getting busier. And that's awesome. Today's topic is all about hard conversations that you have with your client for the past nine years that we've been sitting, we've seen a lot of things and experienced a lot of things with pets and owners. And so we wanted to kind of expand on how you go about having that conversation.
Collin 01:59
It's really twofold. Fold. We hope that by walking through how to have hard conversations, it can help the discussion in the cut in our country, as well as around the globe. Regarding topics of racism and turmoil, these are not easy to have, but they are so important right now more than ever. And so equipping ourselves with the ability to handle that will really help everybody in the end. And then as Megan said, as business owners as people who care for pets, we are unfortunately put in situations sometimes where we have to have hard and difficult conversations with our clients.
Meghan 02:34
So we're gonna walk through some points to get the best results of sitting down and talking with someone. It's important to remember though, that not everyone takes these kind of talks the same, everyone is different, everyone will respond differently. And so being prepared for whatever may come about when you talk to the client. Mm hmm. So where do you start with all this?
Collin 02:56
The first point here is that you have to decide at the individual at the point level that having the hard conversation is worth it. It is. That's it, it's just that it is hard to do these, it takes a lot of effort. And so you have to we all have to agree that it is worth our time worth our effort to to have these conversations, and to have that mindset commit to having it before you even start.
Meghan 03:20
So once you've decided to have it be direct and specific, it's very difficult to have a conversation when the details get muddled and the delivery isn't very clear. So getting to the point quickly is very important. It may seem like you're being too harsh if you are direct, but you really need to get the point across especially if this is a difficult thing to talk about. You don't want to get muddled in the deep in the fine details. You just want to come out and say what is wrong
Collin 03:52
or what's going on. This is very hard for me. Megan can attest to this after being married for going on nine years now. She knows I am someone who beats around the bush I don't like getting to the point because it to me it comes across as being mean spirited or harsh. And so it takes a lot for me to to be as specific and direct as possible and in conversation, Megan is a very direct and specific person all the time. That's just who she is and how she operates. So, even
Meghan 04:22
within our marriage, we have had many conversations about this very topic,
Collin 04:27
right? The the phrase get to the point has been mentioned many times whenever I am trying to tell a story. And while you are being direct and specific, it is important to understand the level at which you're talking to somebody about a topic, talking above their head or below them may come across as demeaning or mean spirited or controlling of a particular conversation. So you have to gauge where the other person's understanding is or isn't going to be. So it is important to ask clarifying questions as you're discussing with somebody. Do you understand what I'm saying? Talking about here does all of that make sense? That's okay to do and helps to make sure that you are having a fruitful conversation in the end.
Meghan 05:08
And a really good example of this is if you had a packet lost or out of your care,
Collin 05:13
so we were house sitting several years ago, and they had a opener for a gate across their driveway and they had told us, this is very finicky. It may go off unexpectedly, so you have to handle it with extreme care. Otherwise, the gates gonna open you're not going to know about it. Well, one day we had come in and we had placed some mail that we picked up from the mailbox on the counter next to the opener, and then went and let the dog outside. A few minutes went by and we looked for the dog in the backyard and realized the dog wasn't there. We went around the house and saw that in fact, the gate had opened and the dog had gotten out. Immediately. We contacted the owners and we said the gate opened unexpectedly, the dog is loose. We are searching for it separately and seeking help from the neighbors. And that's All the information that we gave to them, we said we will keep you posted. Thankfully, they responded back and said, this has happened before. Give it about 20 minutes and the dog will be back.
Meghan 06:09
And that's what happened. Yeah, she she came back, thankfully. And so that's a great point. We were direct. We were specific when the dog got out. And we gave four points of information about the facts of what was wrong.
Collin 06:21
Later, we were able to go back and fully explain the process of how the door possibly open. But in that initial moment, that was not for trying to get out all those details.
Meghan 06:31
Another important point when having a difficult conversation with a client is being honest and thorough with your feedback. So fully clarifying why you're having the conversation. And don't try to negotiate what happened or tell half truths. Just stick to what happened. stick to the facts. and be confident in what you're saying.
Collin 06:51
An example this is maybe when a pet eat something that they're not supposed to.
Meghan 06:56
And we did have this happen a few months ago, the dog came over For an overnight stay, and ate a sock that we had laying on the floor, and apparently come to find out later that this has happened previously, where the dog just likes to eat socks and random things on the floor. We were not privy to that information before the beginning of the stay. Otherwise, we would have had everything picked up. But we were honest with the client, and we said we think the dog ate the sock. And would you like us to call the vet for you? We were thorough in our explanation of what had happened. And
Collin 07:34
we didn't try and get out of it or or not take responsibility for what happened. We just stuck to the facts of what had occurred in that situation.
Meghan 07:41
When you go and talk to the client. If you are doing that in person, whether they're picking up the dog from an overnight stay, or whether at the meet and greet, watch your body language and eye contact. So if you are sitting down with the person delivering this news, you want to make sure that you are turned into them and you are on the same level. So if you are the one standing up and they're sitting down, it kind of can feel like a power struggle at times. And so you want to be on the same level with them making eye contact with an open body language, making sure that you each have each other's full attention.
Collin 08:13
And while you're watching your body language, you need to also watch your actual language.
Meghan 08:19
Yes, so you don't use words like all every, always never. I mean that that's just basic communication with any relationship that you have. But with the client, you want to use words like we and us,
Collin 08:32
what you're going for here is to ensure that the client knows that you are both on the same team that you both have the best interests at heart for their pet.
Meghan 08:41
also offering a solution when you go to have a tough conversation with a client. Don't just state the problem and what it is, but actually offer a solution because nothing is really worse than telling somebody bad news, but then not having a solution for it. So if it's your fault, oh up to it explain what you could have done differently, what can be done differently moving forward. And if it wasn't your fault, then explain how the situation could have been better. A perfect example of offering a solution beforehand was a few months back, we had watched a pitbull mix. She is very sweet dog.
Collin 09:19
absolutely adorable. I loved sitting her every moment.
Meghan 09:23
We have a six foot privacy fence outside and we've never had any problem with dogs jumping over it or under under it. But this Pitbull mix, she was very sweet. But she got in a corner where she got her paws up that fence, scaled it and was right over it.
Collin 09:39
We saw her through on the front side of our house as we were looking through our living room windows and realized that that dog should be in our backyard.
Meghan 09:47
Right and so thankfully she was very kind and loves people. So she walked right up to us. And so immediately we notified the client of your dog just scaled our fence. We have our are back safe and sound now. And we offered a solution of we, whenever she is in our backyard, we are going to have her on a leash now and watch her very carefully and anytime she gets near that corner, we're going to tell her No, and gently pull her away from that corner so she doesn't try to scale it again.
Collin 10:16
And she was only going to be in our care for another day. So it really wasn't that much for us to be in the backyard with her on a leash. But it was that extra step of saying she got out once. We're not gonna even attempt fate to have it possibly happen again. So we're going to have a leash on her when she goes into our backyard and monitor their
Meghan 10:38
when you're talking to a client. Managing emotions is really important. You want to have the conversation in a professional manner. And you just want to stick to the facts. You don't really want to bring in all these different emotions because their pets are like family to them. And really to us as sitters as well. The pets become like our Family, when you're having a tough conversation, emotions can get really out of hand, especially if something is really wrong with the pet. And you just want to stick to the facts.
Collin 11:09
You don't want your emotions to dictate how the conversation is going. emotions can make conveying information and facts very confusing, especially if your emotions are running high. But the person you're talking to, does not have high emotions. They may not understand where that's coming from, or may not really understand the point that you're trying to get across.
Meghan 11:28
And a great example of this is if you're if the pet was attacked, or if the pet attacked another pet while on a walk or something like that, that can really get your emotions high. But then also when you're talking to the client, it can get their emotions high as well. And so making sure that you have your emotions in check and so if you do have to have that talk of Fido was attacked on a walk. I have assessed him. If it's an emergency case, then you take him to the vet relayed to the owner in a calm manner is what's best For everyone,
Collin 12:00
it's better to take time to collect yourself and get your emotions sorted than to immediately rush into a situation where you're trying to communicate complicated, or sometimes scary information to, to a client about what has happened. That does nobody any good, other than confused exactly what's going on. So
Meghan 12:19
while you should be keeping your emotions in check and remaining calm, you should not be taking your emotions completely out of this. So be empathetic. During this conversation. If you see that they're really struggling with what you've just said, pause for a minute, take a step back, and then reassess. If they're taking the news really badly. Remind them that again, you are on the same team, you want the best for Phyto or fluffy and ultimately validating their feelings and understanding that they may not take the situation the same way that you would, again, everybody is unique and different. Well and
Collin 12:55
remember to you have had time to sort your emotions to sort the facts. Put together a story that to tell they have not had that luxury, they are taking this information in in real time and are going to be processing their emotions and that information as you relate it to them. So taking those pauses periodically allows them to digest and sort things out.
Meghan 13:17
And this can be a really touchy subjects. When you talk about cleanliness to somebody, whether that's cleanliness in their home, if you're doing a drop in check, or a house sitting in their home, or if you're talking about the cleanliness of their pet, this can be really, really touchy and a really difficult conversation to have with them. Right. So you want to be empathetic. If this is a situation that you've come across before weather where the home is not clean, or the dog hasn't been bathed in a while, be empathetic to their situation,
Collin 13:48
because they may not realize that that there was an issue. Cleanliness is not just a personal thing. It can be a cultural difference or a background difference in what they view cleanliness. Or the importance of cleanliness. Nobody cleans their house the exact same way we all focus on different things. This is where that step number one that we talked about of decide to have the hard conversation, sometimes in particular, with cleanliness, it's not worth it to have that hard conversation, especially if you're not going to be there for very long or there's not really an issue, it's just slightly uncomfortable. However, if there are health concerns for you or for the pet, then it is time to have that hard conversation with somebody. And this can be as simple as before I come over next time, could Fido be bathed? Or you could even say, Hey, would you like me to bathe Phyto for an extra X amount of dollars, and see how they respond to that, again, pausing and waiting to see how they process that request and that information. It doesn't have to be it shouldn't be. Your house is a pigsty and I can't work for you ever again. That's not being empathetic and under Understanding that they have feelings and emotions for how they're going to receive that.
Meghan 15:04
Right? And somehow sitters bring bedsheets with them, bring cleaning supplies with them, and
Collin 15:10
avoid the conversation entirely.
Meghan 15:11
Yes, it's also important to allow the client to ask questions if they need to. We've been mentioning this, but every person processes tough situations differently, especially when it comes to their beloved pet. And so making sure that you give them time to open up to ask any clarifying questions, so that they fully understand the situation and what's been going on.
Collin 15:35
It also helps them understand that again, you are on their team, you want to see a positive resolution and a positive solution to what's going on. By allowing them to ask questions you're taking in their feedback, let them know how you'll do what you'll do with that feedback. Say thank you for letting me know. We will take this back to the team and see how it fits into our goals and our process processes that we have in place and get back To you, or if they have further questions on an event that happened, again, being as clear and concise as possible to relay and answer the that without having your emotions run high.
Meghan 16:11
Yeah, sometimes when emotions run high, it can be a good thing to have an exit strategy. So whether this means having a set time limit on it, or just knowing when you will need to leave from the conversation is helpful.
Collin 16:27
And this could be key phrases, or maybe certain actions that take place on your or the clients part. If things start to spiral way out of hand and people start getting violent or belligerent or name calling. Immediately in that kind of conversation. That is a point to stop and say we can re we can start having this conversation again, when everybody calms down. Don't try and continue on through that conversation. But as Megan said, it could be as simple as you can relate to the client. I want to bring you in for a 30 minute conversation to talk to you about what has You're immediately setting a time expectation and letting them know how long you expect this to take. So that when 30 minutes hits, you can say, look, we can continue having this conversation at another time. Now I need to go on and do these other things.
Meghan 17:14
But ultimately, though, having a plan is really going to help you with this. And through
Collin 17:20
this write everything that we've talked about is very complicated, especially controlling your emotions and having an exit strategy and all of that. So planning out the conversation, not necessarily start to finish or an a script, but having some idea of a flow or the direction that you want to take the conversation will really help get the best possible outcome.
Meghan 17:39
And so if you're at fault, don't try to blame shift or get defensive. That's not very helpful, and it doesn't look very good on you. If it was not your fault. Having a clear story. A defined path from start to finish will help you avoid going down any rabbit holes
Collin 17:57
that will make it more confusing than it gets. could bring those emotions back into play. So the more prepared you are for a particular conversation, the better you know the facts of what happened and the solution that you want to have take place, the easier it will be to guide that conversation from start to finish with your client.
Meghan 18:15
So a good example of this is when services have not been rendered when they have paid for them. So this does happen, unfortunately, whether it's missing an alarm clock sleeping in or just forgetting we are only human. And so it does happen.
Collin 18:30
It could be that you misunderstood some some instructions for care whether you thought they had said only two times a day for check ins, but they actually wanted three and that just got lost in the conversation. Once you realize that you have not rendered a service that has been paid for take a few moments to sit down and write out and figure out exactly what happened, what took place. And the solution that you're going to offer on the back end before you jump on the horn and you call them or use text them because if you suddenly realize it Your emotions are running high because you're panicking that you missed a service and you don't want to upset the client, you call them you're upset, you're rushing through the conversation, they don't understand exactly what's going on, and you're trying to relay this information to them quickly, which doesn't help the conversation at all. And it can take some time to recover from that. Instead, just take two, three minutes to write down some bullet points of what happened, where you want to go in the solution that you're going to offer. And that will help it be communicate clearly and in a professional manner to them,
Meghan 19:30
though many of the points we've discussed here are focused predominantly on in person interactions, but that doesn't always happen. We really recommend that you have as much in person conversation with them as possible. And if you have to do it remotely, do your best to do it over the phone. However, we've even had to break bad news over text, which is not really ideal because you can't read tone in text. The client can take it many different ways,
Collin 19:55
right? I remember one of those in particular was when we were house sitting when we had first started. And there was an issue with some of the person's home, they had a water softener that had it basically ruptured internally in their pipes. And there were these weird water softener beads everywhere coming out of faucets filling toilets, and these berbil, were traveling to Belize. And so they didn't have easy access to phones. And so we couldn't call them. So getting on the text. And again, taking those first few minutes to say, and it was hard because I didn't even have the terms or the understanding of what exactly was happening and what I was seeing all I knew that it was bad, and it shouldn't be going on. So explain to them that I saw beads coming out from the faucets and the toilets that we had, we were not going to use the water until we got further instruction for them and explained to them what was going on. They responded with Oh, it is probably the water softener. Go turn this valve and turn it off and you'll be fine and just basically flush out the rest of the system. So in that case, again, taking a few moments to be as concise in those text messages. And just really quick bullet points really helped communicate exactly what was going on.
Meghan 21:05
And so one more point I wanted to add is when you have something that has happened to the pet to the home damage to property, damage to the dog, I think it is helpful to start it off with everyone is okay. Yes, this kind of tempers any panic that may happen. Because if you start off saying Phyto got into an attack, right? That that immediately raises the hair on the client and of like, Oh my gosh, like, what do I need to do? Blood Pressure starts rising. And so just right off the bat saying everyone is okay. We'll help to calm things down.
Collin 21:39
Right, that's part of setting expectations and managing what's going in when you start having these discussions, allowing them to understand, you know, if there was a problem, you may even start off with saying it's been fixed. And then fill in the backstory of how something got broker how something got damaged and how you took care of it. But starting right off the top going, it's fixed and you don't have to Pay for a single thing. But this is what happened is, again a great way to set those expectations that will be really important in helping them manage their emotions as you tell them what transpired.
Meghan 22:10
Much of this discussion has been about what to do when you are at fault. But what do you do if you have a problematic client? How do you talk to them about them being the problem?
Collin 22:22
I think of the two types of discussions you can have one where you've messed up and you need to solve something versus addressing a problematic client. The latter is a lot more difficult to have than apologizing and solving a problem that maybe you created.
Meghan 22:38
Right? So how do you talk to the client if they aren't abiding by your hours that you have set? Or if they're just not a good client? How do you talk to them about that,
Collin 22:47
looking back over the 10 things that we mentioned previously, starting right at the beginning of whether the heart conversation is worth it, if you are going to if you really struggle with approaching somebody else And trying to address a problem one on one with them. Change your policies to cut them off before they even are problems. If you have somebody that's consistently late, increase your late fee. If you have somebody that consistently doesn't bring a leash or doesn't bring required equipment for the dog, increase a fee. I'll make it such that the policies start changing behavior, so you have something to fall back on to so that you can point to policies already written and say, Look, you are not following these policies that you've signed and agreed to. We either need to discontinue service or you need to follow the policies. And I think that that's probably the way that most of us tend to go is if there's a problem. We start making policies around it. And that's why all of our policies are so huge. Like you didn't start it started off with a 50 page policy. That's a little bit of an exaggeration.
Meghan 23:57
Yeah, I mean, a lot of the policies come from having issues with clients or just knowing your boundaries, and knowing what is okay and what is not, okay? The policies come from your experience and your knowledge.
Collin 24:13
And so here that hard conversation is simply pointing to those policies and procedures that you have in place that they've signed off on, that gets it off of your back. And it that way, it's not a personal thing anymore. It's look pickup is at five, you pick them up at 630. That's a $30 charge as per our policy. If they don't like that, they will go somewhere else and then you don't have to deal with them anymore.
Meghan 24:40
So a policy that we just implemented today was boarding is now every 24 hours. So it's a rolling 24 hours and if you pick up your dog, six hours after the time of drop off, then it's an additional half day's rate. And that's because a lot of clients were taking advantage and dropping their dogs off at 8am and picking them up at 5pm or 7pm. And it was just really an inconvenience for us because we were having to take care of the dog for even longer, but not necessarily getting paid for that time.
Collin 25:11
Right. So there was no difference financially for the client for a 24 hour care versus a 36 hour care all the way up to a 47 hour care.
Meghan 25:21
Right. And so whether they're aware of that or not, I you know, I don't know but it was just becoming very frustrating for us.
Collin 25:27
So there instead of approaching each individual client and saying, Look, you're not dropping or you're not picking your dog up in a timely manner, we're going to have to charge you this this this. We set it up in our policies, this rolling 24 hour time period, and how the charges apply if you go above and beyond that, and now we can simply text a screenshot to them or text that back to them and let them know this is in the policies and you know, this is why your charge this is why your build is the way it is
Meghan 25:56
switching gears here a little bit. We are now going to Have Natasha on She is our pet business coach, and she does a segment every Monday. So let's hear from Natasha.
Natasha 26:07
This is Natasha O’banion pet business coach was start scale sale. So today's question is what are the absolute basic must haves for a successful pet care business? Basic most times? It's actually a really good question. This is one of those questions that fall under, you don't know what you don't know. So I really enjoy this. So number one, if you're starting or if you you know, are kind of on the Pay Pal buy or you're kind of winging it a little bit. This is where we kind of clean everything up a little bit. So first, you want to make sure you have a software people don't utilize this enough. When you first get started. Can you imagine putting in one person or backdating yourself and putting in 30 people? So I always say day one by your software that you want to use. Your software should be clean, easy be simple, it should be consumer friendly. So this means that when a customer goes on your website, they're like, Oh my god, this is so cumbersome. You don't want them to feel like that. You want to make sure that when you put this software in your website it automates for you, that means that you can be sleeping. Okay, this is what defines a great software, you are sleeping right now. And a customer can go on your website or wherever you have your booking widget. And they can complete Li book your service. I mean, set up a meet and greet, fill out form, put all of their notes in, put their name, address, what have you. Everything you need to book this customer can be done while you're sleeping. So then when you wake up, it's already on your scheduling software. That's number one. So underutilized is getting your software right out of the gate. It is a great expense, because it is much easier to start loading everybody in Also, don't forget, there's those learning curves. There's a lot of features in your software that a lot of people really don't know, that are already there. So getting familiar with it right out of the gate is the best thing you can do. Also, making sure you have insurance. You want to make sure your insurance company is not going to say, hey, you're paying for us every single month, but when you actually need to use us, we don't know what you're talking about. Make sure your insurance company is reputable. And you can obviously you know, look at their reviews you can ask members in your neighborhood and some of your Facebook groups, then turn section is pretty easy. It's fairly inexpensive to have insurance, and it is the best thing that you can do. You will need insurance trust me you don't want to use it, but it happens. And it's great to have your money refunded to you and your customer 100% taken care of with having a great insurance company. Self like this is that one thing where you can spend 10 years running a business and one thing can take you out of the game to make sure Do you have your insurance? Also do look into your trademarks, your logos, make sure other pet businesses are not using or sounding the same. I know a lot of pet businesses right now are like doing piggyback or play on words. definitely make sure you do your trademark information. It doesn't cost that much to do it. I wouldn't say do it, maybe the first day of starting, but when you get a customer, look into your business, look into trademarks, get a lawyer on hand, and it's fairly easy, but you want to make sure you don't have this company that can get taken from under you. business hours must have business hours, you wouldn't even think so. But do you set yourself apart by letting customers know when you are in are in service. So the time that you're not you can relax, you can recover, you can get your mojo back. You also want to think about if you want to use Lombok because in your business, something that I'd see again, you'll get you know, 50 keys in your hand and you're like Whoa, I don't even have a stick For this, so these are some things basic must haves right out of the gate. So as you grow and you get bigger you're like, you know, I already have a process. We've already been doing this for our two customers is gonna look the same for our 50. So lockbox process, decide if you want to use them decide if you want to get two copies the keys, decide if you want to keep the key on site. If you want to have an office, I recommend Of course having lockboxes on site just because you don't have to worry about any kind of key process when you do that. And the keys already there on site. The other one you want to do is get a review page. How do I even know who you are where you are, make sure you are on Google My Business. It is a free service, but it will be your best friend if you can get a few reviews from a couple of your customers even like personality reviews, they call them your friends and family people who know you. They've seen how you operate with animals. Get a review from them. Also Yelp. I know Yelp is getting a little bit of grief right now because they do pick and choose. But you can set yourself up for success on Yelp, by asking your clients to include pictures. If you include pictures, Yelp is more likely to keep your review. You also can ask your customers, hey, make sure you review to other businesses, because Yelp also wants to make sure that you're a real person, so they can review you along with two other businesses that also keep your reviews on Yelp. And your social media platform. I know a lot of people say oh, I like Facebook. Oh, I like Instagram. Well, it's not about what we like. It's about what the customer uses. So put yourself on both. Pinterest is getting you know, good right now for us. I think a lot of us I'm not even on Pinterest, but it's getting great far as people who like to blog. It's kind of like your blend between Instagram and a lot of your blogging pages. So if you pin something that's going to be also great for your stos as much free domains you can get on Get on them. Uh, one thing that I did is I wrote out 100 free places that I can list my business, even if it was like the Yellow Pages, but nobody goes to Well guess what, that's going to help me still on SEO. So list your business on as much free sources as possible. It'll help you. It'll help you because if you can get yourself listed on at least four pages, that's going to help your business over your competitors. So that will be the big ones, your insurance, your lockboxes your software. Also, let me add your phone. Oh my goodness, your phone. Google Voice is a great software if you don't want so I'm using grasshopper. I love them just because I do operate in different areas. And they have a lot of features that I really enjoy. But Google Voice now can do obviously, almost all the same features. So get yourself on Google Voice get your business phone number completely separate from your personal numbers. Because you want to be able to kind of do not disturb that business when you're off. because trust me that anxiety that stress that beaming Ding, ding, ding, ding. You don't know when you're turning it off, it can drive you crazy. And so get yourself a Google Voice. Those will be probably the top but I would say that will help you run out of the gate. I'm sure I'm missing a few. But we can go into more details. As far as your basic basic, that would be your bare basic if you want to get fancier I do use a system called leader for social media love later, they will automate your Instagram posts for you. So if you don't want to kind of remember to post something every single day, you can actually just sit down for an hour and post the next three months on later. And they'll automate a lot of your social media postings that's getting kind of fancy, you know, get into the next level. Um, but yeah, those are great ways to automate but in anything you're thinking about, think about, can I automate my business while I'm sleeping? Like that would that'll be like doing main question if I'm sleeping, how can I still keep running this thing? So to help you out? Great question, guys.
Meghan 34:12
If you would like Natasha to be your personal pet business coach, you can go to her website, start scale sale calm and enter the code PSC 20 for 15% off any of her coaching products,
Collin 34:24
we'd love to hear what kind of difficult talks and hard conversations that you have had with clients over the years and how you handled it, whether you use strategies like these or something else.
Meghan 34:34
So you can find us on Instagram and Facebook at pet sitter confessional or email us at feedback at pet sitter confessional comm we also have a phone number if you would like to leave us a voicemail, we always love those. Those are that number is 636-364-8260. I also wanted to mention that last week, we had compiled all of your favorite resources onto our website, from software that you guys use. podcasts that you listen to books that you read, there's a whole gear that you use. There's a whole bunch of resources now on our website at pet sitter confessional calm, so feel free to go check those out. And if you would like us to add something that we don't have on there, please let us know. We thank you so much for taking your most valuable asset today, your time and listening to us have this talk. Thank you.
