![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Dec 27, 2016 | Marketing
My affiliate disclaimer applies to this post.
It’s not a secret that dog trainers spend a lot of time on social media. Why not optimize your time on Facebook to grow your business?
Facebook is a powerful platform for sharing your message and reaching new, potential clients. These strategies can help you grow your audience and make the most of your time on social media to turn “Likes” into customers!
Set a Clear Goal for Each Post
Do you want people to simply like it and move on? Do you want viewers to read the article and sign up for something? Is the article on your website set up with a email sign up form to capture the emails of people that are interested in what you have to offer?
These are simple inbound marketing questions that you should ask anytime you post on social media. What action do you want the reader to take? Posting for the sake of posting means you’re missing the whole point of social media for marketing your business.
Use action words to encourage interactions like likes, comments, or shares. Ask thought-provoking questions to get readers to open the link and read your articles. Get creative, but make sure every post will contribute to your overall goals to grow your dog training business.
Related: Smart Facebook Marketing Strategies eBook by Brittany Ann
Use a Tracking Pixel on Your Website
By copying and pasting the Facebook tracking pixel code to your website, you’ll be able to target people who have visited your website with any future advertising or promotions you want to run. People who visit your website could be your current customers AND potential clients that haven’t committed to hiring a dog trainer yet.
You can use the Facebook Pixel to stay in touch with these people over a few weeks and stay top-of-mind for whenever they’re ready to hire a dog trainer.
Promote Posts Strategically
Facebook’s always urging you to (financially) promote your posts so that you can reach a bigger audience. Promoting posts isn’t a bad idea, but you have to do it at the right time. Ideally, you should wait until a post already has some likes, comments, or shares because your money will go reach a bigger audience and when people see it being promoted it looks like it’s already popular. Promoting a post that hasn’t already gotten a few likes or comments won’t look very enticing to a larger audience.
Even More Facebook Marketing Tips for Dog Trainers
Looking to grow your Facebook page quickly and increase your reach to fill up your dog training appointment schedule? You’ll definitely want to check out the eBook, “Strategies Worth Sharing” on Facebook marketing by Brittany Ann.
“With over 70 pages of no-fluff, no-nonsense strategy in the book alone, these are the tricks you’ve been missing!”
Brittany Ann explains many different techniques you can use to improve your Facebook page’s performance to grow your Facebook audience and generate new clients from your use of social media.
When leveraged correctly, Facebook can be just as powerful as Google for growing your client base. Unfortunately, many dog trainers waste a lot of money promoting posts that won’t give them a return on their investment. With this eBook, you can be confident you’re spending time on tactics that will actually make a difference to your dog training business’ bottom line.
See a detailed outline of this eBook and order your copy here. It’s extremely affordable ($20!) considering the potential reach and growth Facebook could provide your business in 2017!
Dog Training Business Tips
Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources right in your inbox! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Don’t forget to let us know what you want to learn more about!
[mc4wp_form id=”2494″]
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Dec 19, 2016 | Business
When you’re first starting out on your own as a dog trainer you might not have all the right forms or documents created until you discover you need them. In this article, I’m going to point out some important and necessary documents you should have ready before you start taking on new clients.
1. In-Depth New Client Intake Form
Intake forms ensure you’re aware of the entire situation before taking on a new client. Having an intake form that dives into even the most minor details can help you create a more detailed training program or behavior modification program and may bring out some details about the dog that the owner may not find relevant to their training goals. As the professional, the more details you gather the better you can perform your job.
By gathering as much information as possible before you begin training, you can make the call as to what details about the situation or about the dog are relevant or irrelevant to the owner’s training goals.
Your new client intake form should ask questions about the dog’s diet, the dog’s past behavior history, the owner’s lifestyle, the dog’s medical history, and much more. Asking questions not only gives you a better understanding of the context of the dog’s behavior, but you just might spur some old memories from the client that may be unexpectedly relevant to the dog’s behavior changes or issues.
Related: 10 Customizable Dog Training Business Templates
2. New Client Welcome Packet
A new client welcome packet is a handout that explains what it’s like to work with a dog trainer, with your business, sets expectations, and sets up the (human) client to be successful as much as it does the dog. For many of your new clients, this will be their first time working with a dog trainer.
What can they expect from you with regards to instructions, communication, and follow-up? What is expected of them? What do you need from them to do your job well and reach their training goals?
A new client welcome packet explains all of this in detail so that they can be comfortable and aren’t left with a lot of questions. Giving your new clients a welcome packet helps you look professional and they’ll feel supported right from the start. Professionalism and customer experience are some of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your competition.
3. Client Lesson Overview Handout
Most trainers will follow up lessons with an email that briefly overviews what was taught in the lesson or they jot down notes on a blank piece of paper during the lesson. This can leave the client confused and important pieces of training information could be left out of the notes.
Instead, I recommend that you have a worksheet or handout that you fill out as you’re working with your clients. This kind of handout can include specific spaces to list management requirements, steps for breaking down complex behaviors and lists of rewards that that specific dog enjoys and will work for. This makes your notes easy for the client to read. Alternatively, you could even have the client fill this out during your lesson. This sets you and your (human) client up for success.
4. Specific Behavior Modification Assessment Forms
Taking on clients with leash reactivity, resource guarding, or separation anxiety? In addition to an in-depth intake form, you should have separate forms for each behavior issue that will require behavior modification. You shouldn’t ask clients with dogs with leash reactivity issues questions about separation anxiety and vice versa. (Unless, of course, their dog suffers from both.) Creating extra handouts centered around specific behavior issues will allow you to gather the right, detailed information from clients with specific challenges.
5. Follow Up Emails
Speedy correspondence is important for landing new clients. Making sure you have some emails you can quickly pull from and edit based on the prospect’s inquiry will save you time. Having a prepared email ready means you’ll also be less likely to forget critical information you’d want your potential client to know.
Does this mean you copy/paste your email response without any kind of customization? No. You’ll still want to respond to any specific questions the prospect had or tell them that you understand their situation to start building a rapport with them, but having a template to pull from will make it easier for you to respond in a timely manner with all the right information they’ll need to begin working with you.
I recommend you check out my New Dog Training Business Template Bundle that includes these five templates and five additional templates to give your business a major jump start. Each template can be completely customized to suit your branding and messaging. These templates and forms include the most relevant and important questions that the best professionals in our industry use all the time.
View The Template Bundle
Dog Training Business Tips
Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources right in your inbox! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Don’t forget to let us know what you want to learn more about!
[mc4wp_form id=”2494″]
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Dec 4, 2016 | Podcast
Molly Sumridge came on the show today to discuss how compassion fatigue is affecting thousands of pet professionals who give their heart and soul into their profession and forget to take care of themselves. She explains how it’s different than burn out and how it may be happening without you even knowing.
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer Podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes. Follow The Modern Dog Trainer Blog on Twitter at @ModernTrainer, on Facebook at The Modern Dog Trainer Blog Page, and on Instagram at @TheModernDogTrainerBlog. We love hearing from our listeners!
Please leave us a review on iTunes to help support our podcast! Every review helps boost our podcast in the ranks of iTunes.
Show Notes
“Compassion Fatigue is a state experienced by those helping people or animals in distress; it is an extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped to the degree that it can create a secondary traumatic stress for the helper.” Dr. Charles Figley
Tips for preventing compassion fatigue:
- Mindfulness training
- Resilience training
- Positive thinking
- Gratitude
- Meditation
- Breathing
What to do if you’re struggling right now:
- Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255
Be proactive and help yourself online:
Dog Training Business Tips
Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources right in your inbox! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Don’t forget to let us know what you want to learn more about!
[mc4wp_form id=”2494″]
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Nov 6, 2016 | Podcast
Today we invited Rachel Golub, CDBC, CPDT-KA of San Diego Animal Training. Her and her husband juggle a flourishing animal training business with a boarding facility and two small children. We discuss how she does it, why she chose to open a facility, how she increases compliance with her clients, and more!
Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer Podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes. Follow The Modern Dog Trainer Blog on Twitter at @ModernTrainer, on Facebook at The Modern Dog Trainer Blog Page, and on Instagram at @TheModernDogTrainerBlog. We love hearing from our listeners!
Please leave us a review on iTunes to help support our podcast!
Show Notes
Rachel was kind enough to share some tips for managing clients, children, and a business. It was incredibly helpful to learn about why she chose to pursue multiple certifications, refers clients out and receives clients from a powerful network of trainers in her area, and how she increases client compliance for her aggression cases.
The certifications that Rachel mentions are:
Dog Training Business Tips
Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources right in your inbox! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Don’t forget to let us know what you want to learn more about!
[mc4wp_form]
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Sep 14, 2016 | Podcast
In this episode, we invited Donna Hill of the well-known Assistance Dog Training YouTube channel and founder of the Service Dog Training Institute. We discuss how she got started and what inspired her to start her own online dog training courses.
Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer Podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes. Follow The Modern Dog Trainer Blog on Twitter at @ModernTrainer, on Facebook at The Modern Dog Trainer Blog Page, and on Instagram at @TheModernDogTrainerBlog. We love hearing from our listeners!
Please leave us a review on iTunes to help support our podcast!
Donna Hill & The Service Dog Training Institute
We’ve followed Donna Hill for many years. She’s recently grown a large audience thanks to her detailed dog training videos which break down behaviors into tiny steps that anyone can understand and use with their dogs.
She’s taking this success one step further by developing an online dog training institute for anyone that needs a service dog but can’t necessarily afford to purchase one or hire a trainer to train one.
We’re excited to share with you the details about how she got started, why she came up with the Service Dog Training Institute, and where she’s going to take it. Listen to the podcast and share your thoughts in the comments below!
Dog Training Business Tips
Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources right in your inbox! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Don’t forget to let us know what you want to learn more about!
[mc4wp_form]
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Aug 7, 2016 | Marketing
When you are just starting out, it is tempting to take shortcuts in order to get more clients. There are endless ways to get the word out, but some can be costly with a low to no return on investment if you aren’t careful. You’ll be bombarded by calls from social media agencies and Yelp advertising reps, but don’t succumb to the temptation to give away a bit of cash for dreamy promises.
Social Media Agencies
There are a lot of companies out there that claim that they can get you more “likes” or “followers” for a certain cost. Some companies that approach you can seem truly legitimate and some may even be listed in the “Better Business Bureau” directory. However, their fees can add up very quickly. Ultimately, social media is about building relationships with people in your area. Spend some time getting to know how to target your shares to specific, local areas for the best results.
Facebook in particular now allows you to limit and target posts towards a certain audience. Use these options to your advantage. Don’t spend hundreds on companies that give you false hopes.
If you’re considering Facebook ads, check out this insanely detailed article on narrowing your target audience to limit spend and increase your return on investment.
Email Marketing Agencies
Just like with social media, many companies will gladly take your money in exchange for email newsletter creation. Again, taking the time to learn about free alternatives is a great way to save money. It is actually extremely simple with free services like MailChimp. There are also tons of free “how-to” videos on YouTube. To learn about what you should include in an email newsletter, read my article on “Key Components To Creating A “Must Read” Email Newsletter.”
Local News Sites
Local news sites often reach out to new businesses with “special” or “exclusive” ad space availabilities. Whether advertising in a newspaper or on local news sites, this old school method of advertising is unlikely to lead to new clients. Spend advertising budget wisely by advertising in places where people are already looking for services like those you offer – Google! Read my article on digital marketing tactics for dog trainers.
Google Adwords is the ultimate place to find new customers because your business only shows up to people who are already looking for businesses like yours!
Business & Marketing Courses for Dog Trainers
Looking for up-to-date information and advice on running your dog training business? We’ve just launched a waitlist for a few courses for dog trainers. Learn the ins and outs of running and marketing a dog training business from experienced, certified professional dog trainers. Check out our starting list of courses here.
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Jul 25, 2016 | Business
Income can become seasonal as holidays and vacations affect your clients’ ability and availability to train their dogs. Additionally, the worst situation dog trainers put themselves in is always having to get new clients in the door to make a living. That is the hardest sale to make! However, there are some steps you can take to make income more continuous and steady throughout the year.
Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to make income more continuous and steady throughout the year as a dog trainer.
Offer Day Training And Board & Train Programs
Day training is when the trainer comes to the house during the day to work with the dog one-on-one without the owner. Many clients are grateful to have you come in and help them with training because their lives are already so hectic. During vacation seasons, people often look to board their dogs while they are away so give them an even better option – boarding and training while they are away. These programs are often accompanied by private lessons to ensure training transfers smoothly to the owner.
Partner With Apartment Complexes
Apartment complexes are always looking for a way to offer competitive benefits. Consider partnering up with a local complex by teaching weekly classes for their residents only. Explain to the management that better-trained dogs and a sense of community will increase their value and create a more peaceful living environment for their residents. If you partner up and offer weekly, open-enrollment classes then this is a great avenue to continuous income throughout the year.
Recurring Refresher Classes
As professionals, we know training never stops. However, many clients have trouble continuing the training long term. Offer a monthly or bi-weekly class for previous class graduates to pop in for a class with a monthly subscription. Consider adding a rule such as “you must attend 10/12 months a year in order to maintain eligibility to attend these refresher classes.” This creates dedicated clients, a sense of community among the clients, and better behaved dogs as the end result.
What are some ways you or others make consistent income throughout the year?
Dog Training Business Tips
Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources right in your inbox! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Don’t forget to let us know what you want to learn more about!
[mc4wp_form]
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Jul 17, 2016 | Podcast
We invited Brad Phifer, President of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, to discuss some of their new and current policies. Listen as we discuss Brad’s views on banning shock collars, enforcing their CEU presenter credentials, and some exciting plans for the next 3-5 years.
Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer Podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes. Follow The Modern Dog Trainer Blog on Twitter at @ModernTrainer, on Facebook at The Modern Dog Trainer Blog Page, and on Instagram at @TheModernDogTrainerBlog. We love hearing from our listeners! Please leave us a review on iTunes to help support our podcast!
Brad’s Views on Shock Collars & the CCPDT’s Role
We hit on some major hot topics in this episode. One of those being Brad’s views on why the CCPDT should or should not advocate banning them as a certification organization.
Ultimately it comes down to whether or not it is the CCPDT’s role to prohibit their certificants from using them all together. Since the CCPDT is not a membership or trade organization, they are simply not in the position to impose that on their certificants.
Qualifying Requirements for CEU Credit
While new requirements for educators and speakers were published in 2014, the enforcement of these new guidelines is just now beginning and people are starting to notice. By December 2016, many widely recognized professional trainers who teach seminars around the world will not be able to provide CEUs to their attendees anymore. This is a challenging situation to accept for many, but ultimately this will move the dog training industry into a new level of professionalism. If you hold yourself, as a dog trainer, to a high standard of education, then why should the speakers you learn from not do so?
Higher education for all will result in increased public safety and a more professional industry all around.
One new policy that has gone unnoticed is the fact that you can now rollover your extra CEUs into your next renewal time period.
Listen all the way to the end of the podcast to discover some interesting revelations about Brad’s views on licensing within the dog training industry and the CCPDT’s plans for the next 3-5 years.
Dog Training Business Tips
Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources right in your inbox! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Don’t forget to let us know what you want to learn more about!
[mc4wp_form]
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | Jun 14, 2016 | Podcast, Training Methods
In this podcast we talk to Abigail Curtis DVM, one of the founders of the International Dog Parkour Association. We go over how it all began, what you should know before you get started with dog parkour, and how you can leverage this sport with your clients as a professional dog trainer.
Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer Podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes. Follow The Modern Dog Trainer Blog on Twitter at @ModernTrainer, on Facebook at The Modern Dog Trainer Blog Page, and on Instagram at @TheModernDogTrainerBlog. We love hearing from our listeners! Please leave us a review on iTunes to help support our podcast!
The International Dog Parkour Association is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2014 by Karin and Abigail.
To learn more about what dog parkour is and how to get started check out their “What is Dog Parkour” page.
![Grow Your Dog Training Business with Smart Facebook Strategies]()
by Ines | May 9, 2016 | Business
Mistakes You’re Making When Marketing Your Dog Training Business
1. You Pay for Yelp Ads
I’m pretty sure that every business owner in North America has received calls from Yelp to advertise. At first, its seems like a great option because potential customers often check Yelp reviews before calling you. For dog trainers, however, you’re better off spending your marketing budget on Google rather than Yelp.
From my experience, people visiting Yelp already have a trainer in mind and are looking at their reviews for confirmation. On Yelp, your ads may cost more and may not be as targeted as they could be on Google Adwords. Additionally, as Google has introduced their own review systems, Yelp has seen a decline in search rankings within Google.
Yelp is not to be neglected, however. Ensuring you have consistent, positive reviews will encourage potential customers who are doing their research to decide on your business to satisfy their needs. Always remind current and past clients to leave their reviews there or on your Google business page.
Recommended Reading: Why You Should Do Some Market Research Before Starting Your Dog Training Business
2. You Have a Website, But Don’t Know How It Performs in Google
This is common among dog trainers. We all know a website is important, but many don’t quite realize why they’re important. Your website isn’t just a place for potential customers to learn about you before hiring you. Your website is critical to your business’s success. A dog trainer’s website should have a professional feel and should work to get you new clients by getting indexed by Google, showing potential clients your expertise, demonstrating to clients how you can help them in their situation, and making it easy to reach out to you.
If your website is not connected to Google Analytics, you’re missing out on a lot of intelligence about how people navigate to and through your website. If you think you’re all set because you have a website, you’re missing the point of having one in the first place.
An established website should provide you with a wealth of information about your potential clients and is critical to long-term, consistent success as a dog trainer. Your website is one of the best ways prospective clients can find out about you.
3. You’re Considering Paying for Facebook Ads
There’s a right way and a wrong way to advertise on Facebook. If you’re looking to build awareness of your brand or an upcoming event, Facebook is a great way to promote those. However, if you’re trying to fill up a group class by the end of the month, you’re better off advertising on Google which is where people intend to make purchasing decisions.
4. You’re Hoping that Business Cards at a Local Shop Will Generate Interest
If you leave anything at a store in hopes to generate interest in your services, think about what the customer might be interested in reading about. Based on the visitor’s reason for visiting the store and the services you offer, make a flyer, brochure, or hand out that mixes the two together.
Let’s use a pet store for an example. Customers visiting the pet store are most likely there to purchase dog food or dog toys. In this instance, I’d recommend a handout on dog nutrition, best toys to keep dogs busy, or even the benefits of food puzzle toys for dogs. With a catchy title and engaging images, your handout will attract readers. The information you share will demonstrate your knowledge and you’ll have provided value to the reader. The goal is that the reader will think of you the next time they have a training related question. A simple business card just doesn’t cut it anymore.
5. Avoiding Google Adwords Because You’re Scared to Spend Too Much Money
Don’t get me wrong, that is a legitimate concern. Google Adwords can easily take your money and run with it, but being scared of Adwords is not a good excuse. Many successful dog trainers, if not most, use Google Adwords to consistently fill their classes and schedule with new clients. Learning how to target audiences strategically can save you money and bring you new clients on a regular basis. It is definitely worth the time investment to learn how to use Google Adwords if you want to have a successful dog training business.
6. Your Website Doesn’t Have a Purpose or Goal
You know your website is where potential customers go to learn about you. However, have you thought about:
- Is your website easy to navigate?
- Can visitors easily contact you from every page?
- Does your website load quickly on all devices?
- Does your site acknowledge your visitor’s concerns, situation, or objections?
If you’ve forgotten to ask these questions, your website isn’t doing as well as it could be.
7. You’re Forgetting About Your Current or Past Customers
Current or past customers are your greatest resources. It is easier to market to current or past customers than finding new customers. If you don’t have an option for recurring services for your clients, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity and you’re leaving your clients hanging without continued support. Chances are you have several customers who would love an opportunity to continue working with you if you gave them the option.
Ideally, you’ll want to start an email newsletter to keep customers engaged and share new services. Additionally, you want to be top of their mind when their friends mention dog behavior struggles, right?
8. You’re Advertising, Not Marketing
Raise your hand if you like ads online, on TV, or on the radio.
Don’t interrupt people’s lives with pushy advertising. Enough said.
(Check out this eBook on Facebook Marketing Strategies to get the most out of that platform.)
9. You’re Not Demonstrating Your Expertise
A key component to marketing your dog training business is demonstrating your ability to satisfy customers. Testimonials and case studies with images and videos can be impactful. Watching a video testimonial can help someone who’s on the fence about calling you make the decision to reach out.
You can spend a great deal in marketing, but testimonials and case studies can truly seal the deal and help you get new clients. Detailed and structured case studies can be distributed along with other marketing materials to local veterinarians to demonstrate your professionalism and expertise.
10. You Don’t Realize Why People Hire Dog Trainers
What truly drives people to contact a dog trainer? Their dog’s behavior? Nope.
People reach out to dog trainers because their quality of life is suffering. They don’t want to give up on their dog, but they also know they don’t want to continue living the way they are now. Your messaging should address how you’re planning on relieving them of stress, anxiety, and improving their quality of life. It isn’t enough to spout out a message about positive dog training, you must make them confident in your ability to improve their current situation.
Digital Marketing Solutions for Dog Trainers
Digital marketing isn’t a gimmick. I work with professional and amateur dog trainers to bring their businesses up to speed with the goal of generating consistent income. As a dog trainer myself, I’ve experienced the ups and downs of seasonal clientele. I’ve learned digital marketing solutions the hard way and now I’m helping other dog trainers grow their businesses, too.
Let’s see how we can grow your dog training business to the next level. Whether you’re going from part-time to full-time or simply want to get new clients more consistently each month, you can benefit from a course I’m working on.
Check out the courses I’m producing to help dog trainers start and grow their businesses.
