As a dog trainer, the challenges you face are as unique as the breeds you train. One minute you’re on a high, watching a once unruly pup listen to your every word. The next, you’re buried under a mountain of invoices, emails, and marketing tasks that drain your spark.
You’re not alone. And it’s time to unload some of that workload to an AI tool like ChatGPT.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a language model developed by OpenAI, which uses machine learning to process and generate human-like text. It can answer questions, write essays, and even summarize lengthy documents – and so much more. But where it shines for solo business owners, like dog trainers, is its versatility in tackling daily tasks and strategic decisions.
Content Creation Hero
As a dog trainer, you’re an expert at canine communication. However, when it comes to marketing your services, finding the right words can be as tricky as teaching an old dog a new trick. ChatGPT can serve as your on-call copywriter, drafting catchy email campaigns, informative blog posts, or compelling social media updates. It takes your ideas and transforms them into engaging content that can attract more clients and build your brand.
Your Strategic Think-Tank
Dog trainers don’t just train dogs. They’re also marketers, financial planners, and customer service reps. Juggling these roles can be overwhelming. Thankfully, ChatGPT can assist with brainstorming marketing strategies, planning finances, or deciding on the right communication for clients. ChatGPT serves as an accessible, reliable, and cost-effective resource, facilitating strategic decisions that drive business growth.
Client Communication Catalyst
Answering routine client inquiries can consume valuable time better spent on in-person sessions. That’s where ChatGPT comes in. It can handle client questions, schedule appointments, and even send out reminders for training sessions. By automating these routine tasks, you have more time to provide personalized care to your clients.
A Quick-Study Companion
New training techniques, dog breeds, or behavioral studies, the world of dog training is always evolving. Staying updated can feel like a task. With ChatGPT, you have a learning buddy that can provide quick summaries of complex topics. It ensures you stay on top of your game, without having to trawl through a sea of information.
If you’re excited about the possibilities that ChatGPT brings, you’ll want to check out the ChatGPT Skool. It’s an online course designed specifically for professionals keen to harness the full potential of this AI powerhouse.
The Skool offers high-quality 4K video lessons catering to all skill levels, ensuring that even tech novices can grasp the technology. The focus is on real-world applications, providing you with hands-on experience and practical know-how, instead of just theory.
What’s more, you join a vibrant community of professionals who are navigating the same AI journey as you. They’re there to share insights, solve problems, and even celebrate victories together. It’s more than just an educational course, it’s a support network that is crucial for any solo business owner.
For dog trainers running a solo business, the challenges are vast but not insurmountable, especially when you have AI tools like ChatGPT. It’s more than technology. It’s a reliable assistant, a brainstorming partner, and a catalyst for business growth.
Please note – Some of the links here are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase through them, helping us continue offering great advice for your dog training business; we only recommend products we believe in, and we value your trust.
The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is a must-have tool for any professional dog trainer looking to streamline their business and maximize their efficiency. This software platform provides a comprehensive suite of features designed specifically for dog trainers, from client management and scheduling to billing and payment processing.
As a dog trainer, you know how challenging it can be to manage your schedule, clients, and payments while also providing high-quality training services. The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is designed to simplify these tasks and help you focus on what you do best – training dogs.
Why not just use Venmo?
A huge percentage of people in our profession use Venmo or other single payment apps that are designed for splitting meals with friends, not for business. While they seem convenient at first, they cost Pros a ton of money in late payments and non-payments, plus time you don’t have tracking who hasn’t yet paid you. What we recommend instead is enabling credit card payments on PocketSuite and then pass on the small fee using the surcharge feature to your clients. Not only does it track your income, it makes payments happen automatically so you always get paid upfront or
immediately after for your work.
Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite
One of the key features of this software platform is its client management tools. With The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite, you can easily organize your clients’ information, track their progress, and communicate with them through an integrated messaging system. This feature allows you to stay on top of your clients’ needs and preferences, which is crucial for building strong, long-term relationships with them.
The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite also offers a robust scheduling system. With this feature, you can create and manage your schedule, book appointments, and set reminders for yourself and your clients. This helps you stay organized and ensures that you don’t miss any important appointments or training sessions.
A key benefit of The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is its billing and payment processing capabilities. With this software platform, you can easily create invoices, process payments, and track your revenue. This feature is especially useful for dog trainers who need to manage multiple clients and projects simultaneously.
The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite also includes several marketing and branding tools to help you promote your business and attract new clients. With features like custom branding and online booking, you can create a professional image for your business and make it easier for potential clients to find and book your services.
Overall, the Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is a powerful and versatile tool that can help you streamline your business operations and grow your client base. Whether you’re a seasoned dog trainer or just starting out in the industry, this software platform has everything you need to succeed.
One of the key benefits of using the Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is its ease of use. This software platform is designed with the user in mind, and its intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate and use. Whether you’re creating an invoice or booking an appointment, the process is simple and straightforward.
Unique to The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite
With our signature edition, we’ve set up some baseline settings you can use immediately so you aren’t building out the app from scratch. These settings follow our best practices and recommendations we give to our own students.
Best Practices-Based Default Settings
Settings that start you out with the best practices we believe dog trainers should be going by in their businesses.
Grab-N-Go Dog Training Programs
Skyrocket your profitability with our designed-for-you dog training programs that will practically sell themselves.
Professional Client Questionnaires
Know exactly what you’re walking in to with our done-for-you dog training questionnaires. Never be caught off guard by a client’s situation again!
Take & Tweak Cancellation Policy
Use our cancellation policy as a starting point to set yourself up for success with client compliance.
If you’re looking for a way to streamline your dog training business and improve your overall efficiency, the Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is the perfect solution. With its comprehensive suite of features and easy-to-use interface, this software platform is the ultimate tool for any dog trainer looking to succeed in today’s competitive market.
In conclusion, the Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is a game-changer for dog trainers who want to take their business to the next level. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, the Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is the ultimate tool for success.
When you run the risk of being compared to TV dog trainers or that police officer turned pet dog trainer, it’s important to position your company and brand intentionally.
To balance professionalism with personality.
What does “professional” mean?
Demonstrating courtesy, clear communication, and streamlined organization and processes.
This allows your clients to feel taken care of and secure.
They aren’t left guessing what’s going to happen next.
Let’s take a quick dive into what this might look like for a dog trainer.
3 Main Ways to Be More Professional as a Dog Trainer
1) You have established a code of conduct for yourself (and your future team).
✅ Documented way of serving your clients. You have committed to showing up consistently in a certain way. Maybe it’s just the normal way you show up for people, but you’ve taken a minute to identify what those qualities and characteristics are so that you can continue to maintain the same level of professionalism when your workload increases.
✅ Keep an updated and well-managed calendar. You show up when you say you are going to show up. You manage your life and schedule effectively so that YOU are never the one that no-shows a client by accident.
2) You are clear and precise in your communication.
Let’s face it, your clients are dealing with a stressful situation. They don’t have the energy or time to play guessing games about what’s supposed to happen when – you’re the professional, you need to take the lead.
✅ Proactive welcome sequence of events for new clients. Your clients receive information upon signing up that gives them effective guidance on what it’s like to work with you. You’ve thought about setting the HUMAN client up for success as much as the dog. They feel seen and cared for. THIS alone will set you apart from 90% of trainers, this is one of the many pieces of the business puzzle I teach all my students to set up in The Modern Dog Trainer Academy.
✅ Communication styles are accommodated. You accompany your instructions with consideration to the different styles of communication each of your clients might have. Some may prefer video while others prefer written. Some are visual and some are verbal. Some might need a short checklist while others don’t mind an essay. Try to accommodate more than one communication style in your materials and instructions.
3) You have clear processes in place even if not everything is automated, yet.
✅ A documented client lifecycle mapped out. From the initial inquiry to the last training session, you have every piece of the process penciled in (because it’s always subject to change but you’re starting with something.) You’ve thought through when you need to do and say to help the client along their journey. (If you don’t yet, check out our complete Dog Training Client Lifecycle Roadmap Bundle).
✅ Clear marketing strategy. Professionalism begins before working with clients. How you position your company online and out in the community sets the tone for how you work with your paying clients. Does your marketing speak to the kind of clients you want to be working with?
Professionalism is about a lot more than just showing up on someone’s doorstep looking nice. Even if you’re solo, you’re still running a company and you can (and should) step up into that CEO seat and claim how your company will be showing up for your clients.
Are you attracting clients that care about your professionalism? Do your offerings reflect the level of service you plan on delivering?
It might be time for an analysis of your current structure to see if there is room for improvement. Sometimes all it takes is a small pivot to skyrocket your growth toward a business that really gives back to you as much as you put into it.
Dog trainers take a lot with them when they are working. Because of this need for “stuff,” dog trainers are always on a quest for the perfect bag to carry it all.
Tote bags are a great way to get organized and to carry all that stuff to appointments and classes. Following is a list of some favorite tote bags of trainers.
Please note – this is not an inclusive list nor is it necessarily an endorsement; these are some bags I personally use and have heard from other trainers they use and like. Additionally, some of the links here are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase through them, helping us continue offering great advice for your dog training business; we only recommend products we believe in, and we value your trust.
The organizing utility tote from Thirty One is an organized, all-purpose bag with lots of pockets for clickers, receipt books, water bottles, pens, and poop bags. There are two versions of this bag – this one with a zip top and another that is open.
The large utility bag, also from Thirty One, is great for mats, cones, toys, and other big supplies that don’t fit well into other bags. Tops are available for this bag if you prefer a closed bag.
The Lands End bags work well for paperwork – client files, books, contact information, clipboards, etc. They also are good bags for toys. Lands End offers these bags in a variety of sizes, and with or without a zip top.
Products from Thirty One and Lands End are nice because you can get them embroidered with your business name, a monogram, or a paw print. They also come in a variety of colors and prints.
The paw print duffle bag is available from many vendors online. A duffle bag with both handles and a shoulder strap and end pockets and a front pocket is a great bag to have. You can get duffle bags from embroidery businesses with your logo or something dog/business related embroidered on the front pocket. This is can be an all-purpose bag to carry class supplies.
Zippers to keep dogs out might be an important function you will want in a bag. This heavy-duty canvas bag is labeled as a toolbag but can be utilized by trainers to keep all the equipment you might need to carry around from home to home for your training. This bag can carry everything from water bottles to treats and leashes.
What is your favorite tote bag and what do you use it for?
I hear it all the time: “I want to raise my prices, but I don’t want to lose customers.” The idea is that if you increase your prices, nobody will buy what you’re selling. And sure enough, most businesses have seen sales slow down when they increase their prices. But here’s the thing: raising prices isn’t just something that happens once—it’s an ongoing process! If you start charging more today and then stop tomorrow, then next week your customers will be used to paying more for your product or service. And so on…
Raising The Prices of Your Dog Training Services
If you’re not raising your prices, then you’re losing money. You may have been taught to believe that the only way to grow your business is by increasing your value and adding more services or products. While this is true, it’s also important to realize that as time goes on, the value of a dollar adjusts. You should always strive for continual growth in all areas of your business—not just with how much value you provide but also with how much money people are willing to pay for it! But it’s not as simple as some might have you believe. It’s not always beneficial to just “raise your price” because of the multitude of factors that are at play.
Why You Can’t Just “Raise Your Prices”
You can’t just raise your prices. As a dog trainer, you have a very unique skill set. No other trainer can precisely replicate the way you go about training dogs and interacting with clients. But most trainers forget to articulate the uniqueness they bring to a dog owners dog training journey. They assume they need to base their prices on what other trainers around them are pricing at, but to me, that’s like pricing apples and oranges the same price because they are both fruit.
To effectively raise your prices, you’ll need to address a few other aspects of your business too. You’ll need to intentionally create you marketing message, level up your client experience, and/or build out your systems to streamline sales—and that’s not easy! You’re going to have to put in some serious time and effort into figuring out how this will work for your business. You need a plan for what exactly you want to offer clients that they can’t get anywhere else; then make sure it’s something people actually want (i.e., not just what YOU think would be cool).
There’s a better way to raise prices.
There’s a better way to raise prices. Instead of just raising your prices, you can increase the value you’re offering at the same time. Here are some ideas for doing that:
Evolve your dog training package into a dog training program with specific goals in mind. When you productize your services, it makes them more tangible to the potential client. They aren’t buying “time with you” and instead buying a solution to their problem.
Offer a discount for a limited time. This can be as simple as offering 20% off for the first week or month after your new price goes into effect. It gives clients an incentive to buy right away rather than waiting until later on when they might forget about it (or find another option).
Put a sales system in place. I know we don’t like to think about sales, but it is a crucial piece to being able to help more families and their dogs. There is a science to sales and if it means you get to help more people and their dogs by implementing a proven sales process, then its a win-win. Look at sales as simply a conversation with someone that needs help and you two are deciding whether what you have to offer would be beneficial to them and their situation.
Know how you’re going to generate leads that need your services. All too often trainers are reliant on referrals for their business. Should they want to move or if the referrals stop, then business stops. We should be putting in place a strategy to generate leads for your services and if you don’t know what to do each day to generate potential clients, then you shouldn’t be raising prices yet. You need to be able to generate your own demand instead of relying on referrals or word of mouth which come from the kindness of others – something that’s totally out of your control.
The bottom line is that raising prices is not as simple as it sounds. There are many factors to consider and you must do more than just raise your prices if you want to build for sustainable growth.
Suggestions for You
Want to take a deep dive into where your business stands with my team? Our business strategist is currently accepting applications for Game Plan calls. A complimentary call where, together, we take a look at what’s preventing you from hitting your goals.You can apply for this call here.
Grab our $7 book, “The Modern Dog Trainer’s Guide to 10K Months” to get a comprehensive picture of what it takes to get to six figures within integrity to who you are as a person and trainer.
You’re now not just a dog trainer. You’re a CEO. And if you want to have a 6-figure dog training business in the near future, you have to believe that you ALREADY own one.
If you already have one, you have to be conscious of this! I’ve worked with clients that didn’t even realize they have a six-figure business until I asked them about their goals.
If you aren’t disciplined with yourself, your family, and your schedule, it is easy to be a bit too flexible and overwhelm yourself. Be proactive and determine your hours of operation. Having hours I know I’ll be working allows me to communicate them to clients and family. If you’re too wishy washy about your hours, you’ll end up working all the hours you don’t actually want to be working.
If you want to have a 6-figure dog training business in the near future, you have to believe that you ALREADY own one.
Delegate Personal Tasks
My students are often surprised to learn that I have a yard scooper service come TWICE a week (its a small yard and my corgi always goes in the same spots…) While I LOVE my dogs, I do not want to spend my valuable time scooping their poo. I’d much rather be talking to clients, playing with my daughter, or playing with my dogs.
Everything that takes time and energy away from the things you truly love and want to do are contributing to burnout.
Think about what you’re doing regularly that you don’t absolutely love. Grocery shopping? Laundry? Mowing? These things should be delegated to someone else. A family member. Or someone that is paid to do this work for you. Your time is more valuable than money. If tasks are taking your time and energy away from your business and they aren’t lighting you up with joy, then its time to delegate ASAP.
Another thing I don’t do is go grocery shopping. Every Friday morning my husband goes to get us groceries. He takes his earbuds and listens to a podcast or his favorite music. He actually finds it enjoyable! In the meantime, I spend some quality time with my toddler. We read, we play, or we go on a short walk just her and I. When I get into work, I feel really good about how I spent my morning and am energized to get some things done.
This didn’t come about without some trial and error. I had to really tune into how certain activities made me feel. If I felt annoyed and frustrated after them, I asked my husband to take care of them. We are quite opposite in our preferences – I enjoy mowing, taking our daughter to the playground, and feeding the dogs. He enjoys grocery shopping and doing the dishes. The hardest part about delegating? It’s usually realizing what you need to delegate and how to ask for the help you need – but it is so worth it!
I had to really tune into how certain activities made me feel.
Say No
Or at least “maybe.” I’m the first one to say “yes” to invitations. I love getting out of the house. BUT if you’re not careful, this can take time away from the time you need to be spending with your thinking cap (CEO cap) on. Additionally, if you say yes to other’s invitations – you’re saying yes to their plans, not yours. This is why I’m a huge fan of planning out your free time in your calendar so that if an invitation comes your way, you know what you’re saying no to.
I’m also more of an introvert so I need my space. If I end up doing too many activities with others, I feel drained, anxious, and irritable. As much as I want to be super social, I need to be considerate of my own boundaries and limitations. And I have to preserve some energy for clients!
Be conscious of how much energy you’re letting others take from you that may leave you irritable around your family or clients.
Make Your Life Easier
Take the time to set yourself up for success. Stop getting frustrated at situations in your home by taking care of them once and for all. I read Denise Duffield-Thomas‘s book, Chillpreneur, and one of my favorite takeaways from her work is to make life easier on yourself.
A few examples…
Get extra laptop charging cables so you never run out of battery no matter where you are. I have one cable for my desk and one for my bag.
Same for phone chargers. Get a few extra chargers so you don’t have to get up every time your phone has a low battery.
Limited cabinet or storage space? Clear out containers or utensils you don’t use very often and put them in a box for safekeeping, but stop letting them take up precious day-to-day access cabinet space!
Ultimately, quit putting up with minor inconveniences, because they REALLY do add up. What constantly bugs you about your home? Take 30 minutes this weekend to take care of it once and for all.
Focus on Money-Making Activities
Nothing has taught me how to be efficient quite like becoming a mom. No one is more efficient with their time than moms. We don’t have hours upon hours to mess around online. We have to make sure every move we make is worth time away from our kids.
For me, that means that everything I do should have an emotional and/or financial payout afterward. I should feel better AND earn revenue from my work. This means I need to spend my time getting to know my ideal clients, talking to them about what I can do to help them, and then deliver on it. That’s it – I now leave tasks such as tweaking my website, producing my podcast, and responding to non-client inquiries to my assistant(s).
You have to become more and more comfortable with imperfection. You have to accept that mistakes are going to happen, but that’s the only way to get better. It’s not that the other things aren’t important, but they are not tasks that will directly grow my business and anyone else can be trained up on how to do them – so you should!
That means that everything I do should have an emotional and/or financial payout afterward. I should feel better AND earn revenue from my work.
Persist in Finding the Right Team Members
This leads me to my last tip – try, try again. Admittedly, it has taken me months to find the right team members. People that had the right attitude, tenacity, skillset, and responsiveness to run more things behind the scenes for me. I’ve made all the mistakes – hiring based on being recommended to me, assuming someone knew what they were doing, hiring purely based on skillset and not attitude, etc.
I had to get tough on myself and really sit down and define who I needed – not just what tasks needed to be handled. I had to make the tough decisions to let others go and say no to nice, but not-right potential team members. This is part of being the CEO. You shoulder the responsibility to choosing the people that support you.
I also help my Chief Executive Trainer students do this with the help of The Modern Dog Trainer Leadership Coach, Cherylann, as a part of that program.
In the Chief Executive Trainer program, I help six-figure dog training business owners grasping at straws due to burnout or overwhelm transform their business into a fulfilling, industry-leading multi-six-figure business that is better able to run on its own and better serve its clients.
We help 6-figure dog business owners move to multi-six figures, take back your time, and make more money without adding more to your workload through my three-step Revive. Refresh. Recalibrate. process.
We address three parts of your business that are holding you back from massive success.
Systems – We immediately take back your time by identifying and optimizing systems that aren’t working in your favor.
Services – We standardize your services into packages and programs that skyrocket your profitability within weeks, not months.
Team Members – We work together to help you be a better leader to your team so that they are enthusiastic about your company’s vision and their part in it.
Facebook Live Webinar by Ines McNeil and Megan Wallace (Dogs Deciphered), Transcribed by Gem Sheps
However, some trainers find themselves struggling with adapting their communication to the new status quo. Effective online communication is an important skill for everyone to learn nowadays, and Megan Wallace B.S., CPDT-KA, CNWI, owner of Dogs Deciphered, joined me again this week to discuss how communication online is different than in person.
Be Direct
You have to be able to clearly describe what you need your client to do when training online. In person you have the opportunity to demonstrate physically, but that can actually become a crutch. Online, you have to be able to give step-by-step, detailed instructions about the mechanics of dog training.
“One of the reasons dog trainers struggle with online communication is because they think it’s going to be wildly different than training in person,” Wallace said. “There are differences, but we have to remember that we know a lot of this stuff already. Clearly explaining training methods takes practice, but it’s a skill we can all improve on over time.”
Find New Ways to Explain Training Mechanics
One of the biggest challenges in general for dog training clients is learning the mechanics. Communicating online can feel like a major barrier between your client and successful training. You have to be specific and explain step by step what you need your client to do in online lessons.
“When I started teaching nosework I didn’t have descriptive terms ready to explain things like a search area to clients,” Wallace said. “I was able to physically point out the boundaries. But since transitioning to online training, I’ve had to practice describing things to clients without being able to point things out in person. If you find that people are confused by what you’re saying, take the time to think about what you could say differently.”
Finding the right descriptive terms takes time as well, so don’t be afraid to reach out to other trainers and watch their webinars. You may hear an explanation that would work better for your clients or even makes more sense to you!
Find Substitutes for Body Language
We know as people who work with dogs that body language is a huge part of communication. In person we use body language to make ourselves more approachable, and you can do the same thing online.
Communicating online can feel alienating at first, so you need to use other ‘body language’ tools to make clients feel more comfortable. For example — emojis! Adding facial expressions to the sentence you’re trying to explain can help clients interpret your writing and make it more relatable. Where it’s appropriate, add emojis to your content; this includes social media, texts, and even email.
“It is important to be aware of what does and doesn’t work in text,” Wallace said. “I’m someone who likes to use humor to lighten the mood, but in an email it may not come off the way I intended. Especially if you’re approaching a serious topic, consider writing out what you need to say and then sit on it; leave it in your drafts for a few hours, then come back and read it again — preferably out loud. You might come to find that something you think is funny written down may not translate well out loud, and your client can pick up on those nuances. Written humor can come off as flippant or sarcastic, which is risky.”
Over-Communication is Key
You need to be more thorough in explaining things online, especially in written conversation. In order to feel confident in training, clients may need direct links to products they should purchase, or for you to explain how to set up their training space.
“Your client may not have any of the skills in their arsenal that you expect them to have,” Wallace said. “Over-communicate online. Never assume that your client understands even the most basic concepts without talking to them first, even if it feels repetitive.”
Of course, use your best judgement with each client. Some people can get agitated by being over-communicated to if they feel they understand the concept. However, those who need the extra reminders and suggestions will be grateful.
“It’s easy to get distracted from training when the trainer isn’t in the room, and staying focused on technology can be hard,” Wallace said. “Rather than explaining a concept once and risking your client missing a bit, bring the concept up throughout lessons and make sure they have a higher chance of succeeding.”
Improve Your Dog Training Business
Master communication so that clients literally love you, never ask for refunds, and can’t stop talking about you to their friends. Learn from this month’s guest, Megan Wallace B.S., CPDT-KA, CNWI, about how to communicate confidently for better results in your dog training business.
As all dog trainers eventually discover, dog training is more about training their humans; and good communication is critical to ensuring your human clients are set up for success.
Facebook Live Webinar by Ines McNeil and Megan Wallace (Dogs Deciphered), Transcribed by Gem Sheps
I’m joined again this week by Megan Wallace B.S., CPDT-KA, CNWI, owner of Dogs Deciphered to discuss one of her personal specialties — communication!
1. Human Training Requires Stellar Communication
“If your goal is to help a lot of dogs,” Wallace said, “then you have to help their people. When you hit a wall with a client and you start to feel frustrated, you need to keep in mind that someone else’s behavior is not in your control. You can, however, control your response, which is often more important.”
Manage Your Expectations to Remove Roadblocks to Client Success
Communicating your expectations and the value of the work you’re assigning are all crucial to success in training. Your human clients need to understand what you’re teaching even more than your dog clients in order for the dog to progress in training.
“One of my early mentors told me that if you give clients exercises that they can’t accomplish, you haven’t helped their dog at all,” Wallace said. “You’ve spent both parties’ time and nothing has happened because, for whatever reason, the client feels like they can’t follow your instructions. And that comes back to how you communicate and manage your expectations. Try to remember that there’s a reason they aren’t professional dog trainers; if you manage your expectations for clients, then you won’t feel as disappointed if their progress looks different than expected. Are they happily living with their dog, do they feel less frustrated on a daily basis? Those should be your real goals.”
The way you communicate and the space that you set up for your client to reciprocate that communication is important in order for the dog to excel.
“If your client says that they just haven’t been able to practice, try to get to the root of the problem,” Wallace said. “Sometimes I just ask clients directly, ‘what do you think is getting in the way of you practicing?’ If they say they’re busy, find a way to fit short one to three minute lessons into their schedule; if they say they’re afraid they won’t do it right, find a new way to explain the exercise to them to increase their confidence. Instead of getting frustrated, help them adapt!”
Create successes for your clients; if you have to back a concept up ten steps because the client can’t succeed at it yet, think about how you’d do the same thing for a dog that struggles with understanding. Make them feel great about accomplishing tasks that may feel tiny to you. A lot of this is second nature to us; don’t make clients feel self-conscious because they haven’t handled hundreds of dogs over the years.
2. Unclear Communication Leads to a Training Standstill
“It’s important to recognize that even what we consider to be the most basic management tasks can be too much for your client to handle up front,” Wallace said. “If you want them to use a crate and they’ve never touched one before, you have to take a few steps backward for them to succeed. Otherwise, you’ve potentially given them too much to think about and the overwhelming feeling can lead to them simply not doing the training.”
Being able to explain your methodology can also help clients to overcome personal barriers to success like conflicting beliefs. What kind of assumptions or fears does the client have about your management technique? Do they understand what the result could be if they decide not to follow your instructions?
“Communicating consequences in a professional way is also incredibly important,” Wallace said. “You don’t want to use scare tactics or hyperbole — just be honest and clear. These are the things that could happen if your dog continues to escape out the front door, or jump on guests; they need to be able to hear and understand what is potentially at stake. That way, they learn that what you’re requesting of them isn’t arbitrary or simply a personal belief — it’s a crucial part of altering their dog’s behavior.”
Additionally, giving your clients an alternative if they feel they aren’t making progress can be incredibly helpful. Often, we make the assumption that clients will reach out to us if they’re struggling, but that’s not true.
They may be falling back on old habits or taking advice from less-experienced friends — give them a path to follow if things aren’t working! If you don’t give them specific expectations and guidelines for how and when to contact you, they may assume they aren’t allowed to, or that they’d be pushy or intrusive for reaching out.
“I often give my clients a specific amount of time to practice,” Wallace said. “Try this for X amount of time and if you’re not seeing progress, let’s re-evaluate. One of the reasons people stop trying is because they think the training method isn’t working. Let them know by when they should start seeing change — not that the problem will be fixed in that amount of time, but that they should notice specific (if small) behavior changes by that time. And, if they don’t, then it’s time to re-evaluate, not give up.”
How Do You Make Sure Training is Progressing?
“One of the only great things to come from this time of social distancing is that now, almost everyone knows how to communicate digitally,” Wallace said. “Video calls are an excellent platform for check-in sessions that only have to last 15 minutes. It gives me an opportunity to make sure that things are progressing, and if not, provide the client an alternative in a timely manner. I definitely intend to keep doing video check-ins once this is over.”
Of course, properly communicating the purpose for the check-ins is equally important — you don’t want clients to feel like you’re doing it because you don’t trust them, you want them to know you’re checking in because you want them to succeed. Let them know during lessons that you’ll be doing regular check-ins.
How Often Should You Check In?
There’s no specific interval you should set for every client. Instead, ask your clients how often they’d like you to check in.
“I’ll see what they prefer — are they the kind of person that wants accountability?” Wallace said. “I’ll check in with them every few days. Are they a self-starter and more independent? I’ll give them the space they need to be successful. As you get to know your clients and get more comfortable talking with them, talk to them about what they prefer in terms of an instructor.”
3. Being Up-Front With Expectations Reduces Confusion
Good communication of your expectations is critical for your client’s experience with you as a customer. You want clients to know what to expect from you logistically during training, and how to encourage them to give word-of-mouth referrals, leave reviews, and buy another package once lessons are over.
“If you’re not clear on what you want,” Wallace said, “how can you possibly expect someone to know what information they’re supposed to be giving you? It’s important to do that self-reflection and know what you expect of your clients and yourself, and then you can set up expectations in the beginning of the client relationship.”
Consider Your Client’s Expectations
“The client’s experience is crucial to take into account,” Wallace said. “We as trainers need to remember that oftentimes when a client comes to us, they’re going through something troubling. They had a different image in their mind of what living with a dog would be like and this isn’t it. Jean Donaldson nailed it when she said that people have this ‘Disney Dog’ in mind when imagining life with a dog. And sometimes dogs really subvert that expectation. We have to take this into account when we communicate with clients.”
Acknowledge Outside Factors That Affect Progress
Navigating family relationships is also something dog trainers need to learn to do. Unless the client you’re working with is a single dog owner, you’re going to communicate with more than one person. A lot of people are stressed out when they decide to sign up for dog training. Understanding what additional factors your client is navigating in their home life can be a major piece of the puzzle that is their dog’s behavior.
“Keep in mind, however, that changing the home dynamic is not your job,” Wallace warns. “ It’s okay to discuss with them that everyone will need to be on the same page, but sometimes we get too much in our minds about what success has to look like. I’ve seen trainers who say they’ll only work with a family if everyone can be at every session, but that can be so hard for people to schedule at times. It makes training inaccessible. Whereas if you’re flexible, usually one person is usually willing to step up and take on the majority of the training responsibility and teach it to their family and you may be able to train everyone together every few lessons instead of every lesson.”
People’s lives are complicated — be flexible!
Looking for a way to strengthen or freshen up your digital communication skills? Join Ines McNeil and Megan Wallace on May 27th at 7 P.M. EDT for their upcoming FREE webinar: Communicate With Confidence Online! Register today to receive a copy of the recording (even if you can’t attend live)!Unsure of how to apply your communication skills to your digital marketing technique? Sign up for The Modern Dog Trainer Academy’s “Clicks to Clients” social media marketing course!
Learning to prioritize as a dog trainer isn’t always an easy feat. Dog trainers get into business because we love what we do. Our clients are bouncy little furballs of fun — and sometimes their owners are equally as special. Because our work can become so personal to us, there’s a widespread assumption that every project you take on and commitment you make are equally important.
Facebook Live Webinar by Ines McNeil and Megan Wallace (Dogs Deciphered), Transcribed by Gem Sheps
Luckily for you, Dogs Deciphered owner Megan Wallace B.S., CPDT-KA, CNWI joined me this week to talk about prioritizing tasks that bring revenue to and add value to your business in the long run.
Respect the Hierarchy
There is an identifiable hierarchy when it comes to the importance of tasks you take on as a business owner. Money-making tasks that bring in revenue and help you pay the bills should be your top priority. And while writing your curriculum and planning lessons are important parts of a dog training business, you need to be focusing on how you’re going to bring clients in and make money.
Continue Your BUSINESS Education
Continuing education is important — and I’m not going to tell you to stop attending dog training seminars — but gaining dog training knowledge isn’t necessarily going to better your business. Will it make you a better dog trainer? Certainly. But following LIMA protocols won’t help you increase your reach on social media and bring in clients.
You need to consider the return on your investment; even if you start teaching more as a result of your continued dog training education, it’s not immediately going to drive more income to you.
Consider Your Mental Workload
As you continue to grow as a trainer and gain a positive reputation, you’ll also find people coming to you with projects. Awesome — being great at what you do means more people will want to work with you! But the workload that comes along with taking on extra clients and volunteering to jump on projects can grow exponentially.
Juggling clients, projects, and business tasks takes up a lot of mental real estate. Ruthless prioritization is your best friend. The tasks that take you away from the most important things in your life — like your family and friends — should be worth your time.
“Being able to say no to things that aren’t forwarding your specific mission is crucial,” Wallace said. “People look at you as the dog expert that they know — which is a great place to be — but at the same time, it doesn’t mean you have time to dedicate to every project that’s suggested to you. You’ll end up spreading yourself too thin. Even on the subject of continuing education, if you come back from a seminar having decided you’re going to offer five new classes, you’re probably going to be pushing yourself and won’t end up providing the service you actually want to provide. Just because you’re excited about that kind of training doesn’t mean it’s going to be valuable to your clientele.”
This, of course, doesn’t mean that you can’t get continuing education that you enjoy even if it isn’t directly related to the services you offer. You can derive value from all different kinds of education, you just have to be smart about how you apply it. Learn to distinguish between seminars that you’re attending for fun from education you’re getting to improve your business. You can’t teach everything to everyone ever.
Networking is Worth Your Time!
Professional development is a good thing to prioritize. Networking is invaluable! Get to know the other trainers in your area; that’s absolutely worth spending time on. That way, you have a reliable network that you can refer clients to when they need services that you can’t provide.
Social media allows you to create groups for networking. Take the time to put together a Facebook group of all the trainers in your area that you’ve connected with. Not only will you have people to refer clients to, you’ll have other trainers to learn from and you might even make some friends.
“It’s great to get together with other trainers and talk shop,” Wallace said. “You know, most of us don’t work in an office setting where we can chat about our individual cases and gush over the dogs together. Get together with other trainers and share your experiences; banter, talk about your work life, and get advice on tough clients.”
And, aside from being fun, networking can actually further your business in an immediate way. Once other trainers get to know you and your services, they’ll start returning the favor of client referrals.
Learn to Ruthlessly Prioritize
Marketing and sales tasks are high on the list of things you should be prioritizing. Everything else can be done later; this is learning to productively procrastinate. Don’t do things because you feel you should, or because they make you feel productive but don’t drive income your way.
“Evaluate the value of what you’re doing,” Wallace said. “Ask yourself ‘how will this bring me income?’ whenever you perform a task. If you can’t answer that question, it probably shouldn’t be at the top of your priority list.”
Always ask that question; it can be answered in many different ways! It can bring clarity to your prioritization and help you decide whether or not you have a strategy behind what you’re doing.
Don’t Forget to Prioritize Communication
Once you’ve decided to say no, you need to communicate it effectively. You don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, and the easiest way to do that is simply to be authentic. Be honest with people; communicate why you’re saying no — you don’t have to make excuses. You can say something as simple as “right now, this doesn’t fit with my personal mission,” and if you know someone you can refer them to, do it.
Getting focused on what your goals will propel you forward. When someone does eventually come to you with a project that aligns with your mission, you’ll be able to strategize how to work it into your schedule.
“Be true to yourself,” Wallace said. “Don’t be afraid to tell the truth behind the reason you have to pass up an opportunity.”
Improve Your Dog Training Business
Check out our programs and downloads to spend this time on money-making or business-growing activities. We offer a variety of content to help you grow your business with better marketing and operational systems that save you time!
I don’t believe that business owners have “free time.”
No, that doesn’t mean that business owners can never rest. You don’t have to be productive 24/7. What I mean is that you need to have a solid understanding of what you’re doing throughout the day; otherwise, something unplanned could pop up and steal your perceived free time.
Facebook Live Webinar by Ines McNeil, Transcribed by Gem Sheps
Business Owners Need to Schedule Their “Free Time”
For example, if you want to have a Saturday off — you have to plan it! And if you’re bad about sticking to your own schedule, you need to write down that day off and what you’re going to be doing with it.
“Watch Netflix one hour,” and “walk the dogs,” are what you’re planning on doing anyway, so write them down! This isn’t actually free time; it’s a time full of planned self care activities.
Schedule the things you want to do — you deserve those activities, and having that time solidly blocked off will discourage you from giving that “free time” to whoever shows up needing your help. You are busy; you’re taking care of yourself and your priorities.
Tell your clients you’re booked when you have “free time” scheduled for yourself. Put that free time on your calendar so it’s indisputable — you have written it into existence. If you don’t, you will burn out; you’ll have difficult client interactions, you won’t enjoy your job anymore, and it could result in you losing your business entirely. If you aren’t motivated to market, bring revenue, and increase your audience reach, then your business will come to a standstill.
DON’T Work During Your “Free Time!”
Don’t guilt yourself into doing things just because you don’t know what to do with time off. You’re allowed to block off 45 minutes for yourself to sit in silence and do nothing else.
As long as you take these breaks for yourself with purpose, that’s all that matters. Otherwise, you give that time away to others and end up with none for yourself.
Your time is worth at least as much as what a client would pay for it. If you as a business owner are focused on those money-making tasks that generate income and clients, then your time is worth a lot more than you believe it is. When you look at the potential income from each client, the possible referrals, those numbers add up quickly.
You have to be cognizant of how you’re spending time and how you’re giving it away. You need to allow yourself to rest and get refreshed, or you won’t be happy heading back to work in the morning. Ultimately, that leads to burnout. You get tired, annoyed, you have worse client experiences, and it goes downhill from there.
Positive Procrastination is Your Best Friend
The reality is there are only so many hours in the day, and even more scarce than time is energy. Now, hear me out…
On many occasions, procrastination is actually good.
Positive procrastination allows you to prioritize things that are more urgent and demanding of your attention. Focus on tasks that are going to generate revenue; anything that doesn’t immediately drive those results can be procrastinated on until the time feels right. Don’t feel obligated to do things just because others are doing them — if those tasks don’t affect your income in the short term, write them down and plan them for later.
You Are Worthy of Rest and Leisure
Give yourself permission to have time to yourself. Juggling your business, family, friends, pets, and other obligations doesn’t leave you a lot of time to rest and recharge. Sometimes, it leaves you feeling like you aren’t allowed to take time to yourself because there are so many people depending on your presence and time.
But feeling guilty in the moments where you allow yourself to nap, take a walk, or watch a funny show on Netflix is pointless, because you already have minimal time to use for your own personal benefit. If you need to, consider this me giving you permission to take that time for yourself, even if it’s just 15 minutes to get some fresh air.
However, you need to learn to give yourself permission to rest as well. You’re the business owner, and you’re the only one who can really give yourself those orders. You need to learn to prioritize your health and happiness and do something for yourself. The Do Not Disturb feature on your phone exists to benefit you!
Try This Exercise to Start Prioritizing Your Time
Get out a piece of paper and on the top write down “NEVER AGAIN.” Underneath it, start jotting down anything you don’t want to ever do again.
Whether that’s volunteering somewhere, hosting Thanksgiving, offering a specific service, or something else entirely — write down anything you never want to do again because the outcome wasn’t worth your time or energy.
Consider keeping this list around and adding to it every year. It might help you keep track of things that are and aren’t working for your business, your social life, and more. No one wants to keep repeating the same mistakes; this could help improve your life overall!
As a business owner, a lot of people depend on your being your happiest, best self. Don’t forget that being that person means taking the time you need to rest, recharge, and care for yourself and your family.
What other ways do you ensure you have time for yourself throughout the week? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to sign up for our latest blog posts by subscribing below.
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As a dog trainer, you know how challenging it can be to manage your schedule, clients, and payments while also providing high-quality training services. The Modern Dog Trainer Signature Edition of Pocketsuite is designed to simplify these tasks and help you focus on what you do best – training dogs.
Dog trainers take a lot with them when they are working. Because of this need for “stuff,” dog trainers are always on a quest for the perfect bag to carry it all.
I hear it all the time: “I want to raise my prices, but I don’t want to lose customers.” The idea is that if you increase your prices, nobody will buy what you’re selling. And sure enough, most businesses have seen sales slow down when they increase their prices. But here’s the thing: raising prices isn’t just something that happens once—it’s an ongoing process! If you start charging more today and then stop tomorrow, then next week your customers will be used to paying more for your product or service. And so on…
