In my Free Facebook Group, Business Support by The Modern Dog Trainer, I’ve been watching discussions evolve from panic to planning over these last few weeks.
Virtual dog training lessons, consults, and classes are slowly becoming the norm right now and there are a few questions that keep popping up that I want to address.
“How much should I charge for virtual dog training lessons?”
The first is “How much should I charge?” and “Should I charge a percentage of my private lesson rate?”
I’m not here to tell you what to do in your business. I am here to tell you that if you are still charging hourly then you’re creating our own earning ceiling. You only have so many hours in the day. Those hours are sooooo precious.
I spend hours with my kiddo. I spend hours outside when the weather is nice. Those are hours that I’ll never get back – and you won’t either.
So if you want to dedicate all of your hours to clients for a base rate, be my guest. But make sure it’s an intentional choice – not one you’re making without even realizing it because it’s an assumption you have about how you’re “supposed” to price yourself as a dog trainer.
As a dog trainer, you’re more than a service provider – you’re a teacher, a friend, a mentor, and a confidant.
You’re sharing years of experience and education with the dog owners you work with. Oh – and they get a well-trained dog because of it, too.
This information and education is valuable. And you could be charging based on the value you’re providing rather than the hours of the day you give your clients if you thought about the bigger picture and designed something totally unique to you and your business.
I can teach you how to do this for your virtual consults and services in my 5 Day Launch Your Online Dog Program Intensive.
When you start charging for the value and experience you’re providing, you immediately eliminate the earning potential ceiling and create a scalable business model. You’re no longer limited by the number of hours you (and I) have in the day.
Your clients will even see better results because they’ll understand the value you’re providing beyond hours of your time. They’ll be more committed because they’ll have more skin in the game. And you’ll support them in more ways than one-hour at a time.
So carefully consider how you’ll price yourself. You’re not a cookie and shouldn’t be taking a cookie cutter approach.
“What dog training issues can you help people with in virtual dog training lessons?”
Another question I’ve seen pop up frequently is, “What issues can you help people with remotely?“
To that I say – any issue that doesn’t require you to wrangle a dog in-person.
I doubt any of you reading this are the type to physically wrangle a dog to the ground or physically manipulate their bodies. For this reason, you are likely limiting yourself from helping more dogs and people because of your lack of confidence.
Strong communication skills are critical for solving all kinds of dog behavior challenges remotely. That’s why Megan Wallace and I are putting together a FREE webinar next week on this topic. Learn more and sign up here: “Communicate with Confidence Online with Megan Wallace.“
“How should I set up classes?”
Listen – it’s your business! Do what you like! Have a class as small or as large as you like. It doesn’t matter as long as your clietns are happy and seeing great results.
That said, I offer lots of tips in my Basics of Virtual Dog Training Lessons 2 hour Workshop. In this workshop, I went over all the technology and tools you need (Skype? Zoom?), how to price your services online, and so much more.
The reality is that you don’t want your classes too big so that people aren’t speaking over each other which can make it hard to hear. You can establish general rules and strategies like:
- Have participants stay muted until you prompt for questions.
- Have participants submit questions or requests to ask a question in the chat.
- Use the breakout room Zoom feature to make classes smaller or pair people up.
However you choose to format it is up to you, your preferences, and how your clients experience it.
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