How to make your ‘clients’ LOVE you?

Why you need to be yourself if you want to build an insanely fun AND profitable business

The piano man played his final song, and among the revellers five tired, happy (and let’s be honest, a bit pissed) friends sang along to Jon Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer. Obviously, I sang the best, but I reckon Jennifer Beattie the best dancer award. I’m talking of course about the recent Pet Business Inner Circle curry night, which was held in Edinburgh just last weekend.

After the meal we enjoyed a pub crawl around the castle (And Tammie’s tour bus treat us to trip to Greyfriars cemetery, where we all rubbed the nose on the little statue of Greyfriars Bobby, for luck, of course (I needed all the luck I could get out with this lot) then we finished up in the ‘The Rat Pack’.

And I also got a surprise gift from my #BOBS too. Check out me in my snazzy new T-shirt!

This was actually the second PBIC curry night in the last six weeks. We had a slightly more sedate but just as enjoyable night out in York in June. (I was driving to Manchester early the next day so had to be a good boy).

You can bet your life I will be booking a room and staying over at the next PBIC curry night which will be held ‘darn sarf’ in September. (And we even have an organising committee sorting a PBIC Christmas party to finish off the year. Gawd helps us all….)

Pet Business Inner Circle curry nights are quickly getting a reputation (and not always a good one) for FUN.

And it’s no surprise to me that even though this was technically a night off work, still peeps in attendance went away with some new ideas to action in their business. That’s what you get in my group, more F.A.B.

Fun And Bank (Bank = money)

Now then, a couple of things to note about this;

First of all, the fact that people are prepared to take time off work, sort baby (and dog) sitters and travel (at their own expense) to a social event to meet up with peeps they have previously only met ‘online’, should tell you a lot about the kind of community we have inside my Inner Circle.

And that has been entirely deliberate on my part.

Even before I launched the PBIC, part of my ‘modus operandi’ in business is to attract and work with clients who I actually enjoy spending time with.

I’ve done this in my dog adventure business, and my online dog training community.

It’s cheesy I know, but many clients from all three of my businesses often tell me they feel like they are part of a family.

Don’t mistake this as because they are ‘family’ they get ‘mates rates’.

Nope, that never happens.

You should know by now, I charge premium prices for all my services. And while my businesses have been slightly slower to grow than if I had gone in with lower prices, they are way more enjoyable and now vastly more profitable than 99% of other pet businesses out there. And I’ve been able to avoid working with the chavs, commoners and bottom feeders, who complain about the price and always pay late, that’s if they pay you at all.

So, it might sound a bit woo woo, but my clients are ‘my kinda people’.

The second thing to note is this;

The curry nights are very much a bi-product of the community I have created inside the PBIC. The PBIC is first and foremost (and always will be) a place where pet business owners come to learn how to market their business so that they can make more money.

It’s a mini-mastermind for ambitious pet business owners who know they are awesome at ‘the thing’ they do, like the training, walking or grooming, but they also know they totally suck at marketing.

And it’s fine to suck at marketing. I did once. What’s not fine however, is if you know you suck at marketing, and are content to remain ignorant about to grow your business, then spend your time bitching and moaning in Facebook groups about why your business isn’t growing.

‘There’s too much competition’

‘Noone will pay high prices in my town’

‘I don’t have time to market my business’

All the above statements are complete and utter bollocks, and if you find yourself saying them often, or even at all, then you need to take a long hard looking in the mirror and ask if running a business is really for you.

Because the competition aren’t going anywhere.

People will pay high prices in your town. If they didn’t, then everyone would wear overalls and get the bus. But they don’t, do they?

But saying you don’t have time to market your business is potentially the most dangerous statement of all.

See the marketing is the business, and how good you get at marketing will determine how successful your business is.

And I know that having clients feel like this about my business is not unique. You probably have this kind of relationship with your clients too. If so, well done. If not, then you need to do something about that. And here’s a two-step plan.

First of all increase your prices by 10%.

A couple of things will happen when you do this.

1)    You will make more money. (yay!)

2)    You will start coming onto the radar of (high end) prospects who currently don’t notice your business.

These are the dog owners who when looking for a service look for value and benefits (and NOT the price tag)

The second thing is to stop being so boring and professional in your marketing.  The more of your personality you put into your marketing (assuming you have one, of course) the more, like me, you will attract people you really want to work with.

This is hard work sometimes.

Showing up daily and giving of yourself takes time, effort and commitment (and a set of ladyballs). But it’s so worth it.

This is one of the reasons I get invited to parties and race days by my dog adventure clients , and sometimes I accompany them to the vets when it’s time for their dog to pass to the rainbow bridge.

It’s why I can get dog owners to join my ‘online group’ when they could just easily join a local dog training group.

It’s why we have curry nights and a community within the PBIC.

And it’s also why I’m brilliant at repelling the cheapskate wankers who do my head in.

Business and selling is about relationships. The more you invest in them, the greater the return.

So make sure you are investing in your business development, all the time. You can start by grabbing a copy of the pet business bible ‘Walk Yourself Wealthy’. Its’ available from Amazon here or Audible here, or you can get a FREE signed copy (and bonus gifts) direct from me by clicking here now.

In 2011 Dom Hodgson revolutionised the pet service industry with his first business Pack Leader Dog Adventures, the UK’s first, award winning ‘dog adventure’ company. Now a respected dog trainer, author, speaker and mentor to pet business owners, Doms calling is to help dog walkers, trainers and groomers to excel with their marketing, so they can help change the lives of more dog owners with their amazing skills. Dom’s bestselling books are available on Amazon and Audible. You can join the Pet Business Inner Circle and find out how you can apply to work with Dom directly by clicking here.