When you talk to a prospective pet owner/client, it’s important to quickly establish a rapport. This includes sharing first names and the names/breed of their animals. People love to talk about their pets! Keep your tone and dialogue enthusiastic as you dive into the obvious questions including style of service needed and the client’s location. Does the client live in your service area and are you able to help them? If you only offer dog walks and cat visits and the client needs in-home pet boarding, refer them to another trusted pet sitter. It’s helpful to know their travel itinerary, including time of day they are leaving and returning home. Knowing those details will help you with scheduling.
If “so far so good,” taking a deeper dive into pet details will be the crux of your conversation as animals are individually unique. A dog’s breed, age, size, general disposition and health should be explored in greater depth. Does your furry guest require medications or insulin injections, frequent potty breaks or meals during the day, outdoor exercise or suffer from separation anxiety? If caring for a cat, are they prone to hide upon your arrival or will they want to cuddle and purr with you? Ask leading questions to get a feel for the pet’s personality including the client’s expectations based on their past experiences with other pet sitters. More extensive care may also determine how much you charge for special pet needs that require more time to adequately service.
When discussing your services, including value-added “extras”, such as fetching mail, watering indoor plants, taking the garbage in/out may or may not apply. You may want to charge a little more for these helpful household chores even if you are only in the client’s home briefly to leash their pup for a walk or refresh food and water bowls. Sometimes, doing these little extras without being asked will help curry a stronger client relationship.
The AoPP Client & Pet Profile form in our members only “Library of Content” is a template to assist you in obtaining general information in preparation of caring for their pet(s). It includes comprehensive household information that may or may not apply based on the specific service you offer. If you don’t have a pet sitter software program to capture client and pet details, this form is a good start! The form is not designed to replace a legal agreement.
Consider checking out Better Legal for their professional services as featured on our Preferred Vendors page in our members only area. You’ll also find a special members-only deal for rock star pet sitter software as well.
Keep doing you and always strive to do your best as the professional pet sitter you are! We’re here to help you grow your business. 🙂
Hugs from your AoPP Pet Pro Team