To Discount or Not to Discount Your Pet Sitting Services

I think it's an excellent idea to have a killer introductory offer for your pet sitting services to attract new clients to your business and for you to run promotions to your client list. This is not the discounting I'm referring to. In this post when I refer to "discounting," I'm speaking of discounting for the hagglers and bargain shoppers.

Selling Yourself Short

When people haggle with you and you decide to lower your price, you inadvertently dilute your service's value, and worst yet, the type of people that haggle with you are not the people you even want on your client roster. Hagglers are the people who will not give you referrals because they want to monopolize your schedule and keep you their convenient little secret. They are the kind of clients who will eat up your time and patience with a long list of requests that in the long run will become unreasonable. And, these are the people who will bog you down and eat up your valuable time for little value in the long run and burn out your stock of happy thoughts.

The Solution to Hagglers

Since hagglers are not the kind of people you would want on your client list, here is my suggestion; When speaking with them about the pricing of your pet sitting services, emphasize the value of your service and politely tell them that your prices are set with no room for negotiation. Next, tell them they are more than welcome to call you in the future if the are in need of top-notch professional pet care. Finally, send them on their merry way with a friendly, "best of luck!"

Bargain Shoppers

Bargain shoppers are a different breed from hagglers. They are the people who will call you and every other pet sitting business in a 15-mile radius trying to find the cheapest deal. Is this really the type of client that you want? Your answer should be a resounding "no!!!!!!!" You are not a pack of batteries or a flashlight. You are a service that offers unbelievable value, and you should be compensated accordingly.

The Solution to Bargain Shoppers

Don't waste your time waiting for a callback or giving them an offer they can't resist. These people are, again, not your kind peeps. These people are short term clientele and will not help in the growth of your business.

Final Thoughts on Discounting Your Pet Sitting Services

Your client list should include people who understand the value you offer, who happily pay you for your outstanding pet sitting services, who leave you and your staff generous tips and kind words of thanks, and who will refer other people to your wonderful pet sitting business.