Show Notes
DESCRIPTION
Owning your expertise can feel a bit… egotistical, right? We all tend to feel we are “showing off” if we dare to call ourselves an expert.
But being seen as the expert by clients is important. It isn’t about bragging rights or badges - it’s about clearly showing people you’ve got the knowledge and skills to help them and their dogs.
In this episode, we reveal how to be seen as the local expert, how to keep your message simple and consistent, what the 7–11–4 rule means for your marketing, and why your gut feeling about your business model and future plans matters more to your clients than any certificate or qualification.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Owning your expertise and calling yourself an expert can feel egotistical. As a result, many brilliant trainers stay quiet and as a result are invisible to the people who need them.
Qualifications and badges don’t sell you. Most people do not even know what the letters mean - clients care that you understand them and their dog and get results.
You only need to be the clear, confident go‑to expert in your local area. You are not in competition with the big industry names.
One clever post or random content doesn´t cut it.
When you show up in the same way, as yourself, people trust and hire you.
Make regularly posting on social media an integral part of your workflow.
In phase one of your business journey, strong sales skills beat complex funnels and marketing tactics. Start simple.
Use sales calls to embody expertise: truly listen and respond to what is actually said and ask smart questions instead of listing your credentials.
Calling yourself a “dog trainer” matches how people actually search and talk. Even if you see yourself as a behaviourist or coach, you still need to use “dog trainer” so you can be found by people who need your expertise.
BEST MOMENTS
"People have this aversion to showing off that they're an expert or sharing to the world that they're an expert."
"Expert is showing somebody that you've got the knowledge, the skills to be able to do the thing that you do best, which in this case would be dog training."
"It's prospective buyers connecting with you, building that trust, knowing that you are the right person for them, and you've got the expertise."
“The local area is the place to target that knowledge and expertise. If you're in the right local Facebook groups, for example, then you're reaching those local people.”
“Adding this (social media posting) into your workflow helps prospective buyers connect with you .”
https://quiz.caninebusinessacademy.com/health-check
SOCIALS AND IMPORTANT LINKS
https://www.tiktok.com/@letstalkdogbusiness
https://www.youtube.com/@LetsTalkDogBusiness
Website www.caninebusinessacademy.com
Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/caninebusinessacademycommunity
Let´s Talk Dog Business Strategy Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Talk-Dog-Business-Strategy/dp/1068791705
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT THE HOSTS
We’re Jo Moorcroft and Vicky Davies. Force-free dog trainers, business strategists and co-founders of Canine Business Academy. Collectively, we’ve been dog training for nearly three decades, built a six-figure dog training business, and grown CBA into a multi–six-figure global brand, all while raising kids, a university degree and life life'ing. Featured on BBC, FOX and NBC, and authors of Let’s Talk Dog Business Strategy. Giving a shit is the strategy. Getting shit done is the method.
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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In this episode we get honest about one of the biggest struggles facing dog trainers and behaviourists: knowing what to charge for your services and feeling confident enough to believe you deserve to earn a decent living. We look at why trainers can end up undercharging, separating training from behaviour work, and believing they need more qualifications or a more impressive title before they can charge more.We discuss why the value of your work isn’t determined by how “simple” a dog’s problem looks, and why the real thing you are being paid for is the impact you can have on someone’s life. Then, we explore how to stop comparing yourself to other people, recognise what you are actually good at, and build a business around the work you genuinely want to do.KEY TAKEAWAYSYou Are Solving Much Bigger Problems Than You Think: Clients aren’t simply paying you to show them how to train their dog. They are paying you to help them solve a problem that is negatively affecting their life, one that is maybe even making them think about giving up their dog. Understanding that changes how you see your value, your service and what you can reasonably charge.Stop Thinking of Yourself As Just a Dog Trainer: Most of the time dog trainers do far more than simply show a client a technique. They use their experience to identify the root cause of an issue and actively coach and support owners until their problem is solved.You Don’t Need a Bigger Title to Be Worth More: The pressure to become a behaviourist or collect more qualifications can come from a belief that you need external validation before you are good enough to charge properly. In reality, all dog owners are really interested in is whether you can solve their problem.Stop Trying to Be Someone Else: Just because you can work with certain types of dogs or behaviour cases doesn’t mean you should. Understanding what you genuinely enjoy, what you are good at and where your strengths lie will help you to build a business that actually suits you.BEST MOMENTS“I was making like £15, £20 grand a month in some months.”“You can be the reason they keep the dog, and you can be the reason they love their dog again, and you can just make that difference.”“That's what you're being paid for. That's why you should be earning a decent wage. That's why you do deserve it.”“To warrant that fee, I need to become a behaviourist. I need to have level five, level six, all the stuff masters. No, you f**king don't. No, you don't.”“Someone is not reaching out to you for you to show them what to do. They're reaching out to you for you to help them work through it.”IMPORTANT LINKS https://www.caninebusinessacademy.com/gsd-buisness-accelerator https://www.tiktok.com/@letstalkdogbusiness https://www.youtube.com/@LetsTalkDogBusiness