Short answer….yes! There are jobs you should say ‘no’ to.
I see a lot of Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers debating whether they should take on jobs that are too far away, too much work or from clients who seem to get more demanding with every demand you meet.
Especially newer businesses and I GET it! When you’re starting out you need all the work you can get.
But take it from me (and the other Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers who have been around the block a few times!) some jobs really are so much more trouble than they’re worth.
So how do you know which jobs to say ‘no’ to?
And if you’re worried about how to SAY ‘no’ to those customers, check out this blog to help you handle those conversations: How to Decline a Client That’s Not Right for your Pet Sitting Business
Criteria you can set for Pet Sitting & Dog Walking jobs you’ll accept.
As you gain experience in your business, you’ll develop a sixth sense for the jobs that are way more trouble than they’re worth and it won’t be long before you can spot the ‘red flags’ a mile off.
But whilst you’re honing these skills, you can set some clear criteria for the jobs you’ll accept.
And I’d highly recommend posting those criteria on your website.
Will it put some potential customers off? Yes! But they’re customers you don’t want anyway, so it saves you and the customer time dealing with an enquiry that’s going nowhere.
And if you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know it’s a cornerstone of my marketing strategy to attract the RIGHT customers with your marketing and REPEL the wrong ones (you can learn more about why and how to do this in this blog to learn how to use an eBook to do just that!)
To get you started, here are some examples of criteria you can set for Pet Sitting & Dog Walking jobs you’ll accept. And remember, it’s your business! You can accept or decline any job you like!
#1. Set a clearly defined distance for jobs you’ll accept.
Make sure the distance you choose will be profitable and remember to factor this in to your quotes.
And it’s not just about distance, there may be areas you choose not to work in e.g. because they’re difficult to get to needing you to pay for parking or access concierge buildings. Decide if you want to or not, and quote accordingly to be profitable.
#2. You may want to limit numbers or types of pets on Pet Sitting jobs.
Not all Pet Sitting jobs are equal – you may not be comfortable handling large dogs or larger numbers of pets. Some people may have very complicated care routines which you don’t feel comfortable with.
It’s important that you, and your sitters, feel confident you can offer the care the customer is looking for.
#3. Consider whether the customer wants to work within your business framework
If you are getting pushback from the start on your policies and procedures then it’s likely that the customer is going to be hard to please.
For example, if you adopt a team approach to visits and the customer only wants one sitter then you probably aren’t the business for them.
#4. Are you looking for long term customers or not?
It’s likely you will get calls from people looking for a Pet Sitter because their current Sitter is on vacation, not available or is booked up – meaning that pet owner is looking for you to fill in.
Of course you can take the booking – but realise that it may be a one off and if you are looking for more long term clients that you can build a relationship with then you have the choice to decline them.
#5. You are super clear on who you want to work with
Remember, every ‘wrong for your business’ customer you accept is taking up the space of a ‘perfect for you’ customer and when you’re clear on your ideal customer and share it through your blogs and social media, you will attract the best customers for you.
And regardless of criteria or what you have on your website, if a job or customer feels wrong to you, decline it politely and move on.
Don’t forget to check out this blog: How to Decline a Client in Your Pet Sitting Business.
