One of the Behavior Education Network Biscuit Themes we did was “Five Actions to do NOW To Jump Start Your Business in January”. The first topic in that series was “Contact Your Current Clients”, and we’ve given you that article below.
With the holiday season in full swing, it’s easy to kick back and let your business take a back seat for the next month. But with just a few hours of effort this month, you’ll be ahead of the game come January, and even take in some extra cash for the holidays and beyond. In this Biscuit series, we’re giving you five actions to take now that will not only prevent December from being a lost month for your business, but give you the potential for increased referrals this month and beyond.
1. Contact Your Current Clients
The first action to take is to email your client list from 2013. In this email, you’ll first want to thank them for their business this year. Let them know that you appreciate their decision to choose you for their training and behavior needs for their pets. Express your wish for continued a continued great relationship with their pets, and if there is anything you can do to improve that relationship, all they have to do is call or email.
Give them a holiday training/behavior tip. Maybe it’s about how to help their dog be more comfortable with all the company they’ll be hosting for the holidays. You can also remind them that if they don’t want their dog’s behavior – from dangerous to annoying – to spoil the holiday visits with family and friends, maybe they should schedule an appointment now to learn crucial management techniques, and then continue training in January.
Maybe your tip is a reminder not to leave their normally not-destructive dog or cat access to the holiday decorations and packages, because anything novel can become a chew toy on any given day. Or if they’ve been putting off addressing their pet’s destructive behaviors there is no better time than now because ingesting just an inch of Christmas ribbon can literally be a life-threatening event for their pet. Those are just two ideas – you can come up with TONS more.
Finally – as an “oh by the way” – give them a reason to schedule an appointment or a training class now. If you think they are likely too busy to schedule a training class or behavior consultation during the holiday season, give them a discount coupon code that expires the end of the year. It’s valid even if they schedule for January, as long as they purchase the service now. And by purchasing now, they’ll get a choice appointment time, or be assured space in the first January class. Tell them you know from past experience, your classes/appointment times fill up rapidly in January.
If you can’t easily email this year’s client list because you don’t have a database of their emails, and/or a means of sending to a large list, then it’s time you took action to change that. You should at least have an Excel (or comparable file type) file of your clients’ contact information.
Because most email programs won’t allow you to send to a large list, it’s time you invested a little in an email service like Mail Chimp or Constant Contact. We’ve used CC for years, and you’ll find easy to use templates that won’t take you more than an hour or so to complete the first time, and MUCH less after that. Start a client email list this month that will allow you to contact your clients regularly and will increase your business next year.
The rest of the articles in this series are:
- 2. What Will You Do Next Year? – A Different Approach to Goal Setting That Actually Works!
- 3. Make Contact With Your Referral Sources – How You Can Be The “Go To” Pro
- 4. The ONE Action You Must Plan for Each Month –
- 5. Is Your Focus on the Wrong Thing? Find Out How to Change It
And this is just ONE of scores of Biscuit themes we’ve done every month in BEN since 2013. From “How to Make Canine Greetings Safer“, to “Best Practices for Pet Training and Behavior Consulting” and “Helping Clients Form New Habits“, our Biscuit series covers aspects of providing successful behavior and training services that are grounded in science, that you haven’t even thought of!
Get them all and so much more when you join Behavior Education Network.
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