I hear it all the time.
“Someone told me I should not put prices on my website, but then somebody else told me I should.”
Or
“Someone told me I should offer free evaluations, but then somebody else told me I should charge for evaluations. Which is correct?”
Dog trainers receive countless pieces of conflicting business advice regularly. All of this noise often creates a state that I refer to as strategic limbo, and a surprising number of dog trainers find themselves in this predicament. The result is often one of two things, and both can be equally damaging to your business: Analysis paralysis, or mixed messaging that cripples growth.
In the case of startups, folks often find themselves in a state of analysis paralysis, where they are stuck and having trouble moving forward with the launch of their business.
More commonly, with established businesses, I find that trainers end up mixing elements from a variety of sales and marketing strategies with the result that they are crippling their potential for significant growth and revenue.
The truth is that there are many different approaches to sales and marketing that can be profitable for dog trainers. The key, however, is to understand not only under what conditions any given strategy will perform best, but also how these strategies work as a whole.
A decision such as whether to put prices on your website is not a choice that should exist in a vacuum. It needs to be informed by the current state of your business and your goals for future growth as well as supported by other choices that are congruent with the overall strategy (such as what types of other information is contained on your site, how you run your sales calls or initial consultations, and what the clients’ next steps will be after visiting your website.)
If you are feeling overwhelmed by these decisions, I am here to help. Click here to set up a free discovery call.
To help illustrate how you might go about navigating some of these choices, let’s use an example.
I recently met with a new client who found himself in this situation of strategic limbo. He was mixing elements from different sales and marketing strategies, not realizing that some of these things were inconsistent with one another. Predictably, he was experiencing extremely slow growth in his business, and struggling to generate enough revenue to support himself full-time and reach his financial goals.
For the sake of confidentiality, I will refer to this person as “Steve,” (not his real name.) Steve made the decision to put pricing on his website. Steve also made the decision to keep his program descriptions relatively minimal, and encourage people to fill out his contact form in order to set up a free phone consultation.
Let’s start with the decision of putting pricing on the website. Was this the right decision for Steve?
One of the main reasons a dog trainer may decide to put their prices on their website is so that they can filter out “less qualified” leads, especially people who are only price shopping, and make sure that they are only getting on the phone or in person with people who understand the investment and can afford their services. This choice can make a lot of sense when a business is humming along nicely, and you are finding yourself short on time. In that case you would not want to be wasting valuable time on the phone with folks that are less likely to sign up for a training program.
However, in Steve’s case, he was struggling to keep a full-time schedule of training clients, and he was not operating at capacity. Personally, if I were Steve, I would want the opportunity to speak to every possible potential customer. I know that if I can talk to somebody, I can convey value, build rapport, and at least have a chance of making a sale. I would rather be on the phone or face-to-face with less qualified leads, than sitting at home, twiddling my thumbs, hoping the phone will ring while also worrying about how I’m going to afford my next home repair (yes, this was an actual worry of Steve’s.)
That being said, if Steve wants to have prices on his website, he can. It’s not the worst decision. It can work, but you have to know how to make it work. Remember, these decisions do not exist in a vacuum. Steve’s next decision is where the trouble really begins. Steve wanted to keep his program descriptions minimal on his website.
Again, on its own, there is nothing wrong with this choice. The problem is that minimalistic program descriptions pair more favorably with the decision NOT to put prices on the website.
There is, of course, sound logic to this. When you choose to not put pricing on the website, the goal is to get as many people as possible to set up an initial phone call, consultation, or evaluation. By limiting the amount of information that is available on the website, it forces people to have to reach out to you to gain the information they need to make a purchasing decision. This allows you, the trainer, to establish and demonstrate value, build trust and rapport, develop a connection with the client, and create a sense of urgency, prior to quoting a price. It minimizes “sticker shock” for the client, and ensures that they understand why your fees are what they are and what they will get in return.
Contrast this with the decision that Steve made. Not only did he put pricing on his website, but he also kept the program descriptions minimal. Remember, the average new customer likely does not have a sense of how much quality dog training costs. Additionally, they likely do not have a sense of just how effective it can be and the potentially life-changing results. Without this context, seeing that the cost of training is hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, can be quite literally shocking. Many people will click out of your website immediately with a desire to check other options and see if there is something cheaper available. By mixing elements from two separate strategies, Steve accidentally undermined the effectiveness of both.
To go back to my statement at the beginning of this article: this is why it is important to understand why you are using any given strategy, under what conditions that strategy will be effective, and how to use the strategy properly to achieve the best results.
This is only one of several conflicts that Steve had with his business strategy. The purpose of this article is not to be exhaustive, but rather to convey the importance of applying this type of critical thinking to your sales and marketing plan, and to plant some seeds to help you move in the right direction.
Helping dog trainers find the right strategies for their current business and their future financial goals is one of my specialties. If you would like a helping hand, click here to set up a free discovery call.
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