Price Is a Funny Thing

The following is an excerpt from my book "Grooming Gold - Secrets To a Lucrative Pet Grooming Career". Why would I be gifting you almost a whole chapter from my book? And more specifically, the most accclaimed chapter of the book? Because this book has been life-changing for many pet groomers and I want you to be able to experience that same competitive edge. If you enjoyed reading this blog post, you can get the book here. This book is 100% human, no AI, and based on 25+ years of pet grooming experience and owning my own business.

Cheers from the author: Marilou Lekanne

"Price is a funny thing, isn't it? What may sound exorbitantly expensive to some, might sound like a great deal to others. In addition, the same price tag might suddenly seem not so expensive when put in relationship to similar items that are priced even higher. Imagine a pair of jeans for sale for $150 laying next to a pair for $190 and a third pair for $240. Even though you might never spend $150 on jeans, the $150 price tag in this particular store suddenly looks like a good deal.

On top of that you also need to take into consideration the value we each put on items and services. Two people earning the same salary of $45K a year might each value high ticketed items or services differently in light of importance to them and how it makes them feel. Lucy might feel just a little richer and more appreciated driving a beautiful car to work and doesn't mind spending more than she probably should on that, while Jane can't look away when she sees that $5,000 designer purse on sale for $4,500 because, well, she deserves it and she just got to have it!

And then there's the sales pitch. We all know them, those sales people that just know how to draw you in and make you feel good about buying that car / purse / piece of jewelry / dress / you fill in the blanks.

Picture this scenario. You see a beautiful necklace that you love. There's no sales person nearby. You know you should walk past real fast, so you don't fall into temptation, which you do... This as opposed to seeing that same, beautiful necklace where the friendly salesperson approaches you and shows you exactly what it's made of, tells you how stunning it looks on you, elaborates enthusiastically on how elegant it would go with a summer dress on a night out into town, how maintenance and cleaning is included in the price and that just for today the matching earrings come with it as a set for 1 price! You might still say no, but it's a lot harder, right!

I realize we're not in the diamond industry here, but it's really not very different for your grooming biz. Make everything look and sound as enticing and irresistible to your clients as you possibly can.

When people ask you: "How much is it for a Yorkie?" How do you respond? Do you just plainly state the price or do you elaborate and tell them all the wonderful services and products that are included in the price? When you write or talk about what's included in the price, consider including everything even if it sounds normal or even slightly too ridiculous to mention to you!

When a client hears that the price for their dog is $145, it might sound like a lot of money. But when a client hears $145 and that would include: coming to your house or work, cleaning the ears, clipping the nails, expressing the glands, brush out and full haircut or light trim as desired, warm water bath with shampoo and conditioner, cotton balls in the ears to prevent ear infections and to reduce noise induced anxiety during drying, complimentary blueberry facial, hand blow dry (never cages!), pet cologne, and bows or bandana.

Suddenly: wow! The higher price now seems like a better value for all that's included even if it feels standard to you as a groomer! Psst: the blueberry facial is what often creates the "Wow!" in client responses to this text! Still, $145 for pet grooming for a tiny 10 pound dog might sound like a whole lot of money to some, while sounding just fine for others. Don't let that intimidate you! It is not your place to worry about whether or not people can or want to spend this kind of money on your grooming services, just as others don't spend a second caring or thinking about whether or not you can pay your rent this month or whether or not you like to splurge on expensive, designer handbags!

This is a defining moment for you and your business: either be the cheap place or be the expensive one. By all means, please do not decide to price somewhere in the middle... (more about pricing in the middle here)

... And you want to know another thing? We, as human beings, actually like expensive stuff, whether we're rich or just scraping by to gather rent money. We do! Sure, we all love a bargain and a good Black Friday sale, but we all love expensive stuff. Ask people what they'd do if they'd win the lottery. Most of them will answer with some type of expensive car, a beautiful house, or traveling to exotic places.While winning the lottery is a rarity, wanting to spend money on expensive items or services is not. It makes us feel good when we get to have that pricey item, trip or service, even it means that we cannot afford something else. So while people might judge you by the cover, don't ever judge your clients the same way! You don't know on what and where they spend their money.

Expensive equals good. This of course, isn't naturally true, but most of us instinctively relate expensive to higher quality and something good. Just as much as we think that cheap equals lower quality, poorly made, a novice, not experienced, the opposite happens when something is expensive. We tend to give that person, product or service positive qualities that may or may not be true, purely based on the price tag.

Expensive? Well, that must be because they use better, higher quality products, more experienced groomers, an expert in her field, one of the best. A higher price therefore immediately gives you an edge and an advantage before they've even set a foot in the door."

This was an excerpt from the book "Grooming Gold - Secrets To a Lucrative Pet Grooming Career". No paragraph, chapter, or part thereof might be copied, shared, sold, or otherwise used without a written consent from the author. For inquiries email the author, Marilou Lekanne, at successfulgrooming247@gmail.com