Episode 161: Why Rover Is Beating The Professional Pet Sitter

I wanted to talk about something pretty controversial today. Our listeners are at a myriad of levels in the pet industry from buying multiple businesses all the way to people who are on Rover or Wag and wanting to start their own professional company. I want you to take this message to heart, no longer are we mom and pop companies plugging away. There is something very unique that is changing in this business. Specifically, I'm going to be talking about why Rover (or any other app or hobby sitter) is beating the professional pet sitter. Biggest Takeaway You Don’t Want To Miss The reason why Rover or Wag might get more sign-ups than a professional pet sitter is because they're beating us at the automation game. Pet parents don't even get to experience how great our services are because our entire intake ignores the user experience. The experience your customer has with your business before even meeting you is paramount. Speak exactly to your avatar on your website, if I can copy and paste your website onto someone else’s site, you are doing it wrong. Show Highlights Why do Rover sitters get more sign-ups? [2:55] How can we avoid people from moving on to other sitters? [8:15] What is the most important part of the sales process? [9:00] How can the professional sitter win against Rover? [12:15] Links Rover Blog: jumpconsulting.net/rover-beating-professional-pet-sitter/ Jump Consulting Mastermind: joinjumpconsulting.com/mastermind/ Free Facebook Group: facebook.com/jumpersnetwork Share The Show Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’ Transcript: Welcome to Bella in Your Business. This is episode 161 of the show where Bella discusses anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump! Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting. I am your pet sitting business coach, and I wanted to talk about something pretty controversial today. Now, I know our listeners are at a myriad of different positions in their business. Some have acquired and bought multiple businesses and are making over a million dollars—some of my clients are at 1.2 or 1.4 million. Then we have everyone in between, all the way down to people who have been on Rover and Wag and want to start their own professional company to get off that app. I say all of this because this is a universal concept that applies no matter where you are in your journey. Whether you’re listening to this in 2019, 2020, or even later, I want you to take this to heart. We are no longer just mom-and-pop companies plugging away. Business is changing. Some people understand that; others don’t. Specifically today, I’m going to talk about why Rover is beating the professional pet sitter. When I say Rover, I also mean Wag—or anyone else that’s kind of a fly-by-night setup, hobby sitters doing it on the side, not a true professional business where the person is putting a roof over their head, food on the table, paying their mortgage, and scaling their business every day. I don’t mean that as an insult. If you’re a hobby sitter looking to go pro, more power to you. I’m not bashing anyone. I just want to be clear before we dive in. Every day, I see professional pet sitters complaining online about Rover stealing clients. “Look at this Rover sitter who messed up,” or “This Wag sitter lost a dog,” or “This pet died under their care.” It spreads like wildfire. Then you see professional sitters arguing with Rover sitters, claiming that professional sitters are better caretakers. But honestly, that’s not true. The majority of Rover and Wag sitters got into it because they love pets. Sure, there are bad apples, but they exist everywhere. The real reason Rover or Wag might get more signups isn’t about being better caretakers—it’s because they’re beating professional pet sitters at the automation game. Back in May 2019, in our Mastermind, we talked all about customer service experience. We had a guest expert, Dan Gingiss, a Forbes writer, keynote speaker, and host of the podcast Experience This! with Joey Coleman (who’s also been on my show). Dan blew us away with his insights on what professional pet sitters are truly competing with. I was so moved that I had to dedicate this episode to what he said. Dan said something powerful: “Customer experience is the last true differentiator.” You can’t compete on price because it’s a losing game—you’ll end up making no profit. You can’t compete on product because, at the end of the day, everyone is walking dogs and feeding cats. What you can compete on is experience—how your clients feel when interacting with your business. That’s the unique advantage you have because your people and your service are one of a kind. The problem is, most pet parents never even get to experience your great service because your intake process neglects the user experience (UX). There are people whose entire job is optimizing UX—making signups seamless. The reason Rover wins isn’t their price—it’s their simplicity. Signing up is quick, intuitive, and done in minutes. I recently spoke with my neighbor, Kate, who confirmed everything Dan said. She needed a sitter for her five-year-old mixed-breed dog, Marley. She’s recently separated, had a work trip coming up, and normally her husband or kids would care for Marley. But this time, her kids were at her husband’s new home, and she was juggling a lot. She’d heard of Rover and decided to try it. Within minutes, she signed up, and within 60 seconds, she saw that a neighbor four doors down—Karen—was on the app. She requested service and scheduled a meet-and-greet within 30 minutes. She didn’t have to call anyone, she saw prices, reviews, and felt confident because Karen was local and experienced. They met the next day and hit it off. I asked Kate if she considered Googling “pet sitters near me.” She said she did, but every site she visited was either too sketchy or too complicated to navigate. She didn’t want to email, call, or fill out multiple forms. She said she wanted “the path of least resistance.” That stuck with me. The sales process is like a delicate flower—touch the wrong petal, and it wilts. Many of us think the sales process starts when we talk to a client, but 60% of it happens before we ever speak to them. As another expert, Mark Schaefer, said in our April Mastermind, if potential clients can’t easily (1) identify their problem on your homepage, (2) know where to sign up, (3) complete sign-up easily, (4) feel like they’ve accomplished something, and (5) quickly reach a human if needed—they’ll move on to someone else. It used to be that face-to-face consultations were the most important part of the process, but not anymore. You won’t even get that meeting if your initial process turns them off. The customer experience before they meet you now determines whether they’ll ever meet you. That’s why Rover is winning. They’re not a pet care company—they’re a tech company. Dan also pointed out that when clients use your app or website, they’re subconsciously comparing it to Amazon, Uber, and every other app on their phone. How fast does your app open? Is it easy to use? Does it make people feel confident and excited after they click “Submit”? Most pet care websites say something like “Thanks for your submission—we’ll get back to you soon,” instead of “Congratulations—you’ve just found your pet care team!” It’s a missed opportunity to make clients feel connected. In the Mastermind, we tested nine pet sitting websites. We all signed up on Zoom and timed the process. Some had the same software, yet the signup experience varied dramatically. It wasn’t the software’s fault—it was how owners set it up. So how can professional pet sitters compete? You must shift your mindset. You must build a team, because this isn’t a one-person job. Here are six key steps: If you use an app or software, tell clients to download it immediately—right on your homepage. Know what problem you’re solving. It’s not dog walking or pet sitting; it’s providing trust, peace of mind, and reducing guilt. Allow people to sign up right away. Let them feel progress. You can still meet and approve them later during the consultation. Talk directly to your avatar. If someone can copy and paste your website text onto theirs, you’re doing it wrong. Show, don’t tell. Use pictures and videos to demonstrate what it’s like to work with you. Never change your website without using data—from tools like Hotjar or Google Analytics. Let real user data guide your updates. These changes will make you stand out, appeal to your target audience, and streamline your systems to sign up clients faster. I’ve helped countless companies make this shift—it works. Talk specifically to your target audience. Busy professionals and parents don’t want a complicated process. They just want to check pet care off their list. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. I’ve mentioned the Mastermind a few times—it’s a monthly membership with no contract, as affordable as five pet sitting visits a month. Inside, we have accountability partners, challenges, guest experts like Dan Gingiss, HR specialists, goal tracking, and a library of resources. To join, visit jumpconsulting.net/mastermind. If you’re in my free Facebook group, Jumpstart Your Pet Business, you can ask members what they think of it firsthand. It’s truly the place to be. If you liked this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—I might even read it on a future show. And as always, when life gets you down (because it will),