Stop Selling Your Time: How to Ditch the "Session Mentality"

Most dog trainers still focus on selling their time in sessions. A well-used model that feels safe,  but often it ends up holding you back and leaves your clients with only a partial solution to their problems. In this episode we unpack what can go wrong when you use a session-only model and how to change things to avoid those issues.

We cover why a session-only business often leads to, pressure to prove your worth in one hour, undercharging for all the support you quietly give, and that nagging feeling that results don’t match the effort you’re putting in.

We show you how to think beyond hours-for-money, how to make your support more effective and sustainable, and how to design offers that make you a profit while getting better results for your clients. What you learn today will really help you, even if you decide not to ditch sessions completely.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Just selling sessions isn’t necessarily bad, but it does quietly put the focus on time spent instead of the change you are working with the client to achieve.

When you only sell hours, you tend to feel pressure to prove yourself in that session. Your focus can end up on that more than on what the client needs and how they are doing. 

It’s your job to guide your clients towards the level of support that fits their problem. They are not the best person to decide whether they need 1, 3 or 5 sessions.

A lot of the real value you provide e.g. answering questions via email or online, technique videos that can be accessed outside of sessions, emotional support, is given away for free. Moving away from the session only model provides an opportunity to change that.

Moving from a session mentality to outcome-focused offers doesn’t mean you can’t sell single sessions; it means sessions become one tool among many.

BEST MOMENTS

“So, the question is, how do we get out of session mentality? And do we need to?” 

“You're helping them (the owner). They're the reason that they've reached out, not the dog.”