The Barkroom Chat

Ep 33 - The ‘Old-School’ Marketing Trick That Filled My Grooming Diary Fast

• Linda • Episode 33

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0:00 | 13:38

When you’re building your home-based dog grooming business, it can feel like everything has to happen online… social media, websites, algorithms.

But what if one of the most powerful ways to get clients was actually much simpler — and far more personal?

In this episode, we’re talking about why going door-to-door (in a non-pushy, friendly way) can completely transform how quickly you build trust, visibility, and a loyal local client base.

If you’re feeling invisible, struggling to get those first bookings, or just want a confidence boost — this episode is for you 💛


 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why face-to-face marketing works so much faster than you think 
  •  How to instantly build trust with potential clients 
  •  The reason this strategy stands out (while others stay stuck online) 
  •  How to create word-of-mouth before you even have clients 
  •  Why leaflets work better when paired with a personal introduction 
  •  How this can massively boost your confidence as a new groomer 
  •  What real-time feedback from your community can teach you 

💛 Final Thought

 Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is simply show up, introduce yourself, and become a familiar, friendly face in your local area. 

 Next Steps

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you subscribe and share it with another dog groomer who’s building a business with heart.

And if you’re ready to create a more polished, professional, and aligned grooming business—keep an eye out for more resources from Glossy Pup Academy ✨


Resources

SPEAKER_00

Hey there, welcome to the Barcrow Chat Podcast, the show for women who dream of building a thriving dog grooving business role. Whether you're just starting out, already seeing clients, or somewhere in between, this is your go-to space for real talk, practical tips, a little bit of gossip, and a whole lot of encouragement. I'm Linda, the founder of Glossy Pop Academy, a former dog grower, to business mentor, and your biggest cheerleader. Let's turn your passion for pups into a profitable, feel-good, successful business that you've always dreamed of. Grab a copper, get comfy, and let's dive in. Hello and welcome back to the Backroom Chat Podcast. My name is Linda, your host, and today we're talking about something that might feel a little uncomfortable at first, but honestly, it can be so powerful when you're building your home-based dog grooming business, and I know because I've done it, and that is going door to door. Now, before you instantly cringe and think absolutely not, just stay with me for a second. Because this isn't about awkward sales pitches, it's not about knocking on doors, begging for business, it's about something much simpler and much more effective. It's about introducing yourself, building trust, and becoming a familiar face in your local community. So I'm gonna start off here with my experience. So when I started my home-based dog grooming business, I was completely new to the area, okay? And just before I go any further, I do have a free guide that is simple strategies to marketing your home-based dog grooming business. If you haven't picked that up already, I will leave a link in the show notes for you. But I do talk a little bit about this and I talk about all the mainly traditional forms of marketing that I used in order to grow and build my business. So back to my experience. I had no friends nearby, no family, and no connections, nothing. We literally moved there, it was COVID, so I didn't even know what people look like without masks on. So I couldn't rely on word of mouth to get started. Now it was in my fiance's hometown, and his family were there, um, as in his parents, but I mean they knew people in the local area, but I did not, so I'm sure they probably told a few people, but um, yeah, I had no personal experience with anyone, and no one knew what I look like without a mask on either. So, you know, it's not a great start, and that's exactly why I decided that going door to door would be one of my first steps. Just putting myself out there, letting people know I existed. Was it hard? Yeah, absolutely. Did I have to make myself do it? Of course. Did I have to bribe myself? Definitely. Uh, bargaining, reasoning, the whole lot went on because nobody likes going door to door. Well, that's probably a lie. There's probably some people who enjoy it, but I would wager very few enjoy it. You see, the thing is, going door to door means believing in yourself, it means believing in your business, it means that your business is real and that you're going to vocalize it and tell other real people about your real business, and that's hard to do, especially when you're starting off and you don't have the confidence, and you know you're going up against people that have real experience in the business when it comes to other local groomers. So what happened? Well, I went up, I forced myself to knock on every door. If the door didn't open, then I breathed a sigh of relief and put a leaflet in the letterbox. If they opened the door, then I said, Hi, my name is Linda. I've just opened a home-based dog grooming business, and I told them where and gave them the name, and well, actually, I hadn't just opened, I was opening. So I did this like in the month leading up before the open day, and yeah, guess what? Some people actually booked me on the spot, other people called me or messaged me not long after, and I was actually fully booked on my first opening day, and I had bookings following that as well. So I truly believe going door to door played a huge role in that, combined with other things that I was doing as well, of course. But I feel like by putting myself out there in that way, people knew what I looked like, and people knew that I had a business that I was starting, and if they didn't have dogs themselves, then you know they said to me, Oh, I'll tell my sister, I'll tell my mom, oh my brother's got a dog, you know, so it didn't matter if they didn't have dogs themselves, and yeah, I honestly believe it was an absolute game changer when it comes to opening my business. However, what I will say is if you already have an established business, I do believe that this will work as well because whether they know you or not, if you go and knock on the door and say, Oh hey, we're running this promotion at the moment, or we have open slots, or I just wanted to give you a leaflet with this offer. You know, a lot of people will still want the chat, and others will definitely take you up on that offer, especially if there's like new estates built in the area or new houses that have never met you before. I mean, it's pretty impossible to have met everyone in your local area. So, yeah, even if you have a business already, I would definitely think about doing this one or two evenings over the next week or the week after, and then just leave it at that, and then maybe in six months to a year's time, do it again. But yeah, let's talk for a second about why this works so well. So there's a reason that this is so effective. One, you become a real person, not just a business name. When someone just gets a leaflet in the door, it's really easy to ignore it. But when you've actually seen the person, even for ten seconds, everything changes. You're no longer just some groomer, you're the friendly local dog lover who pop by just to say hello, and that sticks. So when their dog suddenly needs grooming, you're the first person they're gonna think of if they don't have a groomer already. But this genuinely does work because I had someone who said to me when I was going door to door, I love that you're going door to door. You don't see people doing that very often now, everything's online. And one person said that to me, and then other people said, Oh, isn't it great that you call by? Oh, I'm so glad now that you called over. You know, like you think that it doesn't matter, but it really does. People really like the personal touch and actually knowing who they're going to. Plus, people feel awkward about going to new businesses and booking with new people, but if they already know you, even from that short, like brief encounter, then they're gonna feel more comfortable going to you in the first place. Number two, it builds instant trust. Trust is everything in this industry. People aren't just booking a service, they're trusting you with a member of their family. By showing up in person, you're already breaking down that barrier, you're showing them you're local, you're approachable, you're genuine, and like I said, even a short interaction can make someone feel so much more comfortable when they're reaching out to you later. Three, you stand out because most people won't do it. Let's be honest, most people won't do this, and that's exactly why it works. While everyone else is fighting for attention online, you're doing something human, personal, memorable, and that gives you a huge advantage when it comes to your local area. Four, it creates word of mouth before you even have clients. Now, this one is one of my favourite parts. A couple of weeks ago, we were talking about the magic of word of mouth, and it's huge for your business. And when you don't have a business yet, or you're just in the beginning stages, you won't have word of mouth, but you can create it by going door to door, and then people can say, Oh, this lovely girl stopped by and she has a new business. Oh, didn't you say Chili needed grooming? You know, things like that. So even if someone doesn't have a dog, they might still talk about you, basically. And by doing that, it starts the word of mouth, it starts your name spreading around, and yeah, gets people just talking about your business. Five, your leaflets actually work better. Leaflets on their own are a bit hit and miss, but when you pair them with a quick, friendly introduction, they become so much more powerful because now it's not just a random piece of paper, it's like, oh yeah, that's the groomer I met. They have something personal to attach to this piece of paper, and it just changes the game completely. Six, it builds your confidence so quickly. If you're new, like I said, confidence can be the biggest hurdle, and you will be feeling a bit shy about talking about your business, about promoting yourself, about you know bigging up your business. But if you're going door to door, this really helps to build it fast. Every smile, every kind response, every oh, that's lovely, thank you. It reinforces you can do this, and people are receptive, and your business is real, and that confidence is gonna flow through you into everything else you do for your business. And finally, you will get immediate feedback. This is something people don't always think about. When you're marketing online, you're often guessing what works, but when you speak to people in real life, you instantly see what they respond to, what questions they ask, and what concerns they have, and that is gold when it comes to your messaging. So, how do we do it without feeling awkward? Well, first of all, you're probably still gonna feel awkward no matter what, but we can lessen that feeling and we can put kind of measures into place as well. So, first of all, keep it really simple. This is not a sales pitch, you are not selling to people, you don't need to overthink it. You can literally say, like me, hi, my name is Linda. I'm starting a home-based dog grooming business, and where it is, and if you're looking for a groomer, you can pop by or give me a call, here's a leaflet, you know, really casual language because people don't like to be sold to, they don't like when someone comes to the door and goes, Hi, does your dog need a groom? I can book you in today. People don't like that. People like hi, I'm introducing myself, have a great day, the weather's great, you know, at least in Ireland, anyway. And that's it. Friendly, relaxed, no pressure, and if no one answers, just pop it through the door and move on. So, a few confidence tips. One, go to quiet time and a comfortable time of the day. I kind of went during school hours because I feared it would be less hectic for parents, or you know, there wouldn't be children running around and it would just generally be quieter. So I went during the day. I actually brought my dog with me as well. Now, in fairness, he goes with me everywhere anyway. Um, but it was a nice touch. People were like, Oh, look at your dog, you're so cute. Um, so he was in the carrier and he just had his head out the window or whatever. So, yeah, it's a nice touch to actually have a dog there as well. Uh, two start small if you want to, just a few houses, you'll build up your confidence as you go. Always remember to smile, it does genuinely make a difference. And remember, you're offering people something valuable, so you don't have to feel awkward that you're trying to like sell them something, you know, as if you're trying to like get away with something, if you're trying to like get a sly one past somebody. No, you're genuinely offering something valuable, and they have the option to take it or not, and you're not actually even selling anyway, you're just letting them know what's available in the first place, and most importantly, remember you are not bothering people, you are just introducing yourself. So that's my little episode for you for today. Um, building a home-based dog grooming business doesn't have to rely on complicated strategies or expensive ads. Like I said, I will leave that link to the guide in the show notes on simple strategies for marketing your home-based dog grooming business, and sometimes the simplest of actions create the biggest results. By stepping outside and showing your face and connecting to your community, you're building trust, visibility, and loyal local clients, and that's exactly what your business needs to grow. So if you've been waiting for your sign to give it a go, this is it. And remember, start small, stay friendly, and be yourself. You might be surprised just how powerful it can be. Until next time, my friends, remember, together we can change the world one dog at a time. Bye, friends. Thank you so much for tuning in to the Bark Room Chat Podcast. If today's episode gave you a little boost or a new idea, I'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with a fellow groomer who needs to hear it. And don't forget, you can grab my free resources and join the Glossybop Academy group anytime for more support on your journey. Until next time, keep going, keep growing. You've got this. I'm cheering you on every step of the way, and remember, together we can change the world. One dog at a time.