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Running a boarding facility and giving lessons is fun but can be very tough. It’s hard work. You make friends with your clients. However, you are still a professional. People will come and go. You cannot please everyone and if you try, you will end up pleasing no one, including yourself. Here are 3 ways to scare off clients.
Changing the Course
Are you inconsistent in your rules, routine, moods, and goals? One day your boarding facility is going to do A, the next day you are focusing on B, and the following week it is changed to C. Horses and people like consistency. Inconsistent goals, plans, and rules cause anxiety. No one knows what they are going to walk into. Many people expect that when they change something, results will follow instantly. It can take a while for clients to get on board with new plans, rules, etc. If you are changing the rules or program every day and expecting results, it isn’t going to happen. Think about how much you like change? Most people do not. Now, think about how much you like change when you have no control over it. That is how clients feel. When I was an elementary teacher, it was encouraged to have the students help make the classroom rules. They would feel involved in the process and tended to follow the rules more because they felt like they had some control.
Aligning Expectations
Do your expectations of yourself align with your expectations of others? Or more simply put, are you following the same expectations that you have for your clients and employees? Brené Brown discusses this in the book, “Daring Greatly.” She explains that one way to lose the trust and respect of others is to not follow the rules and expectations you have for your clients. Let me give you some examples. Do you have a strict rule about when board is due? That is fine and definitely understandable. However, do you have the horses fed and turned out every day at the same time or close to? Here is another one. Do you have a fee for late notice of lesson cancellations? Also, fine. But do you always show up on time to give lessons? If your clients can’t be late, then you should not be late either. For me, this is one of my biggest pet peeves. I am fine with high expectations of boarders and clients. However, if you do not have those same expectations of yourself, I tend to lose respect and trust for that person very quickly. Remember that “Golden Rule?” Treat others the way you would want to be treated.
Losing Your Temper
The USEF’s new program may help keep tempers more in check, but that isn’t always the case. Nothing is more off putting than watching a horse or student take unnecessary “corrections.” I think we all have seen this happen more than we’d like to admit. There are very few professions that would allow someone to throw an adult temper tantrum in front of clients. Can you imagine your doctor throwing a stethoscope across the room as they yell profanities? In my younger years as a working student, I put up with being screamed at and cursed at many times. As an adult, if I see someone who can’t keep their temper in check, then I am not going to give them any of my time or business.
Conclusion
How can you keep those clients that you worked so hard to get? Stay the course, align your expectations, and keep those tempers in check! Here is an affiliate link if you’d like to purchase Brené Brown’s book, “Daring Greatly”: https://amzn.to/3ddNF55