Finding Them
Clients won’t find you unless you take an active role in attracting them. There are ways you can grow your business and acquire customers in an ethical manner. Here are 10 that will help you establish your practice.
1. Have business cards and fliers printed. Your business card should be more than just a way to contact you. It needs to tell a little more about you, that you’re serious about your work.
On the back of the card, state your policies on billing, scheduling subsequent appointments or feature a quote that reflects your beliefs or values.
Concerning your fliers, offer a memorable and unique title using a few carefully chosen, powerful words. When viewing the flier, potential clients will ask the question, “What’s in it for me?” Write your ad copy from the clients’ perspective using the words “you” and “your.”
You don’t need to fill your flier with wall-to-wall text and graphics. Incorporate some blank space to make certain elements stand out and to make the flier easy to read.
Anytime you are writing something for clients, don’t forget to proofread the copy. A small mistake might be large enough to lose a client.
2. Visit stables and training facilities. Introduce yourself to everyone from the business owner to the grooms. Ask if you can leave cards and a flier. Don’t give the impression you are trying to take clients from farriers already working at these places.
3. Introduce yourself to local equine veterinarians and trainers. Tell them about your education, qualifications and availability. Give them several business cards to pass along to potential customers. Introduce yourself to the veterinarian staff since they are more likely to be the ones referring clients to farriers.
4. Websites and Facebook. Creating a website is affordable and easy, thanks to a number of online service providers. Establish a goal that the site will look professional and appeal to clients of the same caliber.
Create a Facebook page for your business that is separate from your personal profile. Be smart about what you post on your personal page or become stricter on your privacy settings.
5. Place a sign on your farrier rig. Pay a print shop for a magnetic sticker — it can be easily moved if you change shoeing rigs.
6. Advertise. This can be in a small-town newspaper, local riding club newsletter, the Yellow Pages and/or a website such as Craigslist.
7. Join the local farrier association. You will not only improve your hoof-care knowledge, but also meet farriers who could refer clients to you.
8. Volunteer. Offer your time at places such as therapeutic riding centers or equine rescue facilities. From doing hoof care or lectures, you’ll get your name out there.
9. Go to equine events. Attend as many equine functions as possible, from trail ride gatherings to breed shows. You might have the opportunity to replace lost shoes in lieu of an absent farrier. Give out your cards and post a flier.
10. The best advertising: word of mouth. Don’t just leave a business card after your first meeting — leave them with a good impression. This is why your behavior as a professional is so important. Keep good company. Surround yourself with farriers who know more than you about footcare and the conduct of being a professional.
Keeping Them
Nothing beats sound horses as a means for keeping your clients happy. However, a farrier business is a service-based business and it is important to pay attention to more than just trimming and nailing shoes on feet. The little things in your farrier business go a long way in ensuring your success as well. Here are 10 little ways to keep clients happy.
1. Clean up the foot. Clean up and dress your finished product, the hoof. Whether it is a trim or a shoeing, the foot should look clean and neat. Fill the old nail holes with plastic wood, use a foam pad to clean the wall and dress the foot with hoof dressing. The finished foot is your best business card.
2. Clean up the area. Leave the trimming/shoeing area in a barn clean when you leave. Use a magnet to pick up nails and sweep or rake the area to pick up manure, pad material, hoof trimmings and anything else that is left from your work.
3. Take notes. Take notes of more than just the shoeing. Get the name of the horse, the owner and any relevant facts that will tell the client that you care about them and consider them special. Before you leave one client, review your notes on your next client.
4. Clean your vehicle. Keep your shoeing vehicle clean and free of non-shoeing items. It should not look as if shoeing is an afterthought. Bales of hay, roping dummies and other debris will take away from your professional image.
5. Accept responsibility. It’s not a matter of whether things can go wrong in your farrier practice. They will, so be prepared. Be mature and professional when things go wrong. Admit your mistakes and fix things to the client’s satisfaction, if possible.
6. Intercept problems. If your client has kids and dogs running wild around and through the shoeing area and this is a problem for you (or will be a problem), address it immediately and professionally. If the shoeing conditions are not acceptable to you, talk to the client. Have these conversations before they become a problem that causes you to lose a client and a bit of your reputation.
7. Initiate positive phone calls. When a client voices concerns about their horse and how your shoeing will help the horse, call them a few days later to see how the horse is doing. This positive phone call tells clients that you care about their business and their horses.
8. Make recommendations. Be proactive in the care of the horse or the owner. Recommend articles or clinics that would be of interest to the horse owner. Reprint articles or direct your clients to a website with information that would be of use to them and their horses.
9. Be candid. Know what you can and cannot do for the horse and the owner. Make sure that your stated promises are understood and obtainable. It might be good for your ego when the client thinks you can fix anything, but it won’t be good for the relationship when you can’t.
10. Make service suggestions. Again, be proactive by being their authoritative source. Suggest hoof dressings, hoof disinfectants and anything else you think would be beneficial. If the horse’s feet would respond better to a shoeing schedule shorter than 8 weeks, bring this up to the customer with a professional discussion of the benefits. Don’t forget: clients won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
