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advice for new sitters to book clients?

Hi, I'm new to Rover and have been having alot of difficulty booking clients. I have gotten several requests and have responded within 15 minutes to all the messages. I scheduled to meet and greets with different pet owners. They both seemed to go very well and they said they were very interested and would confirm the booking online. However, both of them ended up flaking and never responded to my follow-up messages. Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice for a newbie?

Thanks!

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I have been in your shoes I was working with a client canceling rescheduling, and I left it alone but she kept texting me so. Finally she asked in it would be okay for her to bring her dog at 6 am. I said yes. She ask for the address, and never showed up. Shake it off and keep at it. It will happen

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Hi, Amelia. Welcome to Rover! Unfortunately that does happen sometimes, such as when the owner has a change of plans, they find a different sitter, or they find a neighbor or family member who can help them out for free. As for advice as a new sitter, here is what I recommend: It does take time to receive your first client. I noticed that your profile does not have a Rover 101 completion badge. I would suggest taking the Rover 101 course, as the badges help in your search ranking. Plus, once completed, you can use the code FREE100 in the Rover store to receive 100 free business cards! You can use these to hang on community bulletin boards (such as at dog parks, pet stores, or even places like Starbucks) and share them with friends/family/past non-Rover clients to hand out as a referral. You can also consider sharing your profile on sites like Facebook, Craigslist, and Nextdoor. As a new sitter, you should get a boost in the rankings initially to help you get started. Try signing out and searching in your area again to see where you find yourself. There are a lot of factors that play into getting clients, though. These include how many other sitters are in your immediate area, the demand for the services you provide, your availability, and even the timing. Right now, I believe that a lot of sitters are experiencing a lull in requests, as it is back-to-school time, so less people are traveling. I think that word of mouth is key, so if you have others that can brag about you and attest to your responsibility and ability to care for their pets, you should be able to get going from there. After you get your first Verified Stay with a great review, I think you will have an increase in requests. Good luck!

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Hi Hillary, thanks so much for taking the time to answer me! Great advice. I actually just took the Rover 101 course, the badge just hasn't showed up yet. The business cards are super- I will definitely start distributing those.

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I am a new sitter to Rover as well. This is great advice. Have only been a member for about a week. I'll be patient and see how long it takes to get my first booked confirmed client and successful visit.

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I took me 3 months to get my first clients, try to remain positive and if you haven't get family and friends to post recommendations to your profile, it will help rise you in the search results

I am also pretty new to Rover. It took me a while to book my first client also. My first booking happens to be over Christmas also. I think being available for the holidays will boost your chances of getting booked. My first client came to me because their preferred sitter was booked already.

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You can call them. When I first started I would send a text reply right away. If I didn't hear back I would follow up with an actual phone call. I think people don't realize that they are texting a real live person. Hope that helps. Amber G