ou probably didn’t dream about a career in grooming just to do only clip-downs. If you are like many groomers, it’s elegant poodles, terriers, spaniels, and setters you imagined grooming with skill and passion. It would be fun to impress your clients with stylish trims, but clip-downs seem to be the norm. 

There is nothing wrong with straightforward, short styles; providing clients with a style they can reasonably maintain is important. But it’s also rewarding to practice technical skills and hone your eye for balanced trims. And, many groomers can experience burnout if they don’t find opportunities to be creative. Getting stuck in the same routine each day has its limitations, so it is important to have creative outlets.

As you scroll through your favorite groomers’ socials, you might feel the slightest bit of envy seeing all the interesting styles. How can other salons have so many perfect, show-quality dogs walking through the door? Where are your interesting style requests?

If this sounds familiar to you, there are many things you can do in order to find yourself more interesting style requests. However, another part of your skillset is knowing how to make your clients’ experiences special. Making every client’s experience incredible can be just as rewarding as doing your best grooming work. Let’s look at some key points to having a fun and rewarding grooming career, while exceeding client expectations.

Your clients choose to bring their pets to you. If you have repeat clients, you are already doing something great. They are taking care of their pet and paying for an important service. Your clients don’t have to ask for fancy styles or keep their dog in a show trim to be the best. They will sense it if you respect them and their style choices.

If you spend any amount of time comparing the type of work you do to another groomer’s work on social media negatively, please stop putting yourself down—and putting your clients down. It’s OK to love someone else’s grooming, and to let them know with a kind note in a comment, but don’t let your inner voice tell you that you should have clients just like theirs. Yes, you can work on building the client base you dream of, but don’t forget to appreciate the people who already appreciate you.

If any grooming style on social media speaks to you, use it as a sign to look for opportunities to try the style. Don’t wait for someone to walk through your door asking for it. Share with your clients and everyone you know what you dream of doing. Take initiative in seeking opportunities, and you may be surprised to find that you come across them.

With elaborate grooming, it’s not just rewarding to do the work; experiencing your clients’ reactions makes it all worth it. You can help make your clients feel good about any service. Even a nail-trim appointment can turn into an experience. Guide your clients through the grooming process with descriptive language, highlighting the small details. They will often appreciate knowing you address each and every aspect of the groom when their pet is with you. 

How about shampoos to make natural colors pop, wiping freshly grinded nails so they shine or setting the coat with drying techniques? These are all things you might already do without thinking twice, but let your clients know how you provide something a little extra special.

Exceed expectations by truly understanding your clients’ needs, and you can do this by being an attentive listener. You can impress your clients and feel good about it when you remember past conversations. Remembering details from appointments months or years later is particularly meaningful. To maintain numerous details, add notes to their client profile when important information comes up. 

For example, when you remember their dog is afraid of storms from last summer, you can call and offer a new appointment time later in the week when you see severe thunderstorms are expected.

Even if clients consistently ask for the same looks, don’t give up on trying out new styles. Share your passion with clients and explain your ideas. When they see your enthusiasm, new opportunities will emerge.

Liz Hampton, NCMG, Director of Grooming and Education at Fluffology in North Hollywood, California, suggests trying out new styles on dogs before clipping them down so the owners can see what it looks like. “Take a picture. You can send it to them to see if they love it, and if they don’t, continue with the shave,” says Liz.

“Of course, I found the best way to get owners to allow you to up their style game is to sell it with excitement and tell them how great their dog would look,” she adds.

Creativity with grooming is always possible. Creative styles that match the personality of the dog, accessories, color and photography are just a few examples of creative services in the salon. Brightening someone’s day with color is rewarding, and the dogs often know that they’ve had a transformation, too.

Jessica Holloway, dog groomer and Opawz Creative Expert in Richmond Hill, Ontario, shares a suggestion for introducing clients to color: “I will offer a touch of color, such as some pink ears or blush, to help clients get comfortable with the idea of trying something new and bold. People get addicted to it. They go from a bit of chalk to full-body creations,” says Jessica. 

Whether you want to expand your add-on services or look for more opportunities to try new styles, you can start working towards these goals right away by executing these key points. When you focus on doing your best work and listening to your clients, you might find the biggest reward is a loyal client base who appreciates and trusts you.