When people think about Bearhill Husky, they usually imagine the dogs, the sleds, the guides, and the snowy forest trails. That is the part guests come here to experience.

But before anyone arrives at the kennel, there is another part of the work happening behind the scenes: answering questions, explaining tour options, checking availability, coordinating transfers, and making sure guests understand what they are booking.

That is the sales and customer communication side of Bearhill Husky.

And while “sales” can sometimes sound like a very commercial word, for us it has to mean more than simply filling spaces on tours. Selling husky experiences comes with responsibility. We are not only working with customers, booking systems, and schedules, we are also working around living animals, changing weather, trail conditions, guide resources, and the limits of what can be done well.

At Bearhill, sales needs to respect all of that.

 

Capacity exists for a reason

One of the most important things to understand in husky tourism is that capacity is not just a number in a calendar.

If a tour is full, it is full for a reason. It may be because of the dogs, the guides, the trail conditions, the timing of the day, or the overall workload at the kennel. The booking limit is not there to make things difficult. It is there so that the experience can be delivered safely, professionally, and with proper respect for dog welfare.

This means sales cannot work separately from the kennel. If there is a question about whether something is possible, the answer cannot come only from the booking screen. We need to speak with the people who care for the dogs and run the daily operations.

Would additional customers mess with the scheduling or rest times?
Is there enough staff allocated?
How is the rest of the day planned around?
Do the weather conditions allow any additional strain?

These are not small details. They are part of ethical sales.

A good sale is not simply one more booking confirmed. A good sale is one that makes sense for the guest, the dogs, the guides, and the operation as a whole.

 

Helping guests make the right choice

Our goal is to offer a service that we would be happy to receive ourselves.

That sounds simple, but in practice it means understanding how different Lapland can feel to someone visiting for the first time. Things that are obvious to us may be completely unfamiliar to our guests: distances, darkness, cold weather, transportation, locations, clothing, and simply the difference between tour types.

This is why customer communication matters so much.

People should not have to guess what they are buying. They should understand whether they will sit in a sled or drive one themselves, how physical the tour may be, where they need to be, what is included, and whether the experience is suitable for their group. This is especially important because different Bearhill tours can suit very different guests, and choosing between a self-drive and a guided sitdown tour is not only a matter of preference, but also comfort, ability, group structure, and expectations.

In quieter periods, we have more time to answer questions in detail and even help guests understand Rovaniemi and Lapland more generally. This I really like doing, but in the winter rush, especially around December, this becomes much harder.  The amount of customer contact grows quickly, and the sales team is often juggling many things at once.

That is why clear systems and good information are so important.

Our website has developed from a functional webshop into a place where guests can find more answers before they contact us. Premessaging strategies have given final reminders and information of what to account for depending on the time of the year. The better informed guests are before arrival, the smoother the experience is for everyone: the customer, the sales team, the guides, and the kennel.

 

Honest expectations, better experiences

We are proud of the dog welfare work behind Bearhill Husky, but we also want to communicate it honestly.

It is easy in tourism to promise too much. The best day ever. The perfect winter dream. A magical once-in-a-lifetime experience. But nature, animals, and weather do not always work like marketing language.

Our approach is more simple: explain clearly, avoid overpromising, and let the experience speak for itself.

This is where the idea of “undersell and overdeliver” makes sense to us. We do not need to tell every guest that they will have the best tour of their life. Our job in sales is to help them choose the right tour, understand what will happen, and arrive prepared. After that, it is for the dogs, guides, and the trail to do the rest.

Good communication also prevents disappointment. If guests arrive with the wrong expectations, even a well-run tour can feel different from what they imagined. But if we explain things properly beforehand, they can relax into the experience instead of trying to figure it out on the spot.

Professionalism is not only about being friendly. It is also about being accurate.

 

Not every booking should be pushed

During the busiest parts of the season, we often have guests contact us when their preferred tour is already full. Of course, we look for alternatives. Maybe another time works. Maybe another tour is a better fit. Maybe there is still a way to create a good experience.

But there is a line between helping and pushing.

We do not believe in endlessly trying to close a sale just because someone has contacted us. If the only available option is not really what the guest wanted, we should be honest about that. Sometimes the right answer is to suggest another date, another type of tour, or suggest another provider who also takes good care of their dogs.

That may sound unusual from a sales perspective, but it is important to us.

Guests should feel that they chose the experience because it was right for them, not because they were talked into whatever happened to be available.

 

Sales as part of the kennel

At Bearhill, sales is not separate from dog welfare, guiding, operations, or guest experience. It is connected to all of them.

Every email, booking, phone call, and website update is part of how we prepare guests for what happens here. Clear communication helps avoid confusion. Ethical sales protects the dogs from being treated like unlimited resources. Honest advice helps customers make better decisions.  Good systems help us keep the same standard even when the season gets busy.

We are always improving this side of the work. Each season teaches us something new: which questions need clearer answers, which details guests miss, where our procedures can be better, and how we can prepare for unexpected situations such as difficult snow conditions.

It may not be the most visible part of Bearhill Husky, but it matters.

Because before the dogs run, before the sled leaves, and before the guest steps onto the trail, the experience has already started, with the information they received, the expectations we helped set, and the choices we helped them make.

That is what ethical sales means to us.

Not selling at any cost.

Selling with care.

 

— Teemu Sara

Sales Team Leader & Sales Operations Manager
Bearhill Husky