Business owners know all too well that dealing with delinquent clients and customers is a necessary part of running his or her business. And many of those business owners are not proactive about pursuing those delinquent clients and customers. Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach strongly recommends that all business owners (especially small business owners) use strategic thinking to develop a plan to actively and aggressively pursue those delinquent accounts.
Collecting overdue bills while maintaining good relationships with clients and customers requires very strategic people skills. Many business owners have he attitude that most people do want to pay, but recognize that there are people that do not want to pay and the business owner needs to figure out why they are not paying. Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach offers the following tips on how to deal with delinquent clients and customers.
Tip #1: Develop and document a specific process to follow for delinquent accounts. This should include when calls are made for past due bills, when written correspondence is sent for past due bills, when clients or customers are put on COD, when bills are turned over to collection agencies.
Tip #2: Be proactive and make contact with the delinquent client or customer via telephone. Identify yourself and confirm that you are speaking to the debtor.
Tip #3: Request payment in full for the amount owed to you. You need to start at the highest possible amount, in case you decide to do some negotiating later in the contact.
Tip #4: Always pause and listen to the response from the debtor. You need to be a very strategic listener and hearer because you may pick up on some clues to the financial status of the debtor business or individual. Sometimes the problem lies in something as simple as a wrong address being used when the invoice was sent.
Tip #5: Clearly focus on and define the problem. You provide the opportunity for the debtor to explain why they have not paid your invoice, but you then take control and focus on the problem of getting your bill paid.
Tip #6: Be proactive in assisting the client or customer find a solution. Provide guidance to help them figure out how to pay the bill. This could take many forms, including a personal credit card, line of credit, home equity loan, etc.
Tip #7: Confirm and close the deal to make payment. Repeat what has been agreed to on the phone to gain concurrence from the debtor. Then follow-up the verbal agreement with written documentation of the agreed deal.
Tip #8: Document all your efforts to collect your unpaid invoice.
Tip #9: Follow-up to make sure the agreement is kept. Be ready to call them again if they miss honoring any payment date.
Tip #10: Be prepared to “fire” some clients and customers. If you have to spend time trying to get paid you really do not want them as a client or customer.
Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach encourages you to develop a plan to ensure you get paid on time for the services you provide and the products you deliver. If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com
Tips On Dealing With Delinquent Clients and Customers From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Ebersole's Website.
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