When you are in business for yourself, it is not easy to make
those collection calls. Emotions, both subtle and forceful can
come into play, on both sides. But as a business owner with
outstanding Accounts Receivable, making the calls to collect
your money can make or break your bottom line!
Let's examine three uncomfortable emotions, and give you some
tips on how to collect your money with less stress.
Emotions: * Dislike of calling, so constantly put it on
the bottom of the "to-do" list * Dislike of confrontation over
the money owed * Fear of losing the customer
First, you must accept the fact that collections are a normal
part of doing business. This will help you to remember that the
call is a business transaction, not an emotional experience.
Give yourself that mental distance, and cultivate that
professional attitude.
Getting paid is the last part of your sales cycle, whether you
are paid immediately, or thirty or sixty days later. Your
customer is not "doing you a favor" (a commonly experienced
feeling) by paying you, they are fulfilling their part of the
business contract (written or not).
There is a special chapter in my book "Get Your Money EZ, A
Business Owner's Guide to Collecting Their Receivables" that
deals with training your customers. Yes, you can train them to
pay you on time! This automatically cuts down on the amount of
collections you have to do.
Second, sometimes when you call, you will uncover PROBLEMS
instead of payments! Maybe your customer never got the shipment,
or it was the wrong item, or for any other reason it needs to be
returned, so they have put off paying for it, but never called
to let you know it needs to be returned.
It is better to take care of these customer service issues now,
before the debt or item is really old, and you have been trying
for months to collect your money.
The best way to avoid confrontations is to give your customers a
clear statement of your policies in document form, such as a
Terms and Conditions of Sales. You can specify exactly how and
when returns are allowed.
Realistically, nothing will 100% eliminate confrontation over
these types of issues, but having your customers sign your Terms
and Conditions of Sales documents gives you a strong legal leg
to stand on if the lack of agreement goes as far as small claims
court for you to get your money.
There is a chapter in my book "Get Your Money EZ, A Business
Owner's Guide to Collecting Their Receivables" that outlines
setting up policy and procedures.
Do you have a Terms and Conditions of Sales document as part of
your credit policy? You need one! A sample TOC is included in
the book, which you can use as a base to customize your own
policies.
This is not a dry complicated accounting manual. It is easy to
read and easy to do, written to help you get results.
Third, there can be a huge fear in the mind of a business owner
that if you call to collect, you risk a chance of losing that
customer's future business. You have probably invested some time
and money into getting that customer, and have an established
"sales relationship". Now they have to see you as a "bill
collector" too. Many business owners have their bookkeeper or
other designated people make the collection calls, to side-step
this issue. But if you don't have a person to do that, then it
is up to you to make the collection calls.
To put your mind at ease about this, professional collectors
(referenced in my book) have said that the exact opposite is
true!
To allow the customer to continue to owe you is to actually
DRIVE THE CUSTOMER TO YOUR COMPETITION! To collect from them on
time is the best customer service, and will ensure them to
remain your customer.
There is a lot more information for you in the book, "Get Your
Money EZ, A Business Owner's Guide to Collecting Their
Receivables", such as steps to collection, the four steps to a
collection call, and taking checks by phone.
If you are interested, there is a f.r.e.e 3 part Mini-Course
"Get Your $ EZ", available to sign up for at the web site:
http://www.goldenwestpublishing.com.
The book "Get Your Money EZ, A Business Owner's Guide to
Collecting Their Receivables" is available at the web site as a
PDF file, or as a print book, just click on the Business tab.
About the author:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^ Levada Pendry is a freelance writer living in Northern
California.
Contact at: levada.pendry@gmail.com Or visit the web site:
http://www.goldenwestpublishing.com
