There you are doing your
best work: delivering a fine service, charging a fair rate, staying within
budget and yet getting your invoice paid is like drawing blood. Makes you feel
like giving up, doesn't it?
What's going on and how can we bring about some change? The answer may
just lie within.
Often when we're faced with bad debts, a little part of us is not totally
surprised. Sure we complain like hell, and blame all sorts of people or events,
but still a little voice is saying 'Told you so. Told you so!'
So what did we miss? Here are some questions that may hold the key and may
just stop it happening again.
1. Are your billing systems and
procedures realistic, in-place, enforced and respected?
A fairly basic place to start, but one that is regularly overlooked. Procedures
can be a bit like business plans. They get lots of attention at some point in
our business. We spend hours crafting and fine-tuning and then file them away
in the cabinet of oblivion.
We all need to have procedures in place regarding quoting, invoicing and
chasing payment and we need to stick to them. Our clients need to know our
terms and conditions and we need to demonstrate that we respect these
procedures.
An important point to remember though is that if a system or procedure
doesn't work or isn't adhered to, two options exist - get a big stick and
enforce it; or change the system. Sometimes the latter can make life a lot
easier. Look around at what works for others and you may see a better way to
run your own systems and procedures.
2. Did you 'step-over' any signals
on the way?
Clients that are bad payers regularly send us little signals along the way. The
problem is we ignore them, because they're clients and the client is always
right. Right? W-r-o-n-g!
For the client to be right, they first need to be the right
client.
Take a look at things you're stepping over and you'll see what I mean. Here
are a few examples:
- Your client really doesn't 'get' what you do
- Signs abound that there is little commitment to your involvement - meetings
cancelled/client unprepared/frequent, wild un-met promises
- Goalposts moving...like constantly
- Basic areas of your work being questioned, the focus often unnecessarily on
the small stuff
If someone is not 'buying-in' to what you're doing, they're not attaching
much value. Why would you want to pay for something you don't value?
3. Did you follow your intuition at
the outset?
I'm not saying we should automatically run a mile when our intuition-monitor
goes berserk, more that we should have a procedure for this circumstance.
Let's call it: The vigilance procedure. Business on full alert.
When starting with a new client, always listen to your intuition. Give it
the time of day.
4. Have you chased payment in a
considered manner?
Ever been a tad clumsy with your chasing? Got a teeny bit emotional perhaps?
Maybe took stuff out on your client when really your failure to follow your own
procedures or your intuition were what caused the frustration? I know I
have.
Your client may not always be right, you certainly aren't always right. Be
careful with this blame stuff; 'losing it' usually results in losing it, if you
get my drift.
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