HOW TO MANAGE AN OWING CUSTOMER
HOW TO MANAGE AN OWING CUSTOMER
There is nothing worse than an owing customer.
It can be very bad for your morale as a 'logipreneur' and can get quite frustrating.
Here are a few tips to help you deal with them:
Have the right mindset: The right mindset cannot be overemphasized as people that owe can come up with a ton of excuses. Be committed to getting all your money from the client. Be friendly but professional and remain firm. If you are not good at negotiating get someonelse on your team to do it for you such as the accountant. Leave sentiments out of it.
Follow up: Have a system for following up with customers that are 3days, 1 week and 1month late and stick to it. Do not let late payments slide because you do not want to be confrontational.
Send reminder emails or letters before and after the due payment date and also give them the option of calling you to discuss any discrepancies in their invoice.
Make that phone call: After the reminder via email or letter, pick up your phone and have a conversation with the client, phone calls are harder to ignore and might give you more of an insight into why the client is owing.
Keep your cool: Do not call to threaten or insult the customer. Seek to understand the client's issues and how valuable the client is to you. You can go further to offer them a payment plan that works for both parties.
Once bitten twice shy: When you finally recover your funds from this client, ensure you only allow upfront payments before servicing this customer going forward. Avoid offering credit lines to clients that do not pay on time.
We completely understand that collecting money from clients that owe is easier said than done. There are alot of delivery companies out there and you want to build your client base but be wise in doing this and remember cash is king!
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