So we all know that things are forecast to get tighter this year, and a report out this week said that a third of businesses are expecting payment terms to get worse this year.
Collecting your cash on time has always been a top priority, and I’ve written about the best ways to do that several times.
There’s one thing that most companies could do so much better, something that would make a huge difference.
JUST BE NICE!
Build a relationship with your customers. It just isn’t ok these days for the accounts department to be rude to your customers or use an aggressive tone, because it gets peoples backs up, and can damage your relationships that you’ve worked so hard to build up.
This week I had a run-in with a well- known East Midlands business support organisation. They sent a letter chasing a payment, and it was worded in the most unfriendly and brusk tone, so straight away I was on the defensive. Having replied saying in no uncertain terms why I didn’t think the payment was due, I then received an even more aggressive email and letter full of pompous, self-important language, that clearly made the sender feel better, but made me dig my heels in even more.
And it hardened my resolve not to renew my annual membership (and tell all my friends about it)
Remember the point is to get your customers to pay you on time, and willingly – not with a gun to their head, and for them to still really like you as a supplier at the end of it! Not to begrudge every penny they pay you.
So these are my top tips for building stronger relationships through your credit control:
- Use the phone – don’t just hide behind email.
- Get to know the person who pays your bills and make friends with them – people pay the people they like first.
- Don’t send out standard impersonal letters designed to make you in the right and your customer in the wrong.
- Be NICE and be human
And if you’d like to learn more about getting paid on time, you could read my other blog posts Getting paid on time – how to improve your chances, , 10 ways to get large companies to pay you on time, and Why your customers aren’t paying you on time and what you can do about it
If your credit control could do with being sharpened up, we train businesses on getting their cash in quicker under Step 2 of our 5 Step Process. And don’t forget, if you’d like a confidential sounding board on anything to do with your finances, please give me a call on 0115 984 6344 or email me ….. we’re always happy to have a chat!