Don’t make this debt collection mistake!
You and your customer of 20 years just finished a round of golf. You toasted his daughter at her wedding last year. You even remember each other’s birthdays. But lately, he’s been paying slower and slower. You’ve noticed … haven’t you?
It’s so easy for changes in certain customer’s habits to go unnoticed. It’s even easier to cut some slack for the customer with whom you have a personal relationship. After all, out of all your customers, it’s your friend that you assume will make your invoices a priority. I mean … you’re more than just business associates!
These are the customers that are the most difficult to confront when a bill is unpaid. How do you say, “You’re late with payments. I’ll need to update your credit app and financials” without sounding … well … UNfriendly and cold?
This is where it’s important to do 2 things:
1. Don’t procrastinate – Communicate!
The longer you wait to initiate this important business discussion, the harder and harder it will get. The reality is, it’s weighing on his mind, too. Probably even more so than yours. Go ahead and get it over with. Open the topic for dialog.
2. Be open to solutions – but firm on resolutions
In many of our blog posts we’ve encouraged being firm but flexible. That’s because you have a better chance of getting paid if you’re open to solutions other than your own. But once a course of action has been determined, be firm and hold your customer/friend to his word.
It’s true that sometimes, being in business with a friend just doesn’t work out. But if you keep lines of communication open and work with them through rough spots, you’ll have a better chance of minimizing past due accounts AND retaining your relationship.