How to get clients to pay their bills and still be happy? Personal experience: how to negotiate payment with clients and not be shy How to force them to pay a bill

– We continue to talk about how companies today work with accounts receivable. In the previous article we talked about building an effective system for returning accounts receivable and which employee should be involved in this. Now we’ll talk about how to work with debt that has already arisen (or is about to arise), and also about the psychological subtleties of communicating with debtors.

3 questions with answers that a debtor should know

I recommend starting with outreach. It is advisable to notify the client in writing (send a pre-compiled memo on working with a trade loan), as well as verbally discuss the sequence of actions and answer these questions:

Question 1: “Why is it important to pay off accounts receivable on time?”. Explain the reasons:

1. Maintaining trusting partnerships. We strive to develop partnerships, trust and respect the choice of clients. Therefore, we ask you to treat our requirement with the same respect - to repay receivables on time.

2. Maintaining preferences and discounts. Future conditions for working with our company depend on your financial discipline.

3. Preservation of reputation. The more reliable your company’s reputation, the more comfortable conditions for deferment and discounts you will receive.

4. Provision from the company additional discount for "prepayment".

How to get a client to pay on time? Seven ways from an expert

The basis successful business- money, money and more money. How more money floats into your pocket (and the less that floats out of it), the more firmly you stand on your feet. Make it a habit to plan everything carefully monetary transactions and count every penny. Of course, unnecessary clients can confuse all your plans by violating payment deadlines. Here are seven ways to get them to pay on time.

1. Require a signature

Payment terms and conditions must be drawn up by legal counsel and signed by the client. Nobody wants to pay interest on late payments - but resist the temptation to let things slide “just so as not to scare off the client.” By the way, if you are dealing with a large company, be especially careful. Large companies are still defaulters!

2. Check solvency

An indulgence such as a thirty-day grace period should be an informed decision based on facts, and not a self-evident right of everyone. By making inquiries about the client, you will certainly not give a loan to a bankrupt person. Make a ranked list of your clients, choosing the size of their potential annual debt as a criterion, and pay especially close attention to those who top this ranking.

3. Make inquiries

Try to stay up to date with your clients. If the client is new, make inquiries. For example, contact those who have already worked with him. How long did the collaboration last? Were there any outstanding payments? If so, how much was the total debt?

Of course, no one will give you contacts of those with whom he does not have a good relationship. If you are guided by recommendations provided by the client himself, keep a fig in your pocket and remember that in addition to “ideal scenarios” there are harsh everyday life.

4. Watch and listen

When talking to managers who work with your new client, ask how things are going. The slightest signs of anxiety or phrases like “It could be better” should be a warning sign for you. Perhaps the problem is that the manager is not efficient enough. But it is possible that the client is not a gift.

5. Offer a discount to the most disciplined

The main thing is to approach the implementation of this idea wisely. Offer a discount to those who pay their bills quickly, such as within a week. You'll see: those clients who try (and are able) to get it will themselves prove to be very successful in business. As a result, you will strengthen ties with reliable partners, and if you include a discount in your budget, the slowest clients will provide you with additional income.

In order for an idea to start working, it needs to be promoted. Please include a promotional postcard with every invoice you send out describing the promotion. Constantly tell your customers about the discount - make them want to get it.

6. Make bills clear

Some think the score is just one more marketing tool. Meanwhile, an account is a tool for making payments, nothing more. He must tell the client how much, to whom and when he must pay, as well as how he can do this. To do this, it is not even necessary to have your logo on the form.

7. Act decisively

The longer you wait for money, the less likely it is that you will eventually get it. Let customers know that you intend to take decisive action if payment is late. They say that some can be re-educated.

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One of the company owners asked for recommendations on how to collect receivables. Here is a short excerpt from the new book " Financial planning: The art of creating income."

The work of collecting payments has its own technology, which consists in the fact that the client needs to be reminded in time, gradually increasing the pressure. This requires a very high level of discipline, organization and the ability to demand fulfillment of obligations. Such qualities are not typically found in salespeople, whose talents tend to be to quickly build trust and maintain interest.

1. A telephone call with a friendly and polite reminder that the client needs to pay the invoice within the next 3 business days.

2. Call on the last day of the payment deadline. In the middle of the working day, the client is asked whether payment has already been made. If payment is not made, he is kindly but firmly reminded that he has committed to pay within that time frame, and is required to pay by the end of the day.

3. If the client does not pay on time, the next day he should be sent a letter by fax or e-mail. The letter must include a requirement to pay or penalties will apply.

4. After sending such a message, you must call and demand that he either pay within a day or provide an official letter with the date of payment.

5. If there is no payment and there was no letter asking to reschedule the payment, you must call the next day and demand an official letter.

6. If the client does not send a letter within a few more days, he is sent a formal complaint with a warning that the case will be sent to court if payment is not made within a certain period.

7. If the client has not complied with the requirements, send all Required documents lawyers and start a lawsuit.

This sequence may seem too harsh, but this is just an example, you can develop a softer one based on it. Please note that in order to perform this work, the employee must enter the “1st level impact” task into the calendar for each account, and then punctually complete this task. In order not to miss any payments, he must maintain the appropriate tables and constantly work with the calendar. Performing a Level 2 “impact” requires calling not just on a certain day, but at a specific time. Sellers, as a rule, simply forget to do this. When you consider that a company may have dozens or hundreds of outstanding invoices, this is a fairly large amount of very specific work. When they try to entrust such work to sellers, the result is always the same - they often cannot complete even the first step on time and correctly, they are almost guaranteed to “forget” about the second, and they are afraid to even think about the subsequent steps.

When we implemented a “gradually increasing pressure” approach, it always resulted in increased revenue and a significant reduction in accounts receivable. After all, most clients make payments quite chaotically; they pay first of all to those who demand payment. Of course, this approach may result in the company losing a small portion of customers, but, oddly enough, such losses also contribute to revenue growth. The reason for the increase in income is not difficult to understand - sellers, instead of clinging with all their might to problem clients, are forced to look for new ones. At the same time, the company gets rid of clients who eat up resources ( working capital And work time), they go to competitors and create difficulties for them in their work. But, interestingly, when implementing this approach, the most disagreement arises from the sales department; they always say the same thing: “We will lose clients, everyone will leave us, it’s better that we collect payments ourselves.”

During communication with a creditor, the debtor always (whether realizing it or not) tries to influence the creditor. Even if the debtor shows a constructive reaction, he is still trying (albeit unconsciously) to impress the creditor and tell him “between the lines” with his reaction that he is a decent, good and conscientious counterparty with whom it is worth doing business in the future .

By talking about the existing difficulties and hardships, the debtor tries to touch such a string of the creditor’s human soul - individual or an employee of the creditor company as “pity and sympathy.” The purpose of such a game “on strings” is to obtain a deferment of debt repayment. Showing aggression, the debtor tries to influence the creditor through the strings of “fear” and “comfort”, ensuring that the creditor (not wanting to have negativity from communicating with the debtor and collecting the debt) completely forgets about the debtor, or communicates with him as little as possible.

Likewise, whether he realizes it or not, the creditor tries to influence the debtor. In order for the effectiveness of influence on the debtor to be greater, and the dependence on his psychological manipulations to be less, it is important for the creditor to adhere to the rules of communication with the debtor described above, as well as to be able to play on the debtor’s “strings” and monitor attempts at a similar game on the part of the debtor.

For convenience, I have compiled information on playing the “strings” into a table. The given options for psychological manipulation are, of course, not the only possible ones. The examples given in the table only illustrate one of the possibilities for using each “string”.

The string of the human soul	Possible options for manipulation on the part of the debtor in relation to the owner, manager or employee of the creditor company (depending on the situation)	A possible variant of manipulation on the part of the creditor in relation to the owner, manager or employee of the debtor company (depending on the situation)
Fear	There is a serious force behind us... Do you know who you contacted? ...	If you do not repay the debt on time, you will face liability, including possibly criminal...
Greed	If you wait, we'll pay everything. And if you go to court, you will lose more. The state fee must be paid, the lawyer must be paid, etc.	Late payment and you will have to pay a penalty. In addition, you will be charged legal costs, i.e. state duty, expenses for lawyers, attorneys, etc. Do you need it? Better pay on time.
Guilt (from actions, inactions, and consequences)	We have such serious problems here, and you still demand to pay off the debt. If our company goes bankrupt, it will be on your conscience...	If you don't pay off the debt, we won't be able to pay. wages to your employees, and they have families, children... The fact that they will be left without money will be your fault. It will all be on your conscience...
Comfort	Wait a little and we'll pay. Do you need these courts? It's all running around, worrying and bureaucracy. Why do you need all this complexity? You just need to wait a month or two...	If you do not pay by the due date, we will go to court. You will lose energy and time going to court, and then the bailiffs will come to you, describe everything and take it away. The quiet life is over. Do you need it? Pay on time.
Exceptionality	You and I have developed a partnership like no other. Your company is our best counterparty. Wait a little longer and we will definitely pay.	You are our best counterparty, we provide you with favorable discounts, a wide range of and so on. And as you understand, the best counterparty, by definition, cannot violate its obligations. Pay by the due date.
Justice	It is unfair to demand that we pay the debt and such a large penalty. You have forced yourself on us. It is fair to pay you only the amount of the debt.	Is it fair that you use our money, and at this time we are forced to take out loans from the bank at a “crazy” interest rate? This is completely unfair! Pay back the debt!
Pride	Give us a little more time to pay off the debt. We'll pay, but a little later. Show understanding and you will have a reason to be proud that you found the strength to support your counterparty in difficult times.	Many of our contractors and partners are proud that they fulfill their financial obligations on time. Pay off your debt and you too will have something to be proud of.
Decency	You remind us of our duty every day. Such obsession is simply dishonest. Wait a little and we will pay everything. Be a decent person - stop being annoying!	Taking so long to pay off your debt is simply dishonest. And we thought that your company, its managers and employees, were decent people. If so, then pay by the due date.
Attractiveness	You are such an attractive person, and so obsessive with your debt issue. Wait a little and we will pay.	You are such an attractive person, but you are so awkwardly delaying the repayment of your debt... I. Pay by the due date! This will only be a plus for you!
Pity (sympathy)	We have a tax audit here, the client doesn’t pay, the accountant quit.... It’s so difficult for us now... Give us a little reprieve...	You didn’t pay us on time, and we couldn’t pay our employees salaries. And there is nothing to buy raw materials with... It’s so difficult for us without your payment. Please pay by the due date!
Masculinity/femininity	You are such a feminine girl, but you demand repayment of the debt like a rude lout. It doesn't suit you. Be nice, be patient, and we'll pay...	You are such a strong man, but you act like a little girl. You have one thing, then another. And you still don't keep your promises. Finally, be a man - pay off the debt by the due date.
Weak	Is it too hard for you to wait? You are like that big company...Can't you wait a little longer? Are you weak?	Is it difficult for you to pay on time? You are such a big company. Are you really unable to fulfill your financial obligations on time? Is it really weak?

Monitoring by the creditor of the “game” used against him and recognizing the debtor’s manipulations reduces their “harmfulness” by an order of magnitude, since it allows the creditor to assess the real state of affairs using reason, not emotions.

The creditor, for his part, can play on the “strings” either by searching one “string” at a time (starting from any one), or by using the “chord execution” method, when several “strings” are affected at once during one message. For example, telling the debtor “Pay by the due date, otherwise, in addition to the amount of the debt, you will have to pay a penalty and reimburse legal expenses. In addition, delaying payment for so long is extremely dishonorable and unmanly. Therefore, pay by the due date!” the creditor thereby touches such “strings” as “greed”, “decency”, “masculinity”.

Messages addressed to the debtor while playing the “strings” can be both direct (literal) and metaphorical. By uttering the phrase “... if you delay the payment date agreed upon by us, then...” we openly and literally tell the debtor what actions we will take in relation to him. In the same case, when, in the course of communication with a debtor, we casually mention a certain negligent debtor who was delaying payment, who was recently brought to criminal liability, then we use metaphorical language. In some cases, the use of metaphorical stories about bad debtors has a greater effect on the debtor than an open message about the negative legal consequences of late payment.

It is important to note that none of the strings is a “magic pipe” that will help the creditor make any debtor “dance”. Each debtor has his own individual set of “strings”. One debtor reacts strongly and demonstrates a willingness to pay when his exclusivity is emphasized, another to accusations of dishonesty, and a third to threats. financial loss as a result of paying penalties and court costs, the fourth for something else. Therefore, only a flexible and variable “game” provides efficiency to the lender.

* This text is a fragment of the article “Graters” with debtors,” published in the magazine “PRODENGI”, No. 2 (15), 06-07.2012, pp. 28-32

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