Rule One of Business: Get Paid

To get paid, just as you would realise is fundamentally fundamental in your business because if you aren’t getting paid, what are you doing in business?

You may be shocked at the heaps of business people who only get their customer base to simply pay when and if they feel like it. I know of one business owner who continuously collects bad debts like accolades. How? Probably because he doesn’t bring himself to request the payment and people use him.

If you let a client credit, only do so when they have cleared consistency to you by paying cash on delivery (COD) for some time. Also, you can see whether they have the funds to pay you - if not then you should not do business with them. Don’t push yourself into the pattern of “I need the work” or “I need the sales”. It’s fruitless doing the work or providing the goods for zero if you aren’t paid.

If you are the sort of person who can’t request the cash even after the service has been completed, try these cheats:
Tell your customer that when the work is finished, you will require cash or cheque. They should more than likely have it to hand over at completion and you will not have to request your fee.

When sending out your quote, make sure your payment terms are visible.

Complete an invoice that has your terms of payment evidently listed and give the customer the invoice when the work is completed. They can review the invoice and generally understand they need to pay the money now without you having to say a word. Fabricate a “cruel boss” who might skin you alive if you can’t return with the pay for the job.

Set up your bank branch to set you up with Merchant facilities so you can accept credit cards including Mastercard and Visa. Many people have credit cards and it would prevent the dilemma of the customer not holding a cheque account or not having the right cash on hand.

Otherwise, don’t be frightened to hold onto the promised goods til after payment has been made. Don’t forget, until the goods have been paid for, they are still yours.

If you plan to allow a client credit, make sure you get the following details of them at a point PREVIOUSLY you permit them credit.

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Bank name and address
• Account no.
• 3 trade references with their names, addresses and phone numbers

When you know all this detail, telephone the branch and make sure that they operate an account there. Then, contact each trade reference and ask if they pay their fees punctually or if there are any dilemmas with them.

Most people will be willing to tell you if the person is troublesome. If everything is OK, allow them a moderate level of debt, say no more than $500 (depending on your business). Monitor the operation of the account for a few months before allowing this amount to be exceeded.

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Relationship Marketing Fundamentals

As a customer service concept, relationship marketing is not new. For decades, business-to-business marketers have employed account managers who have the responsibility to dedicate themselves to key clients. In the financial world, `relationship banking’, whereby high-yield customers are assigned a personal manager, has been practised for many years.

When direct marketing is embraced to establish connections or relations between the marketer and the consumer, it is too easy to suggest that all forms of direct marketing communications achieve a closer relationship, a closer bond between the two parties. Such a conclusion exaggerates what generally happens in the marketplace.

Direct marketing is all about generating a direct response from the consumer and about direct communications to the consumer. A direct response is needed to generate better understanding of the advertising message or to motivate transactions. Direct communication is simply about media reach efficiency. Relationship marketing is a concept that transcends these pragmatic direct marketing objectives.

Kotler appropriately positions the concept of relationship marketing as one which applies principally to business-to-business situations:

Smart marketers try to build up long-term, trusting, `win—win’ relationships with customers, distributors, dealers and suppliers. That is accomplished by promising and delivering high quality, good service, and fair prices to the other party over time.

It is accomplished by strengthening the economic, technical, and social ties between members of the two organizations. The two parties grow more trusting, more knowledgeable, and more interested in helping each other. Relationship marketing cuts down on transaction costs and time; in the best cases, transactions move from being negotiated each time to being routinized.

Outside of `membership’ or `continuity’ programs, there are two basic ways to approach consumers. The first is with a product and price combination considered to be `the standard’. That is, the proposition is essentially of long standing and relies on the features and benefits being competitive. The second way, normally of short-term duration, is a `special offer’. Direct marketing textbooks are full of the theory, practice and case histories relating to `the offer’.

The choice of basic propositions or selection of special offers depends on the circumstances of the individual firm and its competitive environment. The right proposition or offer can make a world of difference to response cost-effectiveness.

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