The purpose of being in business? PROFIT! Of course, ya gotta 1) get the work so SELLING your services is what I’ve been flogging lately! Then you 2) DO the work and finally you 3) CHARGE for the (hopefully beautiful) finished result! Your fourth and final step?
Theoretically your customer 4) PAYS you! (Remember “profit” is hard to achieve if you don’t “get paid”!) And yet too many of us struggle with this very important “getting paid” step. Why? Because you fret about “offending” the client and losing their future work! Here is your challenge…
Before starting the job you timidly dance around the ugly fact that you expect (hope?) to be paid for your services! Why? Because you suffer from the unspoken fear that if you actually bring up payment your shocked client might scream, “Paid? You ungrateful wretch! You want to get paid? Fine! I’ll just call someone else!” (Shades of Charles Dickens “Oliver Twist” here!) This leads to…
Your Ugly Problem: After you finish the job your customer now has “possession” of your completed service. BUT they also still “have your money”! What do you have? NOTHING! This is not a good position to be in! So pay attention here to your most important “getting paid” tactic:
Clearly define your expectations (and payment terms) right from the “git-go”!
Residential HINT: Add this section to your Phone Format to bring up AFTER booking the job over the phone: “Now Mrs. Jones, we accept checks, VISA or Mastercard. What should I put down on your work order for ‘method of payment’? (wait for answer) Great, I’ll include a receipt that your tech, Charles Green, will sign and give to you when he accepts your …” BINGO!
Commercial HINT: Especially on small, regular accounts that will be there during your cleaning (encapsulation cleaners take notice!) simply mention, “We normally receive payment at time of service…” and see what they say! (I’ll have more “Getting Paid” commercial tips next week.)
NOTE: Download our free SFS “How to Build Encapsulation Routes” Special Report HERE.
Restoration HINT: In the typical, hurry-up, “just git ‘er done” atmosphere of an emergency water mitigation it is easy to let the very important Signed Authorization slide. (Too often we “let the insured’s problem become our problem!”) Don’t let this happen. Program the “getting the paperwork out of the way” conversation into your tech’s Emergency Water Damage Set-up List HERE. (Check out step “3-a” on this Set-up List.)
I’ll share more “Getting Paid” collections tips next week! Meanwhile, try defining your payment terms up front so you don’t have to “collect”!
Steve