Every so often, you may have a payment issue with a client or customer. Their credit card may decline, they may be late making a payment or your invoice might seem to get “lost”
Whilst these situations can be frustrating, they’re perfectly normal when running a business and can actually be used to deepen your confidence and upgrade the systems in your business.
Whether you’re brand new or have been in business for a while, learning to deal with payment issues in a proactive and grounded way is a skill well worth investing in (check out MMS Academy for in depth money mindset coaching)
Here are 5 ways to handle payment issues with clients:
Cleary state your payment terms in client agreements
It’s always better to have something in writing to refer back to than to make things up as you go along. Make sure that your terms and conditions / ways of working / client agreements clearly outline your payment terms.
If you do need to have a conversation about a payment issue, being able to refer to an agreement will always make you feel much more confident.
Use empowered money language
In MMS Academy, we give you specific trainings on handling payment issues with clients and how to use empowered money language.
When discussing payment issues, it’s important to reiterate the benefit to the client and to attach it to the goal. For example, instead of saying “You need to pay for the rest of your sessions” you can say something like “I know how important finishing your book is for you, so let’s get this taken care of so we can continue to coach on this”
Stay grounded and in your power
Not being paid on time, a credit card declining or a client not keeping up to date on a payment plan can cause feelings of frustration and even resentment, so it’s important to stay grounded and in your power when sending emails or having conversations around this. A quick conversation with your coach or some mindset work before reaching out is always a good idea.
Keep in mind that payment issues can often trigger feelings of guilt or shame so it’s important not to get triggered if your client is in an emotionally charged state. Instead, remind them that you are on their side and reiterate the benefits of working together and moving forwards with their goal.
Know your boundaries
There are absolutely times where things happen and special exceptions can be made, just make sure that you are doing what works for you and coming from a place of self respect.
You deserve to be well paid for your time and energy and to have your boundaries respected. If you do decide to make a new plan or a special arrangement, make sure that you get it all confirmed and agreed in writing. It’s also a good idea to summarise phone calls with a quick email as well, copying the relevant people in.
Use as an opportunity to upgrade
Any time you have an issue in your business, use it as an opportunity to upgrade your ways of working and terms and conditions.
Perhaps you can take steps to inspire more pay in full clients in your business (we teach you how to do this in MMS Academy) or maybe it’s tightening up your client agreements or listening to your intuition more.
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