There’s nothing new under the sun

People give all kinds of excuses for not paying their bills and very few excuses are unique. It’s true in business credit and it’s true in consumer credit as well. Some of the excuses are entertaining, at least, if you’re not too busy being annoyed.

Studying possible responses for non-payment certainly has merit. By researching what works and what doesn’t work in the world of collections, you can save yourself some time and maybe even some aggravation. And while pretty much every excuse has been heard at one point or another, one thing we’ve found is that following-up in proportion to the story you’ve been given is key. The excuse itself doesn’t change the need for follow-up in most cases. It just may change your timing a little.

For example; if your customer claims he can’t pay you until his customer pays him in a day or two, then your follow-up should happen in a day or two, not a month or two. If your customer says he can’t pay till his boss returns next week – then follow up next week, not two or three weeks after that.

The excuse itself, no matter how unique, in most cases doesn’t change the need for follow-up.

The right amount of pressure can move your invoice from the bottom of the stack to the top.