Aussie Web Directory

May 25, 2010

Rule One of Business: Get Paid

Filed under: Interesting — Tags: , , , — Bradley Fraser @ 8:18 am

Being paid, as you would figure is essentially the point to your business because if you aren’t getting paid, why are you in business?

You would be shocked at the number of business people who permit their clients to make payment when and if they get on with it. I know a trader who always collects bad debts like accolades. How is that? Most likely because he doesn’t bring himself to demand the money and people can just intimidate him.

If you give a client credit, only do so because they have cleared their worth to you by paying cash on delivery (COD) for some period of time. Furthermore, you need to gauge whether they have the cash to pay you - if not don’t do business with them. Don’t kid yourself into thinking “I need the work” or “I need the sales”. It’s damaging in doing the job or providing the goods for zero if you are not getting paid.

If you are the kind of person who can’t request the cash even when the work has been completed, try these tips:
Tell your customer that when the work is completed, you need cash or cheque. They should more than likely have it to hand over at completion and you don’t need to request your fee.

When handing out a quote, make sure your payment terms are plain.

Create an invoice that has your terms of payment simply listed and give the customer the invoice when the work is completed. They should see the invoice and generally understand they need to pay you the fee now without you being required to say anything. Make up a “vicious boss” who may skin you alive if you do not bring back the cash for the work.

Ask your banking to set you up with Merchant facilities so you can accept credit cards like Mastercard and Visa. The large part of people use credit cards and it can cease the issue of the customer not having a cheque account or not having the cash on hand.

Moreover, don’t be afraid to keep any goods till after the payment has been made. Know, until they’re paid for, the goods still are yours.

If you decide to permit a customer credit, be sure you have the following contact information about them at a time PREVIOUSLY you let them credit.

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

Once you possess all this information, call the bank and make certain that they do operate an account at there. Then, contact each trade reference and find out if they pay their fees on time or if they have any difficulties 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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January 2, 2010

Relationship Marketing Fundamentals

Filed under: Interesting — Tags: , , — Bradley Fraser @ 6:56 am

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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