OMG!: Make it easy for people to pay you!

In this time of world wide economic crisis due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many business owners have been struggling with the impact of reduced business as well as challenges collecting payments from clients who are also under financial stress. This is way is it some important to make it easy to do business with you and pay.

As a brick-and-mortar business owner, I, too, have had to navigate through these precarious economic times. During the shutdown, I waited, like many others, with great anticipation to reopen my business. I would have expect that vendors that are open would be eager to close deals and collect payment to restore the flow of money needed to survive and thrive. This is why I am surprised to find myself having to repeatedly coach vendors through closing deals--to get MY business and having to facilitate payment--for them. As a client this is one of the most frustrating and crazy-making experiences--especially when I like the vendor and they do good work for me.

We expect to have to be vigilant for vendors care more about payment than service, however, it is also a burden when an honest vendor doesn't seem to know how to complete business transactions. It can even feel offensive as it burdens the client's time and executive function. It's sometimes an operational quirk but often it's a mindset issue about feeling comfortable with success, receiving and worthiness which blocks the flow of money.

When one is the vendor it's one's responsibility to lead. Expecting the customer to do that is is counter intuitive. We all know that "people act funny when it comes to the money" but in business there is a mutually expected exchange. When the person who is to receive the payment in exchange for services rendered puts up resistance it upsets the natural balance of business. And it can negatively affect one's brand. It might inspire thoughts such as, "they seem hesitant to take my money? Is there something wrong? What's the catch?" Why shouldn't a client be concerned that if a business doesn't take care of itself that it will take better care of them? Sadly, it's often the good and honest businesses that don't have these systems in place to gracefully receive clients and gracefully receive payments from them. Here are some tips to be better in alignment with the flow of business and money:

1. Disclose how you receive clients and payment upfront and be consistent and professional when you collect your payments: State your onboarding and payment options, your payment terms and determine which one the client wants up front--keep it simple. I recently hired a company to install something for me. They required a 50% deposit up front which I paid by credit card. When they were about to complete the job, they sent me an email informing me, the same day, and asking if I'd be available with a check. I was taken aback as they were aware I was not currently at that location, they did not send an invoice in advance, and they had never indicated that they expected a check immediately upon installation. And as I had paid the deposit with a credit card, I was wondering why they were trying to steer me toward a check-- was it because they hadn't done a good job and a credit card payment would be easier to dispute? As a vendor, I know that there are fees associated with credit card charges, so I understood if this were a preference-- but I was confused as I had used my credit card to make the deposit. I wasn't available to hand deliver a check at the time of installation as I was seeing patients at another location. I took a moment to ask if they would accept an electronic check sent directly from the bank. They declined. I felt frustrated that I couldn't seem to get the task of paying a bill off of my to-do list because the vendor was making it hard to pay. I waited until the next day and called. I offered to pay immediately, again, with my credit card, as they seem time pressured. The agent whined to me that credit cards had a 3% vendor fee associated with them. Again, I was aware, but it felt unprofessional to offer options to the client and then complain about a cost of doing business. Eventually we agreed to a check sent electronically from the bank--my initial offer. I was exhausted with the process of giving them money-- which is what they wanted me to do. They did a good job, I just might hesitate working with them again because the energetic cost of doing business with them was expensive.
2. Make many payment options available, and if you have only one--make it easy: As mentioned above, there is a cost to using credit cards but they sure do facilitate getting payments into the bank fast with much less administrative investment. That can be worth paying for. Some options are more expensive than others but give people options to give you money. I am always surprised when I deal with a company that does business online, especially in the tech sector, that doesn't offer an easy way to pay them online. "You work in tech and my only option to pay you is a paper check or to mail in my invoice with the credit card number each month?...Ok?" Some companies send out new invoices that don't reconcile accounts to indicate if there are any payments past due in addition to a current charge. A client could have an account on autopay and not even realize that one payment, invoiced 6 months ago, had been missed because it is never mentioned on the subsequent invoices.
3. Follow up, communicate and do it respectfully. Make sure you have a process in place to trigger payment. Don't wait until an account is 90 days past due, then get aggressive, to come to realize you never asked for the money. If an automatic payment hasn't been set up electronically make sure you send your customers an invoice. That is a customary business practice. It's your responsibility.

In these unusual times, thoughts of scarcity may be littering the minds of many business owners. Money is a mindset issue. If you are thinking "I don't have enough" more than you are thinking "how can I make it easier for people to do business with me and pay" your business may repel customers and payments. Amazon is the richest business in the world. In part because it is so scalable, but this only works because it makes it really easy for customers to do business--and pay. You want customers who are happy to pay you. No one, however, wants to chase you to do it.

Dr. Dina Strachan is an internationally recognized, Harvard and Yale educated, board-certified dermatologist, entrepreneur, consultant, speaker and best-selling author or Moxie Mindset: Secrets of Building a Profitable, Independent Physicians Practice in a Competitive Market. Learn more at www.drdinamd.com. Follower her @drdinamd