1/21/2008
Are you a small business or a bank for small businesses?
| We talk a lot about what you need to do in your small business marketing. And sometimes we overlook the one thing you need to move your ideas into reality – money. It's easy to let passion or a sense of doing good overshadow the economic component of your business picture. Where are you going to get the funds to take your business to the next level? In case you've forgotten, it starts with something called receivables. When's the last time you took a look at how many of your clients have an outstanding balance? More often than not, the numbers are much more surprising than you think. Before you can blink, you're behaving more like a bank than a business, dishing out loans -- yes, loans -- like they are candy and forgetting (or not being able) to collect. Maybe it's time to “assess the quality of your loan portfolio,” according to Norm Brodsky in his November 2007 article in Inc. Magazine. Delayed payment is a common problem we small businesses may face more often than we may realize. The key to keeping it to a minimum is to pay attention, and to make sure that your clients pay up what they owe. You aren't providing better customer service by being a businessperson who lets payments come in late. Really, you're not. It's easy to have balances go 30, 60, 90, even 120 days without being paid off. Is that how you pay your vendors? I didn't think so. If I can't pay for something, I don't buy it. I commented on how Get It In Writing and I, Allison Nazarian, deal with this very issue in my own business in a September 2007 article in the very same Inc. Magazine. I was spending too much time on collections and not enough on client service business-building. To solve this problem, I changed the way I did business. Not having to collect all the time means more time on new projects and marketing. It' s not personal -- it's business. And always remember…you're not in business to be a bank. Labels: receivables, small business marketing, small business receivables |
