Get Paid Without Asking For Money
Has this ever happened to you?
You’re working with a client, and as you wrap up your time together, you realize it's time to get paid. You start feeling anxious about asking for money. Then, you worry you’ll come across desperate or that your client will feel like they didn’t get their monies worth, so you offer a discount on your product or service. Which then leads you to finding some random reason to justify offering this discount even though your client never even asked for it.
Or you leave the meeting never even asking them to pay because you think to yourself, “I’ll just send an email later asking them to pay.”
Then, as you drive away from your meeting, you start beating yourself up, and now your confidence is shot for the next client meeting.
Believe me; I have been there. I understand how uncomfortable it can be to ask for money.
In my senior year of High School, I was elected as an officer for our Dance Team. My official title was Activities Coordinator. It was my job to come up with fundraising opportunities for the girls on the team (who’s parents couldn’t pay) to rent uniforms, pay for trips to competitions, etc. This was the first time I’ve ever had to ask total strangers to give money and believe me; it was uncomfortable. At times, I felt like I reeked of desperation even though all fund raising activities included selling a product or service. Here’s the thing, the only way many of us on the team could participate in this extracurricular activity was if we raised our own money to do so. I look back now, and I’m thankful for this amazing learning opportunity.
For those that are still struggling with asking to get paid, here is a simple and effective Savvy Sales Tip to:
- get paid without having to ask for money
- maintain good rapport with your client
- raise your credibility and professionalism
You may be surprised at how simple this tip is and how easy it will be to get paid going forward.
Savvy Sales Tip: Before you walk into your client meeting, have an invoice prepared. At the end of your meeting, simply hand your client the invoice showing the total amount owed and get paid. Simple, right?
For my invoices, it takes me less than 5 minutes to create the original document and less than 3 minutes to tailor it to a specific client. There are tons of examples on-line, search Google Images for Sample Invoice and find one that fits your business.
Now here’s why this works:
It's a non-verbal way to let your client know it’s time to pay.
In other words, by putting the amount owed on an invoice, it keeps your relationship intact and separate from the money part (which is that little piece of paper you are no longer touching).
Showing up with an invoice already filled out takes away the temptation for you to offer an unrequested discount.
It shows you've prepared ahead of time for your meeting, therefore, raising your level of credibility and professionalism.
You make it easy for your client to know what to do next and is a natural close to the meeting.
For instance, a few weeks back I did a corporate sales training. At the end of the training, I handed over an invoice to CEO. She instantly wrote me a check on the spot. Then she commented on how much she appreciated how prepared I was for our meeting.
She said many of her vendors show up, provide a service and then leave without asking to get paid.
Then she has to wonder if she'll be getting a bill in the mail. Or maybe if she needs to take extra time out of her day to follow up and see about paying. Wow, talk about a rapport breaker.
Keep in mind, I never actually asked her for money. That is to say the invoice did all the work for me.
Now it’s your turn. Make it easy on yourself to get paid.
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