RE: FN-FORUM Difficult clients

date posted 28th January 2001 12:34

Don't say you can't survive if the aged debt gets too large, simply say
you'll stop work and allocate the time for other projects until you're
paid, and all the delivery dates will slip accordingly without penalty.

If someone smells fear on your breath you might as well give up now...

In article [EMAIL REMOVED] [EMAIL REMOVED] (David
Nye) wrote:

> Ray's advice is spot on, although I only find the time to follow most
> of it
> once I start to get bad vibes, which is often too late.
>
> Remember that the person you are happily dealing with now may suddenly
> disappear (e.g. change jobs without notice) without passing on their
> knowledge about you/project to their successor. Even more frustrating,
> they
> are still around but decide someone else can deal with you, and become
> impossible to get hold of. Paperwork that seems superfluous now, will
> then
> become vital.
>
> IMHO a deposit does not have to be very large to have the desired
> effect.
>
> Structure payments so that you are never owed more than you can stand to
> lose. Do not be afraid to let client know that you will not be able to
> survive if your aged debt gets too large. When it comes to choosing
> which
> cheque to write this makes a big difference (assuming they are pleased
> with
> what you do of course).
>
> David Nye
> http://dnye.com
> Business Systems, Database & Internet Applications Design & Development.
> Microsoft SQL Server, Access, ASP & VB Programming.
>
>