The Diplomatic Scribe

STRESSFUL BUSINESS CONVERSATION TIP: Change of Plans: Instead of the Body Odor Script, I am responding to popular demand, and will provide a script to help those who are dealing with CLIENTS WHO DON'T PAY ON TIME.

The Question:

"Is it acceptable to send a gentle reminder to a client whose invoice is due to be paid today? Or should I wait for them to be late, then get in touch? I don't want to come across as rude or pushy."

Say something like: "Your payment is due today, but before you send it in I want to know if there's anything else I can do for you."

This response shows that you're interested in their satisfaction while hopefully learning where you stand with the payment (if they sent it in, or about to, they will tell you hopefully).

This technique works best BEFORE you send out the invoice, but it can work for you at this point as well.

If they say, "No, everything's good", you'll avoid the "I didn't pay because I wasn't happy with the work" excuse.

If they say, "yes" well, you risk doing more work, but at least you'd have fixed the "problem", giving them no excuse to avoid paying the bill. By the way, most clients can't think quickly enough on their feet to make something up on the spot.