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INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | | NOVEMBER 29, 1999 DEAR DIARY I'm Thankful for Clients Who Pay On Time Why do I feel like the bad guy when I confront deadbeats?
 Lately I've been feeling like the guy people love to hiss at in silent movies — the evil landlord with the waxed moustache andflowing black cape who menaced hapless tenants. Yet, I don't think I'm the villain in this situation. I started my rounds with a client who has owed my editorial staffing company a few thousand dollars since April. That's right, April. After repeated calls, some mild threats of legal action (actual legal action would, perversely, have further delayed recovery), we created a payment schedule that the company only kind of honored. It was time for a face-to-face. This client actually wanted us to begin a new project. As you may imagine, I didn't want any part of it until I had what he owed in hand. Even then, I was skittish. The client was all smiles: "Hey, guys, I'm workin' with you. I want to make you whole again. We'll be paid up before you know it." Andy, my sales and operations guy, and I just looked at each other and nodded. We walked out with a small check. I felt like taking a shower. That same day, we were supposed to pick up another check from another client. This one has owed us about $3,000 since June. Not as bad as April, but bad enough. After stalling for several weeks with promises that we'd get paid, he called and said: "Be here after 2 p.m. on Monday." Still skeptical, I asked him: "What happens then? Does someone come in with a little brown bag full of money?" Nevertheless, Andy made the trip. You guessed it. No check. That evening, I got a call from the guy who had promised me the money. He was at the airport. "Hey, George. Your check is at the office right now. I'm not lyin'. It's there. I would go get it if I were you. A bird in the hand..." I dropped everything, and after first making a call to verify that there was indeed someone there with a check, I raced to the destination 20 minutes away. I got lost en route. I made a frantic cell-phone call. "We're here waiting, but we do have to leave in five minutes," the people there said. No pressure. When I got there, there were several people still working away. It took them a few minutes but they finally came up with a check — handwritten, but a check nonetheless. I thanked them for "working with us on this" and left. The following day, a former client from whom we had trouble collecting last summer called. I never thought I would hear from him again. He wanted to start a new project. This time, we insisted on money upfront. Though he wanted a writer "yesterday," his priorities seemed to change when we gave him our terms. Though these collections are a small part of our total revenues, we consider getting paid important, especially from delinquent clients. I don't like chasing money down. In fact, the president of a company shouldn't do any of this since clients tend to get away with murder when dealing with owners. Someone who isn't emotionally tied up in the business is generally much better at these things. My staff and I have learned a lot from these experiences about how to qualify clients. We've turned away a good deal of business when we sensed that we were going to get rolled. One of my employees always suggests we hire "a smelly tramp" to sit outside the offices of delinquent clients until they pay. It's not a bad idea, you know.  George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work. His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at george@staffwriters.com  | | |
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