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They tell me to pick up the check on X day and then disappear

by ginder
13 replies
I have been doing offline marketing for a while now and I think I am doing pretty good. I have my whole system down and everything is working, I can get the leads and I can close them too but more often than not client is very enthusiastic and is ready to go and it seems like everything is fine. When I ask them for payment, almost everyone gives me a time to pick up the check. I have yet to have someone pull out a checkbook right infront of me and write me a check or give me their CC number on spot.

Most of the time when you call the day they tell you to pick up the check, they dont answer or they dont wanna go through with it. The rate is pretty bad, I would say 40% of the people dont go ahead with the deal we made when it comes time to write a check.

I would rather fail at appointment stage or some other stage of my campaign than at the very end! its very disappointing

What do you guys do to get the check on the spot and what would you say if someone told you to come pick up the check on Thursday.
#check #day #disappear #offline #pick
  • Profile picture of the author Warrior Ben
    You should look into Intuit GoPayment, which allows you to accept credit cards on your mobile phone. If they are ready to sign up with you, there should be no reason why they don't pay on the spot. With GoPayment they automatically get sent a receipt, so they have all the paperwork they need for accounting.

    When you see that they are ready to buy from you, get out the payment details and service agreement and just push them along to pay. If you don't directly ask for the payment on the spot, they aren't going to offer it. I was uncomfortable at first asking for the money, but it's just part of the process and I had to get used to it.

    Specifically if somebody can't pay you on the spot, I would have them sign the service agreement anyway and then at least you have them in contract. Otherwise if they don't sign anything and haven't paid you money, you really haven't closed the deal. Just let them know that by paying today you can get started on their services right away and hopefully in your sales presentation you let them know the urgency of whatever services you are offering.

    I hope this helps!

    -Ben
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  • Profile picture of the author fitz10
    I agree with Ben. You're not officially closing the deal. Get people to sign the agreement once it's decided that they'll be working with you.
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    • Profile picture of the author RRG
      Originally Posted by fitz10 View Post

      I agree with Ben. You're not officially closing the deal. Get people to sign the agreement once it's decided that they'll be working with you.
      Yes, unfortunately a verbal agreement is not worth the paper it's (not) written on.

      One way you might consider attacking this:

      "Great! I'm excited to get started on this for you. Once I receive your initial investment, I can get you on my schedule. Would you like to take care of this with a check or just put in on your card?"

      If you don't have a merchant account or device as mentioned above, you can use Paypal and email the invoice. The biz owner doesn't even need a Paypal account to process the payment.
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  • Profile picture of the author k60mall
    Take your laptop with you and have a paypal sign up payment button on your site so they can sign up right away while you are in front of them.
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  • Profile picture of the author ginder
    I understand the deal is not closed. Most people here do not have their checkbooks around them, I know lot of business owners personally who dont even keep a checkbook.

    A dentist for example, doesnt need to have a checkbook in his office.

    Same with a decent sized company that has an inhouse accountant, they are ALWAYS going to tell you! I will have my accountant write a check and you can pick it up tomorrow or I can mail the payment.

    Very few people would give out their CC info on a first meeting, especially when the total is above $3000-$5000. Most people use their bank accounts for that kind of bills not CC
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    • Profile picture of the author RRG
      Originally Posted by ginder View Post

      I understand the deal is not closed. Most people here do not have their checkbooks around them, I know lot of business owners personally who dont even keep a checkbook.

      A dentist for example, doesnt need to have a checkbook in his office.

      Same with a decent sized company that has an inhouse accountant, they are ALWAYS going to tell you! I will have my accountant write a check and you can pick it up tomorrow or I can mail the payment.

      Very few people would give out their CC info on a first meeting, especially when the total is above $3000-$5000. Most people use their bank accounts for that kind of bills not CC
      No offense, but those are just excuses. You can bet if a business owner WANTS to buy something, he will have a way to pay for it.

      Also, with Paypal, he doesn't have to give you his CC number. One of the benefits of PP.
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      • Profile picture of the author Warrior Ben
        Originally Posted by RRG View Post

        No offense, but those are just excuses. You can bet if a business owner WANTS to buy something, he will have a way to pay for it.

        Also, with Paypal, he doesn't have to give you his CC number. One of the benefits of PP.
        I agree with RRG... I have been doing offline marketing for over a year now, and yes, there are some times when I have to come back for a check, but I would say that 90% of the time when somebody is ready to buy, they are also ready to pay. Most business owners have their business credit card on them at all times, and I always have my smartphone on me, so I can easily take a payment with GoPayment.

        What might be happening is that you go through your presentation and the business owner seems very interested, but you might not be directly asking for the sale. This was a mistake that I made at the beginning-- I would think that everything went great, but I wouldn't directly ask for the sale. Then I would leave the meeting thinking that everything went as planned and that I would just follow up a couple days later to get the sale. Well, lo and behold, almost nobody would go through with the sale. If I don't get the sale on the spot, I now assume that the deal is dead. That isn't to say that follow-up doesn't work, because it sometimes does, but if your business model is the one call close, then you better close the deal on your first appointment or odds are you have lost it.

        I don't think anyone here (myself included) is trying to be harsh, but it is a competitive world out there and you need to be aggressive (tactfully) and ask for the close. If they can't pay on the spot, at least get them to sign the contract so that you have something to fall back on when you follow up with them.
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    • Profile picture of the author midasman09
      Banned
      "Most people here do not have their checkbooks around them, I know lot of business owners personally who dont even keep a checkbook"!

      HOGWASH! (Excuse my French)

      I get IN FRONT OF...the Decisions Maker.....give my Spiel...show my Pricing and....Offer a "Deferred Payment" with a "Deposit On Acceptance" and "Balance On Proof"

      or....(now watch this).....FULL PAYMENT ON ACCEPTANCE at a REDUCED Number (as an INcentive for paying NOW)

      I usually get a "Full Payment" check.

      So....unless I am trying to see a Hospital with 1,200 employees....I "normally" GET A CHECK for a Deposit of....the FULL Amount....ON ACCEPTANCE of my program!

      Don Alm....able to "get money from prospects....on the 1st Call"!
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  • Profile picture of the author tonyscott
    I provide a quote and get it agreed (usually via email) then bill them as and when agreed after the work is done. I know that goes against the usual "get the money up front" thing, but it's how most businesses that I do business with, do business.

    If it's a bigger company, with consequent bigger invoices, they issue a purchase order and expect you to deal with them in this way.

    Have I been burned? of course, it just sharpens my "do I want to do business with you" skills.

    The 40% who flake don't want to do business with you but don't know how to say that in a straightforward way. If 60% pay up front, I'd say that you're actually doing remarkably well.

    Tony
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    • Profile picture of the author jbpatlanta
      I just started in offline marketing myself, so I have not been doing this very long. But I had this happen to me with a restaurant. They were ready to do it, told me to call the next day for the time to meet them and pickup a check. They never answered their phone. Took me several days to finally get a check from them.

      Here is what I did. I signed up with Square and got a credit card reader from them. Then when it is time to talk about money, I tell them something along the lines of "My price is $399 today or $449 later. Would you rather use a credit card or check."

      That has been working for me. Almost every person since then has paid me on the spot. There were two people that did not have the full amount, but offered me a $100 immediately and the rest later.

      Jon
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      You say you are closing the sale, but you are not really closing the sale. The customers still have some question or objection in their mind that went unanswered. That is why you are getting these people backing out.

      There is no customer I have ever come across that could not pay me that day if they really wanted it. The only exception is if you are meeting with a company that has more than one owner and one is not present. They usually want to talk it over. But then in that situation, it is my fault for not setting up the meeting with all the decision makers there at once.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    If your using a physical contract which you should be, if not shame on you.

    If its signed its a deal and some businesses don't write checks except on certain days of the week, I know I only wrote checks on Fridays. No matter how bad I wanted to pay for something I had to wait until Friday because of my book keeping processes.

    If your getting this response often then you need to examine whats going on behind the scenes with the client as not all businesses aren't as ridged about writing checks as I was.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Dittberner
    I've had this happen a few times as well. I feel your pain. The replies of "that doesn't happen to me for x,y,z reason" isn't really helping you out...trying to prevent it is the goal.

    Why work hard, get to the close, and have a payment issue? Even if it hasn't happened yet, it will. Be prepared.

    I don't believe there is a perfect solution, but what I have found effective is to use a pricing structure right out of the gate that includes a "good for 24 hrs," "good until end of day," or "good for 48 hrs"...whatever. There is no magic formula but you bring it up the second pricing is mentioned and the "up-charge" is a gut-call based on the situation.

    For those that have a checkbook, it is a non-issue...for those that were going to get all shifty, they now have an incentive.

    Everyone has been paying bills for years and years where it costs more after the due date so this isn't a new concept. It's been around for a while because it works.

    Nobody wants to pay more. If they were serious, truly serious, you will push that percentage over the top. For the ones that were never going to pay anyway, no loss.
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