How many ways can you collect money for that gift basket order? If just one way, it’s time to get your payment act together. Here’s how it’s done.
An example phone discussion
Let me pay with my American Express card.
I can’t take that card.
Well, I have a Visa.
I’m sorry. I don’t take credit cards yet.
How do I pay?
Do you have cash?
I have a check. Do I make it out to your business name?
Um. Well, make it out to me.
It’s time to get your payment act together
How unprofessional is the above conversation?
Do you think this customer will order from you in the future or recommend that anyone else buy from you?
The answer is no.
When customers are ready to pay, you are to be ready to collect payment in the most-acceptable forms.
That includes:
- Cash
- Check
- Credit cards
I state most-acceptable forms because there are other payment methods that you can or do not have to accept.
Once you fund your gift basket business, I help you and other designers through coaching calls to collect order payments. The process I share with them to take easy action for results generates more sales every day.
Think big for global success
When I was six years old, I told my mom that I wanted to be a cashier. She grimaced at me and asked,
“Is that all you want to be?”
I couldn’t think of other professions because, at the age of six, my life didn’t include learning about industries and business ownership.
Now, my mom smiles as she sees how far my cashiering wish has advanced. Entrepreneurship includes knowing how to accept monies from my customers, and I’m prepared in every way to collect.
How about you?
When a customer buys one, 10, or 100 gift baskets, what options does she have to pay you?
If a customer is located in a different country, what is your process to collect payment?
The answer to the last question is not, “I don’t ship overseas.” If you operate a website, you will receive valid orders from individuals with family members and friends living in countries outside of your own. What payment options have you set up to accept such orders?
My sales come from people in Canada, Belgium, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Scotland to name a few non-U.S. countries. Why would I turn down sales from those locations. Why would you?
How do you get paid?
Look at your sales operations to see what you’re missing.
Even if you’ve been in business for years, there is something about your payment processing that needs reviewing.
This is true because companies that process sales change the rules and terms each year.
I recently spoke with a designer in my private coaching program (you can join here as well) about a sales problem she continued to neglect.
We reviewed all of the ways customers pays her online and in person, and there was a huge gap in her system.
Guess what? She and I addressed the problem, and in one week it was solved. Just like that.
She announced her new payment system on her website and also to customers during face-to-face and phone contact. Now payments arrive fast, and her customers are thrilled.
It’s time to get your payment act together. What type of payment problem is bugging you, and how will you fix it?
