Hi everyone! Over the last 6 months, as I have been sharing my hints and tips on collecting money and getting paid, I have been busy on a project in the background- a project which is now complete. The results of this project will change the way you look at your accounts and how you chase your invoices, forever. What I have been doing is interviewing every single debtor that I have collected money from- a total of 897 separate debtors. As soon as they paid their debt in full, I would ask them if they wanted to participate and if so, I would ask them some questions about the debt- but not boring, run of the mill, everyday questions- no, I wanted to get inside their minds and find out what makes them tick, really delve into what changes when someone goes from being a customer, to a debtor. More importantly, I wanted to understand what their creditor, businesses like all of you in here, could have done differently to prevent the account coming to me in the first place. The results were absolutely fascinating, and with 897 participants made up of businesses, sole traders and individuals derived from a vast array of industries, we have a very relevant snap shot of current Australian business practices. Remember, these are your customers! The majority of my clients are small businesses, just like you. My next few posts will be dedicated to sharing these results with you all and interpreting what they mean for you and your business. So let’s kick things off with statistic number 1 and what it means for you:
– 32% of the debtors paid their debt in full within 24 hours of being contacted by us. What it means for you- they had the money all along! I was stunned by this and when I asked these respondents why they didn’t just pay the client before it came to me, 66% said they forgot, 21% said they did not realise it was so overdue, and a 11% said they liked seeing the money in their account. 31 people actually said this! Amazing.
My next post reveals statistic number 2 and it will shock you! Cheers!
Inside the mind of a debtor, and what it means for your business