Acting with professionalism does not mean you have to overcompensate with kindness. Every successful business owner understands that business is business. And, professionalism means working with competence. So as a professional, you have an obligation to your business to skillfully run the show.
If you want to act professionally, you need to make sure you handle yourself in an authoritative yet approachable way—even if your business is struggling.
Staying calm and level headed is much easier if you have a plan of action. This is where preparation and being informed really comes to play – join forces with a debt management professional like these London insolvency practitioners. Take a look at these tips on maintaining your professionalism during financial difficulties.
Acknowledge that There is a Problem
Admitting there is a problem is the first step. But, you also have to learn from your mistakes, so you don’t repeat them. Professionals understand that errors are part of growth, and so as long as you use them as a learning tool, it’s OK. It’s when you try to make excuses for them that you lack professionalism.
The problem that most people face when money is involved is well—money is involved. We are not talking about messing up an order or sending inventory to the wrong warehouse. Money brings an entirely different level of worry.
But it doesn’t change the fact that you still have to admit your mistakes. So here are some tips that can help you work through accepting your oversights.
- Don’t beat yourself up. It won’t get you anywhere.
- Get calm and then analyze. Don’t try to fix financial mistakes in a panic. You will act emotionally instead of rationally which will lead to more errors.
- Share the conclusions you drew about the situation with people who will not overreact or judge you.
- Remind yourself that all good business people fail. It’s part of the culture of success.
Communicate with Creditors
Fight or flight is a natural reaction to any troubling situation. But, when it comes to your business, you cannot afford to run.
You need to remember creditors are not new to lending money. They know the game. And, when you avoid phone calls, disregard letter, and make up phony stories, it just upsets them, and they turn up the heat.
Instead, try to be honest with them. Don’t expect them to like what they are hearing. If the table was turned, and someone wasn’t able to repay you, you wouldn’t like it. But, think about it. They want their money, so they are likely to work with you to get what they can.
In some instances, swapping for service has helped to relieve some debt. And, if that doesn’t work, you could consider asking if they can set up a partial payment plan. This way you are acting professionally by acknowledging your debt and offering to do something about it.
Go after What is Owed to You
A lot of people struggle in business because they don’t want to go after the money that is owed to them. You create relationships with your clients, so it’s hard to put the pressure on when you need to.
If you want to act with professionalism, you need to separate personal relationships from business relationships and collect the money that is owed to you. You have a professional obligation to the people working for you to keep your company in the black. And, if unpaid accounts are causing you to teeter on the red, the professional thing to do is to go after it.
You pay a legal team to create contracts for a reason—so you get paid. So, there is no shame in going after what is contractually owed to you. It doesn’t make you unprofessional.
You need to keep in mind, this is not the time to be patient when it comes to collections either. There are ways to stay professional while putting the pressure on overdue accounts.
- Send reminder emails five days before payment is due to those clients who have a history of late payments.
- Call any client who is more than five days past due. Don’t just remind them that payment is due, ask them what their payment plan is. Get specifics and then follow up to ensure that they are following their plan.
- If you don’t get payment as outlined in the plan, send a letter threatening a lawyer or collections agency.
- Follow through with third-party help if it comes to that.
Be Selective
If you are in a place where your company is struggling financially, you might feel like accepting any work that comes your way might help dig you out. Stop that thinking right now. Remember your goal is to act with professionalism, not haste.
You have to be very selective of the clientele you choose to work with at this juncture. Do not work with anyone who looks like a risk on paper. If you know that a potential client is getting letters that say with the subject, “repossession of your car” then put your Nikes on and run. In simple terms, you need to check credit scores.
And, an excellent credit rating is just step-one. You also need to restructure your payment schedule to be sure you are not sinking time and money into a job that won’t pay in the end.
- Offer a discount for payment in full upfront
- Collect 50% up front
- Divide the remaining 50% up into progress payments
- Impose late fees for any late payments
- Stop work on any jobs where payment is more than five days late
Again, this may seem like you are not acting professionally. But, if you outline all of these terms before you begin the job. And, if you do it in a manner that is firm but kind, everyone is on the same page.
Conclusion
The first step to solving any problem with professionalism is actually to acknowledge that there is a problem. It’s much easier to seek the source of a problem and then find a solution. And, if you go about managing your debt and collecting payments, you are on your way to turning things around.
Just remember, the more professional you act, the more likely you are to gain the respect of those people who you will continue to do business with. Financial difficulties are scary. But, you can get through them. You just need a solid plan of action. And, that plan needs to start with professional behavior.
