PopUP! Series 💰 Part 2/3: Money Habits - Having difficult money conversations

In this episode, talk about the importance of having difficult conversations about money, particularly when clients fail to pay on time. 

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Link to Music Credits
Track: Positive Motivation
Author: AShamaluevMusic (ASM)
Publisher: CD Baby (IPI 700570289)

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Transcript

Ilonka Ras (00:00.354)
We are continuing our mini money series with another habit that will completely shift how you relate to your business finances. In the previous episode, we talked about the money date, which is a simple ritual to get you out of avoidance and into financial clarity. Today, we're tackling something even more emotionally charged, and that is how to have difficult conversations about money, especially when clients don't pay on time.

And this is one of the biggest leaks I see in client businesses. They do the work, deliver the results, and then they avoid this very important part where they get paid. Let's talk about this.

If you're interested in leading your team more effectively, creating more operational efficiency, delivering with excellence while getting some of your life back, then you're in the right place. Here's your host, Strategic Intervention Coach and Operations Specialist, Ilonka Ras.

Ilonka Ras (01:13.494)
So many business owners leave money on the table because they don't want to follow up. hear things like it's not worth the conflict. They're a good client. I don't want to upset them. I don't want to risk the relationship. It feels uncomfortable. It feels awkward. It's unprofessional. It feels like I'm aggressive. The result of all of these thoughts about following up on money creates a lot of tension and resentment.

And at the end of the day, you and the business suffers unnecessarily. A client of mine delivered a full design project, beautifully done on time, and then waited six weeks to follow up on the final invoice because she quote unquote, didn't want to sound money angry. The thing is she was quietly stewing for the entire six weeks. So she got coaching and then followed up.

and the invoice was paid in 24 hours. And the funny thing is the lady paying the invoice was so grateful for her following up because the person that usually does payments was on maternity leave. And for some reason, this invoice got lost in a stack of papers on her desk and no one was aware of it. She was spending six weeks in her head telling herself that following up would make her sound money hungry.

while the client was literally not aware of this invoice that had to get paid. So I want you to just notice where your self doubt, where your thoughts and the meaning about clients paying you late, where that is actually stopping you from getting the money into your account, where you are allowing the self doubt, the talk.

that's happening inside of your head, where that is keeping you from bringing long outstanding money in to your business. If you provide value to your clients, that value deserves to be compensated. The other thing I always say to my clients is that there is a huge difference between following up from a place of desperation, please pay me, I need this, versus from a place of assuredness, where you are standing strong.

Ilonka Ras (03:29.222)
and in confidence solid because this is what we agreed. And this is your reminder. You might be following up using the same words. It's going to be received very differently if you are doing it from a place of desperation versus from a place of assuredness. And so often we think that when we follow up, it's going to erode trust. But from experience, I know that it actually builds it. So often we're stopping ourselves

because of what we are telling ourselves, a story that's running on autopilot in our minds versus just tackling this thing head on and being willing to face whatever monster it is that we think is waiting for us on the other end. There are certain things that you can do to actually make these conversations easier on yourself. And a lot of it has to do with making decisions in advance. So I want to remind you that you are the owner of your business.

and you get to decide how and when you're going to get paid. And it might feel like it's not in your control, but it really is. And so I want to share a few solutions or strategies that you can implement in your business or give some thought to that will help you to set the stage for how you follow up and how you collect money in your business. Firstly, we want to set clear expectations upfront.

You want your contract and your kickoff conversations to clearly state your payment terms. Don't just assume that your clients know how you prefer to get paid. You want to tell them and make sure that they heard you. Secondly, you want to create a neutral follow-up protocol. Sometimes this means that you're not actually the one following up, especially if you are very close to your clients. It can sometimes feel harder to follow up on payment.

I would still want you to do the work so that you are comfortable having the difficult conversations, but sometimes it's easier to just have someone else do it inside of the business so that it's not you. But you want to decide in advance how often you're going to follow up on late payments or outstanding payments and what you're going to do if you don't get paid. Thirdly, you want to reduce the chance of late payments.

Ilonka Ras (05:48.758)
in advance. So maybe this means asking for larger deposits, collecting milestone payments, automated billing or automated deductions like debit orders, and also reminders, right? We forget that our clients are also humans and they forget things. So as a closing note, you are not at the mercy of your clients behavior. You can be the leader in this relationship.

So here is a question that you can reflect on and journal on to see what comes up when it comes to having these conversations about money with your clients. The question is, what would I need to believe about myself, my work and my business to follow up with clarity and confidence no matter what?

If this is something that you have been struggling with, if many conversations feel personal, sticky, heavy, I want you to know this. This is a skill and it can be learned. Inside my private coaching program, we shift your beliefs, your systems and your communication so you can feel like a calm, confident leader, even when it's uncomfortable. You can apply to work with me via the link in the show notes or head over to ilongarass.com forward slash apply.

I'll see you in the next episode where we're going to talk about cash reserves.