269: “I am not a bank” — Strategies for Getting Corporate Clients to Pay on Time with Joey Coleman
“I don’t get on the airplane—and definitely not the stage—unless all invoices are paid in full.”
When my friend and fellow keynote speaker Joey Coleman said this to me over coffee, I started drilling him for details: Really?! How do you have the nerve to say that to a speaking client?! How do you avoid caving in to make sure their event doesn’t fall apart if they haven’t paid in time? What about clients who work for highly bureaucratic companies that insist on their “standard” net-120 terms?
In this illuminating conversation, Joey shares his best practices for getting paid on time—every time by setting, stating, and upholding better boundaries (and contracts) with clients.
More About Joey: As an award-winning speaker for over twenty years, Joey Coleman works with organizations around the world ranging from small startups to major brands such as Volkswagen Australia, Zappos, and Whirlpool. His First 100 Days® methodology fuels the remarkable experiences his clients deliver and dramatically improves their profits.
Joey is an award-winning speaker at national and international conferences, and former criminal defense attorney. He is the author of the #2 Wall Street Journal bestseller, Never Lose a Customer Again and the recently released Never Lose an Employee Again. When not speaking to audiences around the globe, Joey enjoys playing board games, building LEGO sets, and reading bedtime stories with his amazing wife and two young sons.
🌟 5 Key Takeaways
“You should care a lot about what a few people think.” For Joey, it’s his wife, his children, his closest business advisors, longstanding clients. “I don’t want my creativity hampered by one person’s feedback.”
“You need to know how to ask for the money.” Gem from Joey’s dad growing up on the most important thing to know when running your own business, about having confidence when you state the price and terms of your services without wavering.
Don’t raise your prices just for the sake of raising them; however, as your expertise and capabilities and the cost of living and costs of running your business increase, there is a necessary understanding that prices will go up. Right before he hit send on a proposal, he would stop, go back to the original contract and raise the fee by ten percent.
Price is something you pay at the grocery store; investment is something you are going to do to grow your operation and make it better. You will invest with me to grow your returns, and it will continue to pay dividends. As a speaker, you need to be clear on the return on investment that you’re promising.
Invoicing: You have to pay 100% in full, 30 days before the event, if you want to proceed. To hold the date on the calendar is worth minimum of fifty percent. Remaining fifty percent is due thirty days before the event. “Once I have stepped on stage and given the talk, there is no reason other than their integrity and the contract for them to ever pay, let alone in a timely fashion. Before I get on stage, they want to make sure I get on stage.” Remember: contracts are written at the pinnacle of the relationship when everyone is most excited about working together.
📝 Permission
It is unbelievably challenging to start and run your own business. Because you are so bold to do that, give yourself permission to courageously set your boundaries. The more clear and comfortable you are stating how to work with you and holding firm when pushed, the happier you will be as a business owner, and the longer you will be in business.
✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next
Try Joey’s approach to sharing the investment for working together. List a range on your website, and the first time your desired client learns how much it costs to work with you should be hearing it from you, not reading a document.
On your exploratory call, try phrasing it as follows: “Now let’s have the conversation that I know you’re super excited to have - what is the investment for us working together?” Make sure to also share how the payment terms work too (see invoicing bullet above).
If they hesitate on price, say “Let’s get creative—are you willing to brainstorm some ideas together?” How can we get from their $X budget to my $Y fee by working together? For example, a budget for gift bags—can you include a copy of my book?
🔗 Resources and Books Mentioned 📚
Joey on the web, X (Twitter), LinkedIn
Never Lose an Employee Again: The Simple Path to Remarkable Retention
Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days
🎧 Related Episodes
Joey’s podcast: Experience This!
Free Time: 083: Breaking through Buyer’s Remorse—Never Lose a Customer Again
107: How to Know When You’ve Gotten Pricing Wrong with Jacquette M. Timmons
Pivot: 155: Becoming a Successful Speaker with Grant Baldwin
329: Five Types of People-Pleasers from The Joy of Saying No with Natalie Lue
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✍️ Check out Jenny’s personal business essays on Substack, Rolling in D🤦🏻♀️h
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