Insist on a deposit when the sign the order

Some ad space sales people are able to always secure a large percentage of the invoice from their client BEFORE they start processing the copy. Others struggle.

"If they don't have enough confidence in your publication to give you a cheque before you publish their advert, why should you have any confidence they're going to pay you when it appears?asked my mentor as we made my first ad sales call.

Oh.

So what are the magic words you use to get your client to part with his money before you proceed?

When you can see that they are ready to book some ad space with you, ask them for a "start cheque" instead of a deposit.

[We're working on the assumption that the company you're selling to is sound. There are times -- when you need ANY ad to fill some space -- that you deal with companies teetering on the brink of going bust. Your sales pitch then is: "Book this ad and pay me in 30 days. By the time you have to pay my bill ... you'll have made so much money from the orders this ad will generate -- you'll be able to pay me without breaking sweat."

If you have too many of these clients .... pretty soon YOU'LL be the one teetering on the edge of going bust.]

Back to the 'proper' clients.

"START" is an action word. "Deposit" is a passive one. A "start cheque" implies immediate action and potential results and benefits. A "deposit cheque" implies just letting it sit there until the publication is published.

This small change in wording shows that things are going to begin happening on the project the minute that payment is made.

Which allows you to ask for more. The 'standard' deposit when booking an ad is 30% of the cost. With a 'start cheque' you can ask for 50% or even the whole amount.

When your client is under time pressure to get their sales up or make their quarterly targets, they are willing to agree to nearly anything if you can convince them that advertising with you will accomplish this.

However, once your publication appears -- and their orders start pouring in -- their problem goes away.

Your cure for their pain doesn't mean so much to them, because they now feel fine .... thanks to your work. The bigger the start cheque you get BEFORE you begin, the easier it will be to collect the (smaller) balance due AFTER their ad hits the streets.

The client who says: "We just need you to get started on this now, don't worry, the money will be there," is asking you to solve a problem for them that will no longer exist once you publish their ad.

The pressure on them is at its highest BEFORE you publish.

Let them know that once you start on their project, you make commitments to others, buy supplies, engage other vendors, creative people etc.

Therefore, you should attempt to wrest some money from them at the best posible moment. Usually that is when the pain of the problem is the highest -- before you start work -- with a 'start cheque'.