Signs of the Times - October 2016 - 108

Ed it o r i a lly S p eaki n g By Robin Donovan Robin Donovan is ST's Editor-inChief. Email her at robin.donovan@ stmediagroup.com Getting Paid The maddening world of outstanding invoices U npaid invoices: Cue the groans. There are few things more maddening than a job well done and a final invoice left outstanding. I have a handful of friends who work as writers and communicators in the hard sciences covering research methods and new discoveries. Many have Ph.Ds of their own, but decided decades at the research bench or behind a classroom podium didn't suit them. Despite all that brainpower, Ph.Ds have the same problems as the rest of us: Sometimes, no matter what you do, a customer just won't pay. Recently, one of these writers emailed a group of us asking, "What's the best way to collect?" The writers were in two camps. The first focused on the working relationship. They felt that a series of polite inquiries mentioning the balance while reinforcing three things - one's interest in future work, the value of the business relationship and the satisfactory job already completed - would remind lagging bill-payers to write a check. The second group focused on adhering to a consistent process: They had set follow-up timeframes. If a bill wasn't paid on time, subsequent emails became progressively sterner, sometimes ending with a terse letter from an attorney. Two sides, two sets of benefits and drawbacks. The positive folks tended to maintain the relationship, winning future - and sometimes larger - projects. Sometimes, the non-payment was a fluke or due to a departing staff member or an absent-minded manager. They learned to work around the problematic person, demand payment up front or ditch the client. The policy-minded workers seemed to get the check sooner and more often, spending less time wondering what to do or say next. They were also less likely to keep the client long-term. Now, a bad client is a bad client. But not every good customer behaves well all the time. And even bad ones pay on time occasionally. Maddening, right? I didn't get paid once, and it was my own fault. A client I really wanted to work for, in a month when I could have used the extra cash, told me she really wanted to work with me, but I hadn't covered anything in her topic area. And she had a tough boss. Would I mind producing a short piece on spec? If she loved it, she'd pay for it. You know the rest: Due to mysterious budget issues after I wrote the piece, I never saw a dime. (I didn't contact an attorney.) There are also tolerance levels to take into account. 108 SIGNS OF THE TIMES October 2016 In my group email, we agreed that neither approach is "right." Everyone pretty much said the same thing: This is what works for me. The only way to earn genius points is to know how to balance the gray areas, those times when you're tempted to make an exception. There are other ways of getting paid, too. You know, the "connections" that keep you working with a problematic payer who, despite not paying up himself, has netted several choice referrals. Or the job you love for the company whose accounting department seems to hold everything for 120 days. Or the little mom-and-pop you give a break to because you know they're good for it - eventually. The problem is, connections, little jobs you enjoy and customers you admire don't cover payroll. But how do you strike the right balance? The way we handle these things is part of the culture of our companies and organizations. Both ways can be functional, and both can sour. Relationshipbuilders can become pushovers; policy-followers, curmudgeons. It's like any investment strategy: You have to pick a style and stick to it to be successful long-term. Every once in a while, no matter what you do, things go awry. It can make you question yourself, and your strategy. But just as a dip in the market doesn't mean a diversified portfolio was a mistake, getting stiffed (hopefully, on rare occasions) shouldn't always faze you. Giving up and moving on can be progress, not failure. Don't doubt yourself. Just make sure you've tried your strategy - be it an attorney, stellar people skills or both - first. Speaking of stellar skills, I also want to welcome our new senior associate editor, Mark Kissling, and a new lighting columnist and contributing editor, Laura Peters. Both have work showcased in this issue, and decades of experience in the industry. If Mark's name sounds familiar, it should; he has led ST's book division for many years and met many of you at tradeshows. Laura joins us after a stint with LEDs Magazine, among her many writerly accomplishments. I'm so excited to welcome them. n

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - October 2016