Many companies pay a great deal of attention to the image that they project. They are focused on appearing legitimate and credible to clients. You too have probably gone to great lengths to ensure that your clients feel comfortable putting their money in your hands. This situation is so prominent that many forget that this relationship works both ways. You too need to examine and investigate your customer. This is the only way that you can ensure that you are beginning a business relationship with a reliable organization. Here are a few ways to make sure that you are offering your services to the right individuals and companies:
Determine Legitimacy of the Company
The best way to make sure that your future client is legitimate is to get an ASIC company search. This will help you to determine that they are, in fact, licensed with an Australian authority. This is important for several reasons. However, what is most significant is that individuals who are registered with legitimate entities have to report to these agencies. As such, there are held accountable. Organizations that have to behave according to certain guidelines or risk dealing with the consequences are more likely to be reliable. As such, it is a good idea to investigate with the proper agencies to make sure that your potential customer is registered with them.
Discuss the Payment and Future Expenditures
Sometimes, payments are forfeited through means beyond the client’s control. For instance, they may have been unaware of just how much they would be expected to pay in terms of goods or services. This is why you should also go into great detail when discussing your payment. Give the customer a clear idea of just how much this venture is going to cost them. This includes any future fees that they may be expected to pay or any additional charges that could be levied against them. On one hand, this may seem as though you are chasing your prospective client away. Nonetheless, it is better to have a frank and open discussion now than to have to demand remuneration later on.
Get the Necessary References
A client’s past behaviour is often indicative of the manner in which they will behave in the future as well. This is why you should take the time to speak to some of the organizations the consumer may currently be working with. You can also make discreet investigations with companies that the client may have worked with in the past as well. Find out how timely the company was with making payments and how much prompting they required. You should also discover if the client paid in full or if they tended to pay the bill in smaller percentages. All of this information will help you to form a picture of just what type of organization your prospective client really is.
Request an Initial Deposit or Upfront Payment
To truly ensure that you and your company will be compensated, you should have the client invest in your services ahead of time. This can be done in the form of a deposit or upfront payment. It is not necessary to receive the whole amount. However, a substantial portion of the bill should be paid. This way, you can protect yourself in the event that the company does decide to default on the payment. This arrangement will help you to mitigate at least some of the risk involved.
These are just a few ways to make sure that you are forming a business relationship with the right company. In addition to helping you eliminate some of the uncertainty, this will also enable you to accumulate a database of reliable clients.
