Hey, why should you? I’m just an ad guy trying to make a buck and thought maybe I might have an idea that could help you or your company. But hey, you most likely would be a real pain in the a** and why do I need that grief?

Not returning calls is one of my very biggest pet peeves. Why? Well, as this article also points out, it is damn rude. Okay, I know you are all busy executives with too much technology to deal with, but not returning calls is not only rude – it’s just plain bad for business. I tell my employees (and I do the same myself) that you need to return all calls. It’s not always easy and some days it’s down right annoying the calls I get. But other than investor calls, I try to call everyone back and would love the same courtesy.

So who are the biggest offenders in our business? That would be the folks who called ME and wanted to talk to ME about HELPING them with their advertising. So I spend some money on a pitch, go to a meeting and follow up with a phone call. Then…well they must have short-term memory loss since they forget they called ME in the beginning, they never take my call and I never hear from them again. Listen I know we don’t win every time we go pitch a prospective new client, but at least have the common decency to call and tell me where I went wrong or that you just aren’t interested and leave it at that. Is this really too much to ask?

The phone and voice mail are here for the duration and if you don’t use them correctly it will catch up with you. This arrogance of not returning phone calls only creates a good deal of anger in people, I see it more and more every day. People want to do business with people who are courteous – not folks that don’t care. Remember that as you get that phone call today from someone who might help you.

Another article of interest, if you share my opinion, can be found at
http://www.mobar.org/0f4af594-39c8-4ca1-8c1b-783f4733ff0b.aspx.

I hear more stories from my peers about how hard it is to collect what they are owed. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why. I guess my background as a bill collector may have influenced my ideas about people who owe me money.

You cannot wait longer than 30 days to collect what is lawfully yours…if you do, you become a bank and that takes away from what we actually do. When clients go 31 days in my receivables I call them, I don’t care how big they are or how long the have been a client – none of that matters. Most of the people who I purchase services and products from want to be paid in 30 days. It’s actually 45-60 days for media and media firms have often told me that we are the best paying agency around. Don’t you think that helps when a sales rep is asked to recommend an agency? Who are they going to suggest: an agency that runs 90-120 or an agency that pays media bills in 45 days?

In order to pay your bills on time you must collect on time. Money owed to you that has gone beyond 30 days is a sign of disrespect. Don’t be afraid to call clients that owe you money. You further need to be willing to take them to court if they don’t pay – even if it’s a small amount. In most states small claims court will take cases of up to $3,000. The process is relatively easy and you don’t need a lawyer.

Okay, I understand when a client has a cash flow issue, we cannot be unsympathetic in those cases. When a client calls me in advance to tell me they have a cash flow issue I am more than willing to help them.

But my agency collects 98.7% of our payables on average, every month in 30 days. I know people think creativity is all that is important in this industry…but I will tell you I have seen some great creative agencies go out of business because they didn’t have the business sense to collect what was owed to them.

Greed, Folks, it’s a five letter word and worse than many of the four letter words we all say. Why? Because it will put you out of business quicker than anything else. This is especially true in the advertising industry. I have been in this business for over 30 years (yes, I started at age 12), and the biggest reason advertising agencies go out of business…they get greedy!

Listen I don’t do this for free, (hey, with my lifestyle I’m called “high maintenance” behind my back), but I have seen many agencies go out of business because they overcharged a client to such an extent it was shameful. Or they took the easy money client only to wonder when the gravy train will stop. Remember what Daddy said, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” This has caused numerous bankruptcies in our little corner of New Hampshire over the years.

An okay client is one who does not mind if you make a few bucks. A great client is one that understands it’s okay for you to make a fair profit for your time and talent. Where the disconnect falls is when we as agency folks get that one opportunity to make a killing and don’t think it through.

Many years ago and at another advertising agency, we had a client that was just easy money every day and while I cautioned the owner of the agency that I thought we were being greedy by taking the money, he poo-pooed me. Well long story short, the client bounced a couple of quarter million dollar checks and now that agency principal is selling timeshares somewhere and I’m not. That situation scared me and I promised myself that I would never put my family or my staff in jeopardy because of greed. Hey, I’ll drop a client who does not believe it’s okay for me to make what I consider a fair profit. But the key word is fair. If we treat our clients fairly we build more relationships and they stick with us longer.