Comments on: Coming to Terms

By: Paul Hassing

Paul Hassing — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:45:35 +0000

Cool, Stephen. For over a decade I’ve been telling senior managers, ‘This ad isn’t for you or about you; it’s for your AUDIENCE!’ It’ll be good for me to experience this process from the other side! You’re welcome, Spike.

By: Stephen G

Stephen G — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:32:10 +0000

That’s the only reason I put it up there mate…I’m certainly not attached to it being used…it’s a blog comment, not a contract proposal :- )

Cheers

Stephen G

By: SpikeTheLobster

SpikeTheLobster — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:31:51 +0000

Just dropped in to say “thanks” for the kind words there, Paul. As most of my ex-girlfriends would probably say: “I like a man who’s easily pleased.”

By: Paul Hassing

Paul Hassing — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:25:59 +0000

OK. Brain’s a bit fuzzy. Fonnie kindly took me out to dinner to celebrate. Formatting aside, Stephen, I don’t immediately prefer your version to mine. However, I’m not the audience and I’ve been very close to this for many weeks. These are two excellent reasons to invite the others to compare your version and mine and to state their preference. How does that sound? I sure am grateful for your efforts to perfect my content!

By: Stephen G

Stephen G — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:24:00 +0000

False Alarm Megan…Paul hasn’t had his cuppa yet :- P

Cheers

Stephen G

By: Paul Hassing

Paul Hassing — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:07:46 +0000

Good point re the third party, Spike. This chap has been a wonderful help to me over the years and since it was my gig, it felt like it was me who was letting him down. Lucky he has a sunny disposition. I don’t think any major harm was done. So long as the cash arrives on May 31! Glad you agree on oldest first comments. I’ve been most impressed with your blog, by the way, I highly recommend it to our other friends.

By: Paul Hassing

Paul Hassing — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:02:33 +0000

Thanks for your suggestions, Stephen. I may wait until you communicate your formatting hassles to Megan, so I and the others can witness your complete vision.

By: SpikeTheLobster

SpikeTheLobster — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:20:13 +0000

I’ve never had to deal with this one, so I’ll just give my gut reaction: a normal job would mean a bit of extra flexibility for me, but if I pulled out ALL the stops, I’d expect the client to do the same to get me paid. Especially if there was a third party involved: their not paying could adversely affect your relationship with that specialist and therefore your business. It’s just rude on their part.

Oh, and the comments: definitely oldest first. Having that automatic paging after a certain number means that the new ones are never THAT far down the page. It’s also extremely annoying (to me, personally) to arrive at a comments thread that begins “You said it, {random name}! Those Burger King folks sure do know how to fry lemons!” – I have to go hunting to figure out what’s going on. Bad.

By: Stephen G

Stephen G — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:30:33 +0000

Yep! If I had a dollar for every story I’d be surfin’ with Malcolm :- )But that’s another story :- )

Alrighty then! Here’s what I reckon. Butt first, let me qualify this yet again, with my now well worn adage that it is far easier to edit another’s work than it is to create from scratch…so all credit to you mate. Here’s my take:

‘We’d rather focus on Your Project than our cash flow! (Heading or bold title sentence)

Our clients actually benefit from our clients paying on time. So we prefer to honour our clients with clients that are willing to honour The Feisty Empire terms (listed in our proposals – provide link/example). Here they are in a nutshell:

(Indent &/or bullet point)- Our billing cycle is fortnightly (14 days):

(Indent &/or bullet point) – We have several payment options (we prefer Electronic Funds Transfers);

(Indent &/or bullet point) – All work remains ours until it’s fully paid for;

(Indent &/or bullet point) – We promise not to charge You for hours we don’t do. So if we do the job faster than we thought we would, you know & you save accordingly.’

There ya go cobba! :- )

Cheers

Stephen G

PS Luck! :- )

By: Paul Hassing

Paul Hassing — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:00:09 +0000

Gee, Stephen; you sure have been around. I like your business definition very much. And case-by-case seems a good way to go. I just launched the new site last night. Below is my effort to reduce terms trauma in the future. See what you reckon:

‘Because we work hard and fast and smart, we firmly believe we should be paid on time. We invoice fortnightly for all time spent, from briefing to invoicing. We only bill for the hours we actually spend. So, if your job turns out easier than expected, you get all the savings.

Our terms are 14 days. Payment is by electronic funds transfer (EFT). All work belongs to us until paid for in full. We list these terms in our proposals and we only accept clients who are happy to abide by them. We’d rather focus on your project than our cash flow.’

Wish me luck! And now I must fly. My clients have been VERY patient in recent days and I must tend to their needs.