Have you thought about the effect COVID-19 has had on our invoices? You’ll see what I mean in a minute…
COVID-19 has had a massive effect on all of our lives. I’ve blogged about how it has effected our day-to-day lives, working from home, maintaining our computers, our finances, being prepared, adapting, our mindset, agents, where we live, and conferences. Wow, that’s a lot of COVID-19 blogging.
Anyway, I’ve had a great client for the past few years who has always paid well and on time. Then they disappeared and I had multiple overdue invoices. I followed up every other week or so with phone calls and emails. Nothing. I even went to what I thought was their office here in NYC. Closed.
I tried a different phone number and the client picked up immediately. They apologized for the late invoices because COVID-19 laid them up for weeks and almost killed them. I’ve been assured the overdue invoices will be paid soon and I believe them.
TIP OF THE WEEK
There are many reasons why some of your invoices may be overdue right now. The business may be temporarily or permanently closed. The check may have been put in the mail and it’s delayed or lost (both are more likely than ever right now.) They may be understaffed and payroll is taking longer to process. Or any of a number of reasons.
What do you do if you have overdue invoices? Be patient & thoughtful but persistent. Do your research first. Visit their website and social media profiles to make sure they’re still in business. Emailing is fine at first, but actually picking up the phone and calling them is okay. Isn’t it weird how much more phone-call averse we’ve gotten these days?
BTW it’s okay to call a client just to ask how they’re doing. Everyone is going through a lot right now and will continue to do so until an effective vaccine that works for various ages, genders, and ethnic backgrounds can be widely distributed. Trust me, some of your clients would love to hear from you so they can commiserate. Remember, it’s all about being a good human and collecting good humans. 🙂
NEWS AND NOTES
Monday, September 7th – Sunday, September 13: My birthday is coming!!! To celebrate, I’m giving you a $13 discount on every video in the VO Strategist Shop from now until Sunday, September 13th. Be sure to use the promo code TOMSBDAY2020 and you can use it on every video. Videos include ‘Working From Home’, ‘How do I Market my Demo?’, and the latest video, ‘Managing your Money like a VO Pro’.
Thursday, September 10th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Business and Money 201 webinar will be ‘Cost/Benefit Analysis’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how to determine how & why you generated your voiceover revenue and how to repeat what worked. This webinar is capped at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up.
September 11-13: eVOCation is this week! Click here to sign up. There’s still time but barely!
Thursday, September 17th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be ‘The Sales Funnel’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about what the Sales Funnel is and how to push voice seekers through it. This webinar is capped at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up!
NEW WEBINAR!!! Sunday, September 27th @2PM EDT: “The Practical Voice Actor: How To Make Informed Decisions About Your Voiceover Business” In this brand-new workshop, you will learn how to develop your decision-making skills so you can move your voiceover business in the direction you want it to go. You’ll also learn to determine what questions you need to ask yourself and how to find the right answers in order to be the voiceover artist and business you truly want to be. It’s only $40 and virtual seats are limited. Click here to sign up!
November 6-8: Mini-MAVO is getting closer! This year I will be presenting “Rates, Negotiating, and Billing”. Sign up here!
HAPPY HAPPYS
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Tom Dheere is a voice actor who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VOStrategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. You can subscribe to his weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice here.