This is the most sticky situation you'll probably find yourself in pertaining to follow ups, but also the one where following up is the most important. If you have completed a project, the client liked the files you sent, you invoiced them, but have not received payment, you need to follow up.

Should you Follow Up?

duh...

When and How?

If there has been some sort of discussion regarding the clients payment terms then you should wait until at least that period has expired. For instance, many clients pay "net 30" meaning they release the payment 30 days after the invoice has been processed. So if this is the case, don't start the 30 day follow up countdown from the date you sent the invoice, rather add another 7-14 days to account for processing on their end, as well as mailing of the check (if this is the payment method). If that period goes by and still no payment - check in to inform them that you still haven't received the payment and ask for an ETA on when you will receive it.

If there was no discussion as to the clients payment terms, my general rule of thumb is to give them a month before I check in. However this can vary a bit client to client. If I've done past work with them and have an idea of how quickly they usually pay, I will use that as my guideline for when to follow up. If it's a first time client, I'll go by my 1 month standard.

A simple friendly check in and inquiry about when you can expect to be paid is all you need to do.

If you don't get a response to this follow up, then do so again about 5-7 days later. If after waiting 1 month (or the period of their payment terms) and following up twice via email, all with no response and no payment, then it is time to move on to phone calls.

Give them 3-5 days after the second email, and if no response, give them a call. This is a more direct and personal method of communication and will give a little more urgency to the situation on their end. If they don't respond, leave a voicemail, and try back a day or so later if they don't return your call.

Dealing with non-paying clients beyond this point is probably a topic best suited for another post, but if you've reached this point with a client, they will generally pay after you move on to calling them from emailing them - that's been my experience. Again, most do not have bad intentions or are purposefully negligent, they just get busy and forgetful and you need to give them that extra shove (or 2 or 3 extra shoves)

Additional Tips on the "How"

In addition to the specific details on how long to wait and what to say mentioned above, here are some other tips to keep in mind when following up with clients and leads.

Always be Professional and Friendly

Keep your communications pleasant, polite, and professional. I know it may be tempting to get angry and express your frustration to a client or lead after you follow up several times with no response, especially in situations where they owe you money - but this will do more harm than good. I'm not saying you shouldn't press the issue once their unresponsiveness goes on for an extended period of time, but always be professional and friendly when doing so. You can let the expletives and shouting come out when your alone, but when you're on the phone with them or typing up yet another email follow up - keep it friendly, you'll be more likely to get the result you're after.

Escalate Communication Methods if Unresponsiveness Persists

In situations where you are owed a response from someone, such as when you are engaged in a project with them or when they owe you money, you should escalate from email to phone calls or other communication methods when their lack of responsiveness persists.

If you just send email after email with no response, that trend may continue for some time. It's possible your emails are going to spam or are getting buried in a cluttered inbox. Move on to phone calls to increase the urgency and consider contacting them through social media like LinkedIn or Facebook as well if you can't get a hold of them through email.

Utilize Tools to Schedule your Follow Ups

As your business grows, you will likely have more and more contacts you need to stay in touch with and follow up with. This can get overwhelming and even impossible to manage all from memory. Utilize tools and apps to help keep you on top of things. Here are some suggestions.

Google Calendar (or any calendar app):

After you fire off an email, send over some files, or send an invoice, you can go over to your calendar and schedule an event along the lines of "Follow up with Client ABC if no response, if payment not received, etc..." You can place this in your calendar the appropriate amount of time out in the future, and in the event description you can write yourself a reminder along the lines of "I sent ABC the invoice for the "Project Name" Project 40 days ago, if I haven't been paid, follow up"

Boomerang:

Another cool service you can check out if you're a Gmail user is Boomerang. It's a free extension that allows you to have emails "boomerang" back into your inbox if you don't receive a response as well as draft up emails and schedule them to be sent at a later time. Very handy for keeping on top of follow ups.

In Conclusion...

To sum up, make sure you are including follow ups as a part of your business communications strategy. Toe the line between being too pushy and following up very soon, and being too lenient and following up very late. Always keep your follow ups friendly and professional, escalate communication methods used if need be, and consider using some apps and services to help you keep on top of things.

Action Steps