Expressions and strategies you need for following up on on paid bills

- When you're in business and you don't get paid,

that's a problem, of course.

Whether you work for yourself, for a company,

getting paid is a key part

of what makes your business work.

So, when you're doing business in English,

you'll need to know what to say

to remind your client about an unpaid bill.

It happens, you know.

Are you ready to give it a try?

Hi, I'm your English coach Christina,

and welcome to Business English with Christina,

where you become better at English

and better at business.

In today's episode,

we'll talk about how you can handle

a potentially uncomfortable situation,

and in English.

It's when you need to follow up

or to remind your client

about an unpaid bill.

You know, today you'll learn some expressions

that you need in English,

and also some strategies that you need

for handling this situation in your business.

You'll get some specific expressions

that you need to know for two of the most common,

but very different situations,

when only one payment is late

or when you're following up after several reminders.

Before we learn all of these expressions,

you're gonna need a strategy

for handling stressful situations in English.

And we'll talk about that first.

You know, as a neurolanguage coach,

I know that when there is more pressure

or when the situation is a little stressful

or uncomfortable, it can feel

like your level of English

is not as good as usual.

It's totally normal,

but it does make it more difficult

to do a good job.

So that's why it's important

to prepare your strategy

so that you'll be ready

to deal with that challenging situation

and those feelings of discomfort.

So let's try that now.

My first rule of advice is to use

short and simple sentences.

Don't try to be super sophisticated

or complex or advanced.

None of that.

Because if you're using shorter and simpler sentences,

that makes it easy for you

to speak in English,

but it also makes it easier

for the other person to understand you.

You know, we live and work

in international environments.

So maybe the people that you're working with,

well, maybe English isn't their first language either.

And then there's the question of accents.

Of course, we all have accents.

You know, you do, I do,

your business partner in the UK

or in India, or China,

or Germany, or wherever,

we've all got our accent.

And it's totally fine.

But keeping your phrases shorter and simpler

makes the conversation easier

for everyone to understand.

Sometimes my clients think that being fluent

means speaking more quickly.

Speaking more quickly

if that was too quickly for you.

Now, of course, that's not true,

but when you're nervous,

we just naturally tend to speak more quickly.

But in challenging situations,

it's actually a good idea to slow down

when you're speaking.

It gives you more time to find your words,

and it also makes you seem

calmer and more confident.

That will also help the other person

to relax in this difficult conversation.

And of course, in an international environment,

it makes sure that everyone understands.

Now, when I work with clients

and coach them through handling difficult situations,

they often find that knowing the most important phrases,

the ones that you know you'll use a lot,

well, that can be very reassuring.

No, you cannot memorize

an entire conversation

and you can't predict what your, you know,

business partner or customer will say.

But knowing a few important expressions

very well can help you stay calm

and sound more confident and more professional.

So here's a few expressions.

Oh, and before we learn those expressions,

can you please just hit that thumbs up

and subscribe to my channel

to let me know that you're enjoying this lesson.

Alright, so when a client misses just one first payment,

of course, you want to remind them

because, you know, people get busy,

we all get hundreds of emails.

Maybe they saw your invoice

and they just forgot to take care of it.

It happens.

But here's what you can say in that situation.

Yes, hi!

Can I speak to Patrick, please?

Hi, Patrick!

This is Christina from Awesome Company.

I'm calling regarding my invoice for July.

The payment was due on August 15th,

and it looks like I still haven't received

the payment for it.

Just let me know if you need me to resend

the original invoice, and I'll be happy to do it.

Notice that I said it looks like

I still haven't received your payment.

And what you're actually saying is that

according to my records

or based on information that I have,

and it gives the person that you're speaking to

the opportunity to confirm that information

or to provide you with maybe an explanation,

or maybe to ask for some additional information,

like the date that you sent the invoice,

or maybe they made the payment

and they can give you the payment confirmation number.

If they say that they've made the payment

and you need to double check your records

to be sure of that, you can ask,

"Could you please tell me the date

"when you sent the payment?"

Or if they say something like,

"We're taking care of it,"

or "The invoice has been sent

"to the accounting department,"

then you can ask when you should expect

to receive that payment.

For example.

Can you tell me when the payment is scheduled?

And that way you know when to expect it

so that you can follow up again,

if you need to.

Now, depending on your line of work

or the customer,

you may have to follow up on a payment

or several payments that are months late

after you've sent several reminders already.

Now, this will depend on your situation

and your company's situation,

but here's an example to help you get started.

Hi, this is Christina from Amazing Company.

I'm calling regarding an invoice

that is currently past due.

It looks like I have already sent you

two reminders,

and I still haven't received the payment.

So, if this is just an oversight,

can you please make sure that the payment

is made by September 10th?

Now, of course, reminding a client

that their bill is past due

has the potential to be a difficult situation.

But if you go into that conversation

with the right strategies for staying clear,

confident, professional,

and if you've learned those phrases

that you need to get you started,

I'm sure that you will handle

this situation like a pro.

What if you realize that your situation,

it's way more complex,

like you have to follow up

on a lot of past overdue bills.

Like with some of my past clients.

In that case,

you may need some help and some practice

that is more specific to your situation.

So don't forget, my team and I,

we're here if you need some help with that.

And if you don't use it, you lose it.

So here's how you can use what you learned today.

What would you say to a client

who has a bill that's past due?

Can you write that down in the comments?

And then practice what you wrote,

slow, saying it in a slow, confident way.

It's the perfect opportunity to practice

and to feel more comfortable

with this difficult situation.

And make sure that you get all these expressions

into your active vocabulary.

Alright, if this lesson was helpful for you,

I'd love to know.

And there are three simple ways

that you can tell me.

You can hit that thumbs up

and subscribe to my channel on YouTube.

You can go over to my website

and get your free English Habits kit

so that you can start building

those solid learning habits

for lifelong learning.

And then, you can also watch this next lesson,

which is gonna help you to feel

more confident in English.

Alright, thank you so much

for improving your English

with Business English with Christina.

And I'll see you next time.