Are You Scaring Away Potential Customers?

When you are trying to make a sale and ask someone to fill out a credit application and new account form, do your potential customers turn around and run to the competition?

Author Michelle Dunn, in her new book "Become the Squeaky Wheel," explains how you can avoid scaring customers away and keep them coming back. First, find out what your competition is doing, do they have a credit policy? If they do, what is included? What does their credit application look like? How many forms do new customers have to fill out? Do they have good paying customers? Look online, a lot of business website will have their credit applications available online.

"I am amazed at how much "stuff" people will jam onto their credit applications and new account forms. This alone can scare a potential customer away, especially if they can go down the road and fill out one easy form and have their product or service." Says Dunn.

Consumers get distracted by long forms, especially ones that ask for to much information or are full of legal jargon or long technical terms. Keep your form, short and to the point. Keep the language easy to understand and in laymen terms.

Michelle Dunn has over 17 years experience in credit and debt collection. She is the founder of Never Dunn Publishing, LLC, is a writer, consultant and the Editorial Advisor for Eli Financial Debt Collection Compliance Alert Newsletter. Michelle started M.A.D. Collection Agency and ran is successfully for 7 years. She also owns and runs Credit & Collections.com an online community for credit and business professionals.

She has written 5 books in her Collecting Money Series She is currently writing a book for the Streetwise Series, part of the Adams Media Corporation. In addition to writing and marketing her books, Michelle moderates and runs Credit & Collections.com and was a member of The American Collectors Association for 9 years.

In The News:


The Majalla Magazine

Negotiating with Iran: A better way forward
UPI.com
Negotiation will be deemed a long process. Optimistic claims of progress resulting from trivial concessions will be framed as political victories. And, not surprisingly, Iranian officials will herald the talks as fruitful and call for continued ...
Iranian nuclear negotiations: A little ray of sunshine?The Majalla Magazine
Iran-West Nuclear Negotiations Will Continue in JuneFiredoglake
Inspection at Iran nuclear facility finds higher-level traces of uranium, UN saysCNN
Washington Post -Minneapolis Star Tribune -NewsMax.com
all 3,506 news articles »

Sudan and South Sudan to resume negotiations
Christian Science Monitor
After weeks of fighting, in which South Sudan took out one of Sudan's last remaining oil fields, the two countries are returning to the negotiation table, under African Union mediation. By Scott Baldauf, Staff writer / May 25, 2012 After a series of ...

and more »

Negotiation is not a solution in itself
Montreal Gazette
“Negotiation” – almost everybody in Quebec still seems to believe in its magical powers to solve the current protest crisis, even after it's already failed once. Three-quarters of Quebecers in a recent poll by Léger Marketing for Québecor-owned media ...

and more »

IBNLive.com

International climate negotiations: Moving parts and much-more slowly moving ...
Energy Collective
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met in Bonn, Germany, May 14-25 and negotiated reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases along three separate tracks. First, the Kyoto Protocol: Delegates to the 17 th ...
Deadlock breaks at UN climate talks, agenda agreedCreamer Media's Engineering News
U.N. climate talks stall over rich-poor divisionsSan Francisco Chronicle
Deadlock breaks at UN climate talks, mistrust remainsReuters India

all 457 news articles »

How coaching baseball helps negotiating deals
Bizjournals.com
As it turns out, coaching has helped me in my real job, namely, negotiating agreements on behalf of commercial real estate and corporate clients. • The Similarities Between Creating a Lineup and a Commercial Lease. Several days before a game, ...


Austin American-Statesman

City approves negotiations to buy Joe's Crab Shack land
Austin American-Statesman
By Shonda Novak The Austin City Council on Thursday gave the go-ahead for city real estate officials to negotiate a contract to buy the 1.8-acre site that is home to the Joe's Crab Shack restaurant on East Riverside Drive. The City Council approved the ...

and more »

GAUVIN: Negotiating with taxpayers in mind has not been council's strong point
Barnstable Patriot
The word “negotiate” appears several times in the story. The young man, let's call him John Smith, then glances wistfully through the expansive window to the commuter traffic slowly passing by outside with its assortment of various car models driven by ...

and more »

KOIN Local 6

Reynolds negotiations end in stalemate, uncertainty
KOIN Local 6
By Rob Cullivan Reynolds School District contract negotiations have again concluded without an agreement, and it's likely both sides won't meet again until Tuesday, May 29, at the earliest, district officials said. Meanwhile, school has been cancelled ...

and more »

Teaneck teacher contract negotiations move to fact-finding stage
NorthJersey.com
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE TEANECK — Negotiations between the school board and the teachers' union will move from mediation to fact-finding after discussions reached an impasse on Wednesday night, a union official said Thursday.


China.org.cn

Negotiations for Rio+20 'painfully slow'
China.org.cn
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Thursday expressed frustration at the slow pace of negotiations over a draft outcome document for the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), urging member states to look at the "bigger picture" ...

and more »
Google News

The Six Rs for Changing MInds and Overcoming Resistance

This article borrows from Howard Gardner's book, "Changing Minds" (2004).... Read More

Embarrassed To Discuss Your Prices? Seven Common Reasons We Cant Talk About Them

Last week, a wonderfully-skilled electrician installed a new light fixture... Read More

Making the Deal: Women as Negotiators

Negotiating is no game. It is not for the weak... Read More

Just Ask!

Ask and you shall receive & knock and it shall... Read More

The Art of Haggling

Did you know that at one time in this country... Read More

While Youre Waiting

Not long ago, I made a partnership pitch, on behalf... Read More

Negotiate to Your Advantage

The hardest and most important part of any negotiation is... Read More

Guidelines for Ambassador Appointments

Ambassadors to other countries are a vital part of international... Read More

The Art of Negotiation in 535 words

I want to get better at negotiation, but where to... Read More

Cross Cultural Negotiations

Cross cultural negotiation is one of many specialized areas within... Read More

Lets Make a Deal

Smart buyers will always ask for a better price. Unfortunately,... Read More

Managing the Sales Negotiation Process

How many times have you heard:"You've got to drop your... Read More

Determine Your Rate And Negotiate Carefully With Unreasonable Clients

Consultants who offer executive assistant or computer services on a... Read More

Win-Win Power Negotiating

Let's talk about win-win negotiating. Instead of trying to dominate... Read More

Managing Conflict, in Life & Work: Using Ancient and Modern Approaches

"Conflict" is a word that can have varying degrees of... Read More

Can a Corporate Executive Really Use The Beautiful Mind; To guide decision making?

I would like to comment on the "A Beautiful Mind"... Read More

How Barter Can Help Your Business Online or Offline

How Barter Can Help Your BusinessBarter trade is a powerful... Read More

Barter and Its Benefits

What is Barter? Barter involves 2 parties. Each party wants... Read More

Are You Scaring Away Potential Customers?

When you are trying to make a sale and ask... Read More

Negotiating Tactics: How To Strike A Negotiable Opening Shot

There is no right or wrong to fire up your... Read More

What Are The Four Types Of Negotiating Outcomes?

Negotiating outcomes are the types of results that can happen... Read More

So Whats Your Argument?

Arguments aren't always bad things. Sometimes They're used to convince... Read More

Barter: Its Not Just for Doctors Anymore

Time was, in the country, the local "doc" was as... Read More

Negotiating Technology Contracts

Have you ever tried to negotiate a deal for software,... Read More

Negotiation: A Compromising Position

Negotiating is a hot topic these days for a good... Read More