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:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Win-Win Power Negotiating

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

Dont Be Afraid Of Silence

In any conversation with two or more people, there is... Read More

Writing an RFP (Request for Proposal)

A while back, a potential client provided me... Read More

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

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

While Youre Waiting

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

Negotiations: The Art, Science, & Sport of Online Deals

Negotiations can seem as complex as physics, and in fact,... Read More

So Whats Your Argument?

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

Negotiating Skills Will Get You Ahead

Negotiating skills can help you manage lots of different kinds... Read More

30 Tips for Keeping Meeting Expenses to a Minimum

Money makes the world go 'round. And when it comes... Read More

Suppliers as Your Partners in Cost Reduction

This article is one of the many articles still to... Read More

Ask for More - You May Get More

If you are involved with sales, how do you feel... Read More

Barter and Its Benefits

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

Better Internal Proposals

A colleague of mine has a problem. We belong to... Read More

How To Make An Inflexible Bureaucrat See You As A Person

Inflexible Bureaucrats Are Characterized by:1. Cares little about your happiness... Read More

Negotiating: Forcing vs Compromising

Forcing is a hard-nosed approach that makes heavy demands from... Read More

Negotiate Like a P.R.O.

Whether you're negotiating a peace settlement in a war-torn country... Read More

Negotiating Technology Contracts

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

Negotiate to Your Advantage

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

The Most Powerful Persuasion Skill Youll Ever Learn

Criteria ElicitationThis is without a doubt the most important persuasion... Read More

Business: Keys To Negotiating Well

Whether it's buying a car, asking for a pay rise,... Read More

Avoiding and Accomodating in Negotiation

The avoiding approach to negotiating is characterized by losing, leaving,... Read More

Power Pricing - Getting the Right Price for Your Products and Services

There's an old joke about the New York City blackout.... Read More

How To Communicate Using Space

What Is Proxemics?The study of the communicative aspects of personal... Read More

Resolve Conflict In 6 Easy Steps - The BEDROL Method

The principles of Negotiation can work for you in any... Read More

Do You Want a Paycheck or a Passion? 10 Qualities Managers are Looking for in Hiring You

Based upon my research of over 300 managers in the... 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

Guidelines for Ambassador Appointments

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

Secrets of the Trade Revealed: Bartering for Business

In its simplest form, bartering involves an equal trade. One... Read More

Are You Scaring Away Potential Customers?

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

Neogtiation: How to be Right Without Making Other People Wrong

What exactly are we trying to accomplish by proving to... Read More

National and Cultural Negotiation Style

Cultural and national negotiation styles reflect communication behaviors and the... Read More

How to Negotiate Effectively

You may be thinking, "Gary, I am a mom, housewife,... Read More

Negotiating Tactics: Don?t Let ?Good Guy ? Bad Guy? Control the Sales Negotiation

Counter one of the classic negotiating gambits by addressing it... Read More