Got called out by a client for my follow-up emails sounding like boilerplate

A small business owner in Denver told me my late payment reminders were too robotic and made him feel like a number. I switched to a more personal tone with a quick check-in about their business first, and now I get paid within 48 hours instead of 2 weeks. Has anyone else found that being less formal actually speeds things up?

3 comments

3 Comments

rosepark5h ago

I mean is sending a slightly robotic email really that deep? You just changed the tone and got paid faster but that could just be a coincidence or the client being in a better mood that week. Sounds like you're making a big deal out of a pretty normal business tweak.

black.oliver23m ago

Wait, you seriously think changing up your email tone is just some normal business tweak? That's like saying swapping out a tired old hook in a song doesn't matter... tone is literally everything when you're trying to get someone to pay attention.

craig.parker2h ago

Have you ever actually chased a late payment for weeks before? Because once you go through that headache a few times, you start noticing every little thing that might have helped speed things up. I've had clients where a single word change in an email got them to pay within 24 hours after weeks of silence. Coincidence is possible, sure, but when you test it on multiple clients and get the same result, it stops being luck. Small tweaks like tone can cut through the noise and make your invoice the one they actually open and pay.

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