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Does your station have a policy of giving discount for early payments?
We do a ton of CIA business. In fact, all restaurants/bars/one-time events are CIA or they don't get on. We also have a number of customers that pay under 30 days by CC. Years ago we have tried offering a 5 or even 10% bonus in commercials on customer schedules, but with our sellout percentages on some stations, however I would be concerned as to whether we could deliver the value expected.
Do you have anything in place? Is it worth it? I'm not concerned about our days outstanding because we're very aggressive and are usually under 35 every month, but a client asked.
Thank you in advance for your input!
MTB
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane K. Ashley on -
No discounts for CIA. For the sales rep, CIA keeps you from being charged back, but they also create extra headaches and work. I personally can see no justification in offering a 5 or 10% bonus in commercials. The reasons that most clients are in the CIA category is that they represent a risk if they are offered credit. So we're all even.
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Permalink Reply by Joel A. Swanson on -
"Full payment WITH the order" receives a 5% discount, but we are talking about giving them 5-10% more ads instead of the cash discount.
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Permalink Reply by Pam at Kasl Radio AM 1240 on -
Our station offers a 5% discount for one year contracts paid in advance. I have several clients that take advantage of the discount. Sales staff can take the commission all at once or spread it out over 12 months.
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Permalink Reply by Daryl Johnson on -
I normally work on the same idea that Jane suggests CIA if "they represent a risk if offered credit". Bars are a good example, they are used to paying vendors up front. As they become an established account or if they are a well established business I am not so particular. I dont want the charge back either.
I think more importantly, the customer needs to feel that we are focused on them and what will work for them, and they need to feel that the method of payment is just how we do business, almost a side note (assuming the sale of payment method).
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Permalink Reply by Jack Walker on -
We offer a 10% discount for the annual contract paid in advance. We also offer a 5% monthly discount if we have a cc and run that card in advance of the following month's schedule. We run all the cards on the 15th of the month to keep it simple internally. Saves a lot of time running down payment since everything that takes away from selling is lost income.
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