Today we’re going to talk about how you can avoid using us as your debt collection agency. Surprised? Look, we’d love your business and if you’ve got clients who owe you money, we’re more than happy to work on that for you. But, we’d also like it if more people paid their debts in a timely manner and things didn’t get to the point where you need to hire a debt collection agency. So today we’re going to suggest a few tips to help you help your clients pay on time.
First, be organized. Create a file for each new customer. At the outset, have them complete a credit application form (make sure it’s signed!). There should be clauses that require a bank reference, a credit report, and/or a clause that allows you to recover attorney’s fees in case you have to hire a collections attorney. You’ll also be glad you collected contact info in case you need it in the future for collections activities. Once you’ve gotten the information make sure that all of it is correct. Do the homework of verifying each piece of information.
Next you will want to create a good dialogue with your customer. Make sure they thoroughly understand your policies. Highlight important areas, follow up with calls, encourage them to ask questions and answer them. Train all your staff on this paperwork and your policies–make sure they have a thorough understanding of them, and encourage questions from them as well.
Last, if a customer becomes delinquent in payments or tries to renegotiate or change the terms of the agreement immediately take action. There should be consequences for not keeping the terms. Explain this reality to your customer and encourage them to resolve the problems as soon as possible.
If you haven’t got good procedures in place, now is the time to change. And, if you’ve got a backlog of collections give Cascade Collections a call today. We can help!