Are you noticing your collection team asking for payments using passive language that gets them nowhere?
Have you noticed a lull in your team’s ability to collect a payment?
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Asking the right questions at the right time can help you and your team, know the incredible power of questions.
The good news is The Collection Advantage has an entire module designed specifically for your team that focuses on “The Incredible Power of Questions.” Included in this section are three types of questions that your team can learn to ask at the right time in their collection calls.
1. Active vs. Passive Questions: Learn when to use the right approach.
Imagine the results of your team learning to be direct and avoid being passive. By being direct, your team members will eliminate confusion in their conversations which will lead to a better connection and a successful conversation.
2. Open-ended vs. Close Ended questions: Understanding when to use these types of questions is of the utmost importance.
Knowing when to ask the right questions at the right time is critical in having a call of excellence. Have you trained your employees on when open-ended questions work vs. close ended? Do they know the difference? Asking an open-ended question invites the consumer to expand on your question, whereas a closed-ended question limits it to a yes or no response. Both are effective techniques in asking questions but only if they are used at the appropriate time. “Can you pay half your balance as a down payment?” This is a great example of when to use a close-ended question. A good example of an ideal time to use a closed-ended question is when you are asking for a payment while open-ended questions are good to start the conversation especially when obtaining demographic information. If you are needing to know their employer information, then your team member can ask the following questions: “Where are you currently employed,” or “Who is your insurance provider?”
3. Reflective questions: Asking questions that inspire the consumer to pause and reflect can yield powerful results.
When implementing the reflective questioning technique, your team will be able to determine the problem and solution of the consumer. A few good examples of these types of questions include the following:
· “When did you make your last payment?”
· “What are the next steps to your consolidation loan?”
You’ll notice the question is set up for them to recollect steps they’ve taken.
Most of our days in the collection industry are spent on the phone asking questions, gathering information, and updating the status of consumer accounts. Learning how to plan those questions ahead of time can lead to more productive calls and more effective negotiations.
I wholeheartedly believe in the incredible power of using the right words at the right time on collection calls. I have trained my team to take this approach and have seen a lot of success. Learning how to ask appropriate questions at the ideal time can do the following:
· Enhance learning and the exchange of ideas
· Improves performance
· Mitigates risk by uncovering unseen issues
· Builds rapport and likability
Studies have shown that asking questions improves likability. Chris Voss, an FBI hostage negotiator, and author of Never Split the Difference, has said a deal is six times more likely to be made if the consumer likes you.
To learn more about how to train your team and to give them the questions that need to be in every collector’s toolbox. Book a call with me today.