Welcome to Part 2 of my trip down memory lane and resharing some of the best blog posts published on this site over the past few years. I've published hundreds of collection tips, and I want to make some of the best ones easy to find. Keep reading to learn what some of your favorite tips have been over the years, and don't forget to read through Part 1 if you haven't already!
1. The Consumer Keeps Saying 'No'...Now What?
This post was originally published on April 27, 2021. Here is a quick excerpt:
When I’m training debt collectors, I hear several frequently asked questions. One of those questions is the following:
“What do you say when the consumer keeps saying ‘no,’ no matter what solutions you offer?”
If you’ve ever experienced this and you weren’t sure what to do, you’re not alone.
Sometimes, you truly have exhausted the solutions you can present with the current knowledge you have about the consumer. And that’s ok! Luckily, you can follow a simple process to figure out what to do next.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to collect a balance of $125. You asked for payment in full multiple times, and you’ve offered a few different payment arrangements. Each time you make an offer, the consumer says “no.” With that being said, they stay on the phone, so you’re not sure if they want to pay or not, and you’re getting anxious because you’re running out of solutions.
I wholeheartedly believe the solution lies in gathering more information about the consumer’s situation.
Let me break down how to do this.
2. The 5 Zones You Need to Know to Succeed in Collections
This post was originally published on January 19, 2021. Here is a quick excerpt:
Picture this: You’re on a collection call. You’ve verified the contact and identified yourself. You’ve also given the mini-Miranda. Now, the call can go in what seems like infinite directions.
Maybe the consumer will be friendly. Maybe the consumer will be hostile. Maybe he will pay. Maybe he will hang up. The list of possibilities goes on and on.
As a collector, you may be overwhelmed by the high number of possible directions the call can go. In fact, I often hear collectors say they feel like they have very little control on collection calls.
What if I told you that you do have control over how the call unfolds? The secret lies in understanding the five zones of a collection call. Let’s dive into each of these zones and how how debt collection training can make or break a collection call.
3. The Crossroads of Empathy and Compliance
This post was originally published on December 8, 2020. Here is a quick excerpt:
December is here, and you know what that means: We’re so close to a new year. After the ups and downs that 2020 has brought, most of us are thrilled to get a fresh start.
How can we really make this new start count in collections? I wholeheartedly believe we need to embrace humanity-plus business (meaning business that focuses more on human needs, feelings, and fears), compassion, and empathy
Implementing empathy is vastly beneficial, and I’ve seen the results to prove that. I’ve written about this before, and you can read about it here. Something else that’s always important to be aware of, though, is the crossroads of empathy and compliance.
Sometimes, if we’re not careful when we use empathy, we can slip into compliance breaches, which can lead to lawsuits. After speaking to compliance attorney John Bedard, I identified some prominent compliance issues that could arise if you’re not careful when implementing empathy at your agency.
Luckily, there are several ways to avoid compliance issues while simultaneously being empathetic. Let’s dive in and discover the crossroads of empathy and compliance.
Thank you for joining me this week for another flashback collection tips post. I'll be back next week with brand new collection tips, so subscribe to my newsletter so you won't miss it!