Change

Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. - Arnold Bennett

I think we can all agree that everything changes? Life changes, jobs change, the economy changes every day, and our approach to problems has to change. That last thing is what I want to address today. Our approach to the problems that arise in regard to credit and collections and the drawbacks and discomforts that may arise.

When I first entered the collections industry six years ago, things were much different. But as I stated above, things change. Back then, it was very common to have a collector recover accounts that were several months or years old. Now though, even with all of the improvements in technology and skip-tracing, that is very rare. Because of the changes in the economy, when a business closes it's not so much that people are trying to protect their assets like it once was. Now if they are out of business it is likely because they have lost or spent everything they have trying to stay open. If they are out of business, they are probably flat broke.

Which brings me to today's point. In this ever-changing economy, you can not operate as you always have. Where we may have collected accounts that were several years old in the past, now it is becoming more and more rare to collect accounts that are several months old. Today's economy requires a much more pro-active approach to collections. Your action has to begin when accounts reach your thirty-day column. You cannot be lax about sending past-due notices and requiring that your A/R staff know exactly why every account is late. Stay informed. If an account is past thirty days you need to know why. That way you can have your next action planned. Who needs a past-due notice? Who needs a call? Who needs a demand for payment? And finally, who needs to be placed for collection? I know it may seem like a negative or cynical approach, but desperate times call for desperate measures. If you don't take action first your reaction might be too late!

We know that even as the economy changes, it also may become harder for you to convince yourself or the "powers that be" to take the next step, and spend the money that it takes to hire a service like ours to recover those outstanding accounts. That is why we offer a much lower cost solution and we only work on a contingency basis (If we aren't able to collect, it costs you nothing). Our rates are lower than most of our competition. In fact, the only service with lower rates may be so-called "letter writing agencies". We may even be competitive with their rates, and your customers don't need another letter. What they need is the aggressive yet professional approach to collections that we employ. We can salvage your relationship with the customer AND collect your money. Call or e-mail me at (800)313-9611 Ext. 103 or neil@hamiltonandmonroe.com.

Happy Monday!