Fundamentally, performing collections is an undertaking in communication. And when it comes to collections, how you communicate can either open avenues that encourage prompt payment, or build walls that will ensure you won’t see your money for a long time. This fact may seem like a no-brainer, however there are many business owners and accounts receivable managers and staff who fail to employ good communications skills and, as a result, unwittingly contribute to their own collections woes.
Many business owners don’t usually relate customer service with collections tasks. Just because a customer owes you money doesn’t mean customer service stops. In fact, good customer service is a vital element to facilitating successful collections.
Like all communication, customer service should be about cultivating and maintaining a good relationship with the customer. And when a customer owes you money and you need to collect, this doesn’t mean you should start lowering your level of courtesy or professionalism. You should in fact increase it. When you call your customer don’t badger them, and if you need to leave voicemails limit your messages to just one per day. And never sound irritated, sharp, or threatening. A customer who knows they are valued and respected will feel satisfied, which only increases the likelihood that they will be moved to make more timely payment.
Don’t fall into the trap of imagining that you have no influence over your customer when they owe you money. Through patient and professional communication, you can positively influence your customer so as to see the money owed to you while at the same time maintaining a good business relationship. However, there will unfortunately be those cases when all your efforts will produce zero results. We’ll discuss what to do in such situations in the next article.
The Jayaram Law routinely and successfully assists its clients in their business-to-business (b2b) collection needs. We take pride in obtaining payment on accounts receivables without fracturing critical business relationships or engaging in time-consuming and costly litigation efforts.
If you need business debt collection services conducted in a professional manner, contact our B2B (business-to-business) debt collection law firm by calling 312.454.2859 or visiting www.jayaramlaw.com.