A few weeks back we acknowledged our Collection Awards for 2008. Now its time to recognize the faces you work with on a daily basis – our incredible sales staff. 

Dale – Rookie of the Year

Dale joined our MI APR office in August 2007 and now has over 115 clients.   Dale was chosen for this award for his dedication to our industry and his clients and for being a great leader to our MI team.  Congratulations Dale!

Mike – Rookie of the Year

Mike joined our MA Sales Team in March 2008.  Mike now has over 130 clients.  Mike was also recently promoted to Field Trainer after 10 months for his coaching skills and incredible work ethic.  Congrats Mike!

Andy R – Most Tier II Placements

As Salesperson of the Year for 2005 and 2006, Andy R has an incredible client base.  Because of his excellent training, customer service and desire to get great results for his clients, he was recognized this year for his client’s Tier II placements.  Great job Andy!

Andy Y – Salesperson of the Year

Andy Y joined our MI APR office in March 2006.  Andy was named both Salesperson of the Year (for his 2nd consecutive year) and also recognized for having the most orders in 2008.  He now has over 300 clients nationwide.  Congratulations Andy!

Congratulations also to Jeff D in our Lexington, KY office for your revenue awards in 2008.  Keep it up in 2009.

As always, we are proud of our entire sales staff and the great service they provide to our clients nationwide.  This way our way of recognizing our top few in 2008.  Congratulations and thank you to you all!

A recent survey from Inside ARM, an industry publication serving the collection industry states that many in the collection industry have either laid off staff already or are going to be making cuts in the near future. It states 37 percent of collection agencies surveyed laid off staff in the fourth quarter of 2008. It also says that 27 percent plan on making cuts in early 2009. I guess even this industry is not immune to the current economic climate.

Unless you’re American Profit Recovery. The team here is proud to say that once again, they are bucking a trend as they have no plans to lay off anyone in the near future. In fact they brought on 16 new staff in the fourth quarter of 2008 and APR is currently bringing on a several new members to join the team this quarter. So far, in the past several months, APR has increased staff by close to 20 percent. The company continues to grow as a result of, in my opinion, great leadership and a forward thinking team. Continue reading »

If you ever wanted a case for keeping on top of your receivables and not waiting months before going after late payers, you’ll find the latest report from the Warren Group interesting. The report cites that bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts went up 41 percent in 2008 over 2007. The report also cites there were over 1.1 million bankruptcy filings nationwide in 2008, a bump of over 30 percent over 2007.

So why is it important to stay on top of your receivables and get the ear of your late payers early? Well the above says it all. If you or a collection agency say…American Profit Recovery for instance, can work out a deal early before the consumer declares bankruptcy, you have a far greater chance at recovering your past due debt. A few key tactics will help you accomplish your goals; Continue reading »