Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Irene depending on where you are is long gone but the path of destruction it has left for many will stick around for a long time.  As you have seen, many came out with just a few tree limbs on their property while others have lost quite a bit.

We have two solid pieces of advice and they are for both sides of a transaction so to speak. The first is if you are faced with trying to collect money and the party to whom you may be contacting is in one of these affected regions, our advice is to proceed with care. We go back to one of our favorites words at this collection agency; Diplomacy.

While you are still owed the money from your customer, diplomacy always wins out in our opinion, both in good and bad times. If you come across a customer that owes you for your services and they have been affected by a storm such as Irene, you need to be diplomatic in your communications and you need to be a little patient. We’re not telling you to give up and walk away, we are simply saying that you need to be sympathetic to their situation and proceed accordingly. Be flexible, understanding and a little more gentle in your approach.

For consumers out there, these disasters teach us a couple valuable lessons. The most important is to keep up on your bills. I will fully admit that one of the last calls you want during times such as these is from a collection agency. We get that. Paying your bills on time and preserving your good credit for when you really need it is a smart way to live and when you do realize that your good credit has afforded you the ability to get through a disaster, you’ll thank yourself for being so disciplined with your finances.

As always, be safe, and if you have been affected by this storm, we wish you the best in getting back on your feet.

Our Welcome to Employee Week

As employee has once again come to an end at this collection agency, I for one really appreciate this management effort and the time to coordinate the Carnival by Michelle here in Mass and those involved in Michigan and North Carolina. These last 5 years at APR have really opened my eyes to the way a successful company can be run. Thank you owners and fellow employees for all the great things you do on a daily basis.

The kids are back to school and that means there should be some learning going on. One valuable lesson your kids can learn is financial literacy and the earlier the better. There’s a great tool that just came out that can help you teach your kids these life lessons and get them off on the right track with their finances. This collection agency is a member of ACA International and one that has actively supported the mission of its foundation; it’s good to see these types of lessons hitting the masses.

A great insert in USA Today just came out and has some great articles and practical pieces of advice for all of us to follow. All the information is below; take a look. It’s a great resource.

NEW ENGLAND COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION OFFERS BACK TO SCHOOL FINANCIAL LITERACY TIPS FOR MASSACHUSETTS PARENTS

BOSTON  (August 30, 2011) – With Massachusetts students from kindergarten to college heading back to school, adding financial literacy to your child’s curriculum this fall can teach invaluable skills for today and in the future.  

“It’s never too early or too late to talk with your kids about personal finances,” said New England Collectors Association President David Sands.

As outlined in USA Today’s special supplement on youth financial literacy, teaching children about saving, credit, debt, budgeting and discipline in managing their own finances is essential to growth and development.  “From the very basic to the complex, parental involvement in helping their children better understand how to value and manage money is essential to helping them make successful financial decisions as they grow older,” said Chris Wunder, chair of the ACA International Education Foundation Board of Directors.

Helpful tips for talking to your children about financial management:

• Be a role model. Parents, siblings and grandparents are important role models for teaching financial management to children. Lead by example.
• Be honest. Building and maintaining trust with your child is essential. Admit mistakes and share how you learned from them.
• Be interactive.  Effective teaching is a two-way street. Talking and listening with real life examples is important. 
• Be patient. Some children may not immediately grasp the concepts you are teaching, but don’t give up on your teaching efforts.
• Start with an allowance.  For children, an allowance provides hands-on lessons in saving, spending, credit and budgeting.

ACA International Education Foundation is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization serving as the philanthropic arm of ACA International, the association of credit and collection professionals. The Foundation exists to promote the goal of increasing financial literacy in the United States. Outreach efforts include www.askdoctordebt.com, which offers free, reliable answers to consumer questions and provides helpful resources.

The New England Collectors Association is a Unit of ACA International representing Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island. ACA is the comprehensive, knowledge-based resource for success in the credit and collection industry.  Founded in 1939, ACA brings together more than 5,000 members in the United States and abroad, and their more than 150,000 employees, including third-party collection agencies, asset buyers, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates.  ACA establishes a wide variety of products, services and publications.  For more information on ACA International, visit www.acainternational.org.

Another common question we get or concern for that matter is the fear of losing a customer because you placed their account with a collection agency. And while there is no guarantee that any activity you do as a business will attract and retain a customer, we do understand the sensitive nature of this concern.

As our own Al Scott, a 50 plus year veteran of the collection industry puts it, “you get more with honey.” What he means is that an aggressive, hard-fisted approach to collections just does not work. And any agency that operates like that will see far less results than one that understands that diplomacy is the way to achieve goals.

If you’re afraid of losing customers but still need to get your bills paid, you need to look for a collection agency that understands your goals and can tell you that in fact, diplomacy is their philosophy. Maybe you don’t care and just want to get paid but in my 20 years in the collection industry, the majority of businesses and medical practices want to maintain that relationship with the customer or patient.

In short, if your internal procedures are up to date and you are billing, following up and making inquires as to why the bill has not been paid yet, then when you do turn over an account to a collection agency, it should not be a surprise. On time invoices, statements and follow up calls should ensure this.

If you’ve done all you can internally, then you should not feel bad about transferring an account to a reputable collection agency. If you’re not paid within 60 days, the writing could be on the wall.

We have even more tips on this topic in our latest Ask APR segment video. Take a look and send us your questions.

This may not seem like the most motivating quote upon first glance.  My father told this to me when I was young and heavily involved in sports and I have never forgotten it.  Among other things, It has taught me to keep finding ways to improve, to not get complacent and to keep striving to be the best in whatever it is I am doing.  It’s nice to work for a company that I believe takes this quote to heart as well.  APR is always looking for new ways to improve upon what is already a great service and collection agency.  Whether it’s for its employees or clients APR is constantly adapting to provide the best for both.

Thanks for dedicating an entire week to recognize your employees and most importantly thanks for always looking for new ways to be the best for our clients. 

Ryan showing off his $25 Gift Card for Winning a Quiz!

Today kicks off our 5th Annual Employee Week … let the fun begin.
This year’s theme brings the Carnival to APR and although we didn’t go as far as Elephant Rides (sorry Andrea) this week will be full of carnival games, food, treats and even a clown!
Employee Week is an entire week focused on our employees and building our team. We create get to know you quizzes; have daily challenges to play games; and even get to raise a little money for the American Cancer Society by “nominating” fellow employees to dress as a clown for a day!
Our partners have always realized that what makes this collection agency great is the people that make it up and this week focuses on all of us.
Although my waistline may grow a bit from all the food and treats and the fact that it’ll be tough to break away from the games to head to the gym over my lunch, I look forward to this week year after year. Work hard – play hard. It’s more than just a saying at APR. It’s a reward well deserved of our phenomenal team … one that our ownership is proud to give year after year.

We recently launched “Ask APR’”, a Q&A service that allows clients and others with questions regarding accounts receivables and collections to ask this collection agency our professional advice. We are rolling out a section of our website soon for this but in the meantime, we have already gotten a few great questions about how to handle any number of situation involving cash flow.

Our last question was about what happens to the collection process after your Net 30 Payment Terms.
Our first question to you is do your customers actually know you have Net 30 terms? Have you told them, inserted it in all your invoices and statements and maybe even posted it in your waiting room or lobby? Make sure you do this first.

Second, when you do get to that 30-day mark, a good way to open the lines of communication is to place a customer service call. Find out if your customer was happy with the service that was provided and bridge into that topic of the overdue amount.

Over the next 30 days, try to call at least two more times and make sure you have issued a statement. If you have not received any communication back or of course the payment owed, it may start to become clearer that you have an issue.

At this point, it may be time to employ a collection agency. While we always want your business here at American Profit Recovery, make sure you find an agency that you are comfortable with and that you can work with.

Our video advice can be seen below and stay tuned for the launch of our Ask APR page on our website.

I have a pretty awesome life. A great family, amazingly supportive friends, and a pretty cool career with this growing and successful collection agency. I live 2 blocks from the ocean, sleep in a comfortable bed, own a car that gets me to and from work every day and as my waistline shows I have plenty of food to eat. I am healthy. I am happy. Life is good.

But when was the last time I took a moment to realize this. To appreciate this. To stop and say thank you for the many blessings I have been granted. Sadly – I can’t remember. Until this morning.

This morning I had the honor to represent American Profit Recovery at the kick-off breakfast for Making Strides in Boston this October. I sat in a room with over 500 other women and men; team leaders; survivors; and as one speaker stated “motherless daughters.” I shared laughs with them; tears with them; and most importantly when I left I shared an excitement for helping out this amazing cause. Breast Cancer has not touched my life personally … but it has touched the lives of many amazing people whom I know and who are now those survivors and sadly those motherless daughters.

The purpose of this morning was to motivate us team leaders to raise lots of money and grow great big teams of walkers and get excited about this annual event. This well planned breakfast with great stories and pictures and amazing ACS staff achieved that and more.

What I left with most though is a sense of peace – a thankful and full heart for the many blessings I have in my life that I may take for granted day after day. This October I cannot wait to Make Strides against breast cancer with all of you. And I promise I’ll be thankful when I look around and see my family and my friends and my co-workers who join me – I won’t take this life for granted any more.

With the advent of caller ID, (which at this point is not so new anymore,) we have as a society trained ourselves to not pick up the phone when an unfamiliar number pops up. In fact, I believe we are all guilty of this.

It comes into play especially when a collection agency is calling. Our instinct is to not pick up the phone and what could be worse, not return the call if a voicemail is left. This could be a bad move for any number of reasons.

One, if you have outstanding debt, you should take care of it and work with the company that is owed that money. Often times, there is flexibility in how you can pay it off. But there is another reason to pick up the phone.

The call from a collection agency could be tipping you off to identify theft.

We have talked about the need to pull your credit reports on a regular basis and that should indicate whether someone tried to invade your privacy but if you don’t pull your credit report and you’re one of the unlucky ones that have had your identity ripped off, collection agencies could save you a lot of headache.

I recently stumbled on this article that talks about this very topic. It also has some great tips from ACA International and other reputable organizations for dealing with such a situation. Such as; Get as much information from the collector as possible including the amount of debt, the account number of the debt in question, the phone number of the fraud division if they have one and the date or dates of the transaction in question.

Here is the link to the full article and remember, next time a collection agency calls you, they may in fact be helping you.

More to come on this topic soon…

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/08/04/3270616/debt-collectors-can-be-helpful.html