My wife is nearly blind and last week was operated on to try and stabilize the onset of glaucoma hoping to keep what little sight she has and stop the progressing decline of this horrific disease.  We had just returned home from that 3 hour surgery when the doorbell rang.  It was a florist with a  great assortment of flowers in a vase for her from APR.

I can’t explain her emotion as she started to cry and frankly so did I, as I knew she couldn’t see the colors but the air was permeated with the smell.  The thought of our company knowing the problems and working to build her spirits with the hope of success was heartwarming.  This is compassion in a real sense and epitomizes this collection agency’s feelings for its employees and their family members as they deal with stress and illness. 

Her mental attitude has improved and I am so grateful for the consideration APR has shown.  Thank you everyone so much for your kindness.

This past month, this collection agency took part in the annual Collector’s Challenge which encourages companies in the credit and collections field to assist the foundation by raising money for programs such as Ask Doctor Debt. We’ve done this for the past few years and to date, with this past month’s totals, we have raised over $5,500 to support the programs run by the foundation. If you’ve never been on the website, please take the time to do so. There is some invaluable advice about managing your finances as well as answers to many questions about how to effectively deal with debt.

We joined many other collection agencies across the county who understand that we need to do more to assist consumers who may be struggling with issues around debt. This year we raised over $1,500 by paying to dress casual around the office, we held a March Madness pool and we even held a bake sale. (Did you hear that they actually tried to ban bake sales in Massachusetts this week…)

Anyway, our team here at American Profit Recovery really gets it and they always step up when we ask and do what they can to support the issues that matter. Whether it’s our annual walk at Making Strides or issues like these that many families are facing, they always come up with new ways to make a few bucks for a good cause. Even our own Al Scott got in the game and won an I-Pod Touch.

If you want to learn more about the great programs that are spearheaded by the ACA International Education Foundation, click on over to their website. http://www.acainternational.org/about-foundation-92.aspx

You can even make a donation and help support these great programs.

I left today’s meeting pretty encouraged and I hoping for change.   I feel like may times, Sales  Reps are OK  with doing OK.  No one feels compelled to reach for the extraordinary.  I feel as though there are many people in Sales who go to work for a paycheck, not for any other reason. 

This is why I often ask if people like their job.  If you do not like, let alone love what you do, then there are plenty of other opportunities out there to make a few grand a month – and you might as well go somewhere else, where you are happy and like what you do, to make just that.  I learned a long time ago, APR is going to be here tomorrow with or without me – this was a humbling revelation, but it helped me come to realize that I need to make the most of the time I am here. 

Three words I walked away with today were ACCOUNTABILITY, ATTITUDE, and ACTIVITY.  These 3 A’s as I have come to call them can dictate a lot in our Sales Dept.  Starting with accountability, we must first hold ourselves accountable.  I think it is disgusting that a rep can walk out of the office day after day not hitting their numbers, and be OK with it.  Probably even go home, kiss their wife and tell her what a hard day he has had.  We as Reps need to hold ourselves up a lot higher than that and it starts with me, myself and I. 

Second is attitude.  I don’t feel as though our attitude is negative, but it is lazy.  For a few Reps it has become just doing enough to stay employed.  This needs to be turned around.  The proof of what each individual can attain with a little focus  is a glaring fact.  I think if every Rep comes into work, every day with the right attitude, a change is inevitable.  Lastly is activity.  Take accountability and throw in a new outlook or attitude and activity is going to do nothing but go up. 

The career we have is what we have chosen.  We must remember we choose to be here.  Our job is not too tough.  We have the support and tools we need to succeed.  The feeling of satisfaction after working an 8 hour day far out weighs any constructive criticisms we may face.  Let’s learn from today’s meeting and from each other.  Let’s show our core qualities:  work ethic (activity); integrity (accountability) and positive attitude.  It’s what makes APR, APR.

Tuesday morning was May 1st 2012. By seven o’clock anti meridian, after only a few gulps of much needed, dark roast coffee, I found myself perched atop a Habitat for Humanity house. When I was in my early twenties and pursuing an undergraduate degree between semesters and during summer breaks I would work construction in order to pay for school. The money was good; the risk of injury great, but it was a process that proved useful during the eventual pursuit of a graduate degree as well. As I am now thirty years of age the then current position I found myself in, on the roof, was due to volunteering instead of the compulsory decision it once had been. The knowledge, skill and ability that youth had allowed made possible the shingling of that Spring Lake Michigan home and brought exultation to a family with great need.

The point is this: That although we are Debt Collectors we are so much more. We are Business Men and Women, we are Athletes and we are Engineers. We are former Military Men and Women and we are Compatriots. We are Travelers the world over and we are Family Men and Women. We are Mothers and Fathers, we are Sons and we are Daughters. We are Community Leaders and yes we are Habitat for Humanity Volunteers.

We have done several projects in Michigan and Massachusetts and this year was our second year at Proud Lake Recreation Area near our Michigan office. And I must say, one of the more aggressive projects we have taken on.

Aside from building over 30 picnic tables, we repaired a boardwalk on the property, landscaped the entrance to the park, planted a few items and spread some bark mulch to neaten things up a little. We worked so hard that we ended up with a couple minor injuries but nothing we couldn’t handle…Everyone is fine and all completed the day of volunteering with great enthusiasm. All in a day’s work…

We applaud PLANET for their efforts in spearheading this initiative across the country and we especially thank our team for the hard work they put in this year and every year since we’ve been doing this. We are already looking forward to next year.

Catch a glimpse of our efforts in the video we put together below;

Click here to view the embedded video.

As a collection agency that prides itself on getting in the game early as a way of showing success on collecting on overdue accounts, we strongly suggest that when getting all your documents ready for your CPA or bookkeeper, you take time to set those accounts aside that have not paid yet and get the ball rolling on collecting on them; even if they are old.

Our first piece of advice is doing something with your accounts. If those late or non-paying accounts are not yet in some type of collection activity, it’s time to take action. By cleaning up your books at this time of year, it should be evident who owes you money. If you still don’t know, your books might be in worse shape than you thought…

And if you’re asking, can I write off accounts and still send them to a collection agency? The answer is yes. Just be sure to check with your CPA on how best to handle this on your books.

This is also a great time to get a process in place so that you are not looking at a years’ worth of old accounts every year at this time. Chasing down a bill that is a year old or more is a much more difficult process than getting a handle on it at day 30 or 60. Going in early just might save you a customer.

One mistake that many businesses also make is not initiating collection activity on small balances. And when it gets to the end of the year, they just write them off and move on.

We had a small IT company recently that signed on with us to help them with their receivables. They went through their books and found several small accounts that had been long overdue. And while many were well over a year, they are getting paid now. It might be simple but something is better than nothing.

In short, get those late accounts in a system and start getting paid. And, don’t wait until April each year to go through your late receivables. Look at them on a regular basis.

We have even more advice on the video below; Check it out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This time I was asked by the ACA International to appear on Fox News but this time on their national show to go over the basics on the common question; what do I do when a collection agency calls?

In this case, the reporter got a call from another agency about a bill that in fact, he knew he did not owe. Can this happen? Yes. It prompted him to call the ACA to talk about his displeasure with the call he received.  The ACA worked with him and we were able to convince him to want to do a segment and educate his viewers on how to handle such an instance.

One of our first tips we tell consumers is to validate the debt. And as we say, if you know you owe the debt that is validation in itself. If you do not owe the debt or you have questions, ask the collection agency to send you back up documentation.

Always communicate: ignoring communication from a collection agency is not a good idea for a few reasons. First, if you do not owe the debt, picking up the phone and saying so can sometimes stop that collection activity. If you do owe the debt, most collection agencies will work with a consumer to work out a payment plan.

My full interview with Fox News is below and it has even more tips for consumers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The short answer is yes. There is no harm in continuing collection efforts on accounts you have already written off. If you do end up getting paid on those accounts, then you’ll need to check in with your CPA or tax attorney on how you handle that on your books.

The reverse is also true; if a collection agency is already working accounts and then you decide to write them off, collection agencies can still continue to work those accounts. Again, if you end up collecting on those, you’ll need to consult with your bookkeeper or CPA on how to adjust your books properly.

While you may certainly have accounts that go unpaid that spill into a new calendar year, one of the best ways to minimize this happening is to keep up on your late receivables. Staying on top of your late and non-paying clients and having a system in place for those accounts year round will save you a lot of aggravation at tax time, wondering what to do with all these accounts that have gone unpaid.

It really makes no sense leaving all your unpaid accounts until you close your books at the end of the year. A business should be tracking receivables every month and acting accordingly on a regular basis; not just once a year.

Another edition of Ask APR is below. Check out the video with even more advice on this topic.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I took my friend’s 12 year old daughter who loves sports and has never been to a Tigers game or an opening day game.  The seats were excellent and we got to see some pretty good plays made up close in right field.  Though the game started off pretty slow, getting some people on base but not being able to get a run (for either side), the last three innings were nail biters.  It was  the best opening day we’ve had in quite awhile weather-wise as well.

I personally haven’t been to opening day in about 5 years so I was really excited for that, as well as the debut of Prince Fielder who didn’t disappoint.  The legacy has returned to Detroit!

So thank you very much, you made this old Tigers fan and a young girl very happy!

The link to the full article is below but a few points we talk about in the piece include the fact that a bank is a business and they do not want to lose customers either. Securing new customers, regardless of the type of business is far more expensive than keeping a customer. So we have to do what we can to keep those customers.  In collections, that means not waiting to collect on overdue fees. The sooner you notify a customer that they are past due, the easier it will be to get them up to date. Resolving matters quickly usually keeps a customer.

We also talk about using a third party collection agency sooner in the process. If that company uses a flat fee collections system like we do, then it’s quite frankly a no brainer. It saves a bank money and resources that can be used to further the banking experience. You can also use a flat fee sooner which is far more effective than waiting because of the reduced cost associated with this type of service. More tips can be found in the article.

The full article is below.

http://www.americanprofit.net/images/RecentArticles/2335dn%20MFP_20120209_11544099_1.jpg