01/07/2015
The Art of Negotiations
The days of the strong arm collector has long past, making it extremely important that your phone collectors have mastered the art of negotiations. After years as a trainer in the collections field, I have come to the conclusion that most in-house first party collection processes tend to overlook this extremely important skill set in their hiring process. Many consider the collector or accounts receivable coordinator as nothing more than the organizations clerk in charge of getting the money, when they are so much more.
Your collections team is an extension of your sales department and most importantly relationship builders. It takes a special skill set to connect the three objectives (relationship building, sales, and collections) in that order. It also requires preparation and dedication to closing each call on a positive note. I teach collectors to concentrate not on the volume of calls made daily but the quality of calls. Each opportunity the collector has to touch a client is as valuable if not more so than the relationship between the client and sales, distribution, and at times the product or service itself. Let's face it, unless you are selling a product that only you can sale your client can easily go to another vendor. Building long-term relationships from within is crucial to the overall success of your business and who else touches your problem customers more than your collections team.
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