How to plan and control collection telephone calls
The collection telephone call comes in three phases. Phase One is "Statement." Definition: "The Statement phase is what the Collector says to the debtor." This phase comes in five simple steps: (1) Identify the debtor, (2) Identify yourself, (3) Ask for payment in full today, (4) Solve the problem, when you can't get a payment in full today, (5) Follow up... on time.
Phase Two: Response. Definition: "Response is what the debtor says back to the Collector, the reason why s/he can't pay in full today." Examples: On consumer collecting... "I am unemployed." On commercial collecting... "Our customers aren't paying us." And many et ceteras.
Phase Three: Rebuttal. Definition: "Rebuttal is what the Collector says back to the debtor, to circumvent the Response." The payment proposals you'll make here will come to you when you extract sufficient data on which to base them. Extract the data with questions beginning with any combination of the words "Who-What-Where-When-Why-How." Such questions cannot be answered yes or no. Any answer obtained will extract data.
When you have enough data, make your payment proposals... simple declarative sentences. The words will be there.
All Collectors are different. Ask your Collectors to experiment with the Statement-Response-Rebuttal approach, then to modify it... to use this approach as a base for collecting in ways indigenous to that individual personality.
Your cash-flow record will improve.
