The modern collection call

3/8/2014

The Modern Collection Call - All Rights Reserved steve@modernassetmanagement.com

THE MODERN
COLLECTION CALL
Steve Hodgdon
Modern Asset Management
Steve@ModernAssetManagement.co
m
415-596-2415

3/8/2014


Why Listen to This Webinar
Become happier and more effective in your
communications with customers and in every
day life.
2. Learn tools for successful collections and
keep customers happy at the same time
1.

3. Take some stress out of your job
4. Collect more $$

3/8/2014


Why Listen at all?
• To learn

• To connect and relate to another
• Because we have 2 ears and only 1 mouth
• To get what we want
• Because reading a joke is never as funny as hearing one

3/8/2014


The Modern Collection Call


3/8/2014

What kind of Collector are
You?
Old School

New School

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Required Compliance Statement
• Your company requires all team members to obey all laws
•
•
•

•
•

and regulations.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Truth in Lending Act
State collection, privacy and deceptive practices laws
And 100 others
• If you think you’re breaking the law you probably

are!

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Attributes of a Good Collector
• Brave, unafraid of

conflict
• Wants to WIN
• Great communicator
• Hard working
• Strong sense of right
and wrong
• Great detective

• Good attention to

detail
• Genuinely likes
people
• Knows a lie when she
hears it
• No nonsense
• Takes themselves
seriously
• Privacy is important.

We don’t want to
create gossip, harm
or open ourselves

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Step One –
Make sure you are talking to the
customer
• Hello? – Mary? – Yes? – Mary Smith? – Yes?

–

• Verify information to confirm and update.

Things change!
• Set the tone – friendly and professional
• .

3/8/2014


Hello Ms. Smith.
My name is Chuck Stevens from ABC
Financial calling on a recorded line. I am
calling about your past due loan.

Before I go on, can you please verify that
your address is 123 Main St? Yes, good.
Thank you.
Your work phone number is 555-555-1212?
Yes? Thank you.
Your social security number ends in 1234?
Yes, Thank you.

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Step Two –
Identify yourself AGAIN and restate
purpose of call
• Continue building your professional tone
• Refer to customer by Mr. or Ms. to show respect
• We are not friends, this is business
• Ms. Smith, my name is Chuck Stevens from ABC

Financial and this is a collection call about your
account with (mini miranda)…
• No “how are you?”, “isn’t it a beautiful day” Stick
to business here. You will warm up later.


3/8/2014

Step Three –
Demand Payment In Full
• Ms. Smith, the balance due to $352.50. It’s been

overdue since October 1st. Are you ready to pay
this today?
• Be urgent in tone. Make a firm demand. Don’t

offer anything else yet.

Then…


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Step Four –
Psychological Pause
DON’T SAY AN YTH IN G UNTIL THE CUSTOMER TALKS.

Be Patient…

10…

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9

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8

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7

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6

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5

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4

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3

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2


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1

1/2

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1

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0

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Uncomfortable?
• 10 seconds is FOREVER!
• Don’t worry. It hardly ever lasts that

long!
• Gives the customer a chance to catch up to

you
• Time to get his story straight
• Time to think of a stall that you’ll

3/8/2014


Step Five –
LISTEN! Identify objections
• Closed and open ended questions are

your tools, not threats or abuse.
• Probe for agreement that the Customer

accepts responsibility, even if he can’t
pay today.

3/8/2014

Now The
Secret Sauce!
•
•
•

•
•
•

Changes the
game.
Changes your
view
Takes the
customer off
defense
Opens the door to
solutions
Makes your job
easier
80% effective


3/8/2014


WHAT HAPPENED?
• WHAT HAPPENED? THIS IS THE CRITICAL QUESTION.
• ALLOW THE CUSTOMER TO TELL YOU WHAT UNFORESEEN
PROBLEM, WHATEVER REASON THEY HAD TO NOT PAY.

TRULY HEAR THEM, WHETHER YOU BELIEVE THE EXCUSE OR
NOT, WHETHER IT’S VALID TO YOU OR JUST A STALL.
• “OH, SO YOU DIDN’T PAY BECAUSE THE CAR BROKE DOWN
AND YOU COULDN’T GET TO WORK. IS THE CAR FIXED? (OR
WHATEVER THE REASON FOR NOT PAYING WAS)”.
• IF THEY TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED, THEN THEY’RE HALF
WAY TO PAYING.

3/8/2014


CAN YOU REALLY CONNECT?
• Take a moment to let them know you actually

heard them.
“Oh, that must be difficult”
“That’s a lot to shoulder all at once”
“It sounds like it was temporary, that’s
good”
• This one action separates you from all the other
collectors/landlords/utilities that they owe
money.
• We ALL owe somebody something. Don’t judge.
Relate to the customer as a person and it’s
likely they will do the same. Then you can

3/8/2014


Going from Us versus Them to
WE
• Did we help you by lending you this money? What

did you use it for? (overcomes the objection
that the loan wasn’t of value to them)
• Would you have paid this back on time if you
could have? (who would say no?)
• Are you still working at XXX? (Closed end
question shows that you’re serious)
• Do you think of yourself as an honest person? (A
challenge for them to state their values)

3/8/2014

Step Six –


Problem solve and Find a WIN/WIN
solution

• You promised to pay this when you

borrowed the money/went to the
hospital… Do you remember that?
• Do you have a solution?
• How do you want to fix this?
• Can we deposit your payment today? No?
When will your check clear?
• How can we keep you in good standing
with client?
• Why isn’t this important to you?

3/8/2014


Step Seven “Always Be Closing”. Get Buy in.
Don’t give up! Ask at least 3 times in the call
for what you want.
• No to payment in full today?
• No to payment today?
• No to payment plan?
• Back to the beginning. We must have missed

something!

3/8/2014


Suggested Responses
• The cat, dog, uncle died.
• Oh, that must have been hard. But, I don’t understand how
that connects to your agreement to pay this back?
• Straight Refusal
• No? You won’t pay? Now hang on a minute! Didn’t you
say…” (repeat back when they accepted responsibility)

• No Money
• That must be tough. You understood the terms when you
borrowed the money, right? I want to help you avoid
more interest. What CAN you do?
• Next payday
• What happened to this paycheck? Why will it be
different in 2 weeks? How about an ACH for $xx.xx today
and we will (offer incentive).

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When the answer is still “NO”
• Then it’s reasonable to be firm and direct. “Mr.

Harris, you signed a contract, you agreed that
you owe this money, You said you want to do
the right thing and be responsible and honest.
We need to come to agreement that satisfies us
both. We will use all the legal means at our
disposal to recover the money Client lent you.
Let’s work together rather than be enemies.
It’s just going to go away.”
• Your company employs tools to recover bad
accounts. These may include small claims,
collection attorneys, or selling accounts.
What can you HONESTLY say?
• Sometimes mystery is best. “I don’t know how

3/8/2014


What works for you?
• You are a professional bill collector.
• You know what life issues your customers have.
• What works?
• How quickly do you know there’s no hope?
• How do you keep good will and still generate revenue?

• Share ideas at --• “questions@modernassetmanagement.com”
• Oh, how to tell if you might be breaking a law?
• The Giggle Test…

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Getting on the Same Page
• When you have an agreement; partial payments or

PIF, ask the customer to repeat back the
agreement. “I want to make sure my notes are
accurate…”
• It’s important to hear the customer say AGAIN what

they’re agreeing to. Most people are honest and
want to do the right thing. Our job is to reinforce
that they’re doing the right thing.
• Restate the terms back to them. “Great, Mrs. Smith!
You have been very nice to work with. If it’s OK,
we’ll just send a reminder message/text/letter
just before your next payment. You have my direct
number is ANYTHING comes up. I’m here to help.”

3/8/2014


Company specific policies
• Specific training to your policies is inserted here.

Examples:
• ACH only
• Special settlement offers
• Debt Settlement
• Payments on company website
• Client special handling
• Minimum payment terms

3/8/2014


Step Eight –
Document the call
• “If its not in the notes, it didn’t

happen”
• Protect you, the company,

yourself, and the customer. Take
accurate notes that the next
person will understand.

3/8/2014


Wrap Up
• Did you learn anything?

• Try it! You might like it!
• Don’t forget all the rules. You’re a professional. You know

where the “line” is.
• Be a problem solver
• Enjoy your work.

• Contact Steve@ModernAssetManagement.com

The modern collection call

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