Hi everyone! So I was running a training session today for a team of accounts staff and I asked each of them to think creatively and write down 3 unconventional debt collection techniques that could work. Unsurprisingly, the use of baseball bats figured very prominently and we all had a laugh at some of their very interesting suggestions. They asked me what my top 3 was. And I said, I didn’t need 3, I only needed 1. And that 1 is: offer to HELP your customer. Guys, I simply cannot stress how important this is in order to get yourself paid. Help comes in all shapes and sizes, forms and formats, and can be as simple as looking up a phone number for them on Google. My go to to help business debtors I am chasing is to offer some free advice on how they can recover their own debts, and I always, ALWAYS offer to collect them, but only once they have paid. Before writing this post I thought to myself “what is one thing we all have that could help our business debtors” and it came to me- our Facebook friends. Try this and I will be shocked if it doesn’t get you paid: “Tell you what I will do for you- if you can pay this account today for me, I will post a recommendation for your business to my Facebook friends- free advertising that could generate you ten times what you owe me”. Now I can already see the heads shaking and you thinking “this guy is nuts” but trust me everyone- this stuff works. I know there is no one as undeserving of your help than the person who you are chasing for money, but if you want to get paid, you must think unconventional. Cheers!
How to help your customer to help you