Page 30 - 2018SpringSpectrum

Guest Column

Getting Collectors Involved In The

Big Picture

So, you have a collection team involved in the process of Money, Money, Money
representing your company, recovering doubtful accounts, Yes, it’s all about collections of funds, on a daily, weekly
diffusing complaints, managing insolvencies, and more. or monthly basis – but what do the balances mean? If the
Credit and collections touches on brand reputation, client company wrote off $1 million dollars last year, and it was
support, accounting and finance, sales, and more – but a 4% bad debt writeoff, then if the collection department
how much are you sharing with the team on the ground recovers $250,000, that’s a big deal. Breaking that down,
that impacts all of these aspects of your company, or your $20,000 a month will have a huge impact on the company’s
clients in the case of a collection agency? year end financials.

Good collectors don’t take things personally, when From the collection agency standpoint, liquidation is key
consumers get upset or accounts do not pay – they have – if that $1 million dollars above is assigned to the agency,
to look at the big picture for monthly revenue goals, files $250,000 recovered by the agency is a 25% liquidation rate.
to get through on a daily basis, or performance metrics the That’s what the agency will want to showcase to the client,
manger or client might give them, so why not involve them and that’s what the agent needs to be aware of. If an agent
in showing how they impact the company as a whole? collects on a $10,000 account, that means overall, they’ve
increased life-to-date liquidation for that client by 1%,
which is a great step in the right direction. (con't on pg 34)

30 www.cambridgechamber.com
Spring 2018