Let's talk about common mistakes prospective clients make when choosing a collection agency.
Since we are a collection agency, and we are talking about collection debt, let's talk about money right up front.
1... PRICE! The first mistake we see is making your decision based solely on price. We really strive to give an extremely fair and equitable price to our clients. That doesn't mean we are going to be the cheapest if simply look at price on the surface. But when you look at the results we get then the math works out REALLY WELL because we get you a higher net result. We actually collect more and put more money into your pocket. Hire someone for performance. You won't find a Gucci bag at Walmart so don't expect to get the best results from the cheapest agency.
But don't just take my word for it. Check out some of our reviews and ask to see some of our references and current clients. You'll be able to ask some of the important questions that you may not feel comfortable asking our representative.
The five factors we base pricing on are: 1. The age of the account. 2. The average size of the account. 3. The average annual volume sent to us. 4. The amount of demographics listed with the account. 5. Does the client have the ability to list the accounts electronically?
2... CHOOSING ONE SIZE FITS ALL. We have the ability to customize programs to fit your specific needs. There's all different types of businesses out there and the collection process can vary. A good example is an oncology clinic, a cancer clinic. Their patients are handled considerably different than say for instance, a contractor that did a bunch of work for someone and there's materials and labor involved that they were not paid for. So we can customize programs to fit whatever your needs are.
We as a collection agency are really just an extension of the client that we're working for. And so we try to protect the client's reputation or have that in the foremost of our minds. Nebraska is a pretty small place and you may see your customers or patients out and about in town. And the last thing we would want is for you to run into them at the bank or grocery store and have and uncomfortable encounter. So we put a lot of energy into our collection methodology for our clients so they can maintain that respect and relationships.
The collection methods in which we use, I wouldn't say we're the most aggressive, I would say we are very assertive and we're an accountability partner. A lot of our clients are ancillary. So it just takes a simple explanation to get the account collected. A lot of times explaining to people that are overwhelmed or get inundated with a bunch of the different bills of what those are. So they understand those.
3... INDUSTRY SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE. One of the other things that you want to look at when choosing a collection agency is their knowledge of individual industries. So for instance, if they give you all these nice neat reports, but they don't know the intricacies of your business, so they don't know the needs of your customers, and they may not get the best results for you. Remembers, we are an extension of your business so we have to know your business.
I can tell you by talking with a consumer, trying to collect a past due debt, that if they know we can speak their language about what the interaction was, they trust us more. And then we can help them get to a resolution and get the account paid for the you.
And things change all the time. There is no college curriculum that can teach you collections. It's an ongoing, ever evolving, changing business that we have to learn and be able to it act quickly to protect you as the client.
4... UNDERPERFORMANCE. Another mistake we see with clients and collection agencies is that sometimes they'll stay with an underperforming agency just because they think it's too difficult to switch. We've switched multiple clients that have had that reservation and they are surprised how easy it is. We help you through that process so that you can easily move from the underperforming collections agency.
We can even help you with your client intake process as well, to help you gather more information on the front end. So you collect more prior to coming to collections. But when it comes to collections, all the information is at our fingertips making our job easier to collect more money for the you. And we'll do that at no charge as part of the consultation.
If you would like a consultation to see how our collection agency can help your business, please give us a call and we'd be happy to meet with you and show you how we can collect your past debts with integrity. We can also show you how we are one of the industry leaders and have some of the best numbers available.
Call 402-817-3929