Top tips for making a debt collection call

When it comes to debt collection, there are a variety of ways that you can try to recover the money that is owed to you. Some companies will contact the debtor via email, some by recorded post and some many decide to contact by telephone.

There is no right or wrong answer, it really is a case of finding a method that works best for you.

Some companies decide to try out a telephone call in order to chase unpaid debts. But how do you go about making this difficult call?

Introduce yourself

The thing with making a phone call in order to chase debt is that it can feel a little awkward when making that initial contact. You may be concerned that you will be met with hostility, or that you may not even be spoken to you at all. The thing to remember is that you need to remain positive and polite when speaking to the debtor and never make any assumptions about why the payment is late.

Find out why the payment is late

Of course, the main reason of the phone call is to ensure that the money is owed to you is paid back, but this shouldn’t be your only focus. Else you could end up losing sight of your customer. Try to speak to them and find out why the payment is late, let them explain their reasons and simply listen to them.

Expect the unexpected

You may think that a debt hasn’t been paid because they do not intend to pay at all. However, you may find that the late payment is simply because there has been a miscommunication, and in actual fact they are able to make the payment there and then.

Always make a plan

When speaking to a business that owes money, it is important that you never hang up the phone without having set out some kind of plan and making sure that they are aware of the next steps. You need to verbally summarise this so that each party understands what is going to happen if the payment isn’t made.

Put it in writing

If you feel that it is necessary, then it may be a good idea to put the conversation that you have had on the telephone in writing. Chances are, if you have their phone number then you will have their address or their email address. So, utilise this and pop everything that you have said in writing. That way there really cannot be any misunderstanding.

Not getting anywhere with your telephone contact? Need a little help to recover your business debt? If this is true for you then perhaps it is time to get in touch with the experts in debt collection, Cobra Collections.

Here at Cobra Collections we will use a variety of different methods to ensure that any money you are owed is paid back to you. All with minimal disruption to the operation and cashflow of your business.