Commitment & meticulous follow-up is important.
Do you make empty threats?
How often do you find yourself telling your clients, “This is your final warning” or something similar? I’m willing to wager it’s a common occurrence, especially when future sales are at stake.
But let’s get back to basics. The most effective way to handle collections is through direct human interaction: a simple phone call to discuss payment, conducted with politeness, sincerity, and brevity. This is your relationship builder.
Commit to following up
When making these calls, it’s crucial to solicit a clear promise or response from the client. Equally important is your commitment to follow up, whether it’s to monitor a payment or schedule a follow-up regarding their inquiries. Consistency is key here. If you say you’ll call on a certain date, you must follow through. Likewise, if a payment isn’t received by the promised date, follow up promptly.
Clients take cues from your actions. If they see that you consistently honour your commitments, they’re more likely to do the same to the best of their ability. Keeping meticulous diary notes, maintaining a regular schedule for reminders and statements, are additional tools that reinforce to your clients that you are reliable and will always follow up as promised.
I am not saying it will happen instantly but it will still happen on most occasions.
That said, there is always an outlier who bucks the system and will dig in. They want to feel that they maintain the upper hand. Then it’s time to regroup and change – either by changing the way you connect on a personal level or by having another member from within the team try to create the relationship.
The role of accounts receivable systems in meticulous follow-ups
Be committed an accounts receivable system you can rely on and use it to follow through on those commitments. By following a transparent interaction process and engaging management in the collection methodology, you’re more likely to have backing when the time comes to more stringent enforcement.
