10 Step Collection Call

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10 Step Collection Call

• Commercial Accounts

Prepared by NACM Gateway Region
Jan. 07
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Step 1 Research

• Before you make the1st call, these are the
  things you need to know
• Know who you need to contact-name and department
• Know the product/service that was provided
• Read the credit agreement, personal guarantee,
  and terms of contract
• Know the balance on the account
• Know what portion of the balance is past due, and
  by how many days
• Determine if you want to keep this customer
• Start a file to keep copies of letters and
  document your attempts to collect this debt

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Step 2 Make the Call

• Your call should be made between 8 a.m. and 9
  p.m. in the time zone you are calling (consumer
  guideline).
• Identify yourself, and then your company
• Make an effort to address the person answering
  the call by the name they provide (and note the
  file for future reference)
• Ask for the person or department you are trying
  to reach

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Step 3 Make Contact

• Once you reach your contact, make sure to be
  respectful and professional.
• Identify yourself and your company again
• Ask the person if this is a good time to reach
  them, and if it is not, when a better time would
  be to call
• People can often be busy- if you sense you have
  reached them at a bad time, try to establish a
  more convenient time to discuss the account.

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Step 4 Identify the Problem

• State your reason for calling
• Reference an invoice number or account number
• Reference date and product
• Identify days and balance past due

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Sample Call

• Hi John, my name is Debbie. I am calling from
  ABC Company. John, do you have a few minutes to
  talk about the widgets you received on December
  31st?
• Invoice 999 for 1,000 widgets was delivered on
  December 31st. I am showing a past due balance of
  1,500.00 since January 15th.

continue to Step 5
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Step 5 Listen

• Give your contact the opportunity to respond to
  all of the information you have just given.
• Dont interrupt!
• Take detailed notes

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Step 6 Ask the Right Questions

• Understand the problems and get more
  information.
• Invoice never received- verify contact
  information
• Dispute-explain company policy for filing
  disputes
• Cash flow problems

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Step 7 Ask for the Money

• Invoice was never received, update your
  information, offer to take payment over the
  phone.
• Dispute- determine undisputed portion and explain
  how to handle a dispute
• Cash flow problem- find out what problem is and
  how long the problem is anticipated

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Step 8 Come to an Agreement

• Be fair, but firm. Remember the customer
  understood the terms before the sale was made.
• Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!
• Dollar amount, days to make payment and the
  method of payment

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Step 9 Confirm Agreement

• Repeat all terms back to the customer
• Verify contact information of customer
• Make customer verbally agree to all terms
• Send the customer a letter confirming your
  agreement

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Step 10 Close the Call

• Thank the customer for their time
• Give the customer your contact information

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Collectability By Age of Account
Time Frame Collectability Percentage
Due Date 94.9
30 Days 89.9
60 Days 81.3
90 Days 69.6
6 Months 52.1
9 Months 39.1
One Year 22.8
Two Years 9.3