There is no shortage of ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way business is done around the world in 2020, and that is definitely true for anyone operating in the collections industry.
Like most businesses around the globe, collections agents have had to change the way they go about their jobs, and the ones that have adapted best to this new normal are going to be the same ones that come out the other side of the pandemic on solid footing.
No matter how your collection efforts have fared throughout the past year, there is a lot that we can all learn from businesses that are finding success operating under these new circumstances. Let’s break down some of the things top agents are doing to get the job done.
Understanding the Situation
The first thing that all debt collection agents need to understand is that there is an incredible amount of uncertainty across the entire country right now. With the careers and futures of so many people in question, now is not the optimal time to pressure anyone into paying down a large debt obligation.
With that in mind, many successful agents have pivoted to keeping debtors current in the hopes that they will eventually be able to feel comfortable enough to pay off their balances in full.
Wheeling and Dealing
If you are dealing with consumers that are current, being willing to offer some type of benefit or discount for making extra payments is a fantastic idea to move your concern to the top of their list of obligations at this time.
How much you are willing to give up to incentivize increased payments is completely up to you, but any effort to encourage extra payments during a pandemic is likely going to result in a positive contribution to your bottom line.
Electronic Communication
With technology like Zoom taking over our lives this year, more and more people are becoming comfortable with electronic communication. Using tools like this to reach and discuss options with debtors can be a great way to separate yourself from agents that aren’t doing as much.
Of course, there are plenty of rules and regulations that will apply here, so you definitely want to make sure that you read and understand those before putting any type of plan into action.
Skillful Phone Tactics
While electronic communication is certainly growing, there is still plenty of money to be made by contacting debtors over the phone.
As we already know, the most skilled phone operators are going to have the most success here, so this is a great time to go back and review some of our previously published articles detailing how to be more successful making collection calls.
Keep Detailed Records
In addition to skillful phone operators seeing even better results during the pandemic, we are also seeing the most organized collection agents with the best-kept records having more success than their less-put-together counterparts.
Take some time to review your record-keeping system and evaluate the potential for improvements. You will be surprised how much better you can get if you put your mind to it this winter, and those results will continue to pay dividends long after this pandemic is over.
Online Payment Portals
No matter what type of purchase or expense we are talking about, consumers have made a huge transition towards paying for things online over the past year.
Make sure that your collection agency has an easy-to-understand payment portal set up on your website so that anyone you are working with can get their payment through as easily as possible.
There is no denying that this is a difficult time to be attempting to collect anything from anyone, but there are some commercial debt collection agents that are struggling more than others. In order to make sure that you aren’t one of them, put some of these tips into practice as soon as possible so that you can emerge from these difficult times in a stronger position ready to take on the world.
