One of the questions that I am frequently asked is this: When should I place an account for collection? In my opinion, most creditors hang onto delinquent debts far too long before placing a debtor company for collection. There are a variety of reasons that this is true, including hope that the debtor will pull [...]
In a previous blog post, I suggested using salespeople in the debt collection process. More specifically, I said that salespeople could use their close working relationships with customers to convince them to more quickly retire past due balances. The feedback that I received was not entirely favorable. Several people suggested that it was never a [...]
As a consultant, I often find that clients had assigned their most experienced collectors or their best collectors to their largest customer accounts. There is a widely-held theory was that the larger the customer account and balance due, the more experienced the collector should be. In my opinion, regardless of the size of the credit [...]
I attended a seminar recently. One attendee suggested that export sales are often more trouble than they are worth. She expressed frustration about the difficulties evaluating credit risk including the problems getting trade references and bank references, as well as the challenges often associated with collecting past due balances. In my opinion, the opportunities that [...]
In a previous Blog, I said that I thought it was essential to require some privately held customers to provide financial statement updates at least once a year. Since then, I have received several calls suggesting that requesting this information from customers would upset the apple cart. I disagree. I believe the bigger risk to [...]
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