Free monthly tips on collection techniques!

Signing up is easy and you can stop anytime.

We don't share your e-mail information with anyone. Period.

Tim's Tip for December - 2009

'Tis the Season

It’s mid December and much of the world has its attention on the holiday season. This includes China. I wrote most of this month’s tip while sitting at the Shamrock Café at the airport in Beijing.

(Hostess at Lucky Shamrock Cafe.)

Some of us are focused on our own holiday plans. Often of course, we have to work around those of our customers/debtors and suppliers. It’s a big world out there and many of my friends and clients live and work in countries that do not celebrate Christmas, but most of
the following suggestions will fit for Diwali, Eid ul-Adha, Chinese New Year or even Festivus’.

1. It’s been a tough year for some of our customers. We don’t have much time to make a difference, so you’ll have to be quick over the next few days (that’s half the fun).

Identify one to five of your customers who have had a particularly difficult year and put together a special basket or box for them and have it delivered. What’s in your “special Christmas package”?

Depends on your customer. Maybe directed to Accounts Payable it contains special Christmas cookies, gift certificates to Tim Horton’s or Starbucks, a few self-help books on getting thru tough times – make it useful and fun.

And most importantly – make it anonymous. Your customers are going to know that ‘somebody’ out there cares about them and you’ll have a good feeling to carry around with you for the next few weeks or longer.

This is more of a challenge with consumer accounts, but it can work there too. A Sherriff’s office in England identifies several debtors in dire straits each year and then arranges a practical gift, perhaps a washing machine. (They won’t pay the debt for them and they arrange the title of the unit so that it can’t be seized to settle other debts.)

2. Maybe you have enough financial pressures on your own and want to say ‘the heck with Christmas’. O.K., but rather than just ‘carry on’ as usual, call your customers earlier rather than later. Let them know you wanted to get this financial business out of the way and
then everyone can relax and enjoy the holidays.

3. Shut down – It can be hard to get in touch with a lot of people anyway so it may be a good plan to shut down collections for a few days or even a week. Have folks catch up on any holidays or overtime owed or work on needed but neglected tasks. .

4. “But, it’s Christmas!”…or…”Don’t you feel it’s better to give than to receive?”

Be ready for the seasonal excuses you know you’re going to hear now (and for some weeks after.) Plan and practice our response now – a good scout will be prepared.

5. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, is the title of the song written in 1963 and perhaps it’s most well known version was sung by Andy Williams.

If you have customers who are difficult to reach or you have been unable to locate…lucky you! This is the very best time of the year for skip tracing and making contact. People get back in touch with neighbors, former employers…and the employers before them.

Best wishes of the Season to you all!

Pithy quote of the month:
"God bless us every one!"
….Tiny Tim, as quoted by Charles Dickens

Holidays over soon enough? Toronto collection seminar coming up on February 18th. Mark it in your calendar or send email to tim@trpaulsen.com – there’s more information to come.   

Upcoming seminars:

• Toronto - February 18, 2009

Serious about collections? Check out The PACE Program.

Are these tips Worthwhile?

Here is what Dennis Gaulin had to say from when he was National Credit Manager for Black & Decker:

"Tim, in your last months Tip, You discussed focusing on collections, in relationship to the Berlin Blitz? I read the tip to my collection staff  at the beginning of the Credit Departments monthly meeting and  encouraged them to follow your direction.

Well, the cash flowed so well, now I am happily being accused of being incompetent at cash flow forecasting! Thanks for the tip, "overcollections" at a quarter point in a publicly traded company is most welcome. I am taking the staff out to dinner....and sending you this note of thanks."