“Personal” Collectors is a Key Technique to Successful Debt Collection

by Karen
(Pittsburgh, PA, USA)

I have been in the banking/finance arena for some time now. My last venture was reviewing delinquent loans for investing purposes. During my review, I was instructed to view past collection calls to obtain information on why the account was past due. While doing several (100’s) of these, I realized that some techniques worked better than others.

One I found most intriguing was having the “same” collector call the delinquent account holder on all occasions. I saw a rapport being built, and the customer becoming more and more comfortable explaining the situation as to why the account was delinquent. A lot of the banter back and forth was cordial and friendly, yet important information was being relayed.

By getting to know the person on the other end of the phone, the end result was a more honest reaction from the customer.

With a relationship now built, the customer then seemed more apt to make arrangements for payment. On the flip side, the collector also had an insight as to the monetary situation the customer was in, to make a fair and reasonable campaign for repayment. To me it seemed to be a win-win situation.