How To Write Commercial Collections Letters
It is sometimes valuable to bring the sales manager into this step of the collection process. Information concerning the delinquency can often be obtained from the sales department.
Tips for Commercial Collection Letters:
When writing commercial collection letters, these points should be considered:
Include all basic information.
The commercial collections letter should state how and when you expect payment. It should suggest why the account should be paid in full. It should motivate the debtor to actually do thisnow.
Use an effective style of writing.
Most commercial collections letters are written to appeal to the writer and not necessarily to the delinquent customer. Appeal to the debtor.
Use the “you” approach.
Too many commercial collection letters emphasize “we.” Avoid such phrases as “we insist,” “we remind” and “we want.” It is much better to put the customer into the letter, saying such things as “you will appreciate” and “it is to your advantage.” Remember that the debtor is not interested in your best interest, but in their own.
Don’t say, “We will not write again.”
This assures the debtor of their success in evading payment, and a phrase such as “to keep your good credit rating” may be impractical in a situation that has reached a certain stage of commercial collection.
Use motivating factors.
If a customer has not paid, there is a reason for it. Although a letter cannot discover the reason, it can give the customer a way in which they will benefit. For example, by paying now, they may continue to enjoy “open account” terms, or your credit rating won’t be damaged.
Appeal to pride, honesty and security.
As a last resort, appeal to anxiety. These are factors that can be used to bring prompt payments.
Address the letter to an individual.
Direct it to the person who is authorized to initiate payments. Keep the letter short. Be as brief as possible, and cover only the most important points.
Get free information and advice on commercial collections.
Career Options For The Ambitious Nurse Entrepreneur
Nurses are taking control of their careers by exploring options other than the traditional roles of yester-year. Independent RN Contractors are storming the healthcare field. There was a time when nurses were hesitant about cutting the ties from the employer not true today. More and more nurses are now enjoying the many benefits of self-employment. Nurse Contractors are now a large part of the nursing industry thanks to the ambitious nurse entrepreneurs. Nurses have realized the many advantages of cutting the middleman out of nursing.
An Independent Nurse Contractor is one who practices outside the customary role of an employee of another; as an alternative they elect to work as an independent contractor. You will set the terms of your services limited only by need and your ability to negotiate. An Independent contractor can contract his or her nursing services directly with a healthcare facility or with a patient and continue bedside practice. A contractual agreement is drawn up between you and the institution. You will be able to negotiate your compensation, hours worked and length of time your services will be needed. The contract is similar to those used by nursing agencies and travel companies outlining the services to be provided, the responsibilities of both the healthcare facility and the nurse, and the length of time the services are to be provided. Nurses contract their nursing services out to a huge assortment of fields in the Healthcare Industry; Home Health, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Rehab Centers and Doctors Offices just to name a few.
You may elect to practice as Sole Proprietors, Limited Liability Company or with others in a group using a variety of legal entities. These could include public corporations, partnerships, or other structures that professionals commonly use such as a common term “registrars” .It is actually something that nurses have been doing all along. Think about it, when you work for an agency you are doing the same thing except now you are eliminating the middle man and enjoying the all the benefits without them taking a large piece of the pie.
Any nurse can start a business, including two-year graduates and diploma nurses. No advance degrees are necessary unless your business includes diagnosing and treating medical problems. State nurse practice acts do no prohibit a nurse from starting up their own business as an Independent Nurse Contractor. Independent nurse contractor is one who contracts with a healthcare facility for nursing services. A contractual agreement is drawn up between you and the institution. You will be able to negotiate your compensation, hours worked and length of time your services will be needed. There is no prohibition in any Nurse Practice Act that prohibits your practicing as an independent contractor.
The advantages of business ownership are rewarding and challenging and far exceed the risks. No more Bosses, You are now your own chief. Dedication, ambition and long hours can increase your income, rather than increasing profits for someone else. Starting A Nursing Agency and working as an Independent Nurse Contractor is one that more and more nurses are turning to for career fulfillment. Nurses are finding that they can double or even triple their income; increase their choices as to how often when and where to work, gain professional autonomy and increase over all job satisfaction. So get rid of the “middle man” and enjoy all the benefits offered in this exciting Nursing Career Opportunity.
Visit http://www.independentrncontractor.com
get everything needed to start up your business today.
My Name is Tammie Mericle and I have been practicing as a RN for 14 years with the last several years as an Independent Nurse Contractor. I’ve worked in a variety of fields;pediatrics, med-surg., home health, emergency room, critical care. I absolutely love nursing but am not all that crazy about all the pay & politics I worked as a Traveling nurse and then decided to cut out the middleman and am now practicing as an Independent Nurse Contractor working all of my contracts in hospital settings. It has been such a great change but along the way I discovered that many nurse were not that familiar with the process. Many were interested but had no idea where to start. I wrote a Manual: Success As An Independent Nurse Contractor RN Career Opportunity http://www.independentrncontractor.com
Bad Debt Recovery
Bad Debt Identification
Identifying bad debt is not as easy as it sounds. But the earlier it is done, the better are chances of recovering it. Here are some signs of customer behavior that can identify bad debt early:
Customer fails to pay as per the agreed payment terms.
Customer makes repeated unrealistic complaints about the product or service quality whenever asked about the payment.
Customer continuously asks for more time to pay debts.
Customer’s contact person is not traceable whenever you call for debt collection.
Your phone calls and/or letters are not answered.
Apart from these, you also have to keep an eye on customers who constantly pay late. Ongoing communication between the sales and finance departments can go long way in preventing bad debts.
Keeping track of market sources such as magazines, other customers, and suppliers will also help you identify customers who are not in healthy financial condition and help you recover your dues from them at the early stage.
Bad Debt Recovery
Once you identify the bad debt, the first step is to make attempts yourself to recover it in-house. This way you can maintain a relationship with the defaulting clients. It also helps you create documentation and evidence to show that you have made enough attempts to recover the dues. If the collection staff has knowledge of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and experience in debt collection, some of the debt can be recovered easily.
But an in-house staff is not always sufficient. If the defaulting customer doesn’t pay any attention to your repeated efforts, it is advisable to refer the case to a professional collection agency. These collection agencies are often well equipped to trace and deal with delinquent customers and bad debt recovery. But you need to make sure that the collection agency you are working with meticulously follows the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and doesn’t step beyond legal boundaries. Remember that the collection agency is representing you, and you don’t want it to get you in trouble with the law.
Also make sure that you give all necessary data to your collection agency on all cases referred to them. It is also important to let them know how important each case is to you so they can apply different techniques to different cases.
Collection Agency Services offers you a wealth of information on how to select the best collection agency for your business.
Stopping Collection Agency Harassment – Your Rights
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was passed in 1977 to protect you from abusive debt collectors. Here are rules a third-party debt collector must follow:
Contacting a debtor. A collector may contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram or fax. However, a debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree. A debt collector also may not contact you at work if the collector knows your employer disapproves of such contacts. Tip: If a debt collector phones you at work, inform your boss that it is disrupting your performance, and have your boss tell the collector to stop calling you at work. Drawback: If your boss learns of your debt problems, it may interfere with your promotional abilities.
Contacting a third party about your debt. If you have an attorney, the debt collector must contact the attorney rather than you. If you don’t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people but only to find out where you live, what your phone number is and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting such third parties more than once. In most cases the collector may not tell anyone other than you and your attorney that you owe money.
Giving written notice. Within five days after you are first contacted, the collector must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money you owe, the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money and what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money. Tip: Once you receive the letter, you may want to attempt a settlement with the creditor or the collection agency. A collections agency is always authorized to take something less than 100 percent, usually 50 to 60 percent. Here are tips on how to proceed:
– Whether you pay in full, negotiate for a percentage of the debt or accept a payment plan, get everything in writing before you give them any money.
– Make them stipulate they will not report anything negative to the credit bureaus regarding the debt. And have your original creditor sign off on the deal. A collection agency could offer to settle a $1,000 credit card bill for just $500. But once they’re paid, the original creditor can still come after you for the other $500.
– If you negotiate a settlement for less than you owe, you could end up paying taxes on the unpaid portion. But if the unpaid amount is less than $600, a collection agency does not have to report it to the IRS. Make this part of your written agreement.
– Always pay with paper checks, not electronic bank drafts by phone or debit cards. It’s to your advantage to have a physical record that you’ve paid, plus you control exactly what you’re paying and when.
– Be sure to get something in writing when the debt is paid. That way, if it does come up on your credit report, you have something to prove it was paid.
When a consumer doesn’t owe the money. A collector may not contact you if within 30 days after you receive the written notice, you send the collection agency a letter stating you do not owe money. However, a collector can renew collection activities if you are sent proof of the debt, such as a copy of a bill for the amount owed.
No harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress or abuse you or any third party they contact. They cannot:
– Threaten violence or harm.
– Use obscene or profane language.
– Repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone.
– Lie.
– Use any false or misleading statements when collecting a debt.
– Falsely imply that they are attorneys or government representatives.
– Falsely imply that you have committed a crime.
– Falsely represent they operate or work for a credit bureau.
– Misrepresent the amount of your debt.
– Give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit bureau.
– Send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency when it is not.
– Use a false name.
Debt collectors may not state that:
– You will be arrested if you do not pay your debt.
– They will seize, garnish, attach or sell your property or wages unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so and it is legal to do so.
– Actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you when such action legally may not be taken or when they do not intend to take such action.
A debt collector may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt from you. They cannot:
– Collect any amount greater than your debt, unless your state law permits such a charge.
– Deposit a postdated check prematurely.
– Use deception to make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams.
– Take or threaten to take your property unless this can be done legally.
Having bad debt collection harassment? Here are some extreme steps you may decide to take:
1: Don’t take the calls. You can hang up, screen calls or stop them from calling entirely with what’s known as a “cease and desist letter.” If you send a “cease and desist,” include your name, address and account number, and tell the company “do not contact me further about this debt.” Send the letter certified so that you have proof the company received it. But this move doesn’t cancel your debt. The original creditor or the collection agency may decide to sue, or the creditor can simply hire another third-party collector.
2: Keep a diary. If you do take the calls, write everything down: dates, times, names and what is said. If it’s legal in your state, tape the exchange. And if you tell them you’re taping the call; whether you are or not, they’ll be more likely to behave.
3: Negotiate to pay the debt. Once a debt goes to collections, you may be able to work out a deal to pay less than the full amount.
4: Understand the laws in your state. Garnishment, lawsuits and property seizure are illegal in some places, which gives you a little more leverage to work out a deal. To learn what is and isn’t allowed, call your state Attorney General’s office or the state consumer protection office.
But third party collectors have a choice: they can operate under the laws of your state or those of the state where the debt originated, usually interpreted as where you were living when you opened the account. Also, time may have run out on the debt. While there is no federal statute of limitations on debts, most states limit the amount of time a creditor has to collect a debt. However, that deadline varies from state to state. There is also a question of which state’s rules govern the transaction, yours or the creditor’s. That’s a very gray area. Check with your local state authority or an attorney in your state who specializes in this kind of law.
5: File a complaint. If you suspect that a collection agency has crossed the line, call the FTC and your state’s governing office and file complaints. (Yet another reason it’s good to keep a written or tape recorded diary.)
6: Sue. If a third-party collection agency violates your rights, you can sue for actual damages and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and court costs.
Article by Toni Phelps, with resources from Credit
Federal’s Debt Negotiators and the Federal Trade Commission
3 Ways to Reduce Bad Debt and Make Sure Your Customers Pay
Whether you’ve got a few bad debts that need to be collected or a noticing that non-payment seems to be a trend for your customers, getting a collection agency on your side will set things into motion immediately. Here you’ll find some essential reactive and proactive steps you can take to ensure that your business doesn’t lose money because of your customer’s unwillingness to pay.
Send a 10 Day Demand Letter
Customers make decisions about which companies they need to pay right away and which ones they can put off. Don’t let your company be the one they think is soft and can be strung along for payment. Inform customers that you’ve got a collection agency on your side by sending a 10 day demand letter. Oftentimes, receipt of a demand letter from a collection agency is enough to get customers in default to start making payments. If not, the collection agency will begin pursing the funds after the 10 day period.
Be proactive: Collect detailed information from your new customers
You never know when a good customer will turn into a bad debt. The fact is that when companies experience difficult times, there is usually some money to pay bills, but perhaps not enough to pay all of them. Make sure your customers know that your company is one they should pay first by having them sign an agreement that informs then that your debt collection process include a collection agency. When opening a new customer account, ask for all of the necessary information a collection agency will need in order to pursue payment and update information regularly. You’ll need to have certain key customer information in order to contract a collection agency for recovery:
Do I Need An Advertising Agency
Many small to medium size businesses struggle with this dilema. They may have even had an agency before. They liked the new ads that are done in a professional manner. And, they loved pushing salespeople off on thier agency. But, the owners simply want to keep more control of their business, including the marketing. The fact is, business owners write the checks and most are quite frugal. They see all the money that goes into an agency. And it’s not just the 15% commission from their media buys. They also gey billed for copywriting fees, creative fees, production fees…Well the list goes on and on. So, yes they need an agency, but they don’t want someone else spending their hard earned dollars.
However, there is a new approach at Pique Creative in Greenville, SC. Each person has 20-30 years of experience from large agencies, but now are a team of freelance artists, copywriters, media buyers, etc. It’s advertising a la carte! Just choose the advertising help you need. They even give rebates (from their media buys) back to their clients to use for creative fees. Or, if you don’t need media buys, you can just use thier creative services from all over the USA. Print ads can be purchased for newspapers, magazines, collateral, etc. Pique Creative will produce professional print campaigns and
e-mail PDF copies of their ads to you. The ads can be e-mailed back and forth until final approval. Then, payments can be made using PayPal.
Thus, you can have control of your marketing dollars and still have a well designed professional look for your company. Your ads will have that ad agency appearance, but at much more reasonable rates!
And, they will be designed for your target audience!
Please visit their web site: www.wholesaleinserts.com
Andy Anderson is a partner in Pique Creative, with over 20 years of advertising experience. He also owns Wholesale Inserts, a print shop for low cost, high quality newspaper inserts, brochures and direct mail. Please visit that web site at: www.wholesaleinserts.com
The Pros & Cons Of Using Collection Agencies
Debt collection agencies act on behalf of creditors to collect on severely overdue accounts. Reputable agencies work within specific guidelines and adhere to the legal framework set down in Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the federal law that regulates all collection agencies.
There are several advantages in using these agencies -
they remove the hassle of pursuing debts from your company, saving you time and money;
third party involvement in debt collection has proven time and again to improve your chances of recovering your money; these people are specialists in negotiating with debtors and the results usually speak for themselves;
potentially a skillfully negotiated debt collection could mean continued future custom from the debtor;
debt collection agencies can combine sales ledger management and debt collection;
debt collectors keep you within the law…
The disadvantages are -
debt collection does cost money; you are trading off the debt collection against any charges made by the collection agency and/or a percentage of the money collected (although there are lower cost, flat fee alternatives);
the debt collection agency will be establishing a relationship with your customers which could be potentially harmful if they sour that relationship by not dealing with invoices in a courteous and diplomatic fashion…
Finally, remember to select a collection agency with a good reputation. Don’t just shop for the best price. Remember- less reputable agencies can damage your own reputation as well as your wallet.
Tristan Andrews is a writer for Collection Agency Quotes.
Improve Your Staffing Agencies Brand Identity
Lets take a look at what exactly is branding within the medical staffing Industry. Branding is a vital source of establishing a connection between your company and the target market. The image you portray is what will be implanted in the minds of the clients. Within an industry that falls short of loyalties, branding is what will allow you to stay in the forefront of the competition. How can a medical staffing agency create this important branding aspect within its core goal?
First: Improve the visual look of your company
Make sure that everything has continuity when it comes to the colors and logos within your companies marketing material. You don’t need to spend $20,000 to make this happen, just make sure that everything that goes out of the office: Business cards, letter heads, pamphlets, etc are the same in all aspects.
Second: The audible makes good music
It is imperative that your marketing message coincides with your greeting message. More specifically, if you are marketing a particular benefit that will attract your customers, make sure that all your employees are aware of this and make it part of there greeting. Make sure that all messages include this benefit be it written, recorded or implied.
Third: Create a need for your target market to talk about you.
This is the ultimate branding effect. Imagine your target market knows about you before you even set foot in the door. This type of branding is essential in standing out form the competition. It is a very simple, yet many medical staffing agencies don’t do it or are reluctant to spend too much time on this. Create a viable newsletter: Make sure that the newsletter is information that can actually be used by the department you are sending it too. Create a desire to read the newsletter.
One of my clients wanted to start a newsletter but was unaware what subject to focus on. I asked her who was her target focus going to be. She wanted to focus on Directors and Managers. I advised her to create a newsletter that focuses on managing issue related to staff retention. It may seem to be out of place since her company’s survival depends on poor management of staff in order for her company to staff these facilities. Reluctantly she agreed becoming a great source for managers and directors. The end result was her business grew because of her honesty and allowed her to build relationships based on trust and honesty. More facilities began to recommend her as a viable source of information and staff.
Branding is what allows you to overcome your competition and become a real player in the medical staffing industry.
Roy Vera, MBA is a successful medical staffing consultant. His business focus is on Marketing and Profitability for medical staffing agencies. For more information you may visit him at http://www.marketingagencyguide.com
Direct Mail Marketing Agency Copywriter Says “Start at the Start” with Sales Letters.
Call me a dunce, but I can’t write a single line of copy until I write my opening paragraph.
Unlike many successful copywriters, I can’t follow the advice of the many direct mail copywriting gurus who suggest I write the reply device first because that’s the tool that closes the sale. I can’t start there. That’s the last thing I write.
So writing for me is agony. I can’t begin anywhere else but at the beginning. Which, for me, is the opening line of the letter.
So I write “Dear [blank].” Then I hit the return key twice. Then I wait for inspiration. Or hunt for inspiration, depending on how close my deadline is.
I get an idea. I craft the opening as a question. Too pompous. Hit delete.
I start with an anecdote. Too long in getting to the point. Backspace through that one.
I quote Aristotle. Too obscure.
I quote Mark Twain instead. Funny. But irrelevant. Delete.
I head in another direction. A statistic. A real grabber. But I sound like I’m preaching, not starting a letter written by me to a real, living prospect. So I delete again.
I hunt through 3,500 Good Jokes for Speakers. Nothing.
Maybe I should try a colloquial approach. I hunt through Yiddish Wisdom, Yiddish Chochma. “The husband is the bossif his wife allows,” I read. Now there’s a great quote. But not for this letter.
A search through The Forbes Book of Business Quotations lasts over an hour because I get sidetracked by a great line from Henry Ford and end up reading every quotable thing he said, none of them germane to my topic.
And so it goes until I finish my start. Only when I am confident that I have hooked my reader do I have the courage to write the copy that will keep the reader hooked to the end of the letter. I can’t enjoy my trip until I know where I’m headed.
Now if only I knew how to end this article with a bang I’d have it finished by now.
—-
About the author
Alan Sharpe is a direct mail copywriter who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using direct mail and email marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at www.sharpecopy.com.
© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the author” message).
Collection Agencies; Not Just for Big Business
One of the reasons small businesses write off a great deal of loss is that they don’t realize how easy and affordably it can be to hire collection agencies to recover bad debt. Developing a success-driven mindset and taking action like your larger competitors is the first step to growing your business. Many of today’s collection agencies are small business friendly and can improve your company’s bottom line drastically with smart solutions for collecting bad debt.
Look for collection agencies that offer several collection tier levels
Small businesses often don’t utilize collection agencies like their larger competitors because they feel the debt owed may be insignificant to large collection agencies. Small businesses should look for collection agencies that offer different collection amount tiers. Debts as low as $1000, regardless of the size of the contacting business can be easily recovered by collection agencies.
Verify that the collection agency uses legal collection methods
The days of collection agencies harassing friends and family and calling late at night in an attempt to collect unpaid debt is long gone. To comply with today’s regulations, collection agencies must adhere to strict laws that require them to use more brains than brawn in an attempt to collect debt. Check to make sure that the collection agencies you’re considering belong to either the International Association of Commercial Collectors or the American Collector’s Association. Admittance to either requires that collection agencies adhere to the legal standards and ethics of third party collection agencies.
Collecting the debt yourself verses contracting a collection agency
First party collectors (i.e. business owners) are not bound by the same set of federal regulations when it comes to collecting debt. However, attempting to collect debt if not handled properly can result in poor client relations at best and a hefty fine at worst. A systematic, proactive first party collection approach works well for the first 30-60 days of delinquency. If the client hasn’t paid by that point, you’re at risk statistically for losing a substantial part of the balance.
A timeline of diminishing returns
Statistically, the longer a debt becomes overdue, the less likely that you will ever recover the full amount from the customer. Figures from collection agencies show that after 3 months of non-payment you can expect about a 73% return on every dollar, 50% on every dollar after 6 months, and 25% after one year. If you’ve got bad debt that’s piled up over long periods of time, your time may be better spent by hiring a collection agency to recoup some of your old debt and implementing a plan to prevent new bad debt.
Partnering with a collection agency
Some collection agencies offer an accounts receivable management program to help businesses manage their AR effectively. With this service, collection agencies print and send letters on your letterhead, contact clients under your name, handle disputes, and send the payment directly to your company. Most business owners don’t enjoy trying to track down their payments. It’s draining, frustrating, and most would rather spend their time working on creative ways to bring in new clients. For collection agencies, securing payments is what they do best.
Small businesses, perhaps more so than their larger competitors, can’t afford not to have a solid plan for collecting bad debt. Small businesses often operate on much tighter budgets and just one or two delinquent accounts can stop a small business in its tracks. Fortunately, modern collection agencies are small business friendly and are often just what small businesses need to become more profitable and take their business to the next level.
Ruben Soliman is a freelance copywriter. For more information about what a collection agency can do for you, visit http://www.abusa.com