How would you classify your relationship with your collection agency? Do you use them as a last ditch effort or are they a true business partner that you rely on for collection and credit consulting? In an ideal world, your salesperson should be considered (and by association, your agency as a whole) as an extension of your internal collection staff. They should be a resource you can rely on for information above and beyond simply placing accounts for collections.
Look Beneath the Surface
From the perspective of a collection agency, it’s like this. Ideally, your agency doesn’t want to replicate the processes that you as a client may have already undertaken. In addition, long term, healthy and mutually beneficial business relationships are not formed based on a single transaction. Instead, they are formed based on a deep understanding of expectations, process flow and mutual understanding. The questions that your sales representative may ask from time-to-time to begin forming that deep understanding could include questions about your credit related internal policies and procedures and questions about your company’s perspective on what makes a particular account a “collection account”.
Tools for Success
Probably the most underused and ignored aspects of a commercial collection agency have very little to do with the actual collections process. Pre-collection tools, such as free demand letters, database searches (has this account been placed with you before?) and aging report analysis, are some examples of value-added services that top flight commercial collection agencies offer to assist you with making informed and intelligent business decisions on accounts that may have you concerned. In short, take full advantage of the tools and services your agency offers. You’ll be building a better partnership and creating a more robust collections policy for yourself in the process.
What’s working or missing from your relationship with your agency? Share what you desire from a collection agency in your day-to-day and overall experiences. We want to hear from you!
