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Accounts Receivable

DEALING WITH DEBTORS

Don't Get Mad, Get Paid!

I have worked as hard as I could possibly work. I have addressed every single need that you had. And now that I produce something that's really good, and I gave you really good value. You are just not paying me, and you know what, I am really angry about that.

One of the primary mistakes is letting that emotion get the better of you. Calling the customer 2:00 in the morning and screaming deadbeat into the phone at the top of your lungs. May be emotionally satisfying, but it will not get you paid, and it might get you sued. If you call up and you just yell into the phone or saying your best sterned voice, oh, you will pay me. What you've done is, damage or destroy the debtor's desire to actually work with you. And you've just wasted your time.

There is a big difference between 'can't pay' and 'won't pay.' Won't pay is something that is not going to be resolved in the debate, and if you believe you are entitled to payment, pursue your legal remedies.

Can't pay is something that may be worked out, because may be that's just, can't pay now or can't pay all of it now. But may be there is a way that you can work with the debtor to may be not satisfy you 100% but at least make the best of a bad situation. And here's the key, before you hang up the phone, you must have a specific understanding that X number of dollars will be paid by such and such a date. If you have a collection call and you don't walk away with that kind of understanding, then you might as well not have made the call at all.

You've got to have something where you know, if you don't receive this amount of money on that date, the debtor has broken his or her word. And that means that you can make your decision to move to the next level in collection.

Accounts Receivable DEALING WITH DEBTORS Don't Get Mad, Get Paid! I have worked as hard as I could possibly work. I have addressed every single need that you had. And now that I produce something that's really good, and I gave you really good value. You are just not paying me, and you... click to read more