Dump  the “Sick & Tired & Bent Out Of Shape” List

• Are you sick of your collection agency collecting 6, 7, or 11%  of the delinquent accounts you send them.  (see agency averages below)
• Tired of paying the 40 to 50% fees?
• Bent out of shape that you have to wait for “YOUR” money that was collected a month or two ago?
• Your collection agency gets 100% of your money and uses the float until they send you your “share” of “your” money months later.

These aren’t our numbers they are the collection industries own published figures (ACA)…commercial and medical recovery rates…just look for yourself.

Replace it with a…”Isnt’ this Fantastic List”

• Wouldn’t you rather recover 30, 40, 50% or more
• Would you rather pay as little or as much as possbile..for fees as low as 5%?
  
• Would you like it better if your cash flow improved by getting 100% of your money back the day it’s collected?

We’ve got thousands of clients who think so,

You can collect more of your money for a lot less cost too!

We provide our clients with the most unique recovery process ever developed.  We link our clients with a nationwide network of attorneys, provide for credit bureau reporting, and collect more than double the average of those “nasty” collection agencies and we do so for a cost of pennies on the dollar.

• The printing and mailing or your accounts receivable communications, with a major twist
•  Special check stock paper causes your amazingly heightened demands to get opened
• The impact is like nothing you have ever experienced because unlike your current agency or internal demands they now will have a serious credit bureau threat
• Automated calls
• The threat and follow through of up to three attorney letters at no additional cost
• In addition, you will save on your effort and internal cost while recovering more money for a cost as low as 5%.

View our year-end special offer…and act now to save up to 50% on your order.

TODAY PAY ONLY $495 FOR A LIFETIME OF SERVICE!!! (List Price $995)

Why does your current agencies’ effort fall short on your collections?

After leaving my controllership position with a $4 billion NYSE company the late 1970’s I got into the receivables business. At that time the competition (collection agencies) was recovering 28.5%.  Now, some 30 years later, we’ve perfected what collection agencies still have absolutely no clue about; you’ve already been shown their results above.   So why don’t collections agencies collect your receivables very successfully?

Let’s follow the trend. The first big blow to agency recoveries was the inception of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA -Learn what is legal at ).  These new laws were enacted to eliminate the predatory practices of the collection agencies when they worked to recover delinquent accounts.

No longer could agencies, “legally”:

•  Harass debtors  to collect your receivables by making 5, 10 or 15 collection calls per day to a single debtor
• Ditto, by letting the telephone ring incessantly
• Pretend to be someone they’re not…i.e., a lawyer, the police, or the repo man
•  Make idle threats like; intimating collection lawsuits, or saying they would force debtors into bankruptcy, take away a debtor’s home, use profanity or threaten personal harm while collecting a creditor’s delinquent accounts. (This is what we call the D&B-Dino and Bruno-approach .)
• Use  postcards, or call at known improper times or at work if requested not to.

These are just a few of the things that started the downward spiral in collection agency recoveries. As a matter of fact, the American Collection Association’s most recent public distribution of their collection statistics reported an 11% overall recovery, with an even more dismal collection rate of and 6 and 7% for medical and clinics respectively.

If that sounds familiar…it’s time for a change…

That’s the typical collection agency recovery and rate. Would you be happy turning over your accounts and getting back seven BIG ONES (7¢) for every dollar you submitted for collection?  And you cannot expect even that on small balances where their profit margins drop, as does the effort and the expertise of the collector who is assigned those poor accounts.

You probably want better than that, but what is scarier is that most owners/managers have no idea what they are collecting. Do you know what your results are? In all probability, you are like the most managers.  You don’t get reports from your agency and your pretty march in the dark. Any good consultant would suggest that you find out.

Promise the world…hey, you might even get it for six months.

Everyone is marketing something, whether it is your plumbing repair service, your accounting services, medical services, widgets and you name it. You put your best foot forward and you really want to do a terrific job for that customer/client, and so do collection agency sales people.

Then he goes back to the office and says that he landed ABC Company and that he told them how great they would do for them and now he needs them to get on their accounts so as not make him look like a liar. He tells them how they are great collectors and pumps them up telling them how he has faith in them and that they can do it.

If you are a major or large volume account (are you, most aren’t?) then the gloves really come off, because they finally landed this good account and they want the revenue and the commissions so they will do their best. Heck, he even brings the donuts as a motivator. So forget about keeping that client, as I said, the gloves are off.

But then another account is landed, and another, and with maybe hundreds of clients they had before who are averaging 10 accounts or more a month they cannot possibly service them all, at least not the way the salesperson wants them to. The fact is the typical agency has only about  six collectors who are now getting 1,000 accounts a month to work from their current clients, and then 2, 3, and 4,000 after a couple months.  As you can see with trying to keep the current client base happy, and with some new ones coming in and some dropping off, it gets very difficult to maintain any kind of special attention.

After a few months your all important business becomes just one of the crowd, and unless you are Master Card and Visa with major volume, your accounts sit in the pile with no real significant attention. It is not that they don’t want to, but it is human nature and they can only handle so much and someone has to suffer…usually the small to medium business or professional client.

Therefore, if I’m a collector, or even if you were the collector, and you had a stack of 1,000 or more accounts sitting on your desk (average collectors handle 1,100 to 1,300 accounts) what would you do? No doubt, after you figured it out, you would do the same thing that collectors actually do. They filter the accounts and put the $10,000 accounts at the top, the $5,000 beneath those and then take it all the way down to the $250 accounts.

It just makes good business sense!  If collectors get paid on commission they want to collect the ones with the biggest payday. If they ever get down to the smaller items before a new batch comes in your $250 debtor might even get more than one letter. And why did I stop at $250?

That is where the junior collector cuts his teeth, on accounts of $250 and below, and if he can exist until he becomes a senior collector he might start earning a living. One more question…are your accounts the $5,000 to $10,000 level or the $250- $1,000 or less. Hmmm…are you in the dialing for dollars junior collector group, or are you getting the attention your accounts deserve?

What’s a creditor to do?

I guess they do what they have always done. Think about it, there have only been a few alternatives, four actually. Really, think about what it is that you can actually do. Think long and hard, after all it is your money. Let’s look at your options, which I will list and then we’ll expound on them a bit.

• You can do it yourself, and continue to send out statements, make calls, send letters, and even personal visits
• Get an attorney or take legal action
• Write off the accounts and don’t waste any more time
• Call in the dreaded collection agency
• I hope you realize that is all that has been available to the not so proud possessor of delinquent accounts

Option 1 – Do it yourself.

1.    The first one is a natural progression. You have a client, and you don’t want to upset them; however you need your money so you try to be the nice guy and just send a reminder statement. After all, he should have paid when he got the service or the product or at least by the 10 day discount period you gave him. I mean the client got an invoice on day one, and now you’ve sent a simple reminder statement.

Typically that is the next step, the net30 due statement. Since they did not take the 2% discount you might have given to incentivize them, or at least they have not taken it yet, they should remit.

As an aside, it once took me over 6 months and 3 out of town visits to get paid by one the of big three auto manufacturers in Michigan. That was not for product but just to get over $60,000 dollars is late discounts that they took long after the discount period. We wound up splitting the difference, and the thing that shocked me was the manager said “hey Joe, put xxx (my $4 billion employer) on the preferred vendor list.” When I asked what that meant, he said those are the folks we pay on time. That was after 3 visits and numerous copies and calls and I was not happy, however we did resolve a major problem, at least temporarily.

Now you are hanging in there at 40-45 days since the invoice was created. You spent your time, or bought and paid for  the inventory, and you still need to get that invoice paid in order to make that 10-15% profit that you hopefully are deriving. So your staff hopefully finds some time and makes a call.

Maybe they get the customer or maybe it takes three calls to finally get someone and the response is, “Gee, I’m sorry, I must have misplaced it, could you send me another copy of the invoice.”  You want to scream and say “cut the BS…you know you owe me the money”, but you think more sanely and you put on your customer service hat which says you just can’t do that. (Plug in any of the excuses you are already sick of hearing; I’ve been out of town, I’ll check with payables, my check must have been lost in the mail, he just stepped out, etc.)                          

2.    A second statement now goes out and you’re thinking I could have saved a percent or two for myself if I just had that money to pay my bills early, or pay down that loan. But you didn’t get paid and as a matter of routine, you spend another $1.25 to $1.50 getting someone to print the statements and mail them.

As one of my trusted managers says, someone has to get the envelopes, stamps, statements, and lick’em, stick’em, stamp’em and stuff’em. Saying that fast three times is tough enough, but really, you have to pay that person, and for the paper, envelopes, ink, and stamps…some people actually think that $1.50 may seem high, but it is actually it is pretty low for most companies. This is now really starting to bug you but you have a business to run and you are short-staffed…so you may even have to get to it later.

3.    Another attempt at a call, maybe a short letter; you know you can’t just  let your money keep sliding away... it’s real money that you put out and you need to have it back in your business.  But man, you’ve made 4 calls and never hooked up and you’re into closing another month, still no money, and new invoices have to go out.

4.    Guess what, now it is 90 days out…BTW, when should this have been paid? Another statement and the calls start in earnest…no answer, voice mail, and finally someone picks up the phone and shockingly Mr. Smith is not in, but if you send another invoice I’ll look into it. Thank God, you didn’t explode and maybe they sincerely want to cooperate so you hustle up and get a copy mailed or faxed as soon as you can. I mean you don’t want to lose their business…do you?

5.    120 days…you’re A/R person says “no check from ABC Company”. AARGH! Now it is time to get serious and tough, but all you get is that d**ned voice mail. If you have to, you’ll take a ride over there and demand that money.

Well, you get a reprieve, Mr. Smith actually comes to the phone.  He says, “Joe, you know that widget just didn’t work right”, or I found it a lot cheaper elsewhere, and I really wasn’t pleased for whatever reason. You’re thinking, “is this guy serious”?  You tell yourself to be calm, don’t argue with your customer…and finally he says okay I’ll get a check out to you.

Whew, thank goodness…oops, did you find out when, in full, any details, etc.? What are the chances that the check really gets processed…your guess is as good as mine? What if he needs supplies and another more important vendor stops by to get their money…so you just wait and hope.

6.    Unbelievable…still no check! Now we can play scenarios until the cows come home. You’ve probably got your own stories. But we can threaten them with a collection agency, an attorney, or that we’re going to come over and, and…what, get yourself thrown in jail.

Enough is enough, but understand that this isn’t your normal client, they pay on time, or at 30, 45 or 60 days…but we’re still talking about 1-3% of your business in most cases, and they are using your money. It’s a sad realization when you find our you are involuntarily in the loan business.

Why should these people get any extra time when your good customers do as agreed.  Why aggravate yourself and continue that process, especially when it is costing you $5  to $10 or more per month.

So what is it that you lose:

1. Statement preparation costs
2. Lost discounts you may have had to forgo
3. Interest costs or losses in interest income
4.  Clerical time and payroll
5. Stamps, paper, envelopes, etc.

But by this time you’re probably saying that‘s it, you’ve have had enough, now what?

Option 2 – Enlist the big bad attorney!

You ask your staff to check with your attorney’s office and they call. The response is that they do not do collections. They call another and he says $750 as a retainer, we don’t really work any accounts that are under $2,500l. Frankly, it is just not worthwhile for them to get involved with smaller accounts.

But, as a few attorneys will do, one suggests that he can send a letter for you. Cost, usually about $125-$150. You might even get lucky and have a letter sent for $100. But don’t take my word for it, call a few and see. And we are not talking legal action, just a letter that intimates legal action, which can also be a violation of the FDCPA if not worded properly and which collection attorneys are now bound by. Matter of fact, senior attorneys advise that $100 is an absolute minimum since they may be dragged into a number of collection discussions once they send their letter.

However, if you have $2,000 to $5,000+ balances, you can probably find an attorney to handle your accounts. But that “ain’t” cheap. It’s going to cost you about 35% from day one, and that does not include:

• process service
• filing fees
• court costs
• fees to exercise the judgment

So it can be…no, IT IS,  an expensive proposition. Who knows, if you choose the legal route,  maybe you can avoid all those legal expenses if the attorney’s demand letter scares the debtor…good for you. On a $2,000 debt, even if it doesn’t go to court it will still cost you $700…is your profit margin 35%, or would this cut into your costs and make it a guaranteed loser for you?

Even worse, if you have to go through the whole court routine, you will probably have to take time off work and finally the judge slams down the gavel and says you win. Hooray!!! Now you have a judgment…satisfaction at last! Hold the phone, what does that judgment say?  It says ABC Company owes you $3,000. Wait a minute…didn’t you already know that? Therefore, you now officially know what you knew before, aaand now you have a piece of paper to prove it. That’ll show’em! Really…are you kidding me?

As Yogi Berra always said, “It ain’t over, till it’s over”. Fork over a little more cash and then you can exercise the judgment. But what if there are no assets, no money in the checking account…no problem…the attorney says the judgment is good for ten years, and if necessary we can renew it then.  Does that suit your needs? Do you have balances averaging over a few thousand dollars, do you want a piece of paper telling you what you already know, and if successful are you still making a profit after netting less than 65%.

But I don’t have big balances.
Well, let’s see…we don’t want to keep sending bills and calling our delinquent debtors because it costs money. You’ve probably spent $25 to who knows how much already. The likelihood of getting paid is also diminishing as we move into the 90, 120 day and beyond time frame. Look around, people are losing their jobs, the economy is in the toilet for some, people die, they skip town, go bankrupt or they just plain lose responsibility toward your debt. And after all, they have the CABLE BILL TO PAY. How’s this for reality?

TRUE STORY: I talked to one of our dental clients and they were hopping mad about waiting a year for an attorney to pay his dental bill. Finally, they got the attorney’s  wife to admit things were slow. Then she said, ” and his season tickets had to be paid for.” Is that fair? Is that where you want to be, is that where you are letting yourself fall to on the bill paying totem pole…after the darned football tickets? Do you think the dentist got a lot of satisfaction when the team scores a touchdown and the attorney beams that beautiful new smile?

Option three – Write them off
Forget about it, don’t spend any more money on billing and follow up that have stopped producing results anyway. Put it behind you and relieve the stress of chasing those irritating accounts. But understand this, if you have a 10% profit margin, and you are writing off a $1,000 sale, that means that $900 is cost and you just ate it. Just to get back to square one, you need nine (9) more sales just to break even. It is even worse in the medical or professional fields. As an example, say you are a CPA and you lose that $1,000, not counting the materials. That’s okay you say, I’ll just work some extra hours and make that up…again, that’s a joke right?  Whatever hours you work you should be getting paid for, so you are not making up anything, you are just working harder and getting paid for the work you are doing then not making up for written off accounts.  Bummer! So what’s left?

Something is better than nothing, right, call in an agency?
About half the businesses actually do get fed up and after 6, 9, 12 months or even years later they give their accounts to a collection agency. We’ve already discussed and shown what their results are, but it is not all their fault. As I tell people what we do, and they want us to take those ancient accounts, “we can heal the sick, but we can’t raise the dead”.  That’s what the agencies have to draw from, old worn out almost hopeless accounts. And why is that? Because people do not want to pay 33-50%, they don’t have that kind of margin, which makes those accounts guaranteed losers. So they bill, and they bill, and they bill some more…then finally, totally exasperated, they give up and they send it to a collection agency. Gooood Luck!

We’ve talked about the agencies earlier and we know what has happened to their performance. We even shown that the typical agency will net you about 7% if you are lucky.  And those results are with decent sized balances and a six month aging.  If you don’t have time or the staff and you can’t afford a 35% discount on your product what can you do?

It’s a no brainer…MaxCollect! Employ the only real innovation in the collection industry in the last 100 years. Just click below and you get all these benefits:

• ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR YOUR COLLECTION AGENCY - never pay those exorbitant fees again
• DRAMATICALLY CUT YOUR INTERNAL COST AND EFFORT – could be worth thousands per year
• BE PROVIDED WITH YOUR OWN RETAINED ATTORNEY - ZERO retainer  fee vs. $1,000+ per year
• BE ABE TO REPORT CREDIT  - not available without volume and no $250 signup or $40/mo fee
• COLLECT 3 TO 6 TIMES THE RECOVERY OF THE AVG AGENCY- the real savings, and a lot more $
• COLLECT FOR AS LITTLE AS 5¢ ON THE DOLLAR - save 20-40% on every collection made

So what’s the value proposition, the real meat and

potatoes, the savings vs. the benefit?

1. Instead of paying $1,000 or $2,000 retainer for an attorney…NONE, ZERO, NADA!
2. Instead of paying $250 for the credit bureau and another $500 or so in annual fees...DITTO – ZERO
3. Instead of every collection costing 35-50%…pay as little as 5%

CALCULATING JUST THESE THREE  COSTS WILL RUN A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS.

FOR OUR… LIMTIED TIME INTERNET ONLY SPECIAL… CLICK BELOW TO START SAVING!

How Does it Work and What is the Special Offer?

• Get your account set up, including the service agreement, and retainer.

• Again, no $1,000 retainer fee, no fee for the credit bureau and for the cost of about ONE collected account you get a life time of savings and service…we are there whenever you need us. That fee is a one-time lifetime set up fee of ………………………………………………………….$995.00

THEN JUST GO TO YOUR THE WEB PORTAL WE CREATE FOR YOU AND SUBMIT YOUR ACCOUNTS AND THAT STARTS THE TOTALLY AUTOMATED PROCESS

• It is basically submit and forget it

• As your service bureau, all your contacts are prepared and written on check stock and they get opened…yes it looks like a check.
  

• Would you open a check in the mail?

• Your debtor will hear from you every two weeks, no more hit or miss follow-up…can you be that consistent in your follow up?
  

• Additionally they will get an automated phone calls at 45 days

• They will then be contacted by your retained attorney up to three times…again would you open your mail, or a letter from an attorney first?
  

• The process starts with up to four letters (if not paid sooner) mailed on your behalf, however, your letters now have impact:

• Contact one is diplomatic, however, with the proper procedure you can assess a delinquent billing fee thereby offsetting your cost.

• Contact two let’s them know “you feel compelled” to make them aware of potential credit impairment and that you are depending on their good faith to resolve the bill. Just like you provided your services in good faith.
  

• By the 28th day, they are advised that it appears payment will not be voluntary, and you now must consider forwarding their account to your attorney or collection agency.

• On the 42nd day, your debtor is given the Fair Credit Reporting Act Statement and they are notified that they have 10 days to pay before the account is sent to the attorney…as a matter of fact, they are told, and it has already been sent for review…and it has.
  

ATTORNEY INVOLVEMENT COMMENCES

• Your attorney now sends his first notice letting them know you have retained his firm and provides the legal Miranda statement and suggests payment…and directs that the payment is made to you…as per the voucher which attached to all your letters.

• His second contact lets them know that they have apparently disregarded his initial letter, that you want your money, and payment in full will conclude this matter.

• Your attorney’s third letter states it has been more than 30 days since his first contact, the debt has not been disputed, and he now demands payment on his client’s behalf.  Final alternatives are being determined and by paying your bill further steps will be eliminated.

Depending on what decisions you have made, we expect far superior results than continued in house efforts, or those of a collection agency…upwards of 30% to the stratosphere where some of our clients have landed at up to 80% recovery. But there are no absolutes…YOU are the determining factor.

SO THE EASY QUESTIONS ARE…

• Do you want to COLLECT as MUCH as possible, or as LITTLE as possible?

• Would you rather PAY as MUCH as possible, or as LITTLE as possible?

GUESS WHO DECIDES WHAT YOU PAY? 

IT’S ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE -  WE LET YOU DETERMINE:

• WHO TO COLLECT FROM
• HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO COLLECT
• AND MOST IMPORTANTLY…HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO PAY FOR YOUR RECOVERIES.