The 5 Elements of the Highly Effective Debt Collector

Alvin Toffler

Through out my career in the collection industry as a top producing collector, collections manager, and trainer, I have found that far too many collectors are underdeveloped. There are multiple reasons for this lack of development; nonetheless the root cause and the most prevailing of all would be that the industry has not found the fine line between customer service training and sales training techniques to satisfy the collections training practice. As a result of the industry’s inability to create an effective training model that lay between these two disciplines, collectors are given short (FDCPA) compliance training sessions on what not to do or say. For example, a new hire will go through collections training given brief sessions of the laws governing the industry and the penalties for violating provisions, but never given any sound communication concepts, effective negotiating techniques nor file management principles that would build a solid foundation for a would be collector. One would think; the goal for any industry or organization would be to develop new talent effectively as possible to put an individual in a situation that is more likely to have them succeed, yet this is far from the case. Collectors are often introduced to the collections floor with little sense of direction, and left to figure out how to become effective on their own. This I would argue is the primary reason for the explosion of abusive tactics used in the industry, as well as the lack of professionalism associated with the debt collections practice.

The truth is, the industry has not produced clearly defined fundamental concepts for collectors to become professionals. As a matter of fact, debt collections is the only profession (business or recreation) where universal fundamental concepts does not exist. A basketball coach for example can watch a basketball game, and no matter the talent level of the team or individual player could point out specific areas and determine why the team or individual is performing at a high level or under achieving based on universal fundamental concepts of the game of basketball. This is true for any profession, from high profile practices such as law, engineering, or accounting, to jobs as domestic as mopping a floor or lawn care; there are certain core concepts that have to be taught and understood to ensure the job is done as effectively and efficiently as possible. As a consequence of the absence of such fundamental principles required to effectively train and develop debt collectors, training divisions are the weakest area in any agency; and as a result, collection agencies across the country lose millions of dollars annually in the form of mishandled accounts, mismanaged files, and extremely high turnover rates. For instance, I recall as a collector early in my career attending a training class of 14 people. Frankly, this company’s training division was a joke. The training was a four-day process that consisted of the trainer explaining how much money a person could make if we could be effective, training on how to operate the collections software, the distributing of scripted voicemail messages that basically said, “please don’t call me back” along with a brief (FDCPA) training session followed by a (FDCPA) multiple-choice test to confirm that the trainer at least discussed the topic. Needless to say, after a month of working on the phones only four of the training class remained. This type of sink or swim model is very common in the world of collections; it’s either you ARE or ARE NOT an effective collector. This is true because there are no core fundamentals to determine the reason(s) why a collector is excelling or more importantly, why a collector may not be producing at a desired level. To clarify this point as it pertains to the under performing collector, I offer this analogy. Consider for a moment, if you were to wake up on a given morning, jump in your car for your daily commute, and as luck would have it your vehicle would not start. Reluctantly, you have the unit towed to an auto repair shop. The mechanic, following his diagnoses of your vehicle tells you, “ Well… Maim/Sir, it looks like the problem is your car won’t start”. I’m sure after receiving this news, you would (more than likely) be upset, and have a few choice words for this brilliant mechanic. The reason you would be so upset and/or disappointed in the mechanic’s analysis is simple, you understand the car not starting is not the problem. The car not starting is the result of some other underlying problem i.e. dead battery, bad starter, or bad alternator etc. The same can be said for a collector that is under producing. The problem isn’t the collector cannot produce; the collector not being able to produce at a desired level is the result of some underlying issue(s). After years as a top collector, as well as training and developing top performers, I have assembled what are the five fundamental areas that are required to effectively train, and develop any person attempting to collect a debt. These five core areas are also at the center of revealing and repairing any performance issue(s) a debt collector may experience. The 5 elements are as follows:

1. Voicemail Message Leaving: The productivity that drives effectiveness. The systematic approach to message leaving.

2. Talk-Off: Communicate, Negotiate, and Capitalize (CNC). How to use persuasive language and position to convince debtors to pay.

3. Rebuttals: How to use effective sale techniques to overcome the most common debtor objections.

4. Reference Relay: How to consistently persuade third parties to help you locate and make contact with the debtor.

5. File Management: How to properly manage a collections file to enhance efficiency and reveal important information about a collector’s effectiveness.

Understanding how each area works together will show exactly how a deficiency in one specific area can tremendously reduce a collector’s earning potential as well as explain how the mastery of each will transform an individual into a concept that I created called The Complete Collector. We describe The Complete Collector as a skilled verbal communicator, highly effective negotiator, trained and developed in the five core fundamental areas of consumer debt collections.

The 5 Elements of the Highly Effective Debt Collector is the first of a series of books intended to confront many misconceptions, inefficiencies, and the most common mistakes made not only by the individual collector; but also issues plaguing collection agency operations as a whole. However, this book was created to develop and enhance effectiveness of the individual collector and is designed to ensure that no matter an individual’s talent level, years in the industry, or position held in a collections agency, the end user will understand clearly and be enriched by the experience. More specifically, it will introduce core fundamental concepts, sound principles of engagement, and a system of file management that if followed and executed properly will more than double a collector’s efficiency and effectiveness in less than 30 days. However, before we get into the 5 elements, first we must start with the importance of “using effective language.”