With the business environment’s continuous and improved use of technology to save time and money, you may be wondering whether you should use debt collection software for your commercial collections. While good debt collection software certainly has its place in the business environment, it’s not always the best solution for commercial collections and cannot take the place of a skilled and aggressive legal team. Here are some things to consider.
Getting Past the Gatekeeper
When you’re dealing with commercial collections, you’re calling businesses to collect money that is owed to you. Yet, when you call, the person answering the phone may not be the person who has the authority to pay you. They may be a gatekeeper. Gatekeepers protect the time of other members of the business by weeding out sales calls. And an automated commercial collections call sounds like a robot and behaves like one as well (“Push 1 to hear this important message about your account!”). Most gatekeepers will just hang up the phone on an automated call. You can’t blame them with the number of phishing incidents on the rise that use a phone.
The Efficiency of Automated Collections Is Missing a Key Factor
There is a key factor in commercial collections success: the human factor. When you have an issue with a bill, which option do you prefer, talking to an automated system that can’t answer your questions or a person with access to your file? Successful debt collection involves walking a fine line between assertive and off-putting, potentially ruining a business relationship, and being available to the business to work with them to solve whatever problem it is that’s stopping them from paying you.
It Can’t Protect Your Business Relationships
Successful businesses are built on good relationships. Good relationships aren’t just reserved for the clients who pay on time. The relationships with your past due clients are equally important. Complaints made against your company are far more convincing than all of the references you get from great clients. By hiring an experienced lawyer who understands this, you’re able to protect your business relationships and the reputation of your company.
What Next
For more challenging collections issue, you will want to hire an experienced commercial collections attorney. Reach out to The Law Offices of Ronald P. Slates today for a consultation.
