Author: Cecil J. Bond

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13:

Are outstanding debts eating away at your business's profitability? This valuable "toolbox" of over 400 collection letters, scripted collection calls, directions for visiting customers in person, plus model faxes can help you turn accounts receivable into accounts paid. Avoid the costly trap of chasing down a small number of problem accounts, limit delinquencies, stay on the right side of the law, and reduce the time it takes to collect balances. This groundbreaking volume can help you substantially increase your cashflow without a lot of costly and time-consuming systems changes. At last you'll have the time and the money to run your business more effectively. Step-by-step procedures and ready-to-use forms help you organize or reorganize your credit department, construct more useful credit files, and build a new credit policy that keeps customers happy and keeps the payments pouring in. Cecil Bond is full of sound advice on: precautions you must take when collecting by mail ... how a conciliatory tone can be more effective than a threatening posture ... setting up a payment program to work with your customers' cashflow ... the advantages of "doing lunch" with a customer ... writing the final demand letter ... and what bad-debt accounts are better left alone. For both commercial and consumer accounts, for business managers and owners, The Complete Book of Collection Letters, Telephone Scripts, and Faxes is a veritable treasure trove of the dos and don'ts of collection methods; what's legal and what's not; key ingredients in successful letters and how long they should be; how to avoid controversial statements; how to structure and control collection telephone calls; and when to employ acollection agency. Actual samples with clearly explained procedures include the letters that generate payments with the key words that get action; how to freshen up a favorite letter, and how to selectively use the form letters in this guide; putting it all together: integrating letters, calls, faxes - and visits; your collection efforts and the law - practices to avoid; deploying your credit department people to collectible accounts; screening accounts for creditworthiness; the most effective series of collection notices; combining the strengths of letters and telephone calls; tailoring your efforts: when and how to use more than one option; when and how to use a collection agency; and steps for salvaging bad-debt write-offs.