Accounts Receivable Tips

Handy Hints

Telephone Tips
The Three P's of Telephone Contacts Kim Radok October, 2014

Making telephone calls for outstanding debts or invoices is not a job for everybody. However, it is a job which can bring you many unforseen rewards as you discover the way money influences people behaviours. Furthermore, your experiences will stand you in good stead with your later work career or if you decide to operate your own business. 

Of course, like in any professional job, you do need a structure or operating philosophy to be good at this type of work. As part of your overall development towards managing this type of work, I suggest you could do worse than remember these three P's of:

Professional

Patience

Perseverance

Professional - a professional person understands who they are in the role they are fulfilling, what their work entails, their customers, and the value of a disciplined and well-mannered approach.

Patience - in making telephone calls is a developed art form. As you gain more experience, you learn to appreciate that not everything happens just because you will it or your management demands it. Your customer may have other issues which are currently dominating their lives and making an immediate payment to you may not be one of them.

At times, you just have to let your customer talk, or give them the time to get their affairs in to order, or for the money to become available to pay you.

Perseverance - is what often gets the job done in the long-run. You will at times, just have to keep trying and convincing your customer it is in their best interests to pay the debt within their capacity to pay.

Persevering with your professional approach is so important and is essential in being successful in this role. Always being a willing listener, quietly reinforcing the need for the payment and seeking payment options are all components of getting paid.

Making telephone contact for the outstanding debt or invoice, can be, a really interesting job. However you do need the right mindset and operating philosophy. These three P's are part of the process in making an effective telephone call and learning to be good at your work.