Corporate Corner
Introducing Tricia Fowler -- Operations Manager
In order for a service organization to perform at its highest level, each member must be allowed to deliver their expertise without distraction. To do so, every specialist should interact seamlessly, knowing the complete product will be the outcome. Tricia has been with Capital Recovery since early 2007, and has gotten so good at what she does; everyone around her becomes that much better. She is reliable, innovative and committed to accuracy and consistency.
Tricia is a native Georgian and after graduating from Newnan High School in Newnan Georgia, she attended Georgia Southern University before embarking on her professional career. She began at a funding LLC in post closings, selling loans to multiple investors on Wall Street, worked in the closing department and ultimately became an underwriter. After that experience she was a perfect fit for the responsibilities and demands associated with her position Capital Recovery, now in our 25th year of service in the accounts receivable management industry.
In her personal life, Tricia enjoys college football (in particular UGA), traveling, and volunteers with aid to the homeless.
Words of Wisdom
"Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do"— John Wooden
Interesting Tidbit...
Walter and Betty Roberts, a young couple in Atlanta, Georgia, gave drama lessons to the children of Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. Even though the Roberts’s were white, they welcomed black children into their home during those racially charged times. In October 1967, upon hearing the news that Betty Roberts had to go to the hospital to deliver her third child, Mrs. King paid all the Roberts’ hospital bills as a gesture of thanks. That child: Julia Roberts.Effective Collecting
The debtor we are attempting to collect from also owes other creditors money. In most cases, the debtor owes more than they have the ability to pay at any given period of time. Therefore it is important to recognize that we are in a highly competitive arena.One of the very important characteristics of the skilled collector is a positive attitude. All communication whether it is verbal or non-verbal is nothing more than a reaction to what is being communicated first. If we start out positive, than we should receive a positive response. Start out negative and we should expect a negative response. The effective collector must learn how to apply skills in negotiating, questioning, listening and communicating. We must quickly determine whether the debtor cannot pay or simply does not want to pay.
Be Prepared
Emotions are easily communicated over the phone so be prepared to convey a positive attitude in efforts to collect. The more often we can show the debtor that it is in their best interest to pay THIS bill promptly, the better chance we have of them doing so. When making the call, always ask for the entire outstanding amount and do not assume that a problem exists. Many collectors make the mistake of asking “is there a problem?” Instead we should say, “Can you please tell me when the invoice was paid?”
Ask Questions
Learn who the decision maker is and speak to him or her. Accounts Payable has responsibility to pay bills approved by others but generally does not have the authority to decide, on their own, who gets paid and who doesn’t. Often times, the size of the Company will determine who the payment decision maker will be. Questions provide us important information for leading the discussion and controlling it. Ask open-ended questions and when the situation requires it, ask leading questions.Listen
Questions should convey to the debtor that we are concerned. Paraphrase and summarize the conversation. This demonstrates to the debtor that we are listening and at the same time allows us to clarify what we are hearing.Make Notes
Memories tend to be short and often inaccurate. There is no substitute for recorded notes taken during and immediately after a conversation. Be concise. Good record keeping allows us to be progressively firm if the need arises. Remember…BE ASSERTIVE BUT NOT AGRESSIVE!Avoid Arguments and Threats
A debtor can easily lead us into and argument and drive our attention away form the key objective of getting paid immediately. Stay composed and focused. If an argument is imminent and there is no way to avoid it then it is best to say; “this is probably a bad time for us to be having this discussion, I’ll call back.”Disputes
Remember, the objective of the collector is to get the full amount owed NOW! Treat every dispute as an opportunity to get a commitment for full payment. Establish with the debtor that the dispute they have raised is the only one preventing them from paying the bill. Get the commitment that once the dispute is remedied they will make payment. Once the commitment for payment has been acquired, work with whomever necessary to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible.Words of Wisdom
"It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up."— Vince Lombardi
Two Choices…
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?” Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”
“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your moods. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: it’s your choice how to live life.“ I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business. He left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma centre. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he said, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices. I could choose to live, or I could choose to die.” I chose to live. “Weren’t your scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked. Jerry continued. “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.” “What did you do?” I asked. “Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me“ said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes,” I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them “I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.” Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
