A Helpful Checklist for Beginners and Experienced Credit Pros Alike When Handling this Tough Task

Visiting customers at their business to collect money can be extremely effective. But it remains a controversial approach.

To be effective, the trips must be scheduled in advance and include appointments with decision makers.

Face-to-face meetings are often more effective than telephone negotiations. They can also be more confrontational if you're not careful. By meeting directly with customers, you will get both verbal and non-verbal feedback about their payment plans. You will have the opportunity to gauge how well your message is received, and how serious the customer is about commitments made.

Personal visits are far more stressful than telephone collections because customers are more apt to react adversely to a personal visit than they are to a routine collection call. For most customers, there is nothing routine about a personal visit from a credit manager to discuss the status of a past-due balance.

With that in mind, remember these basic rules during each collection visit:

• Always remember that you're a guest. Do not show up uninvited. Behave yourself. Avoid getting thrown out. Agree to disagree, but don't argue on the customer's home field.

• Start by asking general questions about the business, its history and its products. That's a great way to break the ice.

• Don't lump all delinquent accounts together. Delinquent customers have a lot of similar characteristics, but they're not the same. Each is unique in some way. Don't assume what you have seen and heard elsewhere applies to every customer you visit.

• Forget about trying to guilt or shame the customer into paying. Talk to them about their problems. Listen more than talk. Ask probing and open-ended questions. Take brief notes.

• Be polite and attentive. Thank the customer for their time, even if you don't walk away with a check or a commitment

• If you get a commitment, confirm it in writing back to the customer as soon as possible.