Business should be about selling the amazing products and services your company produces, not about chasing outstanding debt. Chasing debt can often become onerous, unproductive and costly, and if your business doesn’t have the capacity or specialised expertise and has exhausted its traditional methods of recovery it might be time to consider a Debt Collection Agency (DCA).

But where do you start? “There seems to be so many DCA’s to choose from” you say, and you may be correct. Getting the right fit for your company will take some research, but as they say, “it’s better to be safe than sorry”. So here are a few tips to get you started and lead you towards a DCA that consistently outperforms competition.

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In this blog we’ve reached out to our vast collections network to uncover the three most valued competencies our clients and network partners consider most crucial in a DCA, they are:

1. Experience

2. Focus

3. Evolution is in its DNA

Let’s get into the detail.  

1. Experience:

Albert Einstein famously said “the only source of knowledge is experience” and this sentiment is crucial when deciding whichDCA to partner with because as they say ‘knowledge is also power’. You can find a theoretical solution to any problem, but you’ll agree it has little substance in the collections industry until it has practical use. Once an idea is given life and is actioned, it then evolves from a concept to become an activity that leaves a ‘knowledge bank and experience’. Repetition of any process inevitably leads to it being refined allowing for the experience and knowledge to deepen as the process improves. The collections processes are no different to any other industry and whether it’s dealing with customers on a face to face basis or implementing new software and tools, experience should be a crucial selection criterion when choosing the right DCA to partner with.  Experienced DCA’s have learned from past challenges, gone beyond theory into practice and gained confidence in their experience. That wealth of expertise is what you are looking for when choosing the right DCA.  

2. Focus: 

The true strength of a DCA is that collections is their day job, their fuel and their single point of focus. Immersing the entire business on all things collections allows a DCA to enjoy a laser focus on this one specific area of business, but importantly it offers them opportunity to explore the subject a full 360 degrees. Through this single mindedness a DCA will not have the distractions of the company it supports which will help it deliver on agreed expectations and targets. The 360-degree view will allow it to recognise and uncover opportunities. The DCA is an expert in all areas of Collections meaning is up to date on industry trends, for example what customers are reacting to (i.e. smart phone app vs email vs letter), the right time of day to make a call, to the right collections tools or platforms that are offering the best retrieval rates and responses. Also be wary of DCA specific specialisms, for example, a Debt Purchaser who offers an ancillary contingent collections solution will always prioritise their purchased accounts over any commission based work, inadvertently leaving you at the ‘back of the queue’. Understanding the latest trends and knowing what’s working will also help with wastage of time and resources allowing for energy to be spent on what works best: achieving a better Net return.

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3. Evolution is in its DNA:

In the past 5 years due to a technology explosion the communication landscape has changed quickly from a ‘mass’ to a ‘you’ engagement strategy. In what seems the blink of an eye we went from newspaper adverts spraying our messages and praying someone would read them and act, to now enjoying live person to person chats with someone exploring your website and services. So, as technology has rapidly changed it’s never been more important for businesses to partner with DCA’s that have the ability to keep up with those changes, DCA’s that have the evolution and innovation ‘gene’ built into their DNA. This value system allows the DCA to meet changing customer needs on the customer’s terms, in a time and platform that the customer feels comfortable and thus more responsive. The additional communication platforms an innovative DCA company offer can help a client’s collections department reach further into their marketplace to open and retrieve often hard to reach customer segments. Traditional collections services supported with innovative technology driven options can help the collections process to be less daunting for customers, as it offers further ways to handle debt on platforms they’re comfortable with. It helps the customer feel more in control of the process allowing them to engage better.

Final words from CRS

Credit Resource Solutions prides itself on executing the above competencies. Through our vast collective experience we understand these three core areas are crucially important to our clients and as such have become our ‘bread and butter’ and focus for our day to day work.  We live in a time where a new breed of customer has embraced technology, so we moved to become ‘a new breed of DCA’ by fusing tried and tested traditional techniques with new software, programmes and strategies. It’s the perfect match between tradition and tomorrow, driving us to become one of the top ten DCA’s in the nation.

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