How One Credit Manager Reduced DSO By 14%

When Lhoist North America hired Chris Soignier as Credit Manager in 2012, senior management recognized that they wanted to better control risk and reduce DSO.  They had just made DSO one of the variables that impacted bonuses for sales people, but there was still much to do in order to achieve their objectives. Chris identified … Read more

Getting Business Owners To Sign A Personal Guaranty

The easiest time to get a personal guaranty is when a business is first asking for credit. It is very easy to include this provision on a credit application as described in our free eBook, The Credit Application Handbook. Many business owners will sign a personal guaranty just because it is on the form. Alternatively, … Read more

How To Win An Argument

Arguments occur all too often, whether with a debtor who is disputing a debt, or a co-worker, manager, employee, or spouse. Anyone who is in an argument really wants to win. Frequently in an argument the parties get very emotional and winning is more important than the issue itself. More often than not, neither side actually … Read more

How To Ask Questions.?! Two Simple Tips To Increased Success

Here’s the premise: Good questions directly lead to greater success in life and career; Most people ask bad questions (myself included). We are constantly solving problems on the job, including making the sale.  We need to collect information to solve these problems. How we ask questions greatly influences the answers and our eventual success.  Better … Read more

The Kaplan Group Awards First Annual $1,000 Scholarship

The Kaplan Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Kaplan Group Annual Scholarship of $1,000 has been awarded to Stephen Lyons, a first year graduate student at the University of Georgia and a candidate for a Master of Accountancy. A main goal of the scholarship was to expose students to career opportunities in credit … Read more

Is Your Credit Policy Costing You Money?

Write Offs Can Be Part Of A Profit Maximization Strategy No one wants bad debt. Everyone hates it when you do not get paid. But, is it possible that never having had a bad debt is a sign of a problem? Absolutely! Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard these comments from a few CFOs: … Read more

Simple Tips to Avoid Delinquent Payers

The Kaplan Group As we’ve explained many times in our previous posts, delinquent and non-paying customers and accounts can have a very serious effect on the health of your business. Obviously, when a customer orders a product or service and then doesn’t pay for it, your business suffers – so how can these delinquencies be … Read more

Basic Strategies To Promote Debt Collection Success

Learning to effectively collect debts, whether commercial (business-to-business) or consumer (debts owed by individuals) requires patience and diligence. The best debt collectors have honed their skills over years, learning what strategies tend to push debtors towards making payments. For new debt collectors who haven’t yet had time to develop their collection techniques, however, there are … Read more

How To Know When It’s Time To Hire A Collection Agency

While knowing when to send a past-due account to a collection agency is sometimes difficult, it is important to keep in mind that the sooner an agency has an account and can begin collecting on it, the more likely they are to successfully recover your money. There are multiple reasons to send a claim to … Read more

Properly Using Email Correspondence In Collection Efforts

While telephone is still the most effective way to communicate with debtors during a debt collection effort, other forms of correspondence including email can play an important role in a debt collector‘s efforts to contact a non-paying customer. When using email for collection purposes, it is important to follow some general guidelines to ensure your … Read more

Ready To Collect Your Money?