3 Signs That It's Time to Partner with a 3rd Party Collections Agency

Sometimes, business owners feel that partnering with an outside business means they failed internally. The truth is, it is most likely a sign that your business is quickly growing and you recognize that there are certain aspects that don’t revolve around your core competencies. Partnering with a 3rd party collection agency to handle your aging accounts doesn’t mean your team did a poor job, it means that you value their time and their competencies and recognize that there is another business ready to step in and help.

How do you know when you are ready to take the step to work with a 3rd party collection agency? Sometimes the signs are clearly there, and other times it might be something bubbling under the surface that you can’t quite put your finger on. In either situation, knowing the signs will better help in making the decision to work with a 3rd party collection agency, and thus allowing your resources, employees, time, and more to be better utilized. But what exactly are those signs?

1. Your Staff Doesn’t Have the Time 

Most likely, you have a team member working on contacting aging accounts that weren’t hired to do that job. Taking your employee’s time away from their expected daily tasks and placing an emphasis on aging accounts can take away a large portion of their weekly hours, and can also hurt morale if it isn’t something the employee enjoys doing or is expected to do when joining your company. If you are noticing tasks falling through the cracks due to time being wasted on hunting down payments, consider what relief a 3rd party collection agency could offer you. By reducing your employee’s time on chasing down aging account dollars, and instead of just passing that information off to a 3rd party collection agency, you are freeing up your employee’s time, getting them back to the work they enjoy, and also passing off the job to a team of professionals that have mastered the art of collections. 

2. Collecting on Aging Accounts Isn’t Happening 

The wasted time aside, are you seeing results from your internal team working on collecting on aging accounts? Your team members weren’t trained in collecting on aging accounts and are probably just doing the best they can to save the dollars on aging accounts. If you have a major legal issue come up, do you handle it internally, ask your finance team to handle the issue, or do you consult with a lawyer? Much like the lawyer example, remember that a 3rd party collection agency works on collecting day in and day out. They have the best tools and know the best techniques to maximize what they collect, thus putting more dollars back into your pocket.

3. You are Losing Customers 

Your customers are valuable to you, and often that relationship can be harmed if your internal team works on collecting on aging accounts. Partnering with a 3rd party collection agency allows amenity for the customers, avoids embarrassment, and oftentimes can keep that customer coming back after the account is collected on as a repeat client.

Conclusion

If you are seeing any of the above signs, it might be time to reach out to a 3rd party collection agency. Collecting on delinquent accounts can be a headache when done internally. Maximize results and reduce stress by reaching out to an agency! 

***PestRoutes proudly works with A.R.M. Solutions as our preferred 3rd party collection agency. To learn more, visit www.armsolutions.com or email our PestRoutes/A.R.M. Solutions’ rep, Andrea Dahlgren at adahlgren@armsolution.com. Don’t forget to mention PestRoutes for preferred pricing!