Improve Your Credit With Free Credit And Collections Management Tutorials

Have you ever wondered just how important your credit score is to your financial decision making process? When you consider that your score will determine whether you will get that new car or house that you have had your eye on for some time it’s no wonder many people share the same thoughts. The fact is , that even small credit problems can cause you to be turned down for a loan now and a few years later. It is important for you to know what your credit score is, and if it’s not very high then you need to learn how to improve it.

There are a lot of things that can negatively affect your credit: unpaid credit card bills, and even an unpaid traffic fine can give you a negative mark at the credit bureau. A short list of other things that could hold your credit back would be: having a loan go into default, having a loan being sent to collections, filing for bankruptcy, home foreclosure, and maxing out your credit cards.

Ignoring your credit card bills, or not paying your bills at all, is probably the worst thing you can do to your credit score and this is one reason you need credit and collections management tutorials. A late payment is much better than no payment at all. Lenders are looking for people who have a history of paying their financial obligations.

If you’re getting annoying phone calls from third party collectors then this is probably not the right time for applying for credit. When a debt is in the hands of a collection agency, it means that the original lender has given up collecting payment from you and decided to hire someone to do it for them. These days home foreclosure has become a big problem.

Many lenders are sympathetic to having problems of making your mortgage payments or having your home in foreclosure; however, this does not mean that you will have an easy time getting another mortgage loan. Instead of filing for bankruptcy, or going through a home foreclosure, you might try to see a consumer credit counsellor and get these management tutorials to help you.

If your credit is poor, don’t give up. Instead go see your lender and ask them to help you make a plan to improve your credit score. Many people who have a very poor credit rating have been helped to the point of obtaining loans and mortgage much faster than they ever thought possible just by making a credit repair plan with their lender.

Some people who have been turned down have found that their score was just below the limit and were able to make very small changes to obtain a loan by getting credit and collections management tutorials.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off

Credit and Collections: Calling Vs Emailing

Superman vs. Lex Luther, James Bond vs. Dr No, Harry vs. Voldemort – so many epic battles are good vs. evil. Not so in credit and collections. Calling vs. Emailing is not pitting good vs. evil but good vs. good or good vs. better or right now vs. later. People have preferences, maybe personal and/or company dictated, about calling or emailing customers for collections related business but both methods have their benefits. The trick is to find the balance that uses the right method at the right time in the right situation.

Calling is an effective way to reach your customers. It is easier to establish relationships when you are one-on-one over the phone. It’s also harder to ignore a problem situation when you are speaking directly with another human. A phone call is essential for all non-routine situations. People are more likely to open up over the phone and you can get more insight into a problem even if that insight comes from reading between the lines. Along that line, it’s easier to solve a problem when you are having a conversation over the phone than back-and-forth over email. Working together to solve problems is also a big component of building close relationships with customers and providing excellent customer service.

Emailing is also an effective way to communicate. Because you can attach invoices and other transactional documents you are assured that your customers know exactly what you are talking about. For established customers who usually pay on time, email is a breeze. Some AP departments don’t answer phones so you must email. It’s also essential for working internationally when office hours don’t overlap due to different time zones. From a time management perspective, emailing is quicker than a phone call.

There are some tactics for using both methods of communication effectively. To start, call all new customers first – in this way you can find out their preferences for future communications. A lot of people will tell you they prefer email – it’s less confrontational, takes less time to respond to than a phone call but it’s also easier to ignore. So you put them on your list of customers to email first. Then, if they don’t respond to your emails, be prepared to call. Same goes for folks who don’t respond to phone calls first. Make sure you have processes in place to follow up if you don’t hear back after 7 days or the 2nd call or email. When you follow up – it is a best practice to use more than one method of communication.

Never rely on just phone or email unless a client has proven to be consistently on-time and always replies in a timely manner to your communications. If you email a customer and get no response, always call to follow up. And if you call but have to leave a voicemail, also send an email. This helps eliminate problems caused by having the wrong email address or phone number as well – the more methods of communication you use the more likely you are to get through to a customer. By using both methods in tandem you get the best of both worlds and are able to effectively use both calling and emailing in the best possible way they were intended.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off