by Miranda Norris

Created on: July 01, 2007   Last Updated: August 18, 2009

How many people dreamed of being a bill collector when they were younger? I didn't either. I feel into debt collections by pure accident, as I am sure most bill collectors did. It can be a lucrative career, with set hours, a decent pay schedule, and of course, the offerings of bonus.

The trick however, is learning how to get people to pay you. Let's face it, if there is one career that will make people cringe, it is being a bill collector. No one likes bill collectors, and go out of there way to avoid them Over my years of experience in being a successful bill collector, I have learned tactics that are usually effective when negotiating debt repayment, no matter the agency you work for.

1)The opening dialog.

Most agencies I have worked with have a script for an opening dialog. Every agency may have a different way of saying it, but usually states something similar to this after identifying you are speaking with the correct party:

"This is Jane Doe with company name calling regarding you account with original creditor. They have placed with us a balance of monetary amount. I have to inform you this communication is from a debt collector and this is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. What happened to make this debt go bad?"

Asking a question in which requires an answer does just that. It is designed to get the person talking about what happened to make the debt go bad. This is a great way to get a feeling for how the conversation will go.

2)Listen to the person you are talking to.
Ask questions to keep the party involved, and to the lead the party to giving you more information. For example, if they say, "I lost my job." A pretty general response could be, "I'm sorry to hear that. Are you working now?"

3)Ask for the money.
These seems pretty straight forward doesn't it? I have seen it happen in more than one conversation. Money is the focus of this conversation. Ask for the balance on the account. How can you get the money if you don't ask for it. Maybe they can pay the full balance, maybe they can't. Maybe they can pay half the balance now and half next month. The only way to know is to ask.

4)Obtain as much information as you can.
In my agency we call this "Qualifying Information." Find out the person's situation. Are you working? Where are you employed? How much do you make there? How often are you paid? Do you have any dependents? Does your spouse work? How much do

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