In a previous blog post, we wrote about call reluctance, specifically what it is and how to beat it. Because call reluctance can be detrimental to your career, and can strike at any time, we wanted to revisit the topic and discuss ways to overcome call reluctance so it never becomes an insurmountable issue.

Call reluctance is something that can affect a sales professional at any time in their career: from a brand new rep who is hesitant to make their first prospecting call to a seasoned professional who has had a number of recent rejections. Fear is the driving force behind call reluctance, which can lead to procrastination and anxiety.

The key to getting over call reluctance is to follow a few simple tips to overcome your dread, power through your fear, and end your procrastination before it takes too much of a toll on your professional goals.

1. Map out your week. Don’t let a day go by without setting small goals for prospecting. Take 20 minutes to plan your prospecting day the evening before. Write up a list of prospects you’ll call and institute a goal in which to execute them. Set a specific time to make your prospecting calls. Do not let anything deter you from completing this goal.

2. Seek support from your managers and colleagues. If the thought of visiting a prospect makes you anxious, enlist your manager to make the call with you. Knowing you’ll be with a trusted partner can often ease your fear and heighten your accountability. Seek guidance from successful colleagues. Chances are, they’ve suffered call reluctance at some point and may have tips for getting through it.

3. Don’t take rejection personally. While it can be hard to hear, a ‘no’ can be a positive. It lets you know that a prospect is not a buyer, and you’ve learned that they’re not a qualified lead. Though the product might not be a fit for that prospect, there’s another out there that is desperately in need of what you have to offer. Move on from the ‘no’ by focusing on your next ‘yes’.

4. Believe in your product. When you have confidence in your product, you have a responsibility to let your prospects know about the product you have to offer. You care about their business and know they can benefit. You’re not hard selling or making them uncomfortable, you’re sharing an opportunity with them.

​It can take time to overcome call reluctance, but if you tackle it head on, you’ll soon be back on track to success! 

​TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

“Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin.” – Victor Kiam

There is a lot of talk about working smarter (see our blog, How to Work Smarter), and one of the deterrents to working smart is procrastination. Most of us, at one time or another, have put off tackling a hard, undesirable, or less important project. Working smart involves prioritizing your tasks, but what happens when you continue to put off those less urgent tasks? Eventually, they will pile up if you don’t make time to tackle them.

When it comes to A/R management, procrastination can be the difference between collecting a delinquent account in full and writing off the loss at tax time. The best way to beat procrastination is to practice mindfulness and recognize the importance of maintaining your healthy A/R.

It’s easy to let your A/R management fall by the wayside when you have other concerns that may be more pressing. Customer satisfaction, day to day operations, and a successful sales year can top your list of priorities, so how do you make time to focus your energy on accounts receivable and collecting delinquent accounts?

One trick to prioritizing your A/R management is to set aside time every day to work on keeping your accounts up to date. For you, this may be an hour first thing in the morning, an hour before or after lunch, or the last hour of the day. The key is selecting an hour (or two), preferably at the same time every day, to tackle those delinquent accounts. Make sure to adhere to your schedule and stop what you’re doing prior to your scheduled A/R hour so you can effectively work A/R management into your day to day schedule. Stick to the if/then principle, for example: “If it’s 1 pm, then I’ll stop what I’m doing and start work on my accounts receivable.”

Another option is to build a relationship with a third party vendor who can take the burden of A/R management off your shoulders. An A/R management company can handle everything from sending statements to your customers, to sending reminders to customers who have late payments, to full on collection services designed to maintain your customer relationships.

Depending on your needs, you may be able to handle A/R management in house. However, if you find yourself perpetually procrastinating in this area, it may be time to reach out to a third party partner. 

​​TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey

Have you ever encountered a work day in which you wonder how you’ll get everything done? If you have, you’re not alone. Many of us face days where the number of projects and tasks on our to-do list feels overwhelming.

When you’re faced with a day (or an entire week or month) that seems insurmountable, how should you proceed in tackling each task on your to-do list? Here are a few tips to help you work smarter:

1. Determine your most urgent priorities. You may have 50 items on your to-do list, but the best way to attack your projects is to focus on the ones that are most in need of your attention. Too often, we focus on the easy to accomplish tasks and set aside the more difficult ones. This can be problematic if a more difficult task has a due date that is looming. Completing small, less important projects may make you feel some accomplishment, but in the long run, it will not make you feel any less overwhelmed if you continue to put off tasks that will take longer to complete.
2. Set realistic timelines for completing your assignments. The most successful people have a realistic timeline in mind when they start a project. If you have a big presentation to do, don’t set yourself up for failure by not establishing an accurate time frame for preparation.
3. Keep yourself focused on the task at hand. Once you’ve scheduled your priorities, don’t let your mind wander to the other items on your to-do list. It can be hard not to think of everything else that needs to be done, but staying mindful of the task at hand will lead to fewer mistakes and less stress. If you find your mind wandering, take a moment to refocus your attention on the job in front of you.
4. Set aside time to take breaks. This may seem counterintuitive when you have a lot on your plate, but by taking mental breaks throughout the day, you will recharge your focus and reenergize your willpower. Take five minutes to drink a cup of coffee and think about things you enjoy outside of your workday. A few minutes here and there will recharge and refresh your brain and allow you to retain focus on what needs to be done.

Additional Reading:

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long by David Rock

Work Smarter, Not Harder: 18 Productivity Tips That Boost Your Work Day Performance by Timo Kiander

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey

​TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

It’s been a busy spring for the TekCollect team, as our sales force has represented our business around the country at various conferences, trade shows, and meetings!

As the spring conference season winds down, we wanted to reflect on the importance of attending the meetings and events hosted by our association partners and prospective partners and why we place so much value on connecting with our customers and the association members at these conferences.

The Importance of Connection

While annual and seasonal conferences are great ways for us to meet prospective clients and demonstrate the value of what we do, it’s also a time for us to reconnect with our current customers.

TekCollect places great value on being true partners to our clients. We want to ensure that when you decide to place your accounts with us, you feel confident in our services, our products, and our team.

In addition to routine connections with your local account executive, the conferences and meetings allow us to meet with some of the most valued members of your team who will help us make sure we’re meeting your business’s high standards. Our attendance at meetings frequently gives our corporate and local team members a chance to connect with you in a way that differs from the follow-up care you receive from your local account executive.

Our attendance gives us a chance to learn more about the needs your business, and the needs of your industry as a whole. We absorb a lot of information about your industry requirements, which helps us craft services and products to better meet those necessities. A true partner works alongside your business and industry to address your pain points and works hard to stay ahead of the curve to help you tackle challenges as they come.

Where We’ve Been

This spring found us at a number of conference for a wide range of industries. Our services and products are relevant for any business that sends out an invoice for services or products.

We spent time working with a number of the dental associations in the country by attending the Texas Dental Association Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, the South Carolina Dental Association’s Annual Session in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and the North Carolina Dental Society’s Annual Session in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We have many wonderful relationships with dental practices and are proud partners with all three of the aforementioned associations.

In Rye Brook, New York, Division Vice President Tim Olesky attended the New York State Veterinary Conference on behalf of TekCollect and as a preferred partner of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society. Tim has long worked with a number of NYSVMS member practices and is happy to continue his relationships and establish new partnerships while at the spring conference.

Vice President of Corporate Services Diane Schumm was pleased to attend both the National Propane Gas Association’s Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo in Nashville, Tennessee and the Western Propane Gas Association’s Trade Show and Convention in Reno, Nevada. Diane has facilitated many important connections between propane industry businesses and TekCollect and is happy to continue representing our company to the national and regional propane associations. We are proud to be the preferred partner for both of these wonderful associations.

Where We’ll Be

As we move into summer and a new season of conferences, we will continue to attend as many meetings and trade shows as we’re able. As TekCollect continues to grow, we will seek new partnerships and new opportunities to connect with our clients at their local trade shows, meetings, and conferences.

​In the upcoming months, you will find us at the Independent Funeral Directors of Florida meeting located in Orlando, Florida, at the Michigan Propane Gas Association trade show in Thompsonville, MI, at the Ohio Ambulance & Medical Transportation Association’s annual conference in Dublin, OH, and many more.

​We hope if you’re at one of the conferences where we’ll be, you’ll stop by our booth and say hi! 

To learn more about TekCollect’s services, an AR specialist can perform a custom Accounts Receivable Analysis at no cost or obligation to you. Simply visit www.TekCollect.com for more information or call us toll-free at866.652.6500.

​TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Making a plan for creating positive cash flow is an important step for any business. It’s never too early or too late to tackle your delinquent accounts, and TekCollect experts have put together a list of the top four ways to improve your cash flow management and protect your A/R health.

1. Eliminate Alienation: Your clients, customers, and patients are so valuable to your practice that it is vital to maintain your relationships, even if you’re in the middle of a debt situation. With early, professional contact provided by a neutral third party, like TekCollect, your practice or business can continue servicing your customers without the fear of uncomfortable financial discussions.

2. Free Up Your Staff: You’ve hired your staff members for their unique talents, which don’t always include A/R management. With A/R management becoming more and more important to a business’s bottom line, it’s critical that you are your staff are working smart. Are you employees trained to handle collections conversations? Are they aware of the latest laws and strategies for recovering lost income? If not, it’s time to examine whether an outside party could handle your delinquencies more efficiently. 

3. Improve Your Ongoing A/R Health: You may be familiar with the preventative maintenance, from oil
changes for your car, to regular checkups with your doctor or dentist, you know how important prevention can be. The same preventative principles apply to cash flow management. Making a plan for tracking and pursuing receivables, as well as protocols for those that became past due, can make a huge difference in overall business health. Businesses that make solid commitments to an A/R management plan have reported up to a 75% reduction to the number of delinquencies that eventually become write-offs.

4. Be Proactive, Not Reactive: Before your business is inundated with delinquent accounts, make a pledge to stay ahead of the curve on your cash flow. If you neglect your accounts, you’ll put yourself at a crucial disadvantage. It’s easy to let things slide when you’re focused on other aspects of your business, so utilizing a third party A/R management expert like TekCollect can help you focus on both your day to day business operations and your A/R health without feeling overwhelmed.   

To learn more about TekCollect’s services, an AR specialist can perform a custom Accounts Receivable Analysis at no cost or obligation to you. Simply visit www.TekCollect.com for more information or call us toll-free at 866.652.6500.

​TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
​

TekCollect is invested in giving back to the community.

In March, we collected over 200 cans and boxes of food, as well as personal hygiene products to benefit Neighborhood Services, Inc. (NSI) and help stock the shelves of their food pantry. Yearly, NSI’s Choice Food Pantry supports over 5,000 families in central Ohio. This is the second time TekCollect has partnered with NSI, and we’re proud to continue this relationship.

On the first warm day in April, the TekCollect team organized to pick up litter on the street where our headquarters reside. TekCollect is proud to be part of central Ohio’s Adopt an Area program, which serves to maintain the beauty and integrity of our communities.   

After an afternoon spent picking up litter, a cookout was held for all employees to celebrate the end of tax season and the successful effort of the team to clean up Park Street!

Our team for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure is training hard for this year’s run on May 14th. Our team is bigger than ever and looking forward to participating in this annual event to benefit breast cancer research.

As we look to the rest of the year, the staff is hard at work organizing additional philanthropic efforts. We hope to again partner with NSI this summer to organize a day in which several employees volunteer their time at the pantry’s farmer’s market, which provides fresh produce to community members in need. Plans are in place to participate in additional 5K events to benefit local and national organizations, and we will continue to find ways to diversify our efforts to help the community at large.

TekCollect values our community and will continue to seek out partnerships with local non-profit organizations, as well as participate in new efforts that represent causes important to the company as a whole, as well as causes valued by individual team members.

http://www.neighborhoodservicesinc.org/
https://www.columbus.gov/adoptanarea/
http://komencolumbus.org/komen-race-for-the-cure/    

TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter

“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” - Nikos Kazantzakis, author and essayist

Most of want to succeed. At work and in life, we want to be good employees, good parents, and good citizens. However, life can get in the way of our ambitions. How do you stay motivated at work when your priorities may lie in a variety of areas?

An important tip for successfully motivating yourself in the workplace is to set goals. Not just any goals, but SMART goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Don’t self-sabotage yourself with goals that are vague or too far in the future to be relevant to your daily and weekly needs. Goals must be detailed and must require you to challenge yourself to achieve them. Growth and motivation are products of reaching a goal that isn’t easy to achieve.

Positivity can jumpstart your motivational drive. While there may be times it’s hard to stay focused on the positive, the key is not to dwell on negative thoughts. If a setback occurs, allow yourself some time to reflect on the emotions and results that accompany that setback, but put a time limit on how long you allow yourself to be angry or upset before forcing yourself to concentrate on something positive. Nothing derails enthusiasm like negative thinking.

A part of staying positive and motivated involves dedication to your future success. Focus on the rewards you’ll receive or the accomplishment you’ll feel when you complete your goals. This will help build self-confidence and keep you on track to do what needs to be done on the job. If you’re working toward a promotion or raise, imagine what life will be like once you’ve achieved your goal. Envisioning your future is a great way to inspire you to make it a reality.   

Additional Reading:

The Motivation Switch: 77 Ways to Get Motivated, Avoid Procrastination, and Achieve Success by AJ Winters

The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard

​Motivation in 7 Simple Steps: Get Excited, Stay Motivated, Achieve Any Goal, and Create an Incredible Lifestyle by Marta Tuchowska

TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

For many, public speaking causes anxiety and fear akin to a phobia. However, public speaking is an important tool in business. From large events in which the speaker is on stage in front of hundreds to one-on-one presentations, the various scenarios can cause the same level of fear for the person who has to present. So, how does one tackle their fear and overcome it?

The first key to overcoming your fear is to know your subject matter. When you're presenting on a topic, you'll increase your confidence if you're well versed on the subject. The rule of thumb for a good presentation is that it takes 90 hours of preparation for one 60 minutes presentation. That may seem like a lot, but once you've spent that much time on your material, you'll know it inside and out.

Another key tip is to practice your presentations. Find a friend or two whom you're comfortable speaking to and present your material to them. Ask for feedback and make sure to listen to their critiques. Their advice will help you be better prepared for the real thing.

Finally, involve your audience in your presentation. Not only will it be more memorable for the listeners, but asking questions and expecting a response will take the focus off of you and allow you to compose yourself while the room is focused on the new speaker. You'll also feel more relaxed if others are engaged, as it will create a conversation that allows you to focus on someone else instead of your own performance.

If you're still nervous about the idea of public speaking, research local groups or community classes that focus on overcoming your fear of public speaking. Your local library may also be a good source for material on conquering your fears. Once you've mastered your anxiety, you'll be better able to give effective, memorable presentations.

Additional Reading:

In the Spotlight: Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing by Janet Esposito

Fearless Speaking: Beat Your Anxiety, Build Your Confidence, Change Your Life by Gary Genard

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking: Modern Techniques for Dynamic Communication by Dale Carnegie

TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

“I’m definitely going to take a course on time management… just as soon as I can work it into my schedule.” – Louis E. Boone, author of Contemporary Business

There’s a lot of discussion about time management and how to utilize time more effectively. If you look at the market, there are a number of books, courses, workshops, even apps for your phone designed to help you make the most of your available time.

Despite these things, many of us still find ourselves wondering at the end of each day just what exactly we did all day.

Brian Tracy, author of more than 60 books on sales, management, and business success, recommends starting your day with your most dreaded project first, or by “eating your frog” as he calls it, so that you don’t worry about the dreaded task all day (which takes your focus from other things). He also explains that most of us “confuse activity with accomplishment.” You may spend your day tackling a job that requires a lot of time, but doesn’t achieve real results. Organizing your desktop or cataloging your notes takes time, but what will you actually gain from devoting your day to such activities?

While “eating the frog” is one way of tackling your day, what if you’re most dreaded task isn’t your highest priority? Another suggestion for successful time management is to order your day from high priority to low. What are the tasks that need immediate attention and which are the ones that can wait a few more hours? The trick is to know how to identify your priorities and not be afraid to put off those that can wait. A pressing need from your boss might be more important than responding to a customer who hasn’t yet waited 2 hours for a reply to a non-urgent question.

​The goal of successfully organizing your day is higher productivity and less stress - two things many of us are desperate to achieve each day.

Additional Reading:

Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs by Kevin Kruse

Essential DK Managers: Manage Your Time by Tim Hindle

TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Here at TekCollect, we are in the midst of our annual corporate planning exercise – a practice we call Roadmap. For Roadmap 2016, we challenge each department to use this quarter to plan and prepare for the year ahead – making milestons, identifying potential roadblocks, and creating goals to develop a more successful atmosphere than the year before. The departmental plans coalesce to form a comprehensive company vision and tactical guide for navigating 2016.
 
Similar to our Roadmap, we also like to challenge our current and future clients to plan ahead, taking advantage of your 4th Quarter so that we can maximize your returns in 2016. What are some tips to get ahead of the game?:

• Take Advantage of Early Placement: By placing accounts earlier in the aging cycle, your chances of recuperation as well as client retention are higher. Up to 75% higher in some cases!
• Make a Schedule and Stick to It: November and December can get hectic for many businesses, and we sometimes see placement consistency drop off toward the end of the year. However, this causes a backlog of placements in the 1st Quarter and needlessly ages those waiting to be pursued! Designate a time each week for placing accounts and maintain it.
• Let Us Handle It: Many companies prefer to work their accounts internally before turning them over to an agency. This causes a variety of issues, from staff strain and discomfort to leverage erosion, not to mention aged accounts. Take it off your company’s plate and allow cash flow management experts to work for you.
• Look Ahead: It may not feel this way now, but tax season is around the corner already. This is the busiest and most profitable times for TekCollect – the time of year we collect the most money for our clients. Get these strategies in place now so that by tax season, your internal practices are optimized for best performance by the TekCollect team.

 
Make the most of your 4th Quarter by building your Roadmap to better cash flow wellness. We look forward to helping you on your journey.

TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.