|
||||||||||
|
Subscribe to the Absolute Write Newsletter and get the Agents! Agents! Agents! report free! Click here.
|
Win a 1-year subscription to Writer's Digest by subscribing to Absolute Markets-- all paying markets for your writing. Click here. |
|
| |||||||||||||
|
|
Interview with Michelle Dunn Interview by Jenna Glatzer
Michelle started M.A.D. Collection Agency in January 1998 and ran it successfully until she sold it in December 2004. She owns and runs Credit & Collections.com, a nine-year-old online community for credit and business professionals with more than 700 members.
Michelle has been featured in Ladies Home Journal, PC World, Home Business Magazine, Home Business Journal, Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, Professional Collector, Credit & Collections Risk, NH Business Review, and in the books Home Based Business for Dummies, and Shameless Marketing for Brazen Hussies. She was a featured guest on National Public Radio (NPR) and has been in many newspapers and magazines nationwide as well as on the CBS Early Show. She has many published articles and five published books to add to her list of accomplishments. Michelle has signed a contract with Entrepreneur Press to write a credit and collections guide for their Ultimate Series.
In addition to writing and marketing her books, Michelle moderates and runs Credit & Collections.com and was a member of The American Collectors Association for nine years. She is the mother of two teenage boys and enjoys cooking, snowmobiling, and reading.
I understand you fell into the collections business sort of by accident. Tell us about that.
When I moved to NH, I got a job as an accounts receivable clerk. The credit manager left very soon after I was hired and I took that position. I had never done collection work and found I loved it. I could visibly see my results. It was quite a challenge, but one that I enjoyed and did well. I started taking classes and reading everything I could about collections.
I'm thrilled to interview you because I believe most writers are stumped when it comes to collecting overdue payments.
I think you are right, but in every business, most people are stumped about collecting. People do the jobs they do because they enjoy it and are good at it. Doing collections is like doing your taxes; most people outsource that aspect of their job. For example, a writer writes a book, self-publishes, and is marketing, doing signings, and promoting her work or writing another book. Suddenly she has a bookstore or distributor that isn’t paying. She has no idea what to do about this, what is legal or not legal, and maybe doesn’t even want to do this. It is not always a fun job! In my book Become the Squeaky Wheel, anyone-- writers, publishers, carpenters, bookstores, mechanics-- can create or implement a credit policy and collect the money that is due to him or her right now, avoid having money owed to him or her in the future, and make more money with existing customers by maintaining a credit policy.
Let's say I'm waiting for payment from a magazine. They promised to pay me $800 on publication, but the issue was published last month and I have no check. I e-mailed the editor a polite note to ask about payment, and she just said it should be "coming soon." What do I do next?
If you did not have a signed contract or agreement, or even e-mails establishing when that payment was due, assume that after 30 days, payment is due. I would call that editor and tell her I need a date the check will be mailed. “Coming soon” does not cut it. Get a date, and send a confirmation letter. I have examples in Become the Squeaky Wheel. You will want the letter to be addressed to the editor you spoke with, and to say, “This letter is to confirm our conversation on [this date], that a check (if you obtained a check number, insert that here) in the amount of $ will be mailed on [a certain date].” You can also include a self-addressed envelope and state that in your letter. Call the editor on the day the check was to be mailed to verify it was sent. This way, even if it was not sent, he or she will go find it and, with any luck, get it signed by the person who needs to sign it, and mail it to you. Hence, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Another month goes by and I still have no check. Now what?
If possible, make a personal visit and tell them you are there to pick up the check. If that is not a possibility, call and ask for the editor who approves the invoices, and speak to that person. Find out where the invoice is, and why it was not approved. If they say they do not have the invoice, fax it while you are on the phone, or call right back. Find out who signs the checks and speak to that person. The key to getting paid is following up. Do not drop the ball. Call these people back every day until you have a satisfactory answer. Be sure to set them up as a pre-pay or credit card account before you ever do business with them again.
Writers rarely use collection agencies, but I think that's mostly because we don't know much about the process. Do most collection agencies have minimums? That is, could I hire a collection agency to collect a $100 check? And how does the collection agent get paid?
Using a collection agency is a lot like using a lawyer who gets paid based on what you win in court. They get paid a commission on what they collect. If they don’t collect, they don’t get paid. Some agencies have minimums, but I know of a lot that don’t. Most small agencies or agencies that are just starting out don’t have minimums. They are happy for the business. Some agencies charge more for a smaller dollar amount. When I had my agency, my commission was 25% of what I collected, but if the debt was over one year old or under $75, my commission was 50%. Some agencies have different fees for collecting on checks, some collect on any check and still give you the face value of the check, and keep the NSF fees as their payment. My advice is to research what your collection needs are.
Do you get a lot of bad checks? Do you have people charging back their credit cards or just people not paying within terms? Then you want to read Become the Squeaky Wheel and make sure your credit policy is as tight as you can get it. Once you do this, your bad checks and bad debt should be much less. Then you will want to research agencies that specialize or offer different options for the type of collection you need. Maybe bad checks, paying beyond terms, or credit card charge backs. See what they all charge, check their references, and try them out.
You favor the "you'll attract more bees with honey" approach, as do I. How does this work with collections? What kind of words do you use when you're repeatedly being put off with excuses and "the check's in the mail" nonsense?
I was a bill collector for 17 years, and by incorporating being a compassionate, helpful but firm debt collector, I collected more money than most in my field. Most people who are past due in payments are not happy about this-- they are embarrassed and angry. If you can let them know you understand that this is temporary and not how they always handle their obligations, but be firm about consequences, you will get further. You will always get the people who play games, but you are the one who has to have a firm response to every excuse. Some excuses are very common, and the best way to keep control of the call and the situation is experience in making collection calls. When you repeatedly get “the check is in the mail” excuse, you start asking, “When did you mail it? Was it a check or a money order? What is the check number? What was the date on the check? Did you bring it to the post office or put it in a mail box?” I have done this for years and have found that when you ask these types of questions, the debtor will usually mail a check once they hang up with you, because he probably had not sent it anyway.
Writers have sometimes suggested charging interest on late payments, but I don't believe this is legal unless it was written into the contract to begin with. Am I right?
Yes, you can charge interest or late fees, or even offer an early payment discount; but this should be on the original contract and any invoices or statements that you send out.
What happens if the publication goes out of business-- or if I hear rumors that it's about to? Do I still have a chance of recovering my money?
If you hear rumors the publication is about to go out of business and you have a credit application with authorization to run a credit report or check references, I would do this now. You may want to reconsider your terms with the publication. If you find it is true the publication will be going out of business, you might want to place the account with a collection agency sooner than later. The longer you wait to take action once you have a suspicion, the harder it will be to collect your money. Also, be very careful of rumors. You don’t want to place the publication with a collection agency or burn any bridges only to find out it was only a rumor!
Are there any things that writers should specifically not do when trying to collect their fees?
They should not threaten any actions they don’t intend to take. They should also be aware that how they handle the situation may affect future business dealings with this company. Be aware that the way you handle the collection of any past due money should be in accordance with whether or not you want to continue to do business with this company.
Your first self-published book sold more than 5,000 copies, which is doubly impressive because it's on such a specialized topic (starting a collections agency). How did you learn about the self-publishing process and make these sales?
Once I finished writing Starting a Collection Agency, I researched self-publishing online and also bought many books on the subject. The Self Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter was my main guide. I read his book a few times and highlighted and put sticky notes all through it. I made a “to do” list using the information in his book and did it myself. My sales happened without much marketing on my part. I wrote the book because of the demand, so I had quite a few pre-publication sales. Also because it was the only guide available at the time, sales were pretty good. I had a lot of publicity with my collection agency and my website was number one on Yahoo!, Google, and MSN, which resulted in more sales of my book.
Your next books are all e-books, correct? Why did you choose this medium, and how are you reaching your audience?
My books are all available as e-books and Starting a Collection Agency, Become the Squeaky Wheel, and How to Help You Get Paid are also available in paperback. I have two other books available as e-books now, but will be available in print very soon. I have also just signed a contract with Entrepreneur Press to write a credit and collections book for their Ultimate Series, which will be paperback. I have found there is a whole online audience that prefers e-books, but many still like to have the actual book in their hands. With some of my books that include letters and forms, e-books are handy because you can save the letter or form as a text document and insert your information for an instant letter.
I reach my audience through my online community at www.credit-and-collections.com and my website, www.michelledunn.com. I was also a bill collector for 17 years and owned my own collection agency for eight years. I have established myself in the credit and debt collection industry, and write articles for magazines, newspapers, and online newsletters. Being an expert in my field and speaking and doing consulting helps me reach my audience as well.
You've been featured all over the media-- the Wall Street Journal, Ladies' Home Journal, PC World, etc. How do you attract this kind of attention?
I have always done all my own publicity, and am self-taught. I read a lot of books on marketing and have been very successful at it. I send press releases and provide information that people want to learn about rather than just announcements about what I am doing. Also, because I am a woman and started my own debt collection business ten years ago, when it was still considered a man’s industry, has attracted some media attention for me and my business.
Visit Michelle at: www.credit-and-collections.com E-mail: michelle@michelledunn.com
Michelle Dunn P.O. Box 40 Plymouth NH 03264
Jenna Glatzer is the editor-in-chief of www.AbsoluteWrite.com and the author of 14 books, including Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, which comes with a FREE editors’ cheat sheet at www.jennaglatzer.com.
|
Sponsored links 
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer! How to find a book publisher |
Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007
Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
|
