Do you struggle when trying to engage lawyers in the year-end collections activities? Do you have any good tips? What makes a difference in successfully engaging lawyers in year-end collections activities? We asked two of our colleagues for their experiences and here are the results:
Doug Miller, Chief Financial Officer at Sutter O’Connell in Cleveland, Ohio says:
“Rotating meetings with Credit & Collections committee work very well. Nothing motivates likes having a bright light shined on your client’s A/R. It doesn’t have to be adversarial but it does have to be direct and pointed as to what the status is on the overdue accounts. No wriggling out. Solid commitments on when calls will be made. Then a follow-up meeting to check on progress. Best if Executive Committee or Compensation Committee member(s) is in attendance so that evidence of lack of meeting commitments is not hearsay.”
Darlene Lariviere, Client Accounting & Financial Systems Manager at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Toronto, Canada says:
“I think meeting with them personally one-on-one and reviewing the actual A/R report right in front of them works best. If I know the lawyer’s “personality” to a certain degree or the client, I will also “suggest” things that we can do for them, such as:
- If the account is “doubtful” for payment, we suggest writing it off the books and have my team work it offline, but keep it on the radar
- Offer to draft an email to the client (so that they don’t have to)
- Offer to work the account(s) for them to see what we can do
Whatever ‘trick’ you use to get the lawyers engage, make sure you start early so that your firm collects as many payments as you can before the year closes. Ho-Ho-Ho.
Happy Holidays and all the best in 2014!