3 Ways to Sharpen Your Interpersonal Skills
Did you know that your interpersonal skills play a big part in your success when it comes to working with past due clients? It’s true! The Golden Rule applies to every area of business. When you treat people, including past due clients, like they should be, people who are worthy of respect, you actually manage to collect more on past due accounts. You can also use your interpersonal skills to benefit your entire business.
Have a Positive Attitude
One of the easiest and best interpersonal skills that you can have is a positive attitude. It can be hard to cultivate if you’re not used to doing your job with a smile on your face, but it is well worth the investment. When you sound happy on the phone and when you display a positive attitude, people want to work with you. You become aware of your power to help others solve their problems. Here are some easy tips to help you be more positive:
- Develop a can-do attitude. Work can be hard. It can be frustrating. However, when we start looking at what we can accomplish instead of what we don’t believe is possible, life changes. No more thinking about how you can’t do something. Instead, look for things that you can do to move you toward the goal. In the case of collections, look for ways that you can work with people who honestly want to take care of their debt.
- No complaining. There are some times that we feel like complaining is necessary. To some degree, it can help us feel better. However, when we complain, it changes our entire perspective on our day. So, try it for a day: no complaining. It’s harder than it sounds. However, it can make your job more pleasant. When you feel better, you’ll look at your job in a different way. That can make your collections efforts more effective.
- Get organized. It can frazzle our nerves to work in a space that is disorganized. When you are better organized, you feel more prepared. This makes you more relaxed and ready to work with others.
You can learn more about developing a positive attitude at work by reading this great article written by Geoffrey James.
Be Considerate of Others
Being considerate of other people can go a long way in collections. There are two parts to this. The first part is being considerate to your colleagues. Even if you are the only member of your organization, you should be considerate of people that you contact on a regular basis. There could be a time in the future that you need their help on something. This is a great way to proactively eliminate business stress in the future. The second part is being considerate of your clients. New clients and longstanding clients still deserve your consideration. Keep in mind that they can take their business elsewhere. They don’t have to spend their money with you. When you are considerate of what they need, you are less likely to experience issues with those clients in the future. Your consideration of them begins from the day you decide to go into business. You’re doing more than solving a problem for them. You have to know how to make sure that they feel appreciated.
During collections, you can be considerate of the time and needs of the people who have fallen behind. This is a simply part of good customer service. Although you’re out to do a job, you’re still representing your company. When you are considerate of others, their time, and their feelings, you protect the reputation of your company.
Active Listening
The strongest interpersonal skill that you can learn to benefit all aspects of your business is to actively listen. Active listening is when you truly listen to what is being said to you. It means that you’re not thinking about lunch. You’re not multitasking on another project. You are not considering what you will say once the person stops speaking. You are paying full attention to the speaker. Then, you summarize a bit of what you heard. Why summarize? Because it provides an opportunity to ensure that there’s not an instance of miscommunication. Finally, you provide a thoughtful response or you ask clarifying questions.
Active listening is an amazing tool for all aspects of your business because you are able to truly discover and understand the needs of your clients. This is a gift to you because then you are able to meet those needs. Clients who feel as if you really listened to them feel valued. They are more likely to become loyal clients.
Free Process Review
If you’re curious about how effective your customer service, client intake, or collections processes are, Clients A.R.M. a free process review. We will use our 30 years of collections, customer service, and accounts receivable expertise to help you streamline your business and ensure that it is focused on the needs of your client. It doesn’t take a lot of time to get this invaluable information. Just fill out this form to get started! You’ll be glad that you did.
