You closed the deal, delivered the work and sent the invoice. So why are you still waiting to get paid? In this episode of the Futureproof Business Podcast, host Daniel Rosenstein sits down with Bill Ferrier to talk about collecting overdue invoices without damaging the customer relationships your sales team worked hard to win.
Bill is the founder of Ready Set Collect!, where he trains in-house collections teams across North America. He started in credit and collections at 18 or 19 with Dun & Bradstreet, spent well over a decade there learning commercial collections and training new collectors, and has now been in the field for more than 30 years.
Making the sale is only half the job
Bill’s starting point is blunt: you can have the best product or service in the world, but if you aren’t collecting your money, you may as well be giving it away. By his estimate, around three quarters of companies have a genuine cash flow problem — and some slow-paying customers are effectively growing their own business with your receivable.
Key takeaways from the conversation
1. Collections is part of the business cycle
When Bill asks workshop groups what makes up the business cycle, they list sales, marketing, administration and shipping — and usually forget collections. He teaches collectors to drop the stigma and treat the receivable as if it were their own money, without becoming adversarial.
2. Know your days sales outstanding
DSO is the number of days it takes for your receivables to turn into cash, and Bill calls it the best month-to-month measuring stick beyond your aging report. If your DSO is 95 days in an industry where 60 is normal, you have a cash flow problem. And 30-day terms rarely mean 30 days: he puts the average DSO across industries at about 57.
3. “I don’t have the money” is an objection, not an answer
It’s the most common objection a collector hears. Bill’s response is to think it through: the lights are on and the customer is still trading, so money is coming in — you’re just not getting any of it. They may not be able to clear the full balance today, but they need to pay something to keep the account open. Everything a slow payer says, he adds, is a test of their intent.
4. Open with a reminder and build rapport
Around the 55-to-60-day mark, the first call is a friendly reminder: here’s what’s outstanding, and we need to see about getting it paid today. Over time you build a working relationship, much like sales. Bill tells customers to come straight to him if there’s ever a problem with an invoice so he can fix it — a partnership approach, not a fight.
5. Escalate with your voice, not with threats
For tougher accounts, Bill keeps it a “feel-good” conversation — you’re a valued customer, but I need to explain to my team how and when this will be paid — then moves to a calm, firm “I need it paid today.” Tone does the work. He never makes a threat he can’t carry out, such as sending a 12-year customer to an agency, because that destroys the collector’s credibility. Arguing also shifts the focus from the money to what was said.
6. Get sales and collections working together
Sales teams want to get the deal through and aren’t always focused on creditworthiness. Bill recommends regular joint meetings so the two sides pull together, bringing in the sales rep when there’s a dispute, and using a credit reporting agency before extending significant credit — a credit application alone only gives you the customer’s three best references.
7. Train your in-house team before paying an agency
Collection agencies typically start at around 30 percent, Bill says, and listing an account for collection usually means waving that customer goodbye. He argues for a dedicated, trained person on receivables rather than someone juggling five jobs, and for treating collection training as a return on investment rather than a cost.
How Bill works with teams
Bill starts with a short one-on-one call with each collector to understand their strengths and challenges, follows with a group workshop, then holds monthly one-on-one sessions that use the team’s real problem accounts as learning exercises. In one example, a company switched software and stopped sending invoices and statements for about 60 days. They were ready to send roughly 2,000 accounts to collection; instead, Bill paired collectors with the in-house credit team and they turned it around.
Connect with Bill Ferrier
Visit readysetcollect.ca to book a no-obligation conversation with Bill.
Watch or listen to the full episode
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