It’s the 21st century and we have instant everything. Videos/Pictures immediately, emails in seconds, electronic faxes in minutes and ACH & EFT payments faster than ever before. We have predictive ‘dialers’ that can broadcast hundreds of calls a minute. Why would we ever pick up the phone to communicate? Well, in the legendary words of Willie Sutton, “cause that’s where the money is.”

With a younger work force who communicates with the world at large through Facebook, LinkenIn, Google+, texting, cellphones, etc. in an abbreviated language (that requires my 15 year old to translate), we sometimes lose sight of the fact we still have to dial the phone and start with “hello.”

In my humble opinion, the “electronic age” provides many wonderful support mechanics enhancing collectors’ ability to reach out around the globe to send & receive vital information; but all of this cannot replace the “human touch,” That voice on the other end of the phone conjuring up an image in the other persons mind, the use of inflection, the ability to “mirror” and understand.

How do you hone your listening skills in an email or create a “thoughtful pause”? The answer is you can’t. The use of vocabulary, inflection, language and timing can only occur on the phone. Those skills, when honed, allow for a persuasive, compelling and powerful call leading to a collection.

Finally, to this author, the joy in this business still comes from being able to speak with a lot of intelligent and diverse folks in different industries of different parts of the world. Enjoy yourselves, listen well and continue to say “HELLO.”

by Richard Willemin Director