No, you're not the "break your arms and legs" guy if people don't pay...You are an investigator who finds people who have seemed to gone missing before paying their debts.

Says Michelle Dunn, owner of Mad Agency and work at home mom, "Working from home is very rewarding in so many ways, such as flexibility, control of your income and time, being there for your children, and many others."

Collection Agency Business Supplies

"One tip on running an collection agency from home is to have a separate office space with a door if possible. This is a very sensitive issue, with regards to the people you deal with and the laws you must follow," cautions Michelle.

You will also need:

A Collector's Skills & Attributes

- Investigative Skills: Often the people who owe money to your clients, will have seemed to have disappeared. You will need to use your investigative skills to find new addresses and or phone numbers for these individuals.

- Organization: You need to be extremely organized. First, you need to be able to manage all your clients and be on top of their collection needs. Second, you need to be able to keep track of what contact you have made to the various debtors and what action they have promised to take on their overdue accounts. You also need to be able to provide this information to your clients.
 

- Empathy: Your job is not to intimidate. It is to produce results for your clients. Most debtors are not bad people, they are people who have found themselves in very difficult situation. You will often get better results if you can empathize with a debtor than if you bully them.

- Negotiation: Many times, debtors will not be able to pay the full amount owing all at once. You will need to negotiate a reasonable repayment plan that ensure the debt is paid in a reasonable time frame.

- Persistence: You will be empathetic and use good negotiation skills, but be persistent and don't be soft. Many times, you will have troubles locating a debtor. Once you locate him, you may have difficulty getting a response. Even when a debtor agrees to pay, you may have to follow up a number of times to ensure that payment is made.

- Customer Service Skills: You need to ensure impeccable customer service for your clients. These are businesses that need to have their debts cleared up. You need to give there accounts proper attention, be available for questions and ensure that your clients feel comfortable with the results you provide.

A Collection Agency's Rates
Generally, you get paid when you collect. You can charge about 20-30% of what you collect.

Getting Your Business Off the Ground

- Connect with various smaller businesses in your area: Let them know about your services. It is better if you speak with them personally, rather than sending something in the mail. Outline all the features of your services, why you are unique and let them know the bonuses of you being a small business venture yourself. Being small means they will receive more personalized service and they can contact you directly any time they need assistance.

- Of course, you need a website: This is where your current and potential clients can go "visit" you and find out more about your services. It also provides you with the potential of finding clients that are not in your immediate area. A website could also help you expand your business, find other collectors to work accounts for you all over the country.

 Website Tips

- Establish yourself as an expert in your field and increase your search engine rankings: You can do this by adding useful information to your website visitors. This can include tips on collecting, when to call a collection agency, how to choose a collection agency...anything collection-related.

- Start a Newsletter: Publish a regular newsletter for your clients and offer subscriptions right off your website. Again, this will help establish you as an expert in your field and helps you promote your services.

-  Include Testimonials & Statistics About Your Collection Rates: This will be a growing section to your website as you gain more experience. To be more effective, make sure the people who offer testimonials are willing to be contacted by potential clients.

Building the Ultimate Theme-Based Site:

Even if you've never built a website before, SBI! shows you exactly how to turn your passion or hobby into an online business.  Easy step-by-step instructions, even if you've never build a website before.  With SBI! you finally have a REAL opportunity to change your life. 

Click here to learn why I recommend SBI! and use it for my own online businesses.