I am always amazed to watch businesses grow when the rest of the economy is saying things should be bad. I do realize that there are companies today that are laying off and or shutting their doors because of rough times. Most of those companies are having to do so not only because of the economic situation but also because of poor decision made in their management or lack of management. Unfortunately all of us have to pay for some of those decisions. Take the airlines industry for example, we now have to pay for checked luggage or odd luggage and ticket prices on most airlines are soaring. I use to be able to fly from Tulsa to Las Vegas for a hundred or hundred and fifty dollars. Now there is no direct flight and the cost is at least double what it use to be. I don't mind, I am not a big Vegas fan anyway and it would not bother me if Vegas was the only place affected, unfortunately it is not.
Outside of the companies we here on the radio or television there are those companies that are thriving. Take NCO who owns Credit Management Services and Transworld Systems. Both of these companies are debt collection companies. Credit Management services is the traditional percentage agency that has the unusual ability to collect a high percentage even after there was a first generation collection effort prior to their getting the accounts. Transworld Systems inc. creates a high profit margin by paying 100% commissions to their 750 plus sales force and they have a unique business model that allows for a high percentage of collections. In fact they usually generate an average of 53% across all industries. The medical industry counts for nearly half of their business and their percentage of collections in the medical industry is an unbelievable 33%. That is almost unheard of when you consider the next closest competitor tops in at 18%. How do they do it? They actually start much earlier in the collection process than a traditional collection agency and they have a diplomatic approach to collections which gains the respect of the debtor.
It is nice to see some businesses flourishing in a down economy and it is great seeing these companies succeed knowing they are helping so many other companies by collecting their receivables and increasing their cash flow. If you have a need for debt collection I would first call Transworld Systems or visit http://www.number1collectionagency.com/
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
CPA's help in Collecting Delinquent Accounts
As a CPA you have an opportunity to help your customers with issues that affect their business, lives and stress levels. Most business owners use a CPA either because they don’t fully understand the accounting process or for a lack of time. Some business owners simply want a CPA to handle the accounting needs because they trust that the CPA is staying up to date with changes from year to year. A great CPA offers suggestions to their customers on how they can improve their cash flow and create a more efficient office.
Being a CPA is so much more than just running the numbers or preparing the books. A CPA is more of a trusted consultant, a friend, who can truly add value to businesses by giving financial advice. I am a business consultant in Tulsa and I work with businesses nationally that have huge receivables and slow paying or delinquent accounts. Some businesses prefer to write off the accounts instead of messing with them. Others are willing to give up a percentage of their income by handing the account to a percentage collection agency. Neither of those choices are good ones.
I help businesses and medical practices by setting up processes from the point of sale or the point of patient care all the way through to identifying early on those hard core accounts that need to go to a collection agency. In most cases I have been able to eliminate 56% of the delinquent accounts and increase the businesses cash flow. This reduces the amount of money that goes to a percentage collection agency and decreases the internal cost of collection. For medical practices I can elevate the importance of a medical insurance claim and get the insurance company to pay much sooner.
The first thing I suggest to a company is to offer as many payment options as possible. Sometimes a customer will pay with a credit card and actually increase the amount of purchase if that is an option. If the customer cannot afford to put 100% of the payment on a single credit card purchase, may be the company can automatically set up a recurring payment on that credit card without having to manually enter that card every month. Allowing your customers/patients multiple payment options reduces the chance that they will become delinquent. I also encourage online bill pay. It is easy to set up and you can actually pass the transaction fee back to the customer.
The next process I look at is the internal process of collecting delinquent accounts. Too often I see poor policies and procedures that allow an account to go too long before taking action. The longer an account is allowed to go without being collected the greater the chances are that the account will never pay. A national study by the Department of Commerce shows that an average of 5% of the accounts serviced in the first month will not be collected, every month after that the numbers get substantially worse. Medical practices are closer to 10% in the first month. The key is take action sooner rather than later.
These processes can also help with the efficiency of an office. This saves your clients time and money and increases their cash flow. An efficient office is a happy office. For more information contact Kevin McDugle, Expect 3 Consulting, 918.409.5572 (Cell), kmcdugle@expect3.com.
Being a CPA is so much more than just running the numbers or preparing the books. A CPA is more of a trusted consultant, a friend, who can truly add value to businesses by giving financial advice. I am a business consultant in Tulsa and I work with businesses nationally that have huge receivables and slow paying or delinquent accounts. Some businesses prefer to write off the accounts instead of messing with them. Others are willing to give up a percentage of their income by handing the account to a percentage collection agency. Neither of those choices are good ones.
I help businesses and medical practices by setting up processes from the point of sale or the point of patient care all the way through to identifying early on those hard core accounts that need to go to a collection agency. In most cases I have been able to eliminate 56% of the delinquent accounts and increase the businesses cash flow. This reduces the amount of money that goes to a percentage collection agency and decreases the internal cost of collection. For medical practices I can elevate the importance of a medical insurance claim and get the insurance company to pay much sooner.
The first thing I suggest to a company is to offer as many payment options as possible. Sometimes a customer will pay with a credit card and actually increase the amount of purchase if that is an option. If the customer cannot afford to put 100% of the payment on a single credit card purchase, may be the company can automatically set up a recurring payment on that credit card without having to manually enter that card every month. Allowing your customers/patients multiple payment options reduces the chance that they will become delinquent. I also encourage online bill pay. It is easy to set up and you can actually pass the transaction fee back to the customer.
The next process I look at is the internal process of collecting delinquent accounts. Too often I see poor policies and procedures that allow an account to go too long before taking action. The longer an account is allowed to go without being collected the greater the chances are that the account will never pay. A national study by the Department of Commerce shows that an average of 5% of the accounts serviced in the first month will not be collected, every month after that the numbers get substantially worse. Medical practices are closer to 10% in the first month. The key is take action sooner rather than later.
These processes can also help with the efficiency of an office. This saves your clients time and money and increases their cash flow. An efficient office is a happy office. For more information contact Kevin McDugle, Expect 3 Consulting, 918.409.5572 (Cell), kmcdugle@expect3.com.
Running an efficient medical practice
The business office of a medical practice is one of the craziest places to be efficient. Every office I work with seems to be overwhelmed with trying to collect on insurance claims and private pay accounts. Each office seems to be understaffed and over worked. Most Doctors would rather treat patients and be left alone with the business side of the practice but it is the business side of the practice that helps to pay the bills. So what do we do when it seems we have tried everything and still cannot become efficient business offices?
Automation seems to be a wave of the future but who wants to put all of their trust in some of the software packages being sold today. There are horror stories that seem to circulate about every software package. Some are not HIPAA compliant or others seem to crash with certain amounts of data. When do we have the time to implement or even look at something new? Sure, it would be nice to be automated but it is time consuming and costly, especially when not implemented properly.
When I work with a medical practice or hospital my main focus is to insure the office is as efficient as possible. From the point of seeing the patient all the way through to helping to insure insurance claims are not stretched past 60 days without a dispute. Other offices would love to implement new software but they need a project manager to assist in the implementation to insure there is no downtime during the transition. At the same time office staff needs to be trained and patients continue to walk through the doors. A project implementation plan can help solve a lot of issues during transition and some simple procedures can be implemented that allow staff to concentrate on the most important part of the office, patient care.
Another common problem I see in practice management is a lack of policies and procedures that protect the cash flow of the office. Sure it is common nationally that medical practices experience a high rate of delinquent accounts for several reasons. One reason that can be eliminated is a lack of proper internal procedures. The proper internal procedures in a medical practice can reduce the number of patient accounts that go delinquent. They can also speed up the recovery of insurance claims.
An office that is not efficient does not mean it is run by an inefficient office manager. Most medical office managers are simply overwhelmed with the work load and they need additional assistance in seeing the practice from the outside. I am amazed at the difference in stress level office managers have before and after they get assistance from an outside consultant that helps them to implement proper policies and procedures.
For more information on running an efficient office contact Kevin McDugle at 918.409.5572 (Cell) or kmcdugle@expect3.com.
Automation seems to be a wave of the future but who wants to put all of their trust in some of the software packages being sold today. There are horror stories that seem to circulate about every software package. Some are not HIPAA compliant or others seem to crash with certain amounts of data. When do we have the time to implement or even look at something new? Sure, it would be nice to be automated but it is time consuming and costly, especially when not implemented properly.
When I work with a medical practice or hospital my main focus is to insure the office is as efficient as possible. From the point of seeing the patient all the way through to helping to insure insurance claims are not stretched past 60 days without a dispute. Other offices would love to implement new software but they need a project manager to assist in the implementation to insure there is no downtime during the transition. At the same time office staff needs to be trained and patients continue to walk through the doors. A project implementation plan can help solve a lot of issues during transition and some simple procedures can be implemented that allow staff to concentrate on the most important part of the office, patient care.
Another common problem I see in practice management is a lack of policies and procedures that protect the cash flow of the office. Sure it is common nationally that medical practices experience a high rate of delinquent accounts for several reasons. One reason that can be eliminated is a lack of proper internal procedures. The proper internal procedures in a medical practice can reduce the number of patient accounts that go delinquent. They can also speed up the recovery of insurance claims.
An office that is not efficient does not mean it is run by an inefficient office manager. Most medical office managers are simply overwhelmed with the work load and they need additional assistance in seeing the practice from the outside. I am amazed at the difference in stress level office managers have before and after they get assistance from an outside consultant that helps them to implement proper policies and procedures.
For more information on running an efficient office contact Kevin McDugle at 918.409.5572 (Cell) or kmcdugle@expect3.com.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
THE STAFF
There are few things in my career that mean as much as the staff. I have won medals and honors as a Marine, sold the million dollar sale and achieved my goals as a Marine and Businessman. None of this compares to receiving the staff. I have always enjoyed working hard and setting high expectations of my people but I have also enjoyed helping to encourage and give direction in their personal lives. Of course I do this professionally but it is always a desire for my staff to set goals such as being debt free or simply keeping a paid off car a few years longer than they want. In every case I have been rewarded by watching each of them grow in their careers and in their personal life. I enjoy getting pictures of their kids and family.
Even with all that I have to hang on my wall the staff that stands in the corner means more to me than all the others. I had a sales representative quite a few years ago that was about 15 years older than me. His name was Tom Mosley. Tom was a great guy that was well grounded in his beliefs and really enjoyed working with law enforcement agencies. Many of them would call and ask for Tom just to let him know they had another grand child or that they had been promoted to a new position. Tom was also an author he wrote a book called "Marketing your invention".
One morning Tom did not show up to work and that was not like him at all. Usually he would call me at 0700 in the morning while he was in route to the office because he knew I was already there. He would usually just say "Hey, good morning boss, its a great day". I would agree and chit chat for a few minutes and then back to work. When Tom did not show up I told the Director of Engineering that something was wrong. We hopped in the car and drove to Tom's home. When we got there and Tom's car was in the drive way I knew something was wrong. I knocked on the doors and with no answer I called the police. The fire department broke in the back door and of course they found Tom had passed away while sleeping. I was so saddened by the loss. Tom was way to young at 52. He lived alone and had several kids that were on their own.
The funeral was nice and lots of Tom's friends came. Police agencies from around the country sent flowers to the funeral and or donated money to the family scholarship fund. After the funeral one of Tom's daughters walked up to me with a staff in her hand. Tom loved the outdoors and when he would go hiking he always carried a staff. He would find other 6' sticks that he would eventually hand carve and shellac to become a gorgeous walking staff. She handed me one of those staffs and said Tom would have wanted you to have it. Every time I see that staff it reminds me that there is more to life than simply meeting the bottom line. We can't let things to get in the way of helping others and motivating them to be better. I loved Tom and his family. What staff do you have in your life? What are you achieving in life that makes it worth while? Treat others with respect and know that each of them have a staff of some sort in their lives. Each of them are loved by others.
Even with all that I have to hang on my wall the staff that stands in the corner means more to me than all the others. I had a sales representative quite a few years ago that was about 15 years older than me. His name was Tom Mosley. Tom was a great guy that was well grounded in his beliefs and really enjoyed working with law enforcement agencies. Many of them would call and ask for Tom just to let him know they had another grand child or that they had been promoted to a new position. Tom was also an author he wrote a book called "Marketing your invention".
One morning Tom did not show up to work and that was not like him at all. Usually he would call me at 0700 in the morning while he was in route to the office because he knew I was already there. He would usually just say "Hey, good morning boss, its a great day". I would agree and chit chat for a few minutes and then back to work. When Tom did not show up I told the Director of Engineering that something was wrong. We hopped in the car and drove to Tom's home. When we got there and Tom's car was in the drive way I knew something was wrong. I knocked on the doors and with no answer I called the police. The fire department broke in the back door and of course they found Tom had passed away while sleeping. I was so saddened by the loss. Tom was way to young at 52. He lived alone and had several kids that were on their own.
The funeral was nice and lots of Tom's friends came. Police agencies from around the country sent flowers to the funeral and or donated money to the family scholarship fund. After the funeral one of Tom's daughters walked up to me with a staff in her hand. Tom loved the outdoors and when he would go hiking he always carried a staff. He would find other 6' sticks that he would eventually hand carve and shellac to become a gorgeous walking staff. She handed me one of those staffs and said Tom would have wanted you to have it. Every time I see that staff it reminds me that there is more to life than simply meeting the bottom line. We can't let things to get in the way of helping others and motivating them to be better. I loved Tom and his family. What staff do you have in your life? What are you achieving in life that makes it worth while? Treat others with respect and know that each of them have a staff of some sort in their lives. Each of them are loved by others.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Become a Tulsa Millionaire
In order to become a millionaire you need a road map to get there. It is just like driving from Tulsa to Silverdale Washington. In order to make it you need a plan. Before we look at a plan lets look at some statistics provided by Wally Schmader.
American Self-Made Millionaires Statistics:
The Average Millionaire:
American Self-Made Millionaires Statistics:
The Average Millionaire:
- Was 56 years old when they became a net-worth millionaire
- Reads 800% more Non-Fiction books than the average person
- Has been broke 7 times in his or her life.
- Works 50+ hours per week
- Over 80% are self-employed.
- 95% of all American Millionaires have written clearly defined career goals.
These statistics give hope to those of us under 56 years of age, who have worked 50 + hours a week, been broke at least 7 times and have written clearly defined career goals while owning our own business and reading our non-fiction books. It should also give hope to those who are approaching or are over 56 years of age to know that 56 is the average. I know of several millionaires who are in their teens and early 20's so that means there have to be some that reach the million dollar net worth when they are in their 80's or 90's.
I will now list the 15 crucial steps to becoming a self made millionaire listed by Wally Schmader. I will then expound on each.
Fifteen Crucial Steps for becoming a Self-Made Millionaire
- Dream Big - There are no accidental self-made millionaires.
- Do what you love - Discover the parts of the job you love... those are the areas where you will excel.
- See yourself as Self-Employed - (Even if you are not) - You are the president of You Inc.
- Focus on your Strengths - What are they? Ask others too.
- Never consider the possibility of Failure. - It is the real world ... you will have ups and downs. Embrace the learning opportunities... you will never get to a million without them.
- Develop a clear sense of direction - let people help you on this.
- Develop a Hard-Working Mentality- Lazy people have no chance ... the marketplace responds reliably to effort + high expectations
- Get Exposed to the Right People - Who are the millionaires you know now?
- Be Teachable - Develop a Reputation for listening.
- Develop the Resilience to Bounce Back - Become known for your toughness.
- Be prepared to climb from Peak to Peak - Ask a millionaire ... this is how it works!
- Focus on Continual Self-Development - Learn, Learn, Learn... from good examples & bad examples (they all help you set your direction and make adjustments).
- Be an Unshakable Optimist.
- Concentrate "Single-Minded" on one thing at a time. "Is what I'm doing bringing me closer to my goals?"
- Back your Plans and Goals with PERSISTENCE.
Dream Big - WOW I love to dream. I never want my dreams to be so little I can reach them. I use to dream about making 50,000 a year and they I dreamed about making 75,000 a year and the 100,000 and each time I would reach the dream my dream would get bigger. We have to allow ourselves to believe in dreams. Our dreams are a part of our sub-conscious and a part of a hidden desire for more. I also think it is alright to dream about what good you can do with your large home and extra cash. I want to help millions of others eat and prepare a place for them to sleep in comfort. Our dreams are so much better and mean so much more when we can dream about helping others. It is also alright to dream about the extravagant for ourselves. Dream big, get a poster board and cut out pictures of a large house, a vacation, an adopted family. Whatever your dream is get it in visual format that you can look at every day.
Do what you love - This is an obvious in my mind but I still see and hear people going to work everyday that hate what they do. Some of them I see hate their jobs but love helping other people at church or at a shelter. They are servants. So maybe they could help organize a non-profit organization that helps others. They it would be easy for them to get motivated about the task that in a normal job would seem mundane or not necessary.
See yourself as self employed even if you are not. This is important whether you are aspiring to be a millionaire or not. When you work for someone else you should always treat your job as if you are self employed. When you can save them money do it. When you think of a more efficient way of operating implement it. If you see trash on the ground, pick it up. Simply acting like you are in your own business will make you think differently about every decision that is made. Sometimes an employee does not understand why certain decisions are made. If you put yourself in the owners shoes you may be able to assume why some decisions are made and do all you can to help out.
What are your strengths? One of the easiest ways to find out is to ask your closest friends and co-workers. They will tell you the truth if you ask them. Also ask them your weaknesses so you can work on them. Knowing your strengths will help you to know what area of your business you will excel in. It will also help you figure out what you do best and possibly create a company around it.
Failure happens to everyone but do not think towards failure. Do not accept failure. Simply having to close one business because it did not do well does not mean that you failed. It may simply be a stepping stone to greater things. It may be lessons that you needed to learn. Also, do all you can to succeed. Give it your all in all you do.
Develop a clear since of direction. What do you want to do? What are you good at? Where do you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 20 years? Develop a clear since of direction. Get the fire in your belly to reach the goals you have set in place. Be determined every minute of your day to do the things that get you closer to your dreams.
Develop a hard working mentality - Whether you are employed or the employer you have to have a great work ethic. Discipline yourself to get in bed early, get some exercise and get to work early so you can be more productive. Don't allow little things like e-mail to keep you from doing your job. Make sure you have a clear definition of what is work and what is play. At work do work things only. If you have to make a daily plan and stick to it. Make a list of daily objectives and mark everyone of them off before the end of the day. Hard work is a habit. A habit only takes 21 days to form.
Get exposed to the right people - Successful people hang around successful people. Who wants to be around someone who is always complaining? Who wants to be around someone who has no dreams or goals in life. Get to know those in your life that have been successful. Those that have great personalities and it seems everything goes their way. Be around others who have dreams and goals and a clear since of direction. It is important to be around like minded people. If nothing else at least listen to those who have been successful. Buy their CD's and books. Learn all you can about how they made it. Listen to the pain of not knowing and seeing certain failures in their lives but most importantly notice their tenacity to succeed.
Be teachable! No professor ever knew it all. No leader ever lead without learning. Make sure that where ever you are in your career constantly remain teachable. God made us with two ears and one mouth for a reason. Use your ears two thirds of the time and your mouth only one third if even that much. We all know it is important when in front of a customer to listen to what they are really saying and the majority of the time when your mouth is open you are asking questions. When you are ninety five years old be teachable.
Develop the resilience to bounce back. As I mentioned earlier everyone goes through ups and downs. Just like the old football coaches use to say "Its not a bad thing to get knocked down as long as you quickly get back up." I could not have said it better myself. Develop is a key word here. Most people are not geared with such a resilience and a fire in the belly to succeed. So we must develop it through discipline. Always get up stronger than you went down.
Be prepared to climb from Peak to Peak. Ask any millionaire and they will tell you when you get to the top of a peak you will see another one just ahead. In other words when you reach a goal set another one. When you conquer a problem be assured another will Peak just over the horizon. Go from Peak to Peak and climb stronger and stronger.
Focus on continual self development - To me this seems self explanatory. I have always looked for the next challenge. When I received my bachelor it was not enough. When I received my Masters of Business Administration it was not enough. I have two sets of learning CD's in my car now. I love to read "How to win friends and influence people" or "Its not your ship" or any John Maxwell book. I am constantly learning. I love talking with my dad. He is one of the brightest guys I know and he is still learning. Every day he learns something new. Every day he teaches me so much. I love learning.
Be an unshakable Optimist - Wow this is so important. Have you ever been around someone who was so Optimistic they made you sick? That is how we have to be. We can not allow the waves around us to take our eyes off of becoming a millionaire. We have to achieve our goal and we will. When bad things come they are simply learning opportunities. Our work ethic will bring us what we deserve.
Concentrate "single-minded" - It is not possible to build a bridge with every brick all at the same time. It is not possible to build a high rise from the top to the bottom or both at the same time. Every building and every bridge starts and is built one brick at a time. Reaching your goals of becoming a millionaire will only happen one brick at a time. Make sure every day that what you are doing is helping you to build that dream. As I mentioned earlier plan your day and work the plan.
Back your plans with persistence - No general ever won a war without persistence. No football game was won without persistence. No millionaire ever worked for his or her million without persistence. Develop a reputation as a persistent warrior. When you get a rejection continue to call for the yes. When someone tells you that your dream can not come true find new friends and be persistent toward your goal.
I want to help you become a millionaire. Keep yourself motivated and know that you have what it takes. My dad always told me that if any other man can do it you can too. He is so right. Don't allow your head trash to get in the way of your potential. Work like a millionaire, be a millionaire and become a millionaire.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Increasing productivity in the office
Every office manager and business owner wants to do all they can to insure their staff are fully productive and that they make the most out of an 8 or 10 hour day. I walked into an office this week that was completely frustrated and feeling like the world was weighing in on them.
After an hour of asking questions and listening intently I knew that I could help take some of the burden away. I found that the medical practice had three office staff and they see anywhere from 100 to 200 people a day. I asked what the majority of their time was spent doing and they said it would be making sure all the insurance claims were in good order and tracking whether or not they have been paid. The rest of the time was spent trying to collect on debts that were long over due.
They were so busy with these task they barely had time to keep the office in full production and because of the number of terms they were actually looking to outsource their billing, which would have cost them a percent of their bottom line.
My first suggestion was to turn all claims and delinquent accounts over to a collection agency software that could help track each demand that is sent out. This would also relieve them of having to send out invoices and continually re initiate medical claims to insurance. They could also enter their insurance claims and watch them get paid much faster that simply sending in a claim.
Another problem I noticed is that they were not flexible enough for some patients payment plans. If a patient did not have money in a checking account until Monday, they did not have the ability to set up an auto withdraw on Tuesday. For those patients that could not afford a full payment on their credit card they did not have the option to set up payment options and auto withdraw from the credit card either.
By implementing these two suggestions they are now able to concentrate their time on all claims and accounts that are under 60 days. They also have fewer accounts going delinquent because they now have our software that allows them to set up a payment plan on both checking accounts and credit cards. By automating the office they are now able to concentrate on the necessary duties of the day, like taking care of patients.
After an hour of asking questions and listening intently I knew that I could help take some of the burden away. I found that the medical practice had three office staff and they see anywhere from 100 to 200 people a day. I asked what the majority of their time was spent doing and they said it would be making sure all the insurance claims were in good order and tracking whether or not they have been paid. The rest of the time was spent trying to collect on debts that were long over due.
They were so busy with these task they barely had time to keep the office in full production and because of the number of terms they were actually looking to outsource their billing, which would have cost them a percent of their bottom line.
My first suggestion was to turn all claims and delinquent accounts over to a collection agency software that could help track each demand that is sent out. This would also relieve them of having to send out invoices and continually re initiate medical claims to insurance. They could also enter their insurance claims and watch them get paid much faster that simply sending in a claim.
Another problem I noticed is that they were not flexible enough for some patients payment plans. If a patient did not have money in a checking account until Monday, they did not have the ability to set up an auto withdraw on Tuesday. For those patients that could not afford a full payment on their credit card they did not have the option to set up payment options and auto withdraw from the credit card either.
By implementing these two suggestions they are now able to concentrate their time on all claims and accounts that are under 60 days. They also have fewer accounts going delinquent because they now have our software that allows them to set up a payment plan on both checking accounts and credit cards. By automating the office they are now able to concentrate on the necessary duties of the day, like taking care of patients.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Leadership and becoming a great leader
Great leaders can move mountains, Good leaders are always improving and Poor Leaders can destroy the world. It is so important to allow your staff to develop as leaders. There is a huge difference between a leader and a manager. Most people assume that all managers are leaders because of the title but it is just not true.
I use to always tell my Marine Corporals, "If you want to be Sergeants you act like a Sergeant now. Too many Sergeants have the rank and don't know how to lead. In the Marine Corps you earn every title by deserving the title before it is given."
We should look at our staff the same way. I made the mistake one time of giving the title of VP to one of my employees before I really knew what she was capable of. In fact I even gave her some ownership. Learn from my mistakes, DON'T ever give up ownership or titles before they are earned. I thought that by giving the title and some ownership that I would get an employee that appreciated her job. Instead I got a Vice President that felt under appreciated. Needless to say that one did not work out well.
Leaders have the ability to handle everything with fairness. They make decisions quickly and take full responsibility. There are 9 leadership traits.
Justice, Judgement, Discipline, Integrity, Decisiveness, Tact, Initiative, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Endurance. All of these traits can be learned and improved upon.
There is a huge debate as to whether or not leaders are born leaders or become leaders. I personally believe that all of us are born with certain gifts. Some of those gifts are developed and others are not. Just because a leader does not have the ability to communicate does not mean they can not lead. In fact a good leader will figure out a way to communicate even though they lack in that area. I believe anyone can become a leader. It takes a humble heart and a willingness to have the courage to step out of your comfort zone. Leaders continually stretch themselves and they love to be around Great Leaders.
Of the nine leadership traits which of them are the most important. I believe they are all very important but if you are lacking Integrity, Unselfishness, Knowledge or Tact it would be very difficult to even call you a leader. If you want to become a leader work on those area's you are lacking. I have a lifetime of experience with people and leadership roles and I am still learning everyday as times change. Leadership is constantly evolving and growing. A good leader 50 years ago would not make it in today's world. The dictator relationships Leaders use to have would completely get them shut down as managers today.
Today more leadership skills are required than ever. A leader has to be able to see the qualities in individuals that they do not see in themselves. You have to be able to see what their true skill sets are because a lot of people don't really know what they are capable of. You also have to be able to provide more responsibility to those you wish to build as leaders. Along with that responsibility comes the room for them to make mistakes. You can not build leaders by micro-managing them. You have to give them enough room to make mistakes and help them pull themselves out of the tight spots they get into. Encourage them.
Always make correction behind closed doors. Always give praise publicly. Read as many leadership books as you can get your hands on and listen to every tape you can. Pick up those things you believe and put aside those you don't. Continually work your skills.
I love giving leadership evaluations and assisting companies in finding good leaders with the right skill sets. I have even put together teams with little funds available. The most important thing you can look for when there is not enough money to buy the best is find a team that has the basics of Integrity, Loyalty, Discipline, Tact and Enthusiasm. All other skills can be taught fairly quickly.
I was challenged in an opportunity where a new company was preparing to go public. They wanted me to hire a sales team but did not want to pay commissions. WOW! What a challenge. I knew that I could not hire a seasoned sales professional for $30,000 a year with no bonus or commissions. I started with the basics mentioned above. I put together a team of character. I constantly worked on the upper management to provide a commission structure and a better base pay range. The hard charging team we put in place dug up enough orders that we could then afford to increase salaries and bring in some more professional experienced sales members. When commissions were added to their compensation and increased later on. The team was Rocking and Rolling. It was a great test of how good people can overcome anything. If I had complained about the salary's and no commissions. I would have had a team of complaining sales people. Instead they reflected my perseverance and enthusiasm and work ethic. They mirrored me which is always a scary thought.
I love leading teams.
I use to always tell my Marine Corporals, "If you want to be Sergeants you act like a Sergeant now. Too many Sergeants have the rank and don't know how to lead. In the Marine Corps you earn every title by deserving the title before it is given."
We should look at our staff the same way. I made the mistake one time of giving the title of VP to one of my employees before I really knew what she was capable of. In fact I even gave her some ownership. Learn from my mistakes, DON'T ever give up ownership or titles before they are earned. I thought that by giving the title and some ownership that I would get an employee that appreciated her job. Instead I got a Vice President that felt under appreciated. Needless to say that one did not work out well.
Leaders have the ability to handle everything with fairness. They make decisions quickly and take full responsibility. There are 9 leadership traits.
Justice, Judgement, Discipline, Integrity, Decisiveness, Tact, Initiative, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Endurance. All of these traits can be learned and improved upon.
There is a huge debate as to whether or not leaders are born leaders or become leaders. I personally believe that all of us are born with certain gifts. Some of those gifts are developed and others are not. Just because a leader does not have the ability to communicate does not mean they can not lead. In fact a good leader will figure out a way to communicate even though they lack in that area. I believe anyone can become a leader. It takes a humble heart and a willingness to have the courage to step out of your comfort zone. Leaders continually stretch themselves and they love to be around Great Leaders.
Of the nine leadership traits which of them are the most important. I believe they are all very important but if you are lacking Integrity, Unselfishness, Knowledge or Tact it would be very difficult to even call you a leader. If you want to become a leader work on those area's you are lacking. I have a lifetime of experience with people and leadership roles and I am still learning everyday as times change. Leadership is constantly evolving and growing. A good leader 50 years ago would not make it in today's world. The dictator relationships Leaders use to have would completely get them shut down as managers today.
Today more leadership skills are required than ever. A leader has to be able to see the qualities in individuals that they do not see in themselves. You have to be able to see what their true skill sets are because a lot of people don't really know what they are capable of. You also have to be able to provide more responsibility to those you wish to build as leaders. Along with that responsibility comes the room for them to make mistakes. You can not build leaders by micro-managing them. You have to give them enough room to make mistakes and help them pull themselves out of the tight spots they get into. Encourage them.
Always make correction behind closed doors. Always give praise publicly. Read as many leadership books as you can get your hands on and listen to every tape you can. Pick up those things you believe and put aside those you don't. Continually work your skills.
I love giving leadership evaluations and assisting companies in finding good leaders with the right skill sets. I have even put together teams with little funds available. The most important thing you can look for when there is not enough money to buy the best is find a team that has the basics of Integrity, Loyalty, Discipline, Tact and Enthusiasm. All other skills can be taught fairly quickly.
I was challenged in an opportunity where a new company was preparing to go public. They wanted me to hire a sales team but did not want to pay commissions. WOW! What a challenge. I knew that I could not hire a seasoned sales professional for $30,000 a year with no bonus or commissions. I started with the basics mentioned above. I put together a team of character. I constantly worked on the upper management to provide a commission structure and a better base pay range. The hard charging team we put in place dug up enough orders that we could then afford to increase salaries and bring in some more professional experienced sales members. When commissions were added to their compensation and increased later on. The team was Rocking and Rolling. It was a great test of how good people can overcome anything. If I had complained about the salary's and no commissions. I would have had a team of complaining sales people. Instead they reflected my perseverance and enthusiasm and work ethic. They mirrored me which is always a scary thought.
I love leading teams.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Hiring Good People
All of us know that a company is only as good as the people you hire. I have made some serious hiring mistakes in the past and from those mistakes I have learned a few things. I have also hired some great people of integrity and I am still in touch with each one and they are souring in their careers. That is my reward.
So how do you find a good hire when all you have is a sheet of paper, a ten minute conversation and an hour long interview? How can you find out if they are people of integrity, strong work ethic and character? How do you know they can handle a technical position.
I am a big fan of hiring people more for their character then for their skills. Skills can be learned if you find good people. It is like a coach who knows if he can find someone who has a strong work ethic he can teach them the basics. There have been a ton of Pro Football Stars who were not even included in the draft because they were not yet skilled but good coaches picked them up and made them stars.
Your job as a business owner or hiring manager is to find good people and make them stars.
So back to the original question, how do you find a good hire? There are several things you can do during the interview that will show you character. I always like to ask the question "What would you do if you were in a hole and the weight of the world was on your shoulders, you can't move forward, you can't move back where do you find the strength to go on?". Then sit and listen, you can tell if they are giving you an answer you want to hear or if they are answering with their heart. I would rather someone answer me truthfully and by being a good reader of people you can pick up on how they answer that question. I also like to ask "what drives you? what makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?" or simply ask "why are you here?" The key is get them to talking and listen to what they are saying. If a person has no real reason to be successful and work hard then they probably won't.
Also, there are several things you can do with their resume. I once had an individual that had a double E on his resume. He said he was an Electrical Engineer with a degree from a top University. Not only that he had a Masters Degree. To look at him on paper he was awesome. For some reason during the interview I questioned his integrity, I can not pin point what gave me the gut feel because he really did interview well. I called the university where he graduated. They had never heard of him. I thought may be I some how had made a mistake. I hired a background company to run his resume and they came back with the same results. Yes he had worked in an engineering company but he was not an engineer.
I have heard horror stories from businesses around the country that hired someone based off of their resume only to find out they had not earned degrees or held positions stated on their resume. You have to check the resume and not just the references they give you. Everyone should run Google search on anyone they are looking to hire. You may find that their picture is posted on some site that promotes illegal drugs or even worse.
The total process is so much more detailed and I would love to help you put some processes in place that will insure you have and continue to hire good people.
So how do you find a good hire when all you have is a sheet of paper, a ten minute conversation and an hour long interview? How can you find out if they are people of integrity, strong work ethic and character? How do you know they can handle a technical position.
I am a big fan of hiring people more for their character then for their skills. Skills can be learned if you find good people. It is like a coach who knows if he can find someone who has a strong work ethic he can teach them the basics. There have been a ton of Pro Football Stars who were not even included in the draft because they were not yet skilled but good coaches picked them up and made them stars.
Your job as a business owner or hiring manager is to find good people and make them stars.
So back to the original question, how do you find a good hire? There are several things you can do during the interview that will show you character. I always like to ask the question "What would you do if you were in a hole and the weight of the world was on your shoulders, you can't move forward, you can't move back where do you find the strength to go on?". Then sit and listen, you can tell if they are giving you an answer you want to hear or if they are answering with their heart. I would rather someone answer me truthfully and by being a good reader of people you can pick up on how they answer that question. I also like to ask "what drives you? what makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?" or simply ask "why are you here?" The key is get them to talking and listen to what they are saying. If a person has no real reason to be successful and work hard then they probably won't.
Also, there are several things you can do with their resume. I once had an individual that had a double E on his resume. He said he was an Electrical Engineer with a degree from a top University. Not only that he had a Masters Degree. To look at him on paper he was awesome. For some reason during the interview I questioned his integrity, I can not pin point what gave me the gut feel because he really did interview well. I called the university where he graduated. They had never heard of him. I thought may be I some how had made a mistake. I hired a background company to run his resume and they came back with the same results. Yes he had worked in an engineering company but he was not an engineer.
I have heard horror stories from businesses around the country that hired someone based off of their resume only to find out they had not earned degrees or held positions stated on their resume. You have to check the resume and not just the references they give you. Everyone should run Google search on anyone they are looking to hire. You may find that their picture is posted on some site that promotes illegal drugs or even worse.
The total process is so much more detailed and I would love to help you put some processes in place that will insure you have and continue to hire good people.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Collecting on Insurance Claims
Why is it Insurance companies constantly send back your claims needing a comma or more explanation etc? Why is it Insurance Companies think they can delay your payment? Have you ever noticed that they are very slow paying and every day they delay it is interest in the bank for them.
I have not visited a medical office yet that knew they could collect on Insurance claims just like they do any other debt. Again by using the Third Party Flat Fee Collection Agency can help and here are three reasons how.
1. Most Insurance company by-Laws state that if a third-party collection agency or attorney contacts them, it takes priority. Your claim is then moved from a clerk to a supervisor. Also, any threat of turning an insurance company over to a collection agency that is a credit-reporting agency takes priority. All insurance companies are rated by how fast they pay there claims and their financial strengths. They will do anything to keep their rating from being affected.
2. By using a large third party flat fee collection agency the chances of having an office in the same state as the Insurance Company (agencies) causes both state and federal laws to apply.
3. A large third party flat fee collection agency will have specialized demands for insurance companies (agencies). The demands will have all the required information for the insurance claim to be paid.
4. A large third party flat fee collection agency will have a federal disclaimer on their demands. It should state that the insurance company has thirty days to dispute a portion of the claim or the entire claim. If the insurance company does not dispute the claim they could lose the right of disputation or medical review. So a strong third party flat fee collection agency gives you the power of not only state law, which says they have thirty days to pay or deny, but also federal law, which requires a thirty-day response before disputation is forfeited.
All of these are reasons why medical offices should use a third part collection agency. Also billing offices could offer a another product to their customers and create another revenue stream while saving their customers more money.
There is one third party collection agency I know of that has a 70% resolution rate with insurance companies. E-mail me at kmcdugle1@yahoo.com with your contact information in order to get the collection agencies information.
I have not visited a medical office yet that knew they could collect on Insurance claims just like they do any other debt. Again by using the Third Party Flat Fee Collection Agency can help and here are three reasons how.
1. Most Insurance company by-Laws state that if a third-party collection agency or attorney contacts them, it takes priority. Your claim is then moved from a clerk to a supervisor. Also, any threat of turning an insurance company over to a collection agency that is a credit-reporting agency takes priority. All insurance companies are rated by how fast they pay there claims and their financial strengths. They will do anything to keep their rating from being affected.
2. By using a large third party flat fee collection agency the chances of having an office in the same state as the Insurance Company (agencies) causes both state and federal laws to apply.
3. A large third party flat fee collection agency will have specialized demands for insurance companies (agencies). The demands will have all the required information for the insurance claim to be paid.
4. A large third party flat fee collection agency will have a federal disclaimer on their demands. It should state that the insurance company has thirty days to dispute a portion of the claim or the entire claim. If the insurance company does not dispute the claim they could lose the right of disputation or medical review. So a strong third party flat fee collection agency gives you the power of not only state law, which says they have thirty days to pay or deny, but also federal law, which requires a thirty-day response before disputation is forfeited.
All of these are reasons why medical offices should use a third part collection agency. Also billing offices could offer a another product to their customers and create another revenue stream while saving their customers more money.
There is one third party collection agency I know of that has a 70% resolution rate with insurance companies. E-mail me at kmcdugle1@yahoo.com with your contact information in order to get the collection agencies information.
What to do with Delinquent or slow paying accounts
One of the most frustrating things for any business owner is to provide a service and then not get paid for it. Some situations are understandable like bankruptcy but others are simply not forgivable. In this article I will tell you how I help companies around the nation to Collect before they have to send accounts to a collection agency.
A lot of times we are conditioned to continually make calls or send invoices and letters to try and get money that is rightfully ours. A lot of times we don't take into consideration how much money and time we put into collecting on our accounts. A national study shows that on average companies spend approximately $31 per account on the collection efforts. WoW! Sometimes we even do that when the balance was less than the effort. It is simply a matter of principle.
I am not saying that you should not use a collection agency or law firm to make collections. I am simply saying that using a percentage collection agency should only be a very last resort.
The department of Commerce did a study that shows the longer we go without collecting our receivables the higher the chances are that we will not get our money. In fact if we have not collected our money by the 12th month there is a 90% chance that we will not collect the money.
There are several things that can be done and every state has different collection laws so please check with your state laws before implementing these ideas or you can call me or e-mail me and I will assist you.
First make sure that you have a plan in place and stick to the plan regardless of who owes you a debt. For instance you should send an invoice at 30 days and on the invoice you should have something that tells your customer what your policy on collections are. For instance a 1 line at the bottom saying any invoices not collected in 60 days will be turned over to collections. Now don't put this on the invoice unless you plan on following through. Some states it is illegal to say you are going to send someone to a collection agency as a tactic to collect.
Now I know you are looking at me funny saying I can not afford to send my receivables to a collection agency and give away 20 - 50 percent of what is owed to me at the 60 day period. I am not saying that at all. A lot of companies are not aware that there are indeed collection agencies that you can use and simply pay a flat rate fee for their service. If you utilize an agency like that make sure they have a few things in place. Not every flat fee collection agency is the same. Make sure and do your homework and know the differences. A flat fee agency can not be affective by sending demands every 30 days. They have to be more consistent than that. They should send the demands every 10 - 14 days. They should use demands that are not clearly marked on the outside but are very clearly marked on the inside that they are from a Collection Agency. Also, choose a collection agency that allows the demands to be set up to where your customers pay you. Why would the collection agency want to take your money if they are a flat fee agency? Always stay in control of your collections even while using a third party collection agency.
It is also very important that you have the ability to view your accounts status at anytime day or night. Smaller collection agencies will give you the ability to view status only during office hours. You should be able to utilize an online software to view your accounts at anytime. A good collection agency will also provide you with information when they receive it such as a new address for one of your customers. A nice online product allows you or any of your staff around the nation, who you give access, to quickly make payment updates or account updates. It is important that you remain in control. If you want to suspend the demands, because a customer made a partial payment and promised to bring the remaining payment next week, you should have the ability to do so.
Now you should also have a choice when using a flat fee collection agency to either continue collections with them or to choose a percentage agency of your own. It is always nice to have 1 source for your collections and not have 2 or three. I have visited with several companies that were not aware that 2 separate companies can not be making collection calls on the same individual for the same account. Once you turn an account over to a percentage agency you can not continue to make collection calls to your customers. Once the account is turned over to a percentage collection agency the account and debt now belongs to them.
You will see a dramatic difference in your receivables by setting up a plan to turn over to a flat fee collection agency at the 60 day period. You will collect a lot more money and reduce your internal cost as well. Once you turn over your accounts to the Flat Fee Collection Agency then there is no reason to continue sending an invoice as long as you have all the things mentioned above in your collection agency. Your collection agency should also give you the ability to send a Thank you letter to your customers if they pay during the flat fee agencies demands.
So how much should you have to pay a flat fee collection agency for this type of service? It really depends on how many accounts a month are going delinquent. The prices should range between $4.99 to $15 an account depending on the amount of volume you use. You can see how you would save money at these rates. As I mentioned earlier the national average to collect on an account is $31.
Don't allow your customers to play games with your money. Set up a plan and stick to it. Banks don't play around when the have a DDA account for either a pre or post charge off account they quickly take action. Even Banks should be implementing the Flat Fee Demand Letter approach as long at the Flat Fee Collection Agency has Demands set up for such situations.
I would love to help you set up your processes and pick a Flat Fee Collection agency. Let me know how I can help. E-mail me at kmcdugle1@yahoo.com with "Collections" in the subject line. I have helped small mom and pop shops and large multi office companies. I have companies all over the great United States of America that have taken advantage and collected a lot more money on their receivables by simply putting a plan in place and utilizing a Flat Fee Collection Agency to provide third party collection agency support.
A lot of times we are conditioned to continually make calls or send invoices and letters to try and get money that is rightfully ours. A lot of times we don't take into consideration how much money and time we put into collecting on our accounts. A national study shows that on average companies spend approximately $31 per account on the collection efforts. WoW! Sometimes we even do that when the balance was less than the effort. It is simply a matter of principle.
I am not saying that you should not use a collection agency or law firm to make collections. I am simply saying that using a percentage collection agency should only be a very last resort.
The department of Commerce did a study that shows the longer we go without collecting our receivables the higher the chances are that we will not get our money. In fact if we have not collected our money by the 12th month there is a 90% chance that we will not collect the money.
There are several things that can be done and every state has different collection laws so please check with your state laws before implementing these ideas or you can call me or e-mail me and I will assist you.
First make sure that you have a plan in place and stick to the plan regardless of who owes you a debt. For instance you should send an invoice at 30 days and on the invoice you should have something that tells your customer what your policy on collections are. For instance a 1 line at the bottom saying any invoices not collected in 60 days will be turned over to collections. Now don't put this on the invoice unless you plan on following through. Some states it is illegal to say you are going to send someone to a collection agency as a tactic to collect.
Now I know you are looking at me funny saying I can not afford to send my receivables to a collection agency and give away 20 - 50 percent of what is owed to me at the 60 day period. I am not saying that at all. A lot of companies are not aware that there are indeed collection agencies that you can use and simply pay a flat rate fee for their service. If you utilize an agency like that make sure they have a few things in place. Not every flat fee collection agency is the same. Make sure and do your homework and know the differences. A flat fee agency can not be affective by sending demands every 30 days. They have to be more consistent than that. They should send the demands every 10 - 14 days. They should use demands that are not clearly marked on the outside but are very clearly marked on the inside that they are from a Collection Agency. Also, choose a collection agency that allows the demands to be set up to where your customers pay you. Why would the collection agency want to take your money if they are a flat fee agency? Always stay in control of your collections even while using a third party collection agency.
It is also very important that you have the ability to view your accounts status at anytime day or night. Smaller collection agencies will give you the ability to view status only during office hours. You should be able to utilize an online software to view your accounts at anytime. A good collection agency will also provide you with information when they receive it such as a new address for one of your customers. A nice online product allows you or any of your staff around the nation, who you give access, to quickly make payment updates or account updates. It is important that you remain in control. If you want to suspend the demands, because a customer made a partial payment and promised to bring the remaining payment next week, you should have the ability to do so.
Now you should also have a choice when using a flat fee collection agency to either continue collections with them or to choose a percentage agency of your own. It is always nice to have 1 source for your collections and not have 2 or three. I have visited with several companies that were not aware that 2 separate companies can not be making collection calls on the same individual for the same account. Once you turn an account over to a percentage agency you can not continue to make collection calls to your customers. Once the account is turned over to a percentage collection agency the account and debt now belongs to them.
You will see a dramatic difference in your receivables by setting up a plan to turn over to a flat fee collection agency at the 60 day period. You will collect a lot more money and reduce your internal cost as well. Once you turn over your accounts to the Flat Fee Collection Agency then there is no reason to continue sending an invoice as long as you have all the things mentioned above in your collection agency. Your collection agency should also give you the ability to send a Thank you letter to your customers if they pay during the flat fee agencies demands.
So how much should you have to pay a flat fee collection agency for this type of service? It really depends on how many accounts a month are going delinquent. The prices should range between $4.99 to $15 an account depending on the amount of volume you use. You can see how you would save money at these rates. As I mentioned earlier the national average to collect on an account is $31.
Don't allow your customers to play games with your money. Set up a plan and stick to it. Banks don't play around when the have a DDA account for either a pre or post charge off account they quickly take action. Even Banks should be implementing the Flat Fee Demand Letter approach as long at the Flat Fee Collection Agency has Demands set up for such situations.
I would love to help you set up your processes and pick a Flat Fee Collection agency. Let me know how I can help. E-mail me at kmcdugle1@yahoo.com with "Collections" in the subject line. I have helped small mom and pop shops and large multi office companies. I have companies all over the great United States of America that have taken advantage and collected a lot more money on their receivables by simply putting a plan in place and utilizing a Flat Fee Collection Agency to provide third party collection agency support.
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