Solve your debt in 5 days or less!

you'll almost always get a check this way. (Professional 
debt collectors favor calling around on Saturday 
afternoon.) 
WARNING:  You'll probably be all right visiting the debtor 
personally, if you're just offering to pick up the check and 
you don't start making big waves. But if you handle things 
wrong, there's always some danger of being prosecuted for 
'harassment'. A legally minded (or bloody-minded) debtor 
might try calling the police. True, the police might have 
better things to do than follow up. But don't ask me to 
guarantee it. 
Big Debts Owed By Individuals
1. You can try steps 1 to 3 above. But don't let too much 
time go by doing that. Instead, go straight to... 
2. Call in to see them. Call in at work, or at home, or 
wherever you can find them. Not many people can stand the 
pressure of a personal call. And remember, this is a big 
debt -- one that's important to collect. The best way is to 
collect it yourself. 
Little Debts Owed By Companies
1. Make sure they have at least one letter from you, firmly 
but pleasantly asking for the money. This means a letter  -- 
not one of those stickers you put onto copies of your 
invoice. ('A friendly reminder' and so on.) 
2. Try wearing them down with telephone calls. Phone daily, 
even twice a day. (Not the most popular job for someone on 
your staff, but it's the only cheap  way to collect small 
amounts.) Don't threaten anything: instead, moan about your 
own cash flow, or say your accountant wants to square up his 
books, or whatever sounds OK. They may pay faster than you 
expect: some large companies keep a log of demand calls, and 
after you've logged in a certain number, you get your 
check. 
3. 'Offer' to send around a courier. This often breaks 
through their weaker excuses and exposes a realm of truth: 
they might tell you they're having temporary cash-flow 
problems, and that the account will be paid within two 
weeks. 
Big Debts Owed By Companies
1. Try steps 1, 2 and 3 above (for small debts owed by 
companies). But go through the steps faster. This is a big 
debt, after all. Don't mess around too long before you... 
2. Go and see them. Make an appointment with the credit 
manager. If you get a lot of excuses, just go without  an 
appointment, unannounced, and plop down in reception. Be 
polite and smile at everyone. Look like you're prepared to 
spend the day. Take something to read, or even a laptop 
computer and do some work. Sooner or later someone  will see 
you. Then you'll either get a check, or you'll find out what 
you're really up against. 
TIP: if a big debtor is in financial trouble, and you push 
him hard, he might find something 'wrong' with your product 
and offer part payment. Your product was faulty, or your 
service wasn't up to scratch -- or whatever. This is 
face-saving. But it offers an easy chance to get most of 
your money. 
Consider his offer very seriously.  Believe me, it can be 
the best thing you can do. You'll probably still end up with 
a profit on the deal. (And he'll be happy, because he's got 
a reduction.) You'll have saved yourself a lot of time. And 
you'll probably get more money from the debtor than you'd 
get in any other way. Also you'll come away feeling like a 
good guy. You're reasonable, you can compromise. Do it! Do 
it! Don't get involved with law courts and endless hassles 
if you can avoid it. Pride can be very expensive. 
Psychological Section: Know Thyself
DEBT-COLLECTION professionals estimate that at least 80% of 
people have terrible problems asking for money. Even if 
there's no  squabble. They just hate  asking. They can't 
stand the idea of walking up to someone and saying, "You owe 
me such and such, could I have a check please?" 
Are you like that? Worse yet: is your credit manager like 
that? (Many are.) 
Here's a simple test: you're in a queue and someone pushes 
in. Do you grumble under your breath and let him in? Or do 
you pipe up and say, "Hey! There's a queue here. Go to the 
back." Eighty percent or more would let the person push in. 
The same 80% are the ones that have trouble asking for money 
(from anyone -- even their own brother). 
If you're honest and think you aren't  a natural debt 
collector, take account of the fact. Hire someone who finds 
it easy. This is precisely what many debt-collection 
agencies try to do themselves: pick people who are 
psychologically right for the job. There's no point in them 
hiring someone to collect debts if it takes the person half 
an hour to calm down each time he phones someone. 
And back to you: think of your health. If debt collection 
rattles you, you won't be able to sleep at night. Is it 
worth it? Can you run a business that way? 
You have to know how much debt-collection you can stand, 
then hand over the job when you reach your threshold. That's 
what I do. I press debtors to a certain extent -- then just 
throw up my hands and let the professionals go after them. 
The peace is wonderful. 
4. Getting Rougher: The Counsel Of Experience
SO MUCH for preaching. You probably didn't buy this book to 
hear you should tighten up your credit system, or to find 
out a few new tricks to collect debts yourself. Let's say 
you've done  all that and it didn't work. Someone owes you 
money, and it's turning into a hard case. What next? 
I'll take you through the possibilities. I'd better say that 
I've used the methods I'll tell you about. This isn't 
theory. It's experience. 
My business is writing things for people. (Brochures, 
speeches, articles, reports, ads, marketing letters, and 
sometimes books.) Believe me, all kinds of people phone and 
ask me to do jobs. . My clients range from individuals, to 
some of the largest international companies. The big 
companies aren't always prompt payers. And the individuals 
-- wayward as they sometimes appear -- are often OK. Very 
hard to predict. And I had plenty to learn. 
For this book, I also interviewed all sorts of people: debt 
collection agencies, private investigators, a magistrate, 
sheriffs, and lawyers. They were happy to help. They told me 
it was about time someone did a realistic book about debt 
collection! And they gave me an earful -- valuable 
information, worth a lot to me in running my own business. 
I'm now sharing it all with you. 
In the next chapters, I talk about how to collect the