People can accrue debt in many ways. Some take out loans for houses, cars and school. Some overspend on restaurants or travel. Others rack up debt due to medical expenses insurance won’t cover. Whatever the reason, most end up in collections the same way – an aspect of the consumer’s life changed, leaving them unable to pay a bill.
This fact makes debt collection one of the most unique industries around. As a collection agency, you work in a business-to-business model, serving the client creditors who originally helped your consumers. However, if you don’t treat consumers with care while collecting the debts they owe, you’re not likely to see much success.
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Quotes About Getting Into Debt
- "Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of."
- "Many delight more in giving of presents than in paying their debts."
- "Don't let your mouth write no check that your tail can't cash."
- "Good times are when people make debts to pay in bad times."
- "Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them."
- "Debts are like children - begot with pleasure, but brought forth with pain."
- "This would be a much better world if more married couples were as deeply in love as they are in debt."
Debt Can Be Stressful
Money is a personal topic for most people and can stir up many emotions. Using empathy in collecting debt is essential to validating the feelings that accompany a consumer’s debt. Experts in debt collection have covered many reasons why this emotional tool is so important.
A central part of collecting is to overcome any stalls and objections a consumer may bring up during your conversation. While they may not realize it, a consumer’s negative emotions can act as one of these stalls. Put yourself in their situation to gain insight into how they are feeling. Once you understand where a consumer is emotionally, you can use empathetic language to validate their feelings and make them feel heard.
Empathy can also be used to pave the way toward overall conversational intelligence, where you gain a better understanding of how and when to address difficult situations. Begin by understanding your unique role in the debt collection process, where you can become an advocate for each consumer. Then build upon the understanding that every consumer wants to resolve their debts. They just need your help to understand how.
Quotes About the Burden of Debt
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"Debt is the slavery of the free." - Publilius Syrus
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"There are four things every person has more of than they know: sins, debt, years, and foes." - Persian Proverb
- "Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." - Warren Buffet
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"Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure, when he's really selling himself to it." - Benjamin Franklin
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"Wars in old times were made to get slaves. The modern implement of imposing slavery is debt." - Ezra Pound
- "Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt." - Henrik Isben
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"Remember this: debt is a form of bondage. It is a financial termite." - Joseph P. Wirthlin
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"Debt can turn a free, happy person into a bitter human being." - Michael Mihalik
- "Buying on the installment plan makes the months shorter and the years longer." - Unknown
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"Who goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing." - Thomas Tusser
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"Here is an equation worth remembering: Five dollars earned minus seven dollars spent equals an unhappy life." - Jon Morrison
Human Connection and Empathy
In the end, the human connection empathy creates can help you to better understand and build trust with your consumers, making it easier for your agency to collect payments from any generation.
The job can be difficult but helping consumers ease a financial burden is also rewarding. And remember, in such a uniquely challenging field of work, it’s important to look at the lighter side of life.
Humorous Quotes About Debt
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"The only man who sticks closer to you in adversity than a friend is a creditor." - Unknown
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"There are three kinds of people: the haves, the have-nots, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-haves." - Earl Wilson
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"Those have a short Lent, who owe money to be paid at Easter." - Benjamin Franklin
- "A man who pays his bills on time is soon forgotten." - Oscar Wilde
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"Debts are like children: the smaller they are the more noise they make." - Spanish Proverb
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"Creditors have better memories than debtors." - Benjamin Franklin
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"A billion here, a billion there, sooner or later it adds up to real money." - Everett Dirksen
- "If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments." - Earl Wilson
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"Credit buying is much like being a drunk. The buzz happens immediately, and it gives you a lift. The hangover comes the day after." - Joyce Brothers
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"Some people use one-half of their ingenuity to get into debt, and the other half to avoid paying it." - George Prentice
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"Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most." - American Proverb
- "We all think we're going to get out of debt." - Louie Anderson
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- ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
Hannah Huerta, Marketing Specialist
Hannah Huerta is a Marketing Specialist at PDCflow. She creates content for the accounts receivable and payment industry.
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