Debt negotiation can be a hard pill to swallow if you’re on the business side of it. After all, you have a legal right (and a financial need) to the funds that are owed. So why should you settle for anything less?

To put the answer for this in perspective, it’s important to note that much of the debt turned over to collection agencies each year is not fully realized. The national average is just over 20 percent, in fact.

You can increase your options by choosing the right arbitrator — someone who will aggressively pursue payments and has the knowledge and skill to apply the right kind of legal pressure. But debt negotiation will always be a part of it, and it’s important your service provider knows when to use it.

It can literally be the difference between getting paid something or losing out on most of the revenue. Let’s now examine the best time to use it.

Debt Negotiation Factors

Determining which factors are the most important to the debt negotiation decision is a vital step in the process. It requires speaking to the client as well as examining your own bottom line. To help, we’ve put together a list of important questions:

• Is the individual willing to pay something?
• What financial resources do they have?
• Would an extended period of time and more lenient repayment terms result in a larger payment?
• What legal options do you have, and is the cost of pursuing them worth more than you’d be able to recover?
• Could future harm come to your business by not aggressively pursuing the debt in question?

The above should serve as a good barometer for knowing when to negotiate and when to stick with your guns.

Maximize Your Chance of Repayment

At Southwest Recovery Services, we can work with you and the individual to devise strategies that maximize repayment opportunities, particularly for our healthcare customers who enjoy the benefits of Early Out. We have more than 25 years of debt recovery experience, and we know how to weigh and address factors that may be stalling the payment process.

If you believe that your business, municipality, or healthcare organization could benefit from an extra set of eyes, or you don’t believe you have the time and/or ability to pursue a successful debt negotiation, we want to hear from you. Reach out to our offices in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, or Oklahoma City at your earliest convenience, or contact us through the website.