Our economy is in deep trouble and it just keeps getting worse. The recent downturn—unprecedented in our lifetime—is causing many people to fall deeper and deeper into debt. Many are declaring bankruptcy; others are losing their homes and much of what they own. Some are falling victim to both of these unnecessary misfortunes.

Amidst all the turmoil, our elected officials are running around claiming the good times are coming back. They want us to believe that they have turned the economy around with their stimulus programs—that all we have to do is WAIT and things will improve.

But these smiling government bureaucrats have burned us too many times in the past…We know this simply isn’t true. The economy is very bad and it may be a very long time before it ever gets better.

How did it get this way?

In the past, we took advantage of what seemed like an endless supply of credit. We maxed out our credit cards and bought the biggest home the bank would approve a loan for. We lived under a tremendous burden of debt…and now it is all about to come crashing down…

Now, like never before, things must change…We must live within our means. If we fail to do so, we stand to lose everything we’ve worked so hard to acquire. Learn how to do this; order my book on personal debt management by clicking HERE.

Many people carry a large amount of debt but never really understand how it all works. They receive their monthly statements and pay the minimum amount required to make it to the next month’s payment without a penalty. But the real penalty is hidden and lurking dangerously below the surface. These people don’t understand the connection between interest rate and credit card balance. By making only the minimum payments while living beyond their means, many unsuspecting borrowers sink further and further into a bottomless ocean of debt. If they understood the simple relationship between balance and interest rate, they might be able to manage their situation better.

This is not surprising because this is how the banks and credit companies want it: They want you to trust them. They want you to stay dumb…They want you to focus only on the minimum payment each month.

Why?

Simple. Because THEY MAKE MORE MONEY!

Well don’t feel alone. Many people are hurting just like you. I know this because I’ve been working on the front lines of debt resolution and credit repair for many years, in both good economies and bad. And I can tell you that most people are just waiting for things to improve. They are waiting for the government to make their life better. I can also tell you that you don’t have to just sit there and suffer. You don’t have to wait for something that will probably never arrive…You Can Take Action Now! You can turn your life around. You can reduce your personal debt, repair your credit, and start living debt-free.

In my book, How To Reduce Your Personal Debt And Start Living Debt Free, I show you exactly how to do this, and much much more…

During my years working in the field of debt reduction, I have encountered just about every situation imaginable, and no matter what the economic climate, no matter how bad your particular credit situation, YOU CAN ALWAYS TAKE ACTION TO TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND. You can always live debt free. So don’t give up hope.

Don’t just sit there…

In my book, How To Reduce Your Personal Debt And Start Living Debt Free, I reveal all of my personal debt management secrets. I hold nothing back. Here it is…my many years of experience working on the front lines in the war against debt, all of it available in one easy-to-follow manual—methods you can use to reduce your personal debt and start living debt free!

In essence…
This is your own private guidebook to living debt free

Topics Covered

• Debt Management
• Credit Management
• Money Management
• Loans
• Credit Repair
• And much more…

For your convenience, I am offering all of my debt reduction experience in this book, and you can order it now by clicking HERE.

André Larabie

www.andrelarabie.com

The Settlement Letter, often called the Settlement Proposal, can be a highly effective tool in the negotiation process. As with many things, this proposal should be a form of sales pitch and not completely about facts. Add in elements that will endear the reader to your plight. Include hardships and any story elements you can think of.

When you are negotiate on the telephone with attorneys, collection agencies, or collection attorneys, one may encounter an impersonal, or even rude attitude on the part of the person you are negotiating with. Do not take this personally. The reasons for this behavior are varied but can be reduced or even eliminated by negotiating in written form.

When one negotiates with a general practice attorney representing a creditor, this attorney is typically motivated to get the file “off their desk.” If a relatively minor amount of money is owed to the creditor, the attorney may not wish to invest a lot of time on the case since the fees will be nominal or non-existent. Many general practice attorneys have indicated that they are handling this case for their client because they represent the client’s other business interests and the attorney may be doing this task as “a favor” to their client, but would otherwise not be doing it.

In this scenario the attorney may indicate that if a reasonable settlement can be achieved, they would be willing to present it to their client. They may even advise the creditor to seriously consider the Settlement Proposal. This is especially true if the consultant representing the debtor, or the actual debtor, has properly set the stage to reflect the debtor’s deteriorating position. In effect, if you can “sell the settlement” to the attorney, the attorney will probably “sell it” to their client.

www.andrelarabie.com

andre@andrelarabie.com

When you negotiate to reduce your overall commercial debt, it is a good idea to use a Settlement Letter to communicate your offers.

This form of presentation allows you to take full control over the presentation.
One element of the Settlement Letter should personalize the problems you are facing. This element of the settlement letter allows you to “humanize” your plight and gain sympathy. This is where the “storytelling” aspect of the settlement negotiations comes into play. This section will be the “setup” to provide a solution to the problem(s) you are facing, as well as a justification for considering accepting the settlement offer. Therefore, the importance of this aspect of the settlement letter cannot be overstated and should be addressed with keen interest.

It is important to realize that negotiating directly with a creditor can be very different than negotiating with attorneys or collection agencies. When one business owner (the debtor) negotiates directly with another business owner (the creditor), the creditor may have a more personal understanding or sympathy to the situation. In fact, the creditor may indicate that they have experienced similar accounts payable problems at some point in the past. As such, the negotiations may be more congenial and personal. This makes personalizing the problem all the more effective.

Business owners usually have a personal awareness and understanding of the intrinsic value associated with “sweat equity,” “goodwill,” and other aspects of their business that make it personal to them and their customers. In other words, business owners have a more personal feeling about their business and may be more compassionate when it comes time to negotiate a settlement. Obviously, these negotiations may proceed more smoothly.

www.andrelarabie.com

andre@andrelarabie.com

If your company is distressed and facing bankruptcy, I have found that when your position becomes public to your vendors, suppliers, bankers and competitors, every creditor will want to get what they can from this “fire sale” before funds are no longer available. This sets the stage for settlement.

Everyone is in fear of ending up with nothing when all the vultures swoop in to tear apart your business. This makes anyone and everyone more likely to take your settlement offer and not be too picky when it comes to the final agreement.

When appropriate to do so, I would like to suggest some of the following solutions to be inserted in the settlement letter:
• A straight, one-time payment with reduction of amount owed, plus any accrued costs, fees or interest.
• Survival payments provided to allow you to remain active, as an ongoing, viable concern, perhaps while bridge financing or accounts receivable factoring is arranged.
• Graduated workout payments to continue the business relationship between you and the creditor. This option may allow the creditor to recover some, or all, of their costs over a period of time, if the creditor agrees to continue the relationship, even if on a cash only basis.
• Schedule monthly payments, perhaps with a balloon payment at the beginning or end of the settlement terms.

Properly and professionally worded settlement offers typically receive the most expeditious responses. One may even combine elements to continue providing to the creditor reasons to accept the offer. Suppose the letter has outlined the desperate financial situation facing you. This will increase the overall sense of urgency.

www.andrelarabie.com

andre@andrelarabie.com

If your business is in trouble, one of the most important actions you can take is to reduce your overall outstanding commercial debt burden. This can free up the critical capital that you need to survive and turn your business around.

Most business owners do not realize that all commercial debt is negotiable, and this is especially true when a company is undergoing times of duress as in a turnaround. In fact, one of the key leverage points for negotiating your commercial debt down is the fact that your company is in trouble.

In effect, this debt burden, which currently is a drain on your already oppressed resources, can turn into a source of capital. When you negotiate these debts down, the money you would normally be paying to creditors can then be redirected toward the daily business operations.

This is easy to understand because most creditors would rather take a lesser amount than ultimately get nothing when your company fails. So in a sense you are enlisting them in support of your survival.

My personal experience indicates that by following the correct procedures, you can ultimately reduce your overall commercial debt burden by over 60%. I have implemented this process successfully for over 20 years. For the benefit of your turnaround outcome, I will present an abbreviated description of my proven commercial debt-reduction techniques, with my process modified for easy implementation in a turnaround context.

Note that although all of a business’s debt is considered to be “commercial,” you, as business owner, may have guaranteed some portion of the overall debt, and my system will address this aspect of commercial debt.
André Larabie

www.andrelarabie.com