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.
andre@andrelarabie.com
Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist
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Next time you should shorten your post, try to leave out the parts that people skip.