While attending a conference early in my career, the Director of Collections from a large national bank made an unexpected statement that has guided me ever since. He was asked how often he liked to hear from his debt buyers. I expected him to say he wanted to hear from them frequently and stress the importance of a strong relationship. His response was, “As little as possible”. He later added, "If I am hearing from a debt buyer frequently that means there are problems”. We all know the problems a debt buyer can create such as consumer complaints, lawsuits, “accidentally” reselling a portfolio, constantly renegotiating and hounding you for putbacks to name a few. It occurred to me that a good debt buyer sounds like a good offensive lineman. When you hear the name of an offensive lineman, it probably means they committed a penalty for holding or being offside. This analogy can be further extended. Like the lineman can make it easy for an offense to advance the ball, debt buyers can provide a straightforward and easy path to generating incremental profits for lenders. Selling debt should be as easy as a running back running through a gaping hole in the defense. You don’t want a debt buyer to pay you less than full value any more than a running back wants to be sandwiched between two 350-pound defensive linemen. Like the lineman who protects the quarterback’s “blindside”, you want a debt buyer who will minimize your risk while liquidating the debt. I was destined to be a debt buyer. The greatest athletic accomplishment of my childhood was being named outstanding offensive lineman for my elementary school team. E-mail me at glewis@plazaservicesllc.com if you would like to set-up a discovery call. We have vast experience in purchasing delinquent consumer debt. We can help you determine value, assess potential risks and help you think through operational concerns.