Using Incentives to Accelerate Performance

I love to run contests. I used to call my accelerators because, you know, it's just above and beyond your pay. Instead of who can collect the most money, it was who can get the best testimonial of how we change their perception of collections, you know, the best compliments from a debtor. And I wallpapered my entire office with love letters from consumers who said, if they ever hear from a collection agency, they want to hear from our team. And they weren't used to it at a collection agency, that's for sure. Can you tell me about some of the other, like, fun things that you did in the office to keep people engaged and motivated? Yeah. So that's where I really bought the flavor to the company, because I love to have fun with everybody. And because it became such a tough place to work, we had to protect it, and so I wanted to reward it. And I think most people fail here because they're so focused on money. I like to spend money, and I like to give back to the people who are responsible for getting me to where I was. So I was really big, first off, on running lots of contests. I love to run contests. I used to call them my accelerators because, you know, it's just above and beyond your pay. And I used to get in fights with people on my team because they'd want to know, like, why do you have to have a contest and pay people extra money to do their job? And I'd always say, because it works and because people like money, and it's a good incentive, and you put the carrot out there, and they'll go. And so in a collection environment, I did it the opposite like I did everything else. And I said, instead of who can collect the most money, it was who can get the best testimonial of how we change their perception of collections. You know, the best compliments from a debtor, you know, from a consumer. And I wallpapered my entire office with love letters from consumers who said, if they ever hear from a collection agency, they want to hear from our team. So, you know, that was, like. It gave me that purpose. It gave me, like, a sense of my vision was legit. It wasn't just words on a wall. It became words on a wall. But one that when I was going through hard times, I could look at, and it was significant. And I rallied them with contests. I mean, I had a pretty special crew. I had an employee who came to me one day and said, chad, you know, our client in Cincinnati. And I said, yeah, she's like, well, I've come really close with the contact, and her husband's very sick, and he needs a kidney. And, like, I heard her say it. I'm like, what? And I know she's scheduling to give the guy her kidney. Like, I had a team that was. Like, it didn't make sense. Like, I had special people around me. I really did. I had a big whiteboard I used to brainstorm all the time, and I put up three pieces of paper where I paid it forward anonymously. I did three things for three people, and then I ended up going to them. I said, hey, go do that for three other people. Don't tell people. And you should have seen what was going on in my office. People just. They took to that type of a culture, and they weren't used to it at a collection agency, that's for sure. And it was just an unexpected good surprise that people love to be part of. And all I had to do was just light the match and flick it. And then I. I had the right people around me that they could just pour fuel on it. And, man, I would do that. And I didn't realize at the time, the little things. I call it my nuances. I have an entrepreneurial course that I have a playbook that I give to other people, and I just had a lot of little things that I think over time, they didn't stand out by themselves as a big deal. But over time, they compounded. I used to walk around my office every single morning, Good morning to every person, right to the point where when we had close to 100 people, it would take me like, a half hour to walk around. But for some reason, that was such a big deal for people. And I remember hearing the feedback years down the road. And so I just. It was a discipline, you know, like, little things do make the difference as an entrepreneur. You're busy, and you're consumed with what you have to do to run your business. But when I would hear someone say something, I'd pull up my phone and I'd write it down, and it, like, a lot. And I'd put a reminder. I'd email it to myself. I'd snooze it to come up on that Friday, and I'd. Hey, how'd your. How'd the graduation go? Like, I just remembered those. I never remembered it. I just made notes. People's birthdays, anniversaries. I knew all of them. Like, you'd think I'm a superstar because I knew 100 people's. I didn't know Anyone's. I knew nothing. I just had a system set up, you know, where I had disciplines. So those little one. Those little things, they made such a difference. And, you know, I'd see people's handwritten notes that I gave them from five years ago up on their wall, and it's just like, you know, I realized those are the nuances that make the difference. And you don't have to be some crazy, unbelievable, smart entrepreneur. You just have to know how to connect with people. And there is a realness about that when it comes from a genuine, sincere place that you can't replace. And people love it, and they love it, and they don't want to leave it. I mean, I had to run people out of my office because they sucked at the job, but they still wanted to work at the company. I'm like, you can't work here. You're not good. You don't like to make calls, and you're at a collection agency. But they love being part of that. That culture. So when we. I was challenged by my team to enter into these best place to work awards, which I never did. I hated them. I wanted nothing to do with the public, and I just didn't want anything to do with being recognized for that. I didn't realize how much of a mistake that was until we did it. And these companies, they do these anonymous surveys. So if you're an entrepreneur and you're listening to this, do it if you can. And it was an anonymous survey. Every year. They give it out to the employees. You get feedback as the owner, and. And I didn't know it at the time, but, man, it made a difference. People were rallying to try to become a best place to work. And for 10 straight years, we hit that list. And twice we won it. And it did something for our recruiting. People came in, I'm like, why do you want to work at a collection agency? Like, you guys are the best place to work. So then they'd see restarts, and they'd see these things, and it just became like people were fighting to get into the culture, and it was a collection agency. So I think the impact and the. The result of that, with clients wanting to attract to us and people wanted to do business with us, it helped me end up selling the company for a much bigger multiple than what the average was in a collection agency. Because we had this special leadership team. The sign of a good leader is when they can build other leaders. When you can build a leadership team that can build a leadership team, you're a leader, and that is not easy. You got to pour your heart and soul on people, and you gotta be willing for them to leave you. And then, boy, it's hard, really hard.