Do not hide behind your lawyer, accountant, or consultant, your hired guns…Meet with the IRS, your bank and other secured creditors and lenders, it’s critical for a successful workout.

No one wants to deal with the IRS, or their banker when in default and owing secured personally guaranteed debt.

Many practice self destructing avoidance as the situation is so distasteful. Rather then confront and possibly resolve the matter they prefer to avoid the discussion. Its too uncomfortable they say. Every one in such a situation prefers to communicate through a third party professional representative. “…its their business and they know best what to do and what to say.”, besides you think, this is really very uncomfortable and intimidating, fearful in a word and you would much prefer to have absolutely nothing to do with it if you can escape from such confrontation.

You hire a seasoned pro who knows how to handle this, usually a lawyer or an accountant,  and this is the best way to avoid the uncomfortable confrontation you so desperately want to avoid at almost any cost. In fact you convince yourself that this is the smart way to go, hire a pro and let him do the dirty work, he is better at it and he will succeed in arranging the best outcome.

One of the more common selling points of such a professional representation relationship is exactly that, removing your need to have direct communication and personal involvement with these distasteful situations.

There is much room for reconsideration of this, as I have seen the positive results from the debtor confronting his lender or creditor by creating credibility and personal commitment as well as being inspected as to the truth of your condition and the situation, the story.

It is important that a certain amount of face time is included in support of your third party representation. You need to confront your creditor, lender and explain your situation and THEN let the third party professional clean it up. You can have your representative accompany you to make certain your not taken advantage of, to mediate and help but you must go at least once to reveal the story and fill them in on  what happened. This should come from you the borrower.

Its simple, the truth prevails, it works and its a necessary component to the workout. Your lender or creditor must believe your story and if so, the workout will go much faster, easier and with far better results and with far less loss and expense for you the creditor.

It is very difficult to project the truth successfully through a third party as it appears to them you are hiding from them and thus credibility drops and cooperation disappears.

Its a natural reaction to want to avoid such situations but its a failing strategy. Your professional representative also falls into this trap also believing his skill will fill the need and part of his job is to protect you from such uncomfortable confrontations and for him to do the entire negotiation without your involvement delivering a brilliant conclusion.

Its a huge error and a misconception that must be corrected for the greatest level of success to be achieved. In fact I have seen the workout discussion turn into a disaster as the third party representative, the professional, tries to explain why the client will not be present to discuss the issues and the resolution.

The exact opposite is accomplished as distrust and a belief the client is hiding something is what results. The workout becomes hostile and unproductive with the secured parties wanting to use their significant power to collect or liquidate, no matter what the results, rather then to cooperate and workout the matter to everyones best interest. Its all about human nature, there’s and yours.

The creditor wants to hear the story, sense the pain and believe its the truth and then will work with the professionals to iron out the details.

The professional can instruct and train and prepare his client as to what to best say and what not to say, and such preparation is valid and important, but the client must meet and tell his story, discuss the issues and then can retreat behind the strength and power of the representative to successfully conclude as everyone is satisfied. That’s the best strategy imaginable.

I have witnessed this many times from both sides of the strategy, and have seen the power, intensity and truth which is always revealed with passion and commitment by the client which serves to satisfy the creditor and allows for the workout to proceed… successfully.

I have also seen the professional attempt to deliver this message and fail miserably or at least not do the job the client could have done and thus preventing a successful workout from developing. Even a client with a quiet, softly spoken, non assuming, low energy presentation works as even a few words works if it is heartfelt and sincere, and the agent or banker can tell immediately what is sincere and what is not. Anyone can.

Credibility is measured many ways and once felt its effect is significant and powerful. Only the client, the debtor, can successfully or best accomplish this feat, far better then any professional representative be it an attorney, an accountant or a workout specialist.

Its a team approach and the client must play an important role, and then can disappear leaving the professionals to handle the details. That’s the way to approach the situation. That’s the way to build success. Use our collective strengths… together.Call for help 413-548-2966.