1. Marketing Your Program to Decision Makers Charlie Helms North Carolina Department of Revenue

2. Agenda Building a successful program Capturing and using performance data Managing relations with elected officials and other decision makers Building and making your case Share your experiences

3. Collection Programs - 4 Keys to Success 1.Cost effective treatment streams 2.Be easy to do business with 3.Maximize data and information available about debtors 4.Effective goal setting and management reporting

4. 1. Cost Effective Treatment Streams Every case is not the same! Determine collection flows using – Debtor’s Risk and the – Potential Yield of case Automate collection actions Enhance cost effectiveness and reduce complaints

5. 2. Be Easy to Do Business With The carrot verses the stick – Penalty waiver policy Make it easy to pay! – Web and IVR enabled EFT and credit card payments Bank drafted payment plans – Web and IVR enabled, applying business rules and restrictions “Firm but Fair” collection philosophy

6. 3. Maximize Debtor Data Information is the Life Blood of collections! First choice methods – Data warehousing integrated with collections systems – Acquire regular feeds of data from various sources into warehouse Subscription services

7. Data Management on the Cheap MS Access databases – Great, cheap way to compile, compare and use data feeds from various sources – Many recent college grads have basic Access skills – Can be built and maintained by “Non-IT” resources

8. Potential Data Sources County records IRS information State tax Unemployment insurance State motor vehicles State/local vendor payment files Postal service Free web sites Subscription services Financial institution ticklers (FIDM) Statewide lien & judgment records Credit bureaus State wildlife licenses Internal info The list is endless

9. 4. Effective Goal Setting and Management Reporting Don’t be afraid to set goals! “You get what you measure” … “If you don’t measure it, it’s not important” Be careful … watch for unintended consequences! Mainframe performance data can be manipulated with reporting applications such as SAS or MS Access Build score-card and dashboard reports

13. Managing Relations with Decision Makers Determine key decision makers – May not be as obvious as you think – Legislative/Executive branch staff are often key Provide first class constituent services Use all interactions as relation building opportunities Be patient and persistent

14. Managing relations with decision makers “It’s not personal, it’s business! … It’s not personal, it’s business!” -Tom Hagan, The Godfather

15. Building and Making Your Case What’s the Big Idea? – Explore many options for improvement Build business case – Determine costs (if any) – Determine return on investment (ROI) – Look for other agencies where similar methods have been successful Design your “blue-print” for accomplishing your objective

16. Calculating ROI Investment (costs) / Benefits (collections) = ROI – For every $1 expended, the state will receive $XX in additional revenues – Also, look at average collection Consider using a “Marginal Rate” of increase to compensate for law of diminishing returns

17. Field OfficeCollections Yield Average Collection per employee e Durham 8,351,612.31 20.400 755,422.22 e Elizabeth City 4,804,246.75 25.504 1,054,590.75 e Fayetteville 13,709,714.79 32.081 1,246,337.71 e Greenville 7,928,551.44 24.358 1,049,367.10 e Raleigh 19,538,073.78 34.102 1,373,770.81 e Rocky Mount 4,925,889.11 19.804 820,981.52 e Wilmington 10,041,910.52 21.648 832,969.54 Eastern Region $ 69,299,998.70 26.288 $ 1,042,976.57 w Asheville 12,006,943.87 28.619 1,200,694.39 w Charlotte 28,805,624.10 20.626 810,158.18 w Greensboro 17,114,082.57 19.604 814,956.31 w Hickory 11,947,273.74 21.810 888,640.20 w Interstate Collection Unit 18,104,341.45 66.117 2,586,334.49 w Winston-Salem 7,178,959.79 17.328 717,895.98 Western Region $ 95,157,225.52 24.244 $ 981,002.32 Statewide Field Office Totals $ 164,457,224.22 25.065 $ 1,006,196.48 Average per month $ 27,409,537.37 25.065 Average per office $ 12,650,555.71 25.065 Average per employee $ 1,006,196.48 25.065

18. Funding Options Appropriations – Traditional method Fees – Fees for “services” – Fee assessed at point in collection process Benefits based funding – Typically used for large IT projects

19. Solicit Support Include key stakeholders in developing plan – Do your homework internally – Include any external agencies/businesses impacted by change – Negotiate up-front with the expected loudest voices of opposition Work with friendly decision makers to support and promote plan

20. NC’s Large Projects – Project collect 1 (2001) – Collection assistance fee (2001) – New call center (2002-03) – Project collect 2 (2005) – Enhanced garnishment and other law changes (2007) – TIMS project (2008-2012) New technology infrastructure (CA fee & appropriations funded) Collection case management System (2009-2011) (Benefits funding) – 2010 legislative agenda

21. 2010 Legislative Agenda FIDM (Financial Institution Data Match) E-Garnishment Expanded refund offset State vendor payment offset Accelerated collection process

22. GREAT People Talk About IDEAS AVERAGE People Talk About THINGS SMALL People Talk About OTHER PEOPLE

23. Summary Build a creditable program/Be a credible leader Gain support of decision makers using data Develop great ideas and build your case using data

24. Discussion What examples do you have of influencing decision makers? What has been key to your success in influencing decision makers? What questions do you have for me or your colleagues?

25. Contact Information Charlie Helms,  Director, Collection Division  Charlie.helms@dornc.com Collection Division Administration  PO Box 27431, Raleigh, NC 27611  (919) 715-6468 (Office)  (919) 280-4935 (Mobile)