What’s the worst call a sales rep can get?
It’s not a “no” from a cold prospect. It’s the lukewarm, “Hey… we’ve decided to try another agency for a while.”
It stings. It stings because it was a client you’d already won. It stings because you know that 90% of the time, it was preventable.
In the collections industry, we spend 80% of our time grinding for new logos—the hunt. We spend the other 20% reactively putting out fires for existing clients. This model is broken. Your single most profitable, highest-conversion growth channel is the client list you already have.
The problem is, most agencies don’t have a system for farming this land. They rely on “gut feel” and quarterly check-in calls.
To win in a market where clients are scrutinizing every vendor, you need to move from reactive management to a proactive expansion plan. This isn’t just “upselling”; it’s a defensive strategy that builds a moat around your best clients.
Here is a simple, data-driven playbook to find, score, and grow the hidden revenue in your current book of business.
From Gut Feel to Data: The Client Health Scorecard
You can’t act on what you don’t track. You need a simple, repeatable “Client Health Score” (0–10) for your top 20% of clients. This isn’t a 50-field CRM questionnaire. It’s a 5-minute assessment based on real-world signals.
What signals actually predict growth or churn?
1. Churn Risks (The Red Flags)
These are your leading indicators of a client at risk.
- Your Champion is Gone: The CFO, Practice Manager, or Controller who chose you has left. You’ve lost your internal advocate.
- The “Open Marriage” Talk: They start dropping hints like, “We’re running an RFP,” or “We’re testing another agency on a few accounts.”
- New Software: They just implemented new AR, billing, or practice management software. This is the #1 moment they will look for a new, integrated partner.
- Portal Friction: They stop logging into your client portal. They’re disengaged.
- Complaint Escalation: A single complaint is noise. A pattern of complaints, or one that reaches their leadership, is a five-alarm fire.
2. Loyalty Drivers (The Green Flags)
This is why they stay. You need to know this so you can double down on it.
- Clean Compliance: You are their compliance shield. They have a low complaint rate and trust you to protect their brand (especially in medical/dental).
- Zero-Headache Service: Your onboarding was easy, your reports are reliable, and their dedicated rep is responsive. You are easy to work with.
- Measurable ROI: They know, with data, that your recovery rates are strong.
- The “White-Glove” Tone: They’ve complimented your team’s professionalism and respectful approach with their customers/patients.
3. Expansion Signals (The Hidden “Buying” Signals)
This is where the money is. These are questions and actions that disguise a readiness to expand.
- The API Question: “Do you guys have an API?” or “Can you integrate with…?” This is a massive buying signal.
- The M&A Signal: They just acquired a new practice, bought a competitor, or opened new locations.
- The Benchmark Request: “How do our recovery rates compare to others in our industry?” They are thinking strategically.
- The “Escalation” Question: “What’s the process for legal or Step-3 escalation?” They’re thinking about the full lifecycle of their debt.
The 3-Tier Playbook: Turn Your Score Into Action
Now that you have a score, you know exactly where to spend your time. This playbook divides your clients into three clear tiers.
Tier 1: The “All-Stars” (Score 7–10)
These are your champions. They are happy, stable, and probably growing. Your goal is to make them more successful and lock in that relationship.
- The Play: The Proactive Pilot. Don’t just send a “thank you” gift. Use their data.
- Script: “I noticed your placements from [State/Service Line] are growing. You also mentioned your team is struggling with accounts in the 60-90 day bucket. Let’s run a 30-day pilot where we take on that earlier-age cohort for you. If it doesn’t demonstrably lift recovery and save your team time, we stop. No strings.”
- The Tool: A one-page ROI report using their own numbers. Show them, in black and white, how much you’ve recovered.
- The Goal: Book a formal Quarterly Business Review (QBR). This isn’t a check-in. It’s a strategic review where you present benchmarks and a 6-month growth forecast.
Tier 2: The “Steady Accounts” (Score 4–6)
These clients are content. They pay their bills, but they’re not growing. This is the most dangerous category, as they are a prime target for a competitor’s shiny new offer. Your job is to move them from “content” to “engaged.”
- The Play: The “One-Thing Fix.” Find one small, tangible friction point and solve it. Is their reporting clunky? Does their team need portal training? Fix it. Proactively.
- The Tool: A mini-case study. Send a one-paragraph email: “FYI, a B2B client just like you was struggling with… We implemented… and recovered 22% more. Just thought you’d find that interesting.”
- The Goal: Book a 15-minute “Fit Check.”
- Script: “I’m not trying to sell you anything, but I want to make sure we’re pointed at the right target. Of all your AR right now, which bucket is the biggest headache—is it the age of accounts, the balance of accounts, or just the sheer volume?”
Tier 3: The “At-Risk” (Score 0–3)
This is a retention-or-churn moment. All other priorities drop.
- The Play: The “No-Risk Challenge.” This is not an email. This is a phone call. You acknowledge the issue head-on.
- Script: “I know we had a service issue last month, and I want to earn back your trust. Give us 25 accounts your other agency (or your in-house team) couldn’t resolve. Let us run a second-placement test at preferred terms. If we don’t beat their performance, you owe us nothing. Fair?”
- The Tool: A 14-day action plan. Put it in writing. “Here are the 3 things we are doing to fix this, who owns it, and when it will be done.”
- The Goal: Escalate internally. Get your operations lead and success manager on a call with the client. Show them you are treating this with the urgency it deserves.
Make It Stick: A Simple System for Cadence and Tracking
This entire system will fail if it’s just a “good idea.” It has to live in your workflow.
- Lightweight CRM Fields: Add these 4 fields to your client accounts.
Expansion Score (0–10)Top Churn Risk (Pick-list)Next Expansion Bet (Open text)Last QBR Date
- Set Your Cadence:
- Monthly: Refresh the Expansion Score for your top 20 clients. (30 minutes, max).
- Quarterly: Conduct QBRs with your “All-Stars” and “Steady Accounts.”
- Event-Based: The moment you hear a champion is leaving or a complaint is escalated, update the score and risks immediately.
The daily hunt for new logos will always be part of sales. But the most predictable, profitable growth comes from the clients who already write you checks.
This system gives you a map. It shows you exactly where to invest your time, where to anticipate risk, and where to press your advantage. It stops you from being a reactive vendor and solidifies your role as a strategic, indispensable partner in your client’s financial health.