For business owners the prospect of collecting past-due money from people can be a headache, but the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce has a solution.

As part of the Chamber’s Business Academy, a monthly educational series, a seminar will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 9, to help business owners learn how to effectively collect on debts owed to them while keeping customers.

The event will be held at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Board Room, located at 1320 EMS Drive in Mount Airy.

It will get under way at 8 a.m., with a light breakfast and networking session. The seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. and run until 10 a.m.

The presenter is Kay Laffoon of Laffoon and Associates.

Lafoon has trained workers at major corporations such as U.S. Foods, Walmart, AT&T, Comcast and Coca-Cola.

Seminar organizers tout the program as being able to teach business owners how to increase their cash flow in seven to 10 days through creative collection strategies.

Attendees will learn effective methods to keep customers paying on time while simultaneously encouraging teamwork between sales and collection departments.

In addition, they will have the opportunity to learn:

• Techniques to improve cash flow by more effective handling of delinquent accounts.

• How to convert a credit operation into a profit center.

• Methods of encouraging teamwork between businesses’ collection and sales departments.

• Ways to decrease payment cycles.

• Techniques for fine-tuning communication skills to overcome objections and speed up payments.

The event is free to Chamber members, and $10 for non-Chamber members.

Seats for the seminar can be reserved via email at membership@mtairychamber.org.

Reach Keith Strange at kstrange@heartlandpublications.com or 719-1929.