It’s my second attempt at Two Minute Tuesday. My first draft was “only” 800 words. This is better than last week’s 1,000-word first draft, so I’m getting better.
I did find a new problem this time: I am always typing “Tue Minute Twosday” in my idea planner when I jot down ideas. Maybe practice will override my dyslexia?
Without further ado, this week’s “Twosday” continues last week’s look into finding cost savings with some practical tactics anyone can employ.
The Two-Minute Cost Savings Audit
Running a tight, efficient collections operation isn’t just about bringing in more revenue—it’s about keeping costs in check. But digging through vendor contracts and expense reports sounds about as fun as a compliance training on a Friday afternoon.
The good news? You don’t need a deep dive to uncover easy wins. In just two minutes, you can identify cost-saving opportunities hiding in plain sight. You just need the drive to check and the discipline to do this consistently.
Pull up your last few months of vendor invoices, bank statements or P&L invoices out of QuickBooks. If you don’t have direct access to these, ask your manager - they’ll be impressed with your drive to audit costs!
Step 1: Identify Recurring Vendor Expenses
Look for:
Monthly or quarterly subscriptions (Are you still using all of them?)
Software fees (Any duplicate tools doing the same job?)
Communication costs (Emails, SMS, ringless voicemail—are you overpaying?)
🔥 Quick Win: If you see a charge you don’t recognize or haven’t used recently, flag it. Even small fees add up over time.
Step 2: Benchmark Your Pricing
For any major expense, do a quick check:
Are you paying market rate? If you’re not sure, dig deeper. Ask ChatGPT or - even better - your peers what is reasonable.
Is there an opportunity to renegotiate the price?
Are you using the entire service? If you’re paying for 10 features, but only using 5 of them, you may be able to use a less premium version of the product or use this as leverage when renegotiating.
Is it a commoditized service? Could you switch to a cheaper provider without sacrificing quality?
🔥 Quick Win: Find one vendor that is a good candidate and ask to renegotiate the price. You’d be surprised how willing they are to have a discussion. Worst case scenario? You provide valuable feedback to the vendor.
Quick Pause: What do you think of the Two Minute Tuesday format?
Step 3: Cut or Optimize Low-Impact Costs
Ask yourself:
What’s NOT driving revenue, efficiency or compliance? If something is an ‘ease of life’ product but doesn’t actually drive revenue or efficiency, consider cutting it.
Where can automation reduce manual labor? Automate processes like payment reminders instead of managing them manually.
Where can you digitize an analog process? For example, convert paper forms that require data entry to process to web forms that can be processed automatically. If you’re using web forms (a commoditized product, by the way!), find a platform (like Tally) that offers an expansive free package rather than paying for a name brand.
🔥 Quick Win: Find one analog process - even a small one - and digitize it.
Bonus: Find a Quick Win Today
Take one action right now—cancel a subscription, negotiate a rate, or automate a manual task. Even a small change can save thousands over the year.
The best part? You can run this two-minute audit every quarter to keep costs in check and profits high.
PS: What’s the easiest cost-saving move you’ve made recently? Hit reply and let me know!
PPS: I’m continually refining my free Collector Coach GPT. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
