Investing in credit management training – “A sale is not a sale until it is paid for.”

Many businesses delay training of any sort as they see it as a burden not an investment, it’s just something they have to do.

But consider that credit management is the only function of your business that actually brings in an income. Sales people make the sales, “but a sale is not a sale until it is paid for.”

I was speaking with a colleague the other day who was deciding if they should bring on another accounts person or a new salesperson. They remarked that hiring a salesperson would be a no brainer as they “pay for themselves”.

The same goes for credit management training, it is something that pays for itself. Our clients are able to measure and see the results in a relatively short time frame.

Most of us start off in business with no formal credit management training in place. We just wing it for as long as we can and hope for the best.

If however you have discovered you have a need for credit management training it is best to act immediately.

You have to ask yourself, what do I have to gain by putting off the training and more importantly what do I stand to lose?

There are many reasons that may cause you to put off training, some common ones are “What if I train them and they leave?”… This is a valid point, but the flip side to this is, what if they stay and don’t have the tools necessary to bring in your much needed cash flow, or worse still upset a valued customer and you lose them. The emphasis must be on getting paid and retaining customer goodwill?”

Another common one is that they are too busy to implement training; they are right in the middle of their busy season and couldn’t possibly spare the time. What often happens is three months later the business ledger is full of overdue or late paying debtors, and you are left scrambling for cash flow!!

By not having a strong credit management process, you risk exposing your business to late payers or as more commonly referred to as “Bad Debtors”.

Credit Management is like anything in business, if you put a process around it, it functions better. They say – what gets measured gets managed. Consider the following questions to see if you may need a stronger credit management process –

1. Do I have an active and proven credit policy and procedure in the business?
2. Do we have adequate risk strategies in place to ascertain a prospect or existing customers credit worthiness?
3. Do we Credit Check customers? Do we set Credit Limits? Do we have an appropriate Terms of Trade if at all? Do we engage in using the PPSA?

If you need help to write your Credit Policy or the Terms and Conditions/ Terms of Trade for your business call the team at New Zealand Business Tools (NZBT). I use them nowadays for to help with everything from Credit Checks to Document Service.

If you already have the groundwork in place and have been considering training your team or yourself, the best time to do it is now. You will see immediate benefits and a solid return on investment.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”–Chinese Proverb