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August 1, 2010 BCMA - It’s All About You! Welcome to the latest issue of BCMA News! This month’s topics… 1. Three Steps to Better Teamwork 2. Blending Commercial and Consumer Information on Small Businesses 4. Evidence Mail: 10 Phrases to Avoid in Your Emails! 1. Three Steps to Better Teamwork How well is your team working together? It is one of the keys to doing more with less in these lean times. Your team needs to work together as productively as possible. If it isn't, here are some ideas that may help. 1. Embrace the differences in your team members. All too often we are guilty of thinking, "If you're not like me, there is something wrong with you!" If every team member has the same skills, knowledge and attitude, the team will not be very strong. Make an effort to value the fact that your team members communicate, work and think differently. Stop focusing on what is wrong and find the good in each of your team members. And there is something good! 2. Clarify your team ground rules. These are guidelines for your team that shape the day-to-day behavior of your team members. Do you have a list of what is expected from each team member? In team building sessions I have conducted, teams have developed rules such as speak positively about other team members, no gossiping, communicate openly and honestly, everyone supports one another, suggest a solution when you have a complaint, have fun, and other rules that can guide the team's behavior. 3. Closely related to setting team ground rules is that each team member needs to learn to give feedback to their colleagues and become comfortable with it. When a team member is unhappy with something another member is doing, she needs to sit down with that team member and discuss it. Dysfunctional teams avoid conflict and instead talk about things behind others' backs. And remember that feedback is also positive. Well-functioning teams praise each other often when things are being done right. Please contact Peggy if you would like her to facilitate some teambuilding activities or lead one of your team retreats. E-mail: peggy@peggymorrow.com; Phone: 281-280-8190 or 800-375-1982. 2. Blending Commercial and Consumer Information on Small Businesses If you have very many small business accounts (those with 15 or fewer employees) you can be in something of a credit information dead zone, where even Google Alerts may not be of much help. The problem is that what you need is a blend of business data and consumer information on the owners and/or principals. Experian's been probably the biggest and most trusted player in this niche, but now D&B is setting it’s sights on it as well. Achieving this blend on an unprecedented scale is the aim of Commercial Credit Score 8.0. To be launched in August, this new service will combine D&B's 150 million business records and TransUnion's 500 million global consumer credit histories. "Small businesses' credit-worthiness can be correlated to consumer credit history," notes Byron Vielehr, president, D&B Global Risk and Analytics. "By merging this credit data, we've elevate the predictive power of our scores and become able to help our customers make better risk decisions." Vielehr explains that Commercial Credit Score 8.0 incorporates aggregated consumer credit attributes for geographic areas with business risk information. The aim is to provide increased predictability for the credit risk assessment of small businesses that often have minimal established trade credit. When customers abuse your terms, you should write a personal letter to the owner, majority partner, or president of the company, suggests one veteran credit manager. "The letter should show concern for the customer, and reflect a 'what can we do to help' philosophy. You can show the history of the account, outlining the ups, downs, and trends you see. You should emphasize the positive aspects and downplay the negative. Nobody likes to hear criticism. You can also express concern that bills are not being paid within your terms and ask why. If it seems the customer won't be able to meet your terms, show that you are willing (for a short period) to stretch your terms in its time of need." Here is a letter he recently sent to a slow-paying customer: In reviewing your account, and analyzing your past payment habits for invoices rendered between February and October, we show our invoices are not being paid on a timely basis. We get concerned when good-paying customers show a slowing trend. I have attached a graph which shows your average days paid for forty (40) invoices was 59 days. What is more alarming is that between February and April, invoices were being paid on an average of 40.2 days. But between May and October, that figure ballooned to 67.9 days. We are willing to work with customers, but we need your help. As you are one of our most valued customers, we request that you see that none of our invoices go over forty-five (45) days. This will allow us to service your needs, and to continue to give you support now and in the future. "The key is diplomacy, tact, and concern," he says. "If a customer finds these things in your letter, it will know you care and will be more willing to work with you to make timely payments."
Evidence Mail: 10 Phrases to Avoid in Your Emails! There's no question now what the "e" stands for in email. It's evidence. From Lehman Brothers through the on-going BP scandal, email messages have been and are being dredged up to pin the guilt on unwary decision makers. Those sorting through these documents are now electronically searching for key words and phrases to identify incriminating messages. It's to be hoped that your emails will never be used against you in court, but it would still be prudent to avoid using such words and phrases as:
You can probably add to this list. If they're not already in an electronic search program somewhere, they likely will be. To learn more about subscribing to Credit Today, check out our web site at http://www.credittoday.com/ Credit App Processing- Inordinate Tension and Challenges There are many good reasons why some credit execs do NOT require a completed credit app. From our Benchmarking Survey: Checklists of 100 Items You Can Include on Your Credit App |
