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By clicking on First National Merchant Solution's logo, you will be leaving this web site. Products and services accessed through this link are not provided or guaranteed by your Business Credit Management Association (BCMA). First National Merchant Solutions may have a privacy policy that is different than your BCMA Affiliate. Please review First National Merchant Solutions privacy policy. BCMA MEMBERS NACM Credit Services, Inc. Pennsylvania Association of Credit Management Wisconsin Credit Association GOT AN IDEA? Would you like to contribute to the BCMA Newsletter? The most important part is your idea. We can handle the polishing. Just write to us at BCMAEditor@ CreditToday.net with your idea!		June 1, 2009 BCMA - It’s All About You! Welcome to the latest issue of BCMA News! This month’s topics… 1. Motivating Collectors 2. A List for a Lift 3. Make Your Case in Person 4. Eight Warning Signs to Watch for When Checking Bank References Back to top 1. Motivating Collectors Melanie Sher used to be director of human resources at AmSher Receivables Management (Birmingham, AL). Then staff turnover, which had been low for years, began to rise. When turnover reached nearly 150 percent, she became director of Fun and Culture. "We want people to want to come to work every day," she emphasizes. "We want them to have fun at work. Good collectors are self-motivated, but management still has a responsibility to provide additional motivation. When you're talking on the phone all day with people about payment problems, you also need to hear and see some positive things to remain motivated." Since it is difficult to actually change the work that collectors do, AmSher decided to work at changing two other things: the work environment and the employees' attitudes. "If someone is not happy, we identify what will make that person happy," explains Sher. "It may require a change in environment, or it may require a change in attitude, or both." Here are some of the changes the company has made. Environment One is a bonus referral program, where employees (called associates at AmSher) are eligible to receive cash for referring friends to AmSher for employment. The program provides two benefits. "First, we tend to get very good people," says Sher. "Our people are the best, so they tend to refer people to us who are equally as good." Second, the selection process helps to build a strong culture of friendship and harmony at work. "People enjoy working with their friends and other people with whom they get along well, so the program has helped to build a great work environment," she adds. Another is a program that moves associates and team leaders around to different teams every two or three months. The constant shifting helps associates get to know each other better and provides a fresh new work environment because they are working with different people. In addition, having a new team leader every two or three months helps the associates become familiar with different skills and insights. A third program is the "Wall of Honor." Photos and biographies of all associates hang on the wall in the training center. Each bio includes the associate's length of service, job title, birth date (minus the year), family information, hobbies, and even favorite color. "Again, this is a way for the associates to get to know each other better, find common areas of interest, and build a positive work environment," explains Sher. Finally, Sher herself adds to the fun environment by occasionally wearing a large stovepipe Dr. Seuss "Cat in the Hat" hat around the offices, and doing cartwheels and handstands as the mood strikes. "I just walk around a lot, talk to people, and make sure everyone's doing OK," she explains. Attitude One initiative here involved changing names. For example: Employees are now called associates. Collectors are now called counselors. Debtors are now called customers. Company meetings are now called family meetings. "We may even begin calling supervisors coaches," adds Sher. Another attitude enhancement is management's genuine personal interest in the lives of the associates. "We ask about their weekends, and we really do care about them as people," she emphasizes. Back to top 2. A List for a Lift When a Wisconsin credit manager we know gets a little discouraged, she takes five minutes and look at a list she’s compiled—a list that “seems to give me just the lift I need.” It reads: I’m good at what I do. I make it possible for the company to grow. I can help customers by listening to them when others don’t. I’m sincere when counseling customers with financial advice. I’m able to handle innumerable situations in a day. I can find positives in a negative circumstance. I’m abundantly creative. I’m successfully self-reliant, yet work toward the team’s goal. I look at each situation openly and fairly. I’m able to survive criticism from customers by turning it into improved customer service. Customers do say on occasion “thank you” and sincerely mean it. “Try making up a list for yourself,” she suggests. “In this career or in others, sometimes it can be good to remember the positives.” Back to top 3. Make Your Case in Person The best information in your watch-list file comes mainly from your own records of customers' payments and buying patterns. You should compile this information and study it thoroughly before contacting a seriously delinquent customer. Then, if you're fortunate enough to actually be able to make some demands, you should have a definite strategy in mind. Barry Elms, president of Strategic Negotiations International, recommends that your strategy should take one of two tracks. If the customer is able to commit to paying off the delinquency by a time definite (and if you have reason to believe him), you can take the cash-flow approach. This typically involves accepting a check for the entire amount post dated for the agreed date. If the customer is unable to make any such commitment, and you want or need to keep selling to him, you need to structure a payment plan under which he clears up some portion of the delinquency with each new order. "You should do this in a face-to-face meeting with the CFO or the controller, not in a phone call," Elms emphasizes. "People find it easier to say 'No" on the telephone. We're looking to solve problems, not get into confrontations. But the only way you can walk away from a cash-flow problem without money and continue selling to the account is if you're able to attach and enforce some conditions." Back to top 4. Eight Warning Signs to Watch for When Checking Bank References 1. Low account balances in proportion to the size of customer or credit limit needed 2. High lending balances in proportion to size of customer and depository accounts 3. Low lines of credit that are fully secured by the bank 4. Confirmed history of overdrafts or negative account balances 5. Carefully chosen words by the bank officer providing the reference 6. Evidence of compliance issues relative to loan covenants 7. Expiring credit lines or loans without confirmation of renewal or replacement 8. Recent closure of credit lines Back to top To learn more about subscribing to Credit Today, check out our web site at http://www.credittoday.com/ Benchmarking Survey Shows Collection Strategies Meeting and Exceeding Goals Despite Recession- Part 1 Collection Benchmarking Survey, Part 2 - Primary Collection Challenges or Obstacles Benchmarking Survey Shows Collection Strategies Meeting and Exceeding Goals Despite Recession- Part 3 - Improving Collection Performance Benchmarking Results on International Credit Reports, Part I Benchmarking International Credit Reporting- Part II, What Credit Pros Value Most in International Credit Reports Benchmarking International Credit Reporting, Part III Benchmarking International Credit Reports, Part IV- Credit Exec Advice For Those New to International Credit Extension