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Can Credit and Sales Peacefully Coexist?(Brief Article)
Ronald Reagan once told his gubernatorial staff, "The person that agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally--not a 20 percent traitor." That injunction applies to corporate dealings just as surely as it does nations. On a daily basis, sales and credit agree more than they disagree, so why not end the credit vs. sales cold war? Moreover, sales-oriented companies need credit policies that actually help to promote sales.
Attitude, information and training are the three prime factors that lead to inter-departmental cooperation. These are summarized by five memory points that complete an acrostic for the word "AUDIT," which provides a formula for building an alliance between sales and credit.
Avoid Anger
The best way to maintain a positive attitude is to remain professional and avoid anger. By acting professionally, a credit manager can support the sales effort in a manner that protects the company's assets. By avoiding anger, a credit professional maintains dignity and authority when faced with opposition to a credit decision. When you stay cool, even when faced with a management override, you are then able to analyze the situation rationally, and counsel management on how to best structure that sale to ensure payment of the receivable.
Use Humor Appropriately
Within the parameters of attitude, humor can often help get your point across without generating animosity. For example, the next time you have a last-minute rush order dumped on your desk--share the story of the hunter who brags he can hunt bears with just a whittled willow stick. Tired of his bragging, his buddies send him off. Soon the hunter is chased back to the lodge by a bear he has swatted with the stick. As he runs through the cabin, and out the back door, the hunter yells to his startled buddies, "Kill and skin that one, I'll get another!" Used appropriately, an anecdote such as this allows everybody to have a chuckle while bringing home the point to sales that it is far less chaotic to alert the purchasing, credit and shipping departments ahead of the order. Humor can also be used to give recognition to sales reps for any help they provide, such as a 'friend of credit' nametag at their seat at a sales meeting!
Disseminate Information
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Source: HighBeam Research, Can Credit and Sales Peacefully Coexist?(Brief Article)