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Our Subscribers Say...
I think Credit Today is fantastic. You cover many practical topics in the credit field that I use regularly. Just one recent example—a conversation on the ListServ about preferential payments—gave me tips that I used in an actual case. The specific information I picked up from this one discussion saved me $10,000, enough to cover my membership for many years!
- Steve Savino
Manager of Credit & Collections, ASSA Abloy Americas Division, New Haven, CT
Credit Today's Resource Directory and their online e-mail forum (ListServ) provide information on almost any credit-related topic you can think of. It is a great way to exchange information with other credit professionals. As the saying goes, "You don't know what you don't know."
- Scott Goen,
Credit Manager, Big Lots Stores, Inc., Wholesale Division
"We've recently started using the ListServ tool within Credit Today. This is phenomenal and powerful forum for gaining immediate feedback, ideas, and suggestions, relative to any credit topic under the sun, all in a real-time e-mail format."
-Javier Vela, Senior Credit Manager, Global Credit Services, JDA Software Group Inc.
"Being a part of the Credit Today online community is like having the expertise of hundreds of credit managers at your fingertips. These credit execs are willing to help you solve topical business issues as they arise. In the current environment of ever increasing competing priorities which reduce our opportunities to meet peers out of the office face-to-face, this is the most valuable tool you can have on your desktop! It's important that we have a mechanism to reach out to our counterparts quickly to exchange knowledge as well as to stay on top of industry trends."
- Victoria Artis, Director of Customer Financial Services, Pfizer, Inc.
"Over the last 10 years I've seen Credit Today evolve from a monthly credit publication into a quality source of information and guidance for the B2B credit community. The website, with its user friendly form downloads, will take you from examples of new account credit applications to bankruptcy forms and everything in between.
The Credit Today ListServ has become the pre-imminent online forum, providing an opportunity for discussion and comments (and occasional humor) from an impressive list of credit professionals."
David Dungan, Director of Credit
Justin Brands, Inc. (A Berkshire Hathaway company)
Fort Worth, Texas
"There are numerous credit periodicals available to the credit professional today. How good is Credit Today? Is it relevant? I always have to read it late, or online because my credit analysts want to read it the minute it comes in. When my staff wants to read a publication before I have a chance to read it then something is working in that publication. We have cancelled our other subscriptions. When you have the best you do not need the rest."
Ron Woods
Corporate Credit Manager-World Wide
Thales Navigation, Inc.
"The newsletter, coupled with the website and the ListServ, are to us, more valuable than any other credit publication, bar none. I try to use at least one article out of each newsletter for departmental training/discussion sessions."
D. Mark Constantine
Corporate Credit Mgr
Fulton Paper Company
"I love Credit Today and read every issue cover to cover. For me, the greatest perk of a subscription is ListServ. I believe Credit Today's ListServ members may be the most knowledgeable Credit brain trust in existence today. I have saved and categorized hundreds of contributions on a wide variety of topics which I refer to often. It's an easy and cost effective way to network and learn."
Doug M. Thomas
Kimberly-Clark Customer Financial Services |
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What to do if a customer tries to "stretch" you on payment.
"If you find that a customer is trying to 'stretch' you on payment, you need to decide what action to take," says Dave Rosenblatt, a counselor with the U.S. Small Business Administration's SCORE (Senior Corps Of Retired Executives) (Wilmington, Delaware). The first step is to discover why the customer is paying slow. You'll usually come across one of two types of debtor:
- Chronic slow pay. If the customer is a chronic slow-pay, there's no need to take emergency action. However, you may want to talk to the customer about becoming more timely with payments. "In some cases, you'll want to cut the customer off," Rosenblatt says.
Some people think that having a slow-paying customer is better than having no customer at all. But consider this:
- The cost of money. Is this customer worth the "interest-free loan" you're extending by letting it pay slowly?
- The cost of collection. When you add up the cost of time, postage, phone calls, etc., you may conclude that these expenses are greater than your profit margin with the customer.
- Temporary slow pay: If the customer has been paying on time in the past, but is now paying slowly, you have to make a choice:
- Simply wait to talk to the customer and monitor the account closely.
- Take swift action to collect.
You should base this decision on several factors:
- How long has the customer been doing business with you?
- How important (large) is the account?
- How long will the problem last?
"If it's a good, long-term customer who is experiencing a short-term problem, you will probably want to carry the account for 30 to 60 days until it gets back on its feet," suggests Rosenblatt. On the other hand, if it's a new customer who isn't established as reliable or important, you'll probably want to take more aggressive measures to collect. Editor's Note: The above article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, a newsletter purchased by Credit Today in 2006. This article originally appeared prior to 2000.
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Credit Groups 2012
Wonder What the ROI is on Credit Groups?
Find out here...
It's been 4 years since our original ground-breaking survey on credit groups and we're revisiting this most important topic. Among other topics, we're investigating:
- What are the top services being offered by credit groups
- How much credit groups cost
- What the value of credit group services is
- What the value of credit group services is in comparison to credit reporting services
- How data is submitted
- What percentage of credit groups reveal terms
- What percentage of credit groups share data outside the credit group
And much more...
Click here to participate!
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