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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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Essential For Gaining Respect With Sales: Four Tips For Credit Execs Wanting to Give a Talk To Sales
"Until you can stand up in front of salespeople and give a good presentation, you'll always have trouble with them. They just won't respect you until you can stand up in front of them."
That was some advice Norman Taylor, manager of Credit and Collections for MagneTek Inc. (Nashville, Tennessee), received early in his career from a sales manager colleague. He immediately recognized that it was true for two reasons:
- Since salespeople make their living giving presentations, they won't build much respect for you unless and until you can do the same thing.
- The public speaking forum gives you the opportunity to really delineate what credit is all about and clear up the misunderstandings salespeople may have.
But Taylor shared the dread of public speaking that most of us have. "When I even thought about getting up in front of people, I'd get a physical reaction," he admits. But he's long since overcome the dread. Some tips:
1. Start small. Start out with small and supportive audiences. These can include church groups, community organizations, and the like. These should all be people who will welcome you, support you, and encourage you.
Once you have built up some confidence here, consider making presentations at local credit association groups. Again, these will be audiences who will support you. The "step up" is the fact that your presentations will need to be tighter, more detailed, and more technical.
Human Resources Portal For Credit Managers
Learn what's working and what's not from those in the trenches, as well as hard data from our benchmarking surveys, including our industry-leading Salary & Job Satisfaction Survey.
Ensure that all members of your credit department work to their potential... Resources you'll find here: Everything you'll need to know about motivating your staff, the role of incentives, interviewing and hiring, downsizing, managing bosses, staffing and pay issues.
Check out Credit Today's
Credit Management Portal
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Once you have "graduated" from credit groups, offer to speak to some departments in your company that either support you already or at least have no negative opinions. Finally, you should be ready to "tackle the biggie"--the sales department. (All of this assumes that relation between Credit and Sales are strained. If this is not the case and you already enjoy a cooperative relationship with Sales, there is no reason not to begin here.)
2. Give your audience a "gift." That is, provide them with some information that they do not know and that will benefit them in some way. Knowing that you will be well received can eliminate some of the stress on you.
3. Give a "fresh" presentation each time, laced with some passion. If you give a "canned" presentation, you may as well not give a presentation at all.
4. Sprinkle your presentation with one or more personal anecdotes to liven it up.
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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