An Investment in Customer Visits Requires Proper Training, Meticulous

Planning, Expert Execution, and Follow-up. Here are some pointers.

Credit is one of the few departments outside of sales that has frequent customer contact, so it's critical to always be thinking of the customer service responsibilities and opportunities that you have in credit.

To help with those responsibilities, here is a list of customer visit "dos and don'ts:"

• Always prepare for the visit by updating the contents of your credit file in advance of the visit.

• Always try to have someone from Sales join you on the visit, especially if the visit is going to be confrontational.

• Always draw up the list of questions you need to have answered by the customer during the visit.

• Meet with Sales before the visit to derive background information about your customer.

• Never leave your briefcase unlocked if it's unattended.

• Never argue with the customer or your salesperson during the visit.

• Never knock your company or your management during the visit.

• Never gossip about or criticize another customer/supplier during the visit.

• Avoid making a significant commitment during the visit.

• Don't make the visit unless you are prepared to ask the tough questions you need to have answered during the visit.

• ... and a bonus, from our reader Harris Semegram: "If you and your team meet to debrief after a visit, say at a diner, pick one that's a few miles away from the customer's office. A nearby location may have some of your customer's employees sitting within earshot of your table."

In addition, you or your staff should prepare trip reports after each visit. The results should be maintained in the customer file and shared with anyone at your company who should know about the vist (sales and marketing personnel, your boss on the finance side, for example). In general, your reports should be limited to a page in length and include any pertinent information gathered during the visit.