{"id":51,"date":"2020-08-05T12:03:24","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T12:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/?p=51"},"modified":"2025-06-06T06:48:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T11:48:25","slug":"4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Keys to Success in The World of Credit and Collections","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When I was promoted to my first job as a credit manager it was entirely by accident. I was fresh out of college and had planned to be a writer. Necessity and a small town caused me to take a job as credit analyst at a very small manufacturing company. After two short weeks on the job our CFO fired the current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/products\/credit-risk-management\/\">credit <\/a>manager and told me I was smart, educated and in charge! I took my new role seriously and found a mentor, joined some credit trade organizations and went back to school to learn accounting basics. And so began my journey\u2026<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/#what-is-credit-collection-services\" >What is Credit Collection Services?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/#importance-of-credit-and-collection\" >Importance of Credit and Collection:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/#1-act-as-if-you-are-an-extension-of-the-sales-force\" >1. Act as if You are an Extension of the Sales Force<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/#2-there-is-always-a-way-to-make-a-sale-happen\" >2. There is Always a Way to Make a Sale Happen<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/#3-be-a-proactive-leader-within-the-cfos-organization\" >3. Be a Proactive Leader within the CFO\u2019s Organization<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/#4-embrace-technology-and-stay-ahead\" >4. Embrace Technology and Stay Ahead<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-credit-collection-services\"><\/span>What is Credit Collection Services?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Credit collection services are companies or <a href=\"\/blog\/debt-collection-agency-explained\/\">agencies that specialize in collecting overdue debts<\/a> on behalf of creditors. Their primary goal is to recover outstanding payments from individuals or businesses who have failed to fulfill their financial obligations. These services employ various methods, including phone calls, letters, negotiations, and legal actions, to facilitate debt recovery and help creditors retrieve the money owed to them.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"importance-of-credit-and-collection\"><\/span>Importance of Credit and Collection:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The importance of credit and collection lies in ensuring financial stability and liquidity for businesses by effectively <a href=\"\/blog\/bad-debt-management\/\">managing receivables and minimizing bad debts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Back in those days <a href=\"\/blog\/ai-in-mitigating-credit-risk-for-credit-managers\/\">credit managers<\/a> were black and white in their thoughts. Customers were either on <a href=\"\/blog\/credit-application-on-hold-abbreviation\/\">credit hold<\/a> or off. The Sales department was the enemy and a <a href=\"\/blog\/what-your-customers-expect-in-your-enterprise-customer-payment-portal\/\">customer\u2019s worth was only valued by their timely payments<\/a>. I recall taking pride in the fact that I and my team were referred to as the \u201csales prevention department\u201d. As the years went by and the landscape started to change, so did I. I can\u2019t say that my epiphany happened overnight, but when things finally became clear my career began its upward trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>I learned that the key to success for any credit professional requires four things.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1-act-as-if-you-are-an-extension-of-the-sales-force\"><\/span>1. Act as if You are an Extension of the Sales Force<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is important to build relationships with your sales teams and their customers. Attend sales meetings and be viewed as a go-to source for customer information. When possible visit their customers with them. Don\u2019t just talk about past due invoices, but thank them for timely payments and wins you\u2019ve shared together. Try and put yourself in the salesperson\u2019s shoes. This does not mean taking unnecessary risks, but it does require building long term relationships with your customers. Get to know them. <a href=\"\/blog\/bank-statements-examples\/\">Understand their business cycles and spend time with the key<\/a> players. These relationships will pay off tenfold. You will be aware of issues earlier and can address them proactively. Management will view you as a leader and team player.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2-there-is-always-a-way-to-make-a-sale-happen\"><\/span>2. There is Always a Way to Make a Sale Happen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Sales are the life blood of a growing company. To help generate <a href=\"\/blog\/digital-finance-mastering-revenue-growth-with-data-analytics\/\">revenue and growth<\/a> it is sometimes necessary to take risks. Always approach a new customer or a new sale with the idea that \u201cno\u201d is not an option. Perhaps you can take a small risk and have them pay half in advance? Possibly a letter of credit or stand-by letter of credit would work for the situation? Understand the needs of your business. Is the sale about moving product or about revenue for the period? Perhaps you can ship the product and defer the revenue if your company is in need of lower inventory volumes? My point is that there is always a way to make the sale happen, so be open minded to possibilities. Risk levels do not have to be compromised to achieve the corporate goals.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3-be-a-proactive-leader-within-the-cfos-organization\"><\/span>3. Be a Proactive Leader within the CFO\u2019s Organization<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When I look back at my lengthy career I realize that my true career growth came as the result of having the ear of the CFO\u2019s I worked for. I developed a reputation as a leader and someone who always had the company as my priority. My communications were proactive and came with a plan of action rather than complaints.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4-embrace-technology-and-stay-ahead\"><\/span>4. Embrace Technology and Stay Ahead<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I saw the importance of technology and <a href=\"\/blog\/how-intelligent-document-processing-improves-financial-operations\/\">process improvements<\/a>. Seeking out operational improvements to reduce cost, improve efficiency and increase customer satisfaction have always been priorities. Ironically, it is my drive for improved technology and process improvements that lead me to my current role as Director and Practice Lead for an order to cash analytics company. As the subject matter expert I am showing my customer\u2019s how to make operational improvements with a low cost and high ROI. I am teaching them how to gain the ear of their <a href=\"\/blog\/big-4-firm-survey-shows-that-finance-leaders-are-embracing-gen-ai\/\">finance leadership and become thought leaders<\/a> in their organizations. Things have come full circle.<\/p>\n<p>Success as a credit professional is neither difficult nor unattainable. It simply requires vision, leadership and good communication skills.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/products\/credit-risk-management\/#request-demo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/mainblog\/assets\/images\/B2B-digital-credit-automation-for-10x-faster-customer-onboarding.jpg\" alt=\"B2B Digital Credit Automation for 10x Faster Customer Onboarding\" width=\"\" height=\"\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I was promoted to my first job as a credit manager it was entirely by accident. I was fresh out of college and had planned to be a writer. Necessity and a small town caused me to take a job as credit analyst at a very small manufacturing company. After two short weeks on &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/4-keys-to-success-in-the-world-of-credit-and-collections\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">4 Keys to Success in The World of Credit and Collections<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":2410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-credit-risk-management-software","category-collections-automation"],"acf":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6045,"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions\/6045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emagia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}