Credit Policy for businesses and how to extend credit and manage credit risk

I recently wrote an article about the mortgage situation going on all around us, if you drive down any street you can't help but notice all the for sale signs in front of all the homes.  You may think this doesn't affect you or your business since you are not in the mortgage industry but that is not the case.  This does affect you, it affects your customers which affects your sales and your bottom line.

An article I wrote about this subject was very popular being published online, on MSNBC, in the NH Business Review and lately in Home Business Magazine. If you have customers who are losing their home or struggling to make the payments because of the  sky rocketing mortgage rate, your bills and invoices will be going to the bottom of the pile.

If you are aware that a customer is having a hardship of this nature, work with them now rather than later, don't ignore this or you may never get paid. Talk with them, on the phone or have a meeting if you can, and set up a payment plan NOW! Make it realistic and work with them.  This will help you to keep a good relationship with your customer, while still getting paid. If you wait and ignore the problem, the customer will withdraw because they can't pay you and you will lose a customer and your money.

I received my issue of Home Business Magazine where they published my article (page 80) "Mortgage Headaches Out of Control - Can Borrowers Save their Homes?" and have to recommend anyone who does business online pick up this issue.  This issue features a cover story called "Blogging for Business" and also has articles about MySpace Marketing, the latest e-trends to build your business including ebay, SEO, branding, links and much more. Some good information in there.

Please post your experiences and how the sky rocketing mortgage rates have affected your business!