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Mar31
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Contrary to what many business owners believe, having potential customers fill out pre-sale paperwork, such as a credit application, does NOT kill a sale. How many times have you asked someone to fill out a credit application and they say, "No thanks" and leave your store? If that DOES happen, guess what? They have bad credit and don't want to fill it out because they know they WILL NOT BE APPROVED. In reality, that is a blessing for you. Unless, you like working for free. I write a "Ask Michelle" column for my local paper and the latest question I received was on this topic. A credit manager was asking how they could get their boss to use credit applicaltions because the boss beleives that if they ask potential customers to fill out a credit application, they won't make the sale. My advice? Keep trying but be happy in the meantime because the longer they don't ask customers to fill out an application, the better job security for the credit manager! I would love to hear comments from anyone who thinks asking potential customers to fill out paperwork kills the sale and how they justify that. I have been in this industry for years and still can't figure out why business owners might believe this. Please share why you think this is true below!
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Mar29
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Many businesses have a credit policy, most of them have the original credit policy that might have been written 10 or more years ago or when the business was started. Make it a priority to look at your credit policy...
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If you aren't going to be doing your own collection work or maintaining your accounts receivables yourself, you will want to hire someone or a credit manager to do those tasks for you.If you are looking for a good credit...
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Mar28
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When trying to get paid from past due customers while the country is in a recession can be tough. Many people can just about put food on the table or fuel in their vehicles, and don't have anything left over...
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Mar27
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QUESTION:We are a small medical office. Do we have to go through a collection agency for our collection accounts or can we use staff and collect our problem accounts through our office. In the past we have contracted with agencies...
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Mar26
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Consumer confidence sank to a 5 year low in March as tight credit markets, rising prices at the pump, in the grocery stores and for heating fuel as well as job loss and worsening job prospects deepened worries about...
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Mar25
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Although it IS your money, you sometimes still have to negotiate or work to get it back. The Nation Newspaper reported that retired banker Basil Graham gave a group of financial professionals this advice during a seminar on debt...
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Mar24
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Do not let your customers or potential customers walk all over you because you might be having slow sales and be desperate to make a sale. Remember a sale is not a sale until you get paid. With the...
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Mar21
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When people can’t pay you because of job loss or affects of the economy, what can you do? Make sure that even when things get tough that you follow the laws in your state to collect the money that...
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As more and more people across the U.S. lose their jobs and become victims of the recession, your job becomes tougher trying to collect from your customers who may have a drastically less income or no income at all. ...
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Mar19
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The IRS has put a great rebate calculator on it’s website so consumers can determine if and how much they will be receiving as part of the stimulus package. You should share this link with your customers, have them...
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Mar18
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You know the NIKE slogan, “Just do it!” Well, now is the time for business owners to “Just do it” on any accounts that have a balance due. Now is the time to collect that money, otherwise your chances...
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Mar17
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As the economy slows down., Americans are having a harder time paying off debt. 1.26% is the portion of mortgage payments in the United States that were 90 days past due at the end of the third quarter of...
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Mar15
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I went to NY a couple of weeks ago to tape a segment for “Women for Hire” TV and it is now live on their website. I wanted to post this video and see what you thought about the...
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Mar12
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When it comes to saving money, personally or for your business, we all have a hard time. Part of this is because we are used to instant gratification, buy now, pay later. With the economy in a crisis, we need...
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Mar10
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Since it is quite obvious we are in a slowdown of the economy I have been getting a lot of recession questions and how this pertains to small business owners. Customer service is a lifeline for small business owners,...
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Mar 9
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The credit crunch and inflation will delay the housing recovery until at least 2009 according to a new forecast in the Boston Globe. This is not good news for many consumers and business owners worldwide. How can your business...
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Mar 8
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Collections from accounts receivables usually represents the bulk of a companies cash receipts. Companies who don’t pay attention to their accounts receivables are missing out on all of that income and profit. With the economy in a downward spiral,...
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On Tuesday the Wall Street Journal reported that David K. Marshall got laid off in October from a credit management position. About 18.3% of jobless Americans in January had been out of work for at least 27 weeks. The...
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Mar 7
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When money is tight we need to go back to what we learned about money when we were kids. Remember when you had to save for something how delaying the gratification of getting it made it that much sweeter? ...
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Mar 6
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Are you afraid you may lose your job because of the credit crisis and impending recession? Now is the time to identify your strong points and work on them to become even stronger and more valuable in your industry. ...
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The outlook of our economy hinges on the health of the U.S. consumer income growth. If consumers make enough money, they will keep spending that money, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Many consumers have just enough...
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Mar 5
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CNNMoney.com has a column where business owners can send in questions and get an expert answer. I recently answered a question for them in their FORTUNE Small Business section on the CNNMoney website where a business owner who is...
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Mar 4
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Stagflation is a word that hasn’t been heard since the 70’s but the word popped up 562 times in major newspapers and wire services in February 2008 compared with 12 times in February 2007. Do you know what it...
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Mar 3
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QUESTION:I have a client that I do billing for and a number of their clients are delinquent or slow payers. My client won't give potential customers credit applications because they are certain it will be harder to "make a sale".They...
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