What's New At Credit Matters?

Unfortunately, due to lack of time, I was unable to complete a new feature for the Member's area. All things being equal, this new feature should be ready in May.

There are always advertising opportunities for those businesses working in the B2B financial risk management area. We are always focused on helping people become better business people by providing information on business risks. If you are interested in advertising, please contact Kim on kim@creditmatters.com.au or via telephone for a no obligation discussion on possibilities.

This month we are featuring brochures from the Small Business Ombudsman advising they wish to hear from SME's believe they have been unfairly dealt with by the ATO, RSM and their calendar of CFE Exam Review Courses, CreditorWatch's new Bankruptcy Plus product.

Quote Of The Month

As with almost any problem, the best way to stop debt collection problems is before they start. The second-best solution is to identify a problem early.

Dean Kaplan

Monthly Business Observation

Problems are the bane of every business. Even those businesses which are run to the best of operating standards have problems. Unfortunately, many business people respond badly to managing problems, because they seem to ignore the possibility of any problems when they first create their business. As a consequence, many problems which may have been avoided with proper planning occur and are unnecessary. As well all know, problems are always a costly drain on resources and profits.

Problems inevitably beget more problems when business people fail to recognise problems may occur. As a result, when they do occur, the focus is on fixing them. The thought of being proactive in stopping problems reoccurring is probably not considered. This leads to a situation where problems may not be dealt with promptly, which in turn, creates another set of problems. 

It is also not unusual to find that business people often fail to spend time learning why their problems exist or how to stop them reoccurring. Mostly we find these factors exist in a business with a "lean and mean operating philosophy", or in start-ups, or where management has become lazy or arrogant in the belief their systems are infallible. 

From another perspective altogether, many business people fail to realise that problems can be the indicator which shows their operating processes and systems are not working properly. Problems can be likened to the canary in the coal mine that dangers exist.

Those business people which understand problems will always exist, first try to deal with them in a timely manner to satisfy their customers' needs and to encourage prompt payment of any outstanding invoices. Concurrently, the wise business person will also try to find the causes of problems in order to stop those problems which need not occur, happening again. It is this factor, which helps saves the business many dollars, because at the end of the day, problems do not add one dollar of profit to the business.

Problems will always exist in a business environment and cost money. If you can eliminate a known type of problem reoccurring, that is equal to money in the bank. To achieve this result, you take a realistic and proactive view of problems. One such view is to act promptly and resolve the problem to mitigate any negative costs. The second, is to take the view that the problem is an indicator that your business is not operating properly or efficiently. 

This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth

Not every employee in your business is called a "salesperson." However, every employee in your business is a salesperson.

We see the effects of a lack of understanding of this fact when you study the business's bad debts, slow payments, credit claims, fraud, lost profitability and reputational damage. These losses can be mitigated with improved organisational acceptance of the role all employees have in helping create profitable sales. Just because the other employees are not called salespeople is irrelevant. 

One advantage your business gains over your competitors, and a point of difference, is to ensure that every employee understands their role in the sales process. When this strategy is implemented successfully, it helps towards creating new sales, reduces customer enquiries for incorrect supply and other problems, increases cashflow and can be used to market your business advertising.

It is those businesses which understand every employee is also in sales, which helps to create the most profitable organisation. In turn, the information can be used as a positive marketing tool for the business via social media and word of mouth advertising.