Credit Matters Newsletters

Since our last newsletter, we have made a few changes and added extra features as we continue with the development of Credit Matters.

Two of these changes are our new Facebook site, and a new telephone business number 613 9886 6707. The previous number 613 9802 0608 is our after-hours number.

We have also added two new segments to our newsletter, Word Of The Month and Inconvenient Business Truths.

Word Of The Month is by Kelvin Eldrige who produces the Australia-Dictionary which can be found at www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au. 

Language and spelling are two critical components in communicating with one another in business. The use of bad grammar and spelling can often count against you and may mean the difference between winning and losing the deal.

 Inconvenient Business Truths are facts of business that many business people lose sight of in the day to day dealings of business. Without understanding these Truths, you are destined to miss business opportunities, decrease expenses, improve cashflow and increase profits.

Advertising via Credit Matters

If you are interested in reaching a wider group of business prospects, contact Kim to see what we can do for you. There are many different opportunities to advertise your business. The benefit of advertising with Credit Matters is we offer one of the few opportunities to reach a broad marketplace of customers with financial risk management issues.

This month you will find a new listing in our Better Business club - Kuhlekt Pty Ltd.

You can find an introductory brochure attached to this newsletter for Kuhlekt, plus a press release for the next World Credit Congress in 2016.

Losing your business and personal integrity is easy. On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to regain. As Nietzsche advises, because you lied once, it will be difficult to trust you again.

There are two fundamental aspects to this theme. They are:

(i) If you accept another business party has lied and you took no action, then you must accept the commercial consequences.

(ii) If there were no apparent negative consequences the first time you told a lie, that does not mean there will not be negative consequences in the future.

Accepting a lie without challenging that lie

There are two common examples in business where the acceptance of a lie often remains unchallenged by the supplier.

(i) The customer's signed confirmation they will pay within agreed terms on a supplier's credit and trading agreement. On receiving the goods or services, the customer changes the terms of payment.

If the supplier does not take action the first time the customer advises they don't pay as agreed, the customer's payment terms are accepted. The supplier will find it is almost impossible to enforce their original terms of trade later.

Furthermore, by acceptance of the change in payment terms, the supplier is effectively saying to the customer, "... we don't care you have committed fraud to obtain our goods and services."

(ii) When contacted for the unpaid invoice(s), the customer advises the supplier their invoices are to be paid. The lie becomes obvious when further evidence proves there was no intention to pay the invoices as advised.

Again, if the supplier does nothing to enforce a change of behaviour once these lies are exposed, the customer is under no incentive to change their behaviour.

The first time lie with little or no initial consequences

The problem when telling lies and getting away with the deceit, is that you are tempted to continue telling lies. Tell enough lies, and you will believe that is the way things are done in business.

I keep getting told such situations are the "commercial reality of these days." However, there are always business owners and professionals which refuse to accept that business reality.

The problem with telling lies

The problem in telling lies is that it is habit forming. This corruptive behaviour starts with a small lie and ends up with a number of lies, or a really big lie that could no longer be tolerated.

Do not be mistaken; one day your lie(s) will get you in to trouble. It only takes a creditor with deep pockets and / or nothing to lose, to make your lie(s) public knowledge. Once that happens, the negative ramifications are potentially endless.

In the life-cycles of commerce, there have always been times when lax business practices and lies were accepted to a degree. It would be wise to note however, little by little, we are now entering a period where the previously laxity on telling lies may no longer be accepable.

Your integrity is often one of the key factors between surviving or failing in business. Therefore, if you are in business for the long-term, painful as it is, don't start telling lies. It is a habit you cannot afford.

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