Course Description

The control of credit is, or should be, one of the areas of highest priority for the manager of any business, large or small.  All too often it is left to chance or to junior employees with little or no experience or training, and often little or no idea of the importance of the task they perform.  Failure to properly control credit exposes the business to the risk of bad debt, and ultimately to failure, no matter what the goods or services supplied.

Target Student

Those who have a responsibility for control of credit and who wish to improve their business cash flow and reduce the risk of bad debts

Delivery Method

Instructor led, group-paced, classroom-delivery learning model with structured hands-on activities.

Performance-Based Objectives

By the end of this programme, each delegate will be able to:

• Describe how to identify their customers and fix appropriate credit limits
• Deal with specifying and negotiating credit terms.
• Establish a system for collecting late payments.
• Apply successful telephone collection techniques
• Describe and use a Debt diary.
• Describe how to conduct a telephone negotiation.
• Describe techniques for face to face negotiation
• Describe how best to get your message across to the debtor
• Draft warning letters for sending to bad debtors
• Describe the appropriate legal steps which may be taken or threatened to achieve settlement of overdue accounts.

Course Content

• Who is my customer? - Individuals, companies and partnerships.
• Franchising and it's pitfalls.
• How to deal with slow payers.
• How to respond to excuses for non-payment.
• Telephone and written collection techniques.
• Getting your message across.
• Interview techniques: active listening/open and closed questions and when to use them.
• How to be assertive without appearing to be aggressive.
• Basic communication skills and how to get your message across.
• Legal terminology and techniques you can use yourself and which will lead to early payment.
• When do you involve your solicitor?