Professional Selling Skills: Sales and Accounts Receivables

A sale is not finished until the money is received.  Salespeople rarely like to get into the game of having to collect receivables, yet I recommend that they do it in a number of small or mid-size companies I do consulting for.  We only have a couple of weeks left in the year and most companies are in a race to clean up AR and AP.  Touching base with your AR department and asking them how things are going is a great way to score points with them.  In many companies, those in the AR department are also the ones that help set up new accounts and assign credit limits, so it’s to your interest to help them out.  By touching base with them now, you may wind up having to make a few calls on their behalf, but, more importantly, it will help them see you as a sales leader.  The next time you come to them with a question on credit, they’ll be much more likely to get you a speedy response and potentially help you get the credit limit you’re looking for.