Credit guru Thea Dudley has spent more than 30 years in LBM credit management. Now she's here to answer your credit and collection questions. Got a question for her mailbag? Contact Thea at [email protected]

Dear Thea,
Over the years, I have continually tried to work with my sales reps. I listen and believe in what they are telling me. I want to be seen as sales friendly and I want to believe that they would not steer me wrong. This is our company’s money. Time and time and again I have regretted my decision and the rep leaves me hanging. I am starting to want to shut the door in their faces when I see them coming. Why would they lie? They have to realize if the company loses money on a sale, it is not a good business model. Is it time for me to find another job?
Signed, Feeling like a Fool in Philly

Dear Philly,Do you like your job? Do you like the company you work for? If the answer to both of those questions is YES, then stand up, pull up your big girl pants (or big boy) walk to your door when you see one of those less then truthful reps coming towards your door, smile pretty, and shut that door. Then walk back to your desk calm, cool, collected.

Said rep WILL open that door and walk in, usually asking about that door shutting. Stare blankly at them while they talk. Listen to what is coming out of their mouths. Keep listening. Don't talk, try not to blink. Eventually, the buzzing noise will stop and you will find yourself being stared back at. Settle in. This may take some time.

As you are listening to your buzzing sales bee, a few thoughts, questions, and comments should be swirling through your head.

  1. Does this rep think I am an idiot?
  2. Are we talking about the same customer?
  3. If the tables were turned and the rep could hear what I hear, would they still think it sounds like a good idea?
  4. Who is she/he trying to convince?
  5. When did we become a charity?
  6. How long can this rep talk without taking a breath?
  7. I wonder if the rep even knows I am still sitting here, silently, patiently waiting for this story to come to a natural death conclusion.
  8. What snacks do I have in my desk to go with this show?
  9. Wow, I really should repaint the walls in my office.
  10. Do you think he has noticed that I haven’t blinked?
  11. Why does every conversation involve the quote, “he is a really good guy?"

That is just a small sampling. I try hard not to fidget but sometimes I just can’t. Those reps aren’t bad people. They are easily excited and they tend to overlook the less-than-pretty parts of some customers. So when the “chat” winds down and I say something like “really?,” that winds them up again. They work hard to make their point.

To be clear, I love my sales peeps. They keep hope alive. They also struggle with with how I see the world, because we see the world of credit; sales reps and customers have slightly different views from their seats on the bus.

When I am dealing with sales and a sticky situation I always picture that scene from Jurassic Park. The one where the guy is standing outside of the raptor pen, the one with a huge high voltage electric fence, and he makes the comment, “They systematically test the fence, and the never test the same place twice." I feel like the fence. Reps keep coming at me looking for the weak spot.

Because you're human and not a completely jaded, heartless person, sometimes find yourself thinking, “Well, maybe this could work." Stop! Take a moment. Some great advice I got years ago was listen to your gut. I worked with a sales manager who told me he used his "BS gut check factor" as a business guide. Every time he didn't listen and went against what his gut was telling him, it ended badly and he regretted it. BS happens to actually be his initials, but they work out nicely for a gut check name.

I have to admit, the advice is solid and I use it everyday. Every time I have let myself get talked into something I knew in my gut was a bad idea, I regretted it (often majorly).

You're not wrong to feel the way you do, just understand your seat on the bus. You are the keeper of the keys. No matter how much I love sales, I get to work with some amazing people, it doesn’t mean we are always going to see life through the same lens. I know they work hard to bring new customers in, increase sales to an existing customer, make a profit, and keep everyone happy. I respect the job; I couldn’t do it.

I view credit managing like parenting. In that role, you have to parent, which means you can’t also be the fun parent or their friend. Credit management, it ain’t for sissies, so toughen up and you will be fine.