Moe will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. He just won’t say which Tuesday.

Like all salespeople, our salespeople were proud of their contribution—and quick to remind everyone just how valuable it was. They seemed to love the old adage, “Nothing happens until a sale is made.”

Mary, our credit manager, had a slightly different philosophy. In fact, she had it posted on her office wall: “Nothing really happens until the check clears the bank.”

I couldn’t argue. Of all the various positions in an LBM yard, the credit manager may very well be the most important (next to SVP of Sales, obviously. LOL). It’s also one of the most difficult, partly because many of the most critical qualifications are personal traits that are tough to teach.

Mary’s handling of Moe is a good example. Moe was a loyal customer, but he took our philosophy about strong builder-supplier partnerships a little too seriously. When his cash flow dribbled, he thought we wanted to share in the experience.

I remember a time that he replaced all the windows for a client who, although satisfied, was slow to make the final payment. Tact is the first and most important quality good credit managers share.

Mary called Moe—or, rather, his voicemail—as soon he began to run late, and left a short, friendly message. She said she didn’t doubt that he’d sent his payment; she was concerned it got lost in the mail. She told him he knew he wouldn’t want the check to fall into the wrong hands.

Mary was about to call Tom, Moe’s salesperson, when Tom called her. “I wanted to give you a heads-up,” he said. “Some of Moe’s subs are complaining that they haven’t been paid lately.  This morning, I was on one of Moe’s sites when an HVAC delivery arrived. Moe was forced to give the driver a check before they would unload.”

The ability to work well with salespeople is another key quality. Most salespeople would rather call the IRS and request an audit than discuss a slow-paying customer with a credit manager. However, our salespeople respected Mary’s professionalism. They knew she wouldn’t jeopardize the relationships they had built. They also knew she didn’t like getting burned. In Moe’s case, Mary was definitely beginning to feel toasty.

The third quality common to good credit managers is they can be tough without sacrificing tact. After a series of voicemails went unanswered, Mary began writing emails—nice emails, but with an unmistakable message.

She wrote that she was worried that his business would be disrupted if he forced her to suspend his credit privileges. She complimented him on his excellent reputation in the community and suggested that returning her calls would go a long way to preserving it. She reminded him that we’d be glad to help him collect from his client by exercising our lien rights.

Still, he didn’t respond.

Moe thought he’d be smart by calling her on a Saturday morning. He figured that by leaving her a message he could then tell her that he did indeed return her calls/emails. Unfortunately for Moe, Mary happened to be in the office for a few hours to catch up on things (this was prior to the ability to work from home).

As soon as Mary said, “Hi, this is Mary, how can I help you?”, Moe launched into what would have been an Oscar-winning performance, if feigned outrage had been a category. “You know good and well that I’ll pay you when I get paid! I’m sick and tired of being harassed for a lousy $3,800 balance! As far as I’m concerned, you can take those windows and stick them in your ear!”

“I would,” replied Mary, “but thanks to the last customer, I have a patio door in there right now.”

Moe couldn’t help but laugh; about 10 minutes later, they had worked out a payment plan.

No one ever seems to include “sense of humor” as a qualification for a credit manager. I think that’s an oversight.

Mike McDole has 40+ years of actual LBM experience, including being SVP of a large regional pro-dealer, and is the principal of Firing Line LBM Advisors. He’s also partners with Greg Brooks of the Executive Council on Construction Supply and his LMS. Mike can be reached at 774.372.1367 or Mike@FiringLineLBM.com.