The PESA Credit Interchange Division (CID) Committee hosted a roundtable about the working relationships between credit, sales and operations departments on August 27 at NOV in Houston.
PESA CID Committee Chair Randy Friedsam, Sr. Director – Credit & Collections, Select Energy Services, provided welcoming remarks. PESA Board Member Burk Ellison, Chief Sales Officer, DistributionNOW, addressed the audience, highlighting the relevance and importance of identifying best practices in today’s business environment.
Doug Dunlap, Director – Credit to Cash and Treasury, Operations, Basic Energy Services, began the roundtable with a comprehensive discussion on the importance of communication between departments.
One of the key ingredients to successful communication discussed was the need to know your audience, he said. Individuals along the sales process all have different motivators. Understanding these and tailoring your message goes a long way in improving lines of communication. Another point discussed was being aware of the tone of your delivery. The end goal in improving communication is to put the credit department in a position to be able to say “Yes” to any credit decision.
Ryan Bishop, President, Houston Sales Consultants, LLC, focused on the importance of bringing the credit department to the sales process at the correct time. It can cause just as much conflict bringing in credit too early, as it can too late. Companies need to look at their formal sales process and the individual customer to determine the best time to begin the credit discussion. Just having the conversation about timing leads to a better chance of attaining that “Yes” to make the sale, he said.
Mark Lapeyrouse, President, Well Site Services, NOV, touched on the current state of the industry and the need to improve working capital. Lapeyrouse said one way to increase a company’s working capital is by reducing accounts receivable, which starts with understanding your customers from the very beginning.
Using the relationships held at different levels to attain the best information possible to see if a sale is worth pursuing is key. Lapeyrouse also highlighted the importance of building internal relationships, as well as external. One way to accomplish this is by allowing Credit Departments to communicate and train other departments on the relevance and importance of the information they collect.
The roundtable concluded with a question and answer session where members shared their personal experiences and best practices within their organizations.
If you are interested in learning more about the PESA Credit Interchange Division, please contact PESA CID Director Vicky Shelley or Membership Services Director Peggy Helfert.
