Tag: Sales

Within their companies, there are few departments the credit team works with as closely as they do sales. The departments are intrinsically linked, with one department making the sales and the other carefully mitigating the risk posed by each transaction. While the work of a credit manager and a salesperson might not seem similar upon first glance, each perspective can bring value to the other.

Sales and credit are two sides of the same coin, both aiming to grow the business, but from different perspectives. While sales focuses on closing deals, the credit team works to manage risk, ensuring customers are financially reliable and contract terms are sound. These different priorities can often lead to tension. 

The credit and sales departments share a complex relationship that varies by company. While their level of interaction differs across organizations, their functions are fundamentally intertwined—credit departments vigilantly oversee accounts acquired by sales teams, evaluating both potential risks and opportunities for growth.

NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) fell 1.2 points to 54.1 in December. Coming off the 26-month high set last month, the weaker reading is driven by a large drop in sales revenue and dollars collected on due and past-due invoices.

When considering the work of a credit manager, it is impossible to overstate the importance of interdepartmental communication, especially when it comes to the relationship between credit and sales. While the two departments work in tandem, with the sales team securing customers the credit team will then manage, in some offices, the two can be a bit isolated.