The Credit Controller Book

Welcome to "The Cheque's In The Post"

The cheque’s in the post is a book based on the views of The Express Group partner, John Woodworth. The book was co written with the highly respected author, Anthony Wall and took over six years to complete. The book is regularly used for all people new to cash collection or those who need a “shot-in-the-arm”. Generally considered to be one of the best written books of its genre, it is an invaluable tool for companies who wish to maximise the performance of their credit control department.

London debt collector John Woodworth is an out-and-out professional. He wants results. Fast. That’s why he takes the time to be friendly, why he favours co-operation rather than confrontation…and why some surprised and surprising people are glad he made contact. Woodworth understands debtors (human, like him) and knows how to relate to them. So he should after thirty years spent running collection agencies, in Britain and in his native Canada. He is equally perceptive about creditors – and the daft and self-defeating things they do. An enthusiastic communicator, he developed his ‘people skills’ as a school head and as an insurance salesman. Today those talents, plus exceptional expertise, make him a popular speaker at seminars for firms seeking guidance on credit control.

This book is intended primarily, though not exclusively, for small businesses (each employing 50 or fewer staff). There are 3.7 million such firms in the UK – and all lead high-risk lives. But most live more dangerously than they need when it comes to granting credit. Late payment and bad debt – terminal afflictions for far too many – can be curbed.

The Cheque’s in the Post offers both prevention and cure: credit control made simple – plus a method of debt collection which achieves way-above-average success by being ‘human’. In a world of flow charts and balance sheets, it’s easy to forget that commerce is also about people. Customer relations, one way or another, matter at least as much as the quality of a company’s services or products.

The vast majority of debtors intend to – and will – pay up. Yes, but how promptly? That depends to a remarkable degree on the creditor and his/her powers of persuasion. Back to customer relations, a strengthening bond between buyer and seller, a process that promotes honesty as the norm.
Underlying this personal ‘campaign’ must be strict and efficient credit control, without which any trader is courting disaster.

No commercial venture, whatever its size or status, can afford to lose sight of basics. This book will serve as an initiation for some and a refresher course for others.