CMA Daily News

CMA New Member - Core Construction

From their website: A Man and a Dream...
CORE Construction traces its roots back to 1925, when a young German immigrant named Otto Baum arrived in this country. Like many new Americans of that era, he arrived with only a dream of a better life. In exchange for sponsorship of his trip, Otto worked for a farmer in central Illinois for two years. After fulfilling his obligation, Otto set out to build a reputation for himself as a bricklayer with the help and support of his devoted wife, Mary. Hard work, dedication, and a strong Christian faith brought him through the Depression and led him to start his own masonry company in Morton, Illinois, in 1937. Otto never gave up on the pursuit of his dream and he gave full credit to God for his success.

Otto instilled the same values in his four sons. They learned the construction business by working as laborers, apprentices, and journeyman. Under the leadership of Otto's sons, grandsons, and members of their management team, the company today has expanded into all areas of the construction industry and in addition to Illinois, has offices in Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Nevada.

In German, the last name of our founder, Otto Baum, means tree. Each tree has a core—its center and strength. As the tree grows, rings radiate out from the core. Likewise, as you explore the history of CORE Construction, you will see we've added many "rings" to our core—new locations, new projects, new services, and new people. Together, they represent the level of experience, expertise, and capabilities you need to make your project a success.

In working with us, you will find the same Christian principles and family values that Otto and Mary founded the business on at the core of everything we do.

CMA New Member - Carlisle Tire & Wheel

From their website: Carlisle Tire & Wheel manufactures the most comprehensive line of specialty tires and wheels available in the marketplace. Our expertise in niche markets such as lawn and garden, trailer, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), and aftermarket styled steel wheels have propelled us into market leadership positions. Our strong brand recognition is synonymous with quality, performance, aesthetics and value. The addition of new product has led to significant growth in ATV, construction, agriculture and replacement markets. Some recent new products include tires for agricultural and construction markets and a new line of innovative radial tires for ATV markets.

Carlisle's decentralized operating structure has allowed us to make critical decisions in our markets, remain close to our customers and react quickly to opportunities that help us gain competitive advantages.

Referred to CMA by Rebecca Peters at Forged Metals Inc.

CMA New Member - West Coast Drywall & Paint

From their website: In 1978, a journeyman painter named Mark Herbert founded West Coast Painting. Mark began by painting custom homes, and within a year was contracted to paint a couple housing tracts. By 1985, West Coast Painting had grown into a large painting company, employing up to 80 painters. While the late 80s and early 90s brought recession and ruin to competitors, Mark's company was able to weather the storm and emerge as one of southern California's largest painting contractors. Today, West Coast Painting employs hundreds of paint specialists and is a leader in tract home painting.

In 2003, West Coast Painting purchased Team Drywall and Dave Hopkins Drywall, two well known and respected drywall companies, creating one of the largest painting and drywall companies in Southern California. With that merging of talent, we have been able to successfully build on and improve our processes, making our quality and effeciency second to none.

The drywall company, newly minted West Coast Drywall and Paint, has continued its 25+ year history of providing great solutions to the construction industry's drywalling needs. An example of this is the inception of our innovative waterless drywall system, which elimates the potential water damage and mold problems that had been an inherent risk in the drywall industry.

2 New CMA Nevada Members

Welcome two new members to the CMA Nevada Division:

• FSP Unlimited LLC - North Las Vegas, NV. Misc parts and equipment sales, service and rentals.
• Whodunit Plastering Inc. - Las Vegas, NV. Plastering contractor referred by Regina Hasslewood at Red Star Supply.

How NOT to Answer a Phone Call

By Nancy Friedman Telephone Doctor

Throughout the years, many of our Telephone Doctor® clients have taken the time to jot us a note letting us know about their good and bad experiences, both in person and on the phone. Judging from the amazing number of entries we received for our book Customer Service Nightmares, I suspect this is their way of venting and releasing frustration. We're always happy to receive your notes and emails. Keep 'em coming, please.

The recent email below gave us some good ammunition for an article. While the industry, as you can see, is in the legal profession, believe me, it happens all the time in every industry. Read on:

Around 1:00 p.m. today I returned opposing counsel's telephone call from this morning. The first person that answered the phone took my name and asked me to hold while he checked to see if she was back from lunch. After a short hold he came back on the line and transferred my call. At that point opposing counsel's assistant answered the phone. She took my name for the second time and put me back on hold. After holding a couple of minutes, opposing counsel's assistant came back on the line and asked if I could call back in twenty minutes! I am sure that her assistant is telling opposing counsel that I am a jerk because I answered, "No, I am calling her back now."

Let's say you're training a group. What usually happens is most of the group understands, learns and benefits from the information you've taught. Unfortunately, not everyone "gets it." What do we do about that small percentage of employees - often good, conscientious people - who may need personalized attention after training? Those are the ones who need coaching
.
Unbelievable. Makes me wonder how they handle calls from their clients.

It's not important to know the "who" in this story. It's more important to learn the "why" it happened. And more importantly, how to fix it! That's what this article is about.

It's a well-known fact that first voice you hear when you call a company sets the tone, makes the first impression and welcomes the caller. It starts the rapport-building factor. Few will argue that point.
While there are several "faux pas" in the above email note we received, which is the MAJOR one? Reread it and see if you don't agree with Telephone Doctor mentality, culture and philosophy. Our answer is at the end of this article.

In the meantime, it sounds as though the opposing counsels office can use a dose of our Basic Basic Telephone Skills program. Listed below are a few key points from our popular DVD program Basic Basic Telephone Skills. Know anyone else who might benefit from this list?

We're going to give you the Telephone Doctor® Four Step Model for effective coaching in a call center or business environment.

1. While we didn't get to find out HOW they answer the phone with their initial greeting, we hope they used the Telephone Doctor 3-part greeting. A buffer, the company name and then their name. Remember; "How can I help you" is NOT necessary in initial greetings. You are there to help. That is why you answered the phone.

2. Learn how to put a caller on hold. "Hold on," CLICK is not effective. Neither is "Hang on a second." Several years ago we ran a survey with USA Today to find out what frustrates the caller the most. YES, BEING PUT ON HOLD was the NUMBER ONE frustration of the American public. That was 12 years ago. Today, it's number 3 with, yup - you guessed it - the automated attendant being number one!

3. Monogram the call. If the caller lets you know his/her name; USE IT. Immediately.

4. Leave a good lasting impression. Seems as the opposing counsels office didn't do that. Remember we'll tell more people about a bad experience that we will a good one. Not sure why. But it's true.

What's the biggest Faux Pas?

Asking a caller to call back! We never ask anyone to call back. That's like kicking a customer out of the door at the store. When someone calls us, it's our job to return the call, or have it returned on our behalf. Asking someone to call back is just RUDE. (Exception: there are times when the caller will say, "Let her know I called and I'll call back." That's fine if it's the caller's choice. But to ask a caller to please call back; Wow! BIG MISTAKE. That's a real NO NO!

Experian Adds a Blend of Commercial and Consumer Information to Credit Risk Advisor

Blended data provides credit managers with information on the business and the business owner to help them make better credit decisions

  Experian^®, a global information services company, today announced that its Credit Risk Advisor^SM product is enabling greater insight into a small business. By incorporating commercial information on the business and consumer information on the business owner, Credit Risk Advisor provides a more complete view into the overall creditworthiness of a small business. This allows credit managers to make small-business risk decisions with greater speed and accuracy.

“In today’s economy, more and more small-business owners are using their personal finances to meet their business obligations,” said Marc Kirshbaum, president of Experian’s Business Information Services. “By bringing together business and business owner information in Credit Risk Advisor, we help our clients improve their bottom-line performance by providing a tool that is significantly more predictive of small-business credit risk than using commercial data alone.”

A joint effort with eCredit^TM, Credit Risk Advisor is an end-to-end account and portfolio management tool that integrates eCredit’s credit decisioning technology with Experian’s robust data assets and predictive risk models, including the new addition of Small Business Intelliscore^SM. The service also includes automated workflow functionality and configurable decisioning criteria, enabling users to develop and easily implement a credit policy that identifies areas of risk and opportunity across their entire portfolio.

“Credit professionals are finding it more important than ever to employ resources that help them manage risk among their small-business customers,” said Jim Swift, president and CEO of eCredit. “Credit Risk Advisor is uniquely positioned to fill that need by providing a tool that combines Experian’s blended information and scoring models with eCredit’s proven automation technology, allowing them to analyze more companies and manage the risk of their entire portfolio.”

Contact Teresa Campos at CMA for information on how you can use Experian Credit Risk Advisor - 818-972-5361.

House Committee Examines Small Business Credit Card Use

The House Committee on Small Business, chaired by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), recently held a hearing on the increasing role of credit cards in the financing of small businesses. As the U.S. marketplace continues to weather a credit crunch, small businesses have found affordable financing exceedingly scarce, and have thus reached to credit cards to get the financing they need.

"When a small firm can't buy equipment, or has to lay off its workers, our entire economy suffers," said Velázquez. "These businesses are the principal drivers of our economic growth, but without capital they can't lead us back to recovery."

According to a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers, 65% of respondents reported tightening standards in the first quarter of 2008, a problem compounded by an increase in fees related to popular small business loans, including the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 7(a) initiative. "With fewer options in the private market, and in the midst of an economic downturn, it is inexcusable for SBA to make it tougher for small firms to get capital," said Velázquez. "Affordable financing means access to opportunity. That's why many are turning to plastic—to keep their businesses and our economy going."

Witnesses testified that in the past five years alone, it is estimated that small firms' use of credit cards has jumped by 14% and that 70% of small businesses pay off their full balances monthly, giving them the equivalent of 30-day interest-free loans.

"Small firms are facing a considerable financing gap," said Velázquez. "Viewing credit cards as the tools they've become for small firms just makes sense."

Jacob Barron, NACM staff writer

Equifax to Enter Russia

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) a global leader in information solutions, announced today it has agreed to acquire a 28 percent equity stake in Global Payments Credit Services LLC (GPCS), a leading credit information company in Russia, from Global Payments Europe, s.r.o., a subsidiary of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN), and Home Credit and Finance Bank of Russia (Home Credit). 

Pending regulatory approval, Equifax will re-brand the company and assume responsibility for its operations.  Based on meeting certain conditions in the Shareholder Agreement, Equifax will have the ability to acquire up to 50 percent, the current legal limit for any owner.

Equifax's plans for Russia reflect its execution against the company’s stated strategy to expand into the four targeted geographies of India, Russia, China and Mexico, where the company can leverage technology, data assets and analytics to help customers make critical business decisions in growing markets.  Equifax today operates in 14 countries in North America, Latin America and Europe, and recently announced its intent to enter India pending regulatory approvals.

Global Payments Europe and Home Credit have operated GPCS as a joint venture since acquiring the company in 2005.  Global Payments Europe is the leading provider of cashless payment services for corporate clients in the Czech Republic and also provides services to clients in Central and Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation.  Home Credit is the market leader in consumer finance in the Russian Federation and is committed to continue investing in its expansion in Russia by building new regional branches, bringing modern loan products and providing superb service to its customers.  It is a subsidiary of Home Credit B.V., a Netherlands based holding company.

“The growth in credit in the Russian economy provides a significant opportunity for Equifax to assist Russian financial institutions seeking a competitive advantage from credit information, analytics and value added services,” said Trey Loughran, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, for Equifax.  “We are thrilled to be working with Global Payments Europe and Home Credit, established leaders in the Russia market with a considerable amount of experience and understanding of the Russian credit economy.  We fully expect that the combination of expertise from these established leaders and Equifax will allow Equifax Russia to be the leading provider of credit information solutions in Russia.”

In just three years, GPCS has built a database to include nearly 20 million records on over 14 million individuals from more than 50 data providers under contract.  This makes GPCS a leading credit bureau in Russia, according to the Central Catalog of Credit Histories, the regulator of credit bureaus for the Russian Federation.  Russia’s thriving economy has resulted in a fast-growing credit market – from mortgages and auto loans to express loans.  The Russian household lending market grew 75 percent in 2006 alone, to approximately US$32.5 billion.  Retail lending as a percentage of GDP is 8 percent, versus approximately 100 percent in the United States and 50 percent in Germany, indicating a significant potential for future credit growth.  Russia’s middle class has expanded considerably as monthly wages have doubled in the last three years and annual economic growth has hovered near 7 percent since 1999.  Recent legislation requiring Russian financial institutions to share data with at least one credit bureau has accelerated the credit information market in Russia and has allowed independent credit bureaus like GPCS to develop larger and more accurate data sets.

“We have managed to build a credit bureau with the largest database in Russia in just a few short years,” said Stanislav Coufal, Chairman of the Board for GPCS.  “We believe that our strong market position will be reinforced by our new partnership with Equifax.  Combining our large, high quality database with Equifax’s technologies should make for a winning combination.  We are looking forward to not only solidifying our leading credit bureau position, but also to accelerating its growth.”

Pavel Vyhnalek, the Group Chief Risk Officer for the Home Credit Group commented, “As Russia builds one of the world’s strongest economies, Home Credit as well as other lenders depend on a comprehensive and reliable credit reporting system to meet a skyrocketing appetite of individuals and families to purchase consumer goods and to keep loan portfolios within the targeted risk profile. In order to widen its recent customer base, Home Credit needs to partner with a strong, experienced and flexible provider of reliable credit assessment and customer verification that allows the bank to offer various lending products, including credit cards, across different consumer segments in Russia.  As the world’s leading credit reporting company, Equifax brings the necessary products, technologies and experience to build upon the foundation we created.”

Bankruptcy Filings Climbed 38% in 2007

Bankruptcy filings in U.S. federal courts rose 38% in calendar year 2007, according to data released  by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Washington, D.C.

The number of bankruptcies filed in 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2007, totaled 850,912, compared with 617,660 bankruptcies filed in calendar year 2006.

Filings rebounded from a 70% drop in 2006, which was the first full 12-month period after the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 took effect.

Filings involving predominantly business debts totaled 28,322 last year, increasing 44% from the 19,695 business filings in 2006. Business filings totaled 39,201 in 2005, the office reports.

• Chapter 7 filings totaled 519,364, up 44% from 360,890 in 2006.
  
• Chapter 11 filings rose 23% to 6,353 in 2007 from 5,163 in 2006.
  
• Chapter 12 filings totaled 376, up 8% from 348 in 2006.
  
• Chapter 13 filings were 324,771, up 29% from 251,179 in 2006.

Industry Credit Group Collection Trends Q1-2008

Each time an Industry Credit Group meets, group members sign in and answer a short survey on the state of collections and future trends.

CMA is now tabulating this data quarter by quarter so that we can identify trends across industries or regions. For those of you who like to know how others in your industry rate your current market, our quarterly Industry Credit Group Collection Trends will answer that question.

 Download ICG_coll_stats_q12008.pdf

Click the link above to download the Q1 stats for 2008.