Credit Professional, Are You Bilingual?

Breaking the Code of Culture

The Way of Cooperation and Collaboration

When I lived in the old city of Jerusalem, I used to hear the expression [kul lisan biinsan] 'every tongue is a person.' Why, Jerusalem is the center of the three monotheistic religions as well as the cradle of civilization. Furthermore, it is a renowned touristic magnet. So, the city was always shrouded in utterings from around the globe. Thus, from my infancy, I appreciated the meaning of the above words. On average, I heard a dozen languages spoken every day. And at school, we had to learn a minimum of three languages. That is why, my teachers used to say, 'every tongue is a person.' 

In the age of globalization and world convergence, knowing other languages or having the personnel who command foreign languages has become a necessity to conducting business successfully, especially for global companies. This does not mean that local companies do not benefit from making use of other languages. They too can benefit. But, some might say it is late for me to learn a new language. 

 Credit and collection professionals can attest to the benefit of knowing a second language. Bilingual means speaking two languages. So, you might wonder, which languages are we talking about? Are we talking about, English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, or any combination of two languages that make us bilingual? Or are we talking about some special combination of two languages that all credit professionals would have in common, thus allowing all to become bilingual?  

In fact, the languages would be spoken and mastered by all credit professionals no matter what industry, region, religion, race, gender and age. The languages that we are considering are called the language of Sales and the language of Credit. 

Since every credit professional becomes familiar and proficient in the language of credit and acquires a unique accent and dialect reflecting his industry, our focus in this article will be on the language of Sales and its benefits. 

Like credit, the language of Sales has its own vocabulary, grammar, its own conjugation and construction, and even its own jargon. Moreover, language usually reflects the history and culture of its people. So to learn the language of Sales, we need to understand the history and the culture of sales. Each company and each enterprise has its own culture, and sales usually embodies that culture. So learning the language of Sales is the way to breaking the code of company culture. This could lead to professional success and career advancement. 

Another benefit of learning the language of Sales is that the credit professional would be taking the initiative to show solidarity with sales by seeking to understand their issues and the underlying motives. In the process, credit would be able to influence a change of attitude. Sales would be more apt to change its perception of credit, which, sad to say, in some quarters is negative. Thus, learning the language of Sales breaks the code of culture by breaking the prejudices of sales about credit. And when negative perceptions are broken, then both credit and sales are on their way to realizing the real freedom, liberty and their pursuit of happiness.  

Learning the language of Sales allows for cooperation and collaboration between the two members of the one corporate team. Bridges of understanding that lead to peace and harmony are constructed when people speak and understand the same language. Do you remember the Tower of Babel? Only when God confused the languages was the construction halted and people scattered upon the surface of the earth. So, when credit learns the language of Sales and the two work together, then harmony and peace would result in the creation of towers of achievements. A union of efforts is realized. And the once scattered members of the corporate enterprise are brought together in a celebration of the triumph of communication. King Solomon once said: "Two are better than one. And if somebody could overpower one alone, two together could make a stand against him. And a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn in two."  As my teachers used to say in Jerusalem, [kul lisan biinsan] 'every tongue is a person.' So imagine, when every credit professional and sales professional learn each other language, then a great synergy will occur. The two have multiplied and have become four. Indeed, imagine a fourfold cord! Definitely, great strengths lie in the power of the tongue.