鈥溌槎勾� Talks鈥� hosts top professionals from different sectors of the lumber and building material industry to share their expertise, with a heavy emphasis on practical, tactical strategies to help you serve your markets and grow your business.
This week鈥檚 guest on 麻豆传媒 Talks Credit is . Kelly is a former Credit Manager and the current President of (BMSA).
This episode explores Kelly鈥檚 journey as a Credit Manager, the challenges and lessons she learned in that role, her opportunity to pivot with BMSA, and how her skills as a Credit Manager apply to her new role.
Wherever you鈥檙e at in your career, this episode will highlight the fact that you can evolve any way you want as long as you keep your eyes out for new opportunities.
Check out our sponserer, !听Nuvo replaces manual forms with AI-powered application flows, real-time business and principal identity verification, and embedded credit insights鈥攅nabling confident decisions that protect and grow your business.
Watch this conversation and more great content from 麻豆传媒 journal via our YouTube channel
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Please send all podcast inquiries to听thea@creditoverlord.com.
Prefer to read about it instead? Take a peek at the transcript below.
(Editor鈥檚 note: Transcript is AI-generated and may include some errors.)听
Thea Dudley听 00:00
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Thea Dudley听 00:28
Hey friends, welcome to 麻豆传媒 talks credit. We have such an exciting episode. I am I鈥檝e been looking forward to this one. I am excited to get her on here. Our guest is Kelly Franklin, who is the current president of BMSA. And for those of you that don鈥檛 know, you must have just gotten to the industry, because BMSA is one of my favorite associations to work with. Not that I don鈥檛 love everybody. I love everybody equally. Let鈥檚 just be playing on that. It鈥檚 just Kelly鈥檚 up the road from me in North Carolina, and I鈥檓 in South Carolina, so we get to see each other with a little bit more frequency. But what I love about Kelly鈥檚 story is that she started in credit, like a lot of people do, and then she decided that she had some opportunities come up, and moved up on that. And so I would really love to get her on here, and let鈥檚 talk through it. So Kelly, why don鈥檛 you tell everybody little bit about where you started in credit and how that sort of evolved into where you are now. And we鈥檙e going to dive into the deep but just give us a little taste.
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Kelly Franklin听 01:54
Oh, goodness. Okay, so Well, I鈥檓 Kelly Franklin, and I am the newly appointed President of the building material suppliers Association. I鈥檝e got about 12 years in the 麻豆传媒 industry, and I鈥檝e been fortunate to serve this industry in a variety of roles over the years. Where this started, well, honestly, I didn鈥檛 seek out the role of of a credit manager. It was more of a career growth opportunity for me.
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Thea Dudley听 02:19
Nobody does. Kelly, just so, you know, nobody says, ooh, pick me. So I love that. You鈥檙e like, Well, I was at work one day and I was getting some coffee, and someone said, Hey, you make a call.
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Kelly Franklin听 02:32
Yeah, so and, and honestly, the transition into the actual role itself was more of a pushed out of a moving car and left on this side of the road kind of situation due to some unforeseen things that happened along the way. I guess. Just to give you a little history of how I even entered the 麻豆传媒 industry a number of years ago, I was kind of reevaluating my life, and had a very dear friend who worked at a family owned Lumber Company and just needed some help, basically pushing paper. She needed some help her accounts payable department. And I was like, Yeah, sure, no problem. I can do that, right? Give me something to do while I try to figure out my life. So time went on, business was growing exponentially, and before I knew it, I was wearing multiple hats, helping out multiple departments and growing my career without even really knowing it. And at the company I was at at the time, there were some top level changes happening. And the CF the current credit manager, was becoming the CFO, and she offered me the job of credit manager. And I was like, Sure, why not? Nothing to it, right? Well, well,
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Thea Dudley听 03:49
okay, I love that word. Like, I Okay, yeah. How hard can this be?
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Kelly Franklin听 03:55
right? That鈥檚 that was exactly my thoughts. How hard could this be? And she and she and I had the best of intentions for some hands on real life training and but as we all know, life likes to throw some curveballs. And she had to leave a bit earlier than she expected. She was going on maternity leave and and her daughter was ready to to be here. Um, so, so then all of a sudden, I was the credit manager, right? So everything was up to me then. And although I had some exposure to the role, I really had no formal training in credit or background in finance or any real idea what I was getting into at all. And from there, you know, gosh, how I ended up in associations.
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Thea Dudley听 04:42
Let鈥檚 back up for a minute. So when you said, you know, Hey, I didn鈥檛, your experience mirrors what a lot of people in credit have experienced, where I didn鈥檛 have any formal training, I didn鈥檛 even have an accounting background, and that鈥檚 where I think a lot of people make their mistake, where it鈥檚 like. Think they think credit people are accountants. We鈥檙e not. I don鈥檛 have to do higher math. All I have to do is know that you owe me money, and when you pay me, I subtract it from what you owe me. And that鈥檚 pretty much how it is. So really, it鈥檚 just some simple, you know, addition and subtraction and the occasional spreadsheet. But you know, that鈥檚 not, not that much of the job, but the formal training part there, there is no, I mean, there鈥檚, there鈥檚 some classes that you can take through an ACM and and level set in some other places. But it鈥檚 not like there鈥檚, they鈥檙e not teaching that at colleges. So you show up and it鈥檚 like, yeah, I don鈥檛, I, I鈥檓 just gonna, I鈥檓, I鈥檓 just gonna jump in and try to treat people and talk to them the way that I would want to be talked to, and try to make this as palatable as possible. How long were you in that credit role?
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Kelly Franklin听 05:51
I was in the credit role about two years. Like I said, it was a it was kind of a career growth opportunity. They needed someone to fill the role, so I was happy and willing to do so. And so there it was. And then more opportunities presented themselves in that company, and I kind of kind of worked my way up from there
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Thea Dudley听 06:16
well, so we鈥檙e going to get to the how you ended up at an association very shortly, but I wanted to, I want to dive into this, this whole credit piece of it, tell me a little bit about, like, the challenges when you came into credit there, everybody has some preconceived notions. What was the hardest part and what was maybe the best part? You know, let鈥檚 go two ends of the spectrum.
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Kelly Franklin听 06:40
So the hardest part for me was the difficult conversations. I don鈥檛, I don鈥檛 care for confrontation. I don鈥檛 it makes me nervous. It makes my stomach hurt. It makes my heart race, you know? But what I learned is that they don鈥檛 have to be confrontational, and communication along the way helps ease that so but the hardest part for me was having those difficult conversations while maintaining a good relationship with customers, because the last thing you want to do is for a customer to get to get mad and and, you know, stop buying or, or, or whatever, or give up their sales person because of the credit manager.
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Thea Dudley听 07:23
And it always comes down to, well, I was on hold. And it鈥檚 like, but Okay, let鈥檚 look at why you were on hold. It鈥檚 not like I just woke up today and said, Yeah, I think I鈥檒l just mess with someone鈥檚 life,
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Kelly Franklin听 07:34
right? I just think I want to make you mad today. I鈥檓 picking you.
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Thea Dudley听 07:40
Let me poke this bear with a stick and see if he roars. Let鈥檚 see how that goes. So you鈥檙e kind of going through it, you know, with your with your early challenges. So the tough conversations are hard, and they take a little bit to learn how to finesse. What was maybe your favorite part of the job?
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Kelly Franklin听 07:59
So my favorite part of the job was building those relationships and those customers were more like friends and family. They, you know, you and to be perfectly honest, you learn more about them through those conversations and those friendly interactions than anything. I mean, I learned more from that than any credit report would ever tell me to be honest, like what they were doing, what vacations they were going on, what boats they were buying, you know, those types of things, you start going, huh? You owe me a little bit of money. So, yeah,
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Thea Dudley听 08:27
that鈥檚 always the one where it鈥檚 like, now you made this really easy for me to have a tough conversation with you, because now I鈥檓 mad, right, that I feel like you lied to me and you hoodwinked my company, and, you know, you should be doing the right thing, and you鈥檙e out there, you know, partying it up on your boat, and your kids are all on new, you know, water toys and whatever. And I鈥檓 sitting here with no money, right?
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Kelly Franklin听 08:50
And I will say that I was given one especially valuable piece of advice from my, my, my former, the former credit manager, and she was like, you know, it鈥檚 your job to collect the money so that the paychecks can go out every week. And that really, that really hit home with me, and that kind of made it okay for me to be a little more aggressive in my collections, and made it easier for me to have some of those more difficult conversations.
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Thea Dudley听 09:18
It is true, though, you have to keep it in perspective where it鈥檚, Hey, I would love to be everybody鈥檚 friend, but it鈥檚, it鈥檚 like you are the unfun parent. You are the strict parent. You鈥檙e the one saying, Listen, I would love, you know, to be able to take you golfing or to lunch or whatever, you know, floats your goat, but I need you to pay your bill, because I, we鈥檙e not self funded, you know, I we rely on our cash flow to be able to make this happen, so I need you paying your bill on time. So when you look at things over and over, when you look at some of the biggest lessons you learned from managing credit and collections in the building materials industry, what鈥檚 aside from, Hey, you are the one making sure everybody gets a paid. Check and their 401, K鈥檚 get funded. What else came through to you that was maybe different than what you thought it would be?
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Kelly Franklin听 10:07
that credit necessarily isn鈥檛 just about numbers on a page, while those are wildly important, it鈥檚 about relationships and and trust and a kind of a balance between extending opportunity because we don鈥檛 want to be the person that says no all the time, even though you have to sometimes, but you have to protect the business too, right? So learning there鈥檚 a there鈥檚 a fine, there鈥檚 a sweet little dance you do right in there, right? That that kind of keeps that, that that ship sailing. I also learned to lean on more experienced people that I met through our local chapter of nacm, and that that was those were the things that that kind of taught me some life lessons and how to lean on people who are more experienced than you, and how that building these relationships and having conversations just in general was just so important, I think that it鈥檚 so commonplace to communicate via email or text message or or all of those things, and those are great, but they don鈥檛 they鈥檙e not the same as having an actual conversation, either on the phone or face to face. I just think nothing replaces that. And I I learned how to do that with more confidence. And that was, that was good.
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Thea Dudley听 11:33
Yeah, I completely agree with that. You鈥檝e got. I know it鈥檚 an email and text world, and it鈥檚 it鈥檚 easy. I find myself texting and going, oh, you know, I get, I鈥檒l just get this text done. I don鈥檛 have, like, 10 or 15 minutes on up to burn on a phone call. I鈥檒l just pop this out really quick. But you do lose a lot of those things that help bring somebody鈥檚 humanity into it, and that you鈥檙e trying to create more of a culture around it where it鈥檚 like, I don鈥檛 want people to think that the only time they hear from me is when they鈥檝e done something that, oh, the credit manager is calling me or that it鈥檚 a negative connotation. I want to make sure that we can help, you know, continue to to have those connections. The other thing that I love about you is that you just just what you said there. I鈥檓 not afraid to reach out to somebody and admit, hey, I could use some coaching on this. Or how would you handle this? And then be able to formulate your version of that. A lot of people get so caught up in their ego, or they don鈥檛 want to look weak, or they don鈥檛 want to look like, you know, oh, I need anybody. It鈥檚 like, I reach I phone a friend all the time. I鈥檓 looking to see, how can I improve at this? How can I get better? And somebody always has a nugget that you didn鈥檛 think of. So why would you not leverage that?
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Kelly Franklin听 12:48
Especially people who have been who鈥檝e been doing credit management for 20 plus years, especially in your local, you know, your local environment, they鈥檙e dealing with a lot of the same people they鈥檙e so, yeah, the the experience they have and the and the the coaching they can provide you is is priceless. Honestly.
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Thea Dudley听 13:07
Now I love that. So let鈥檚 talk a little bit about what sparked the shift from credit management to your role at the association. Because that鈥檚 a that鈥檚 a huge change.
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Kelly Franklin听 13:18
Well, yes, um, and it鈥檚 not going to be as a sensational as you might think. But you know, as I mentioned earlier, you know, although at the time I didn鈥檛 realize it, my cruel, my credit, my role as a credit manager was more of a career growth opportunity. And then over the years with that company, I held several positions and eventually ended up joining their executive team. The company was, and still is a member of bmsa, and it became time for me to move back home, closer to my family, and an unexpected opportunity opened up. And bmsa is headquartered near my hometown, and they were looking to fill a retiring employees role, so the timing was right, and everything just kind of fell into place. I鈥檝e loved this industry for a very long time, so kind of felt like a natural transition, even though it meant taking a step down initially to get my foot in the door, it was definitely worth it to learn how to serve an industry that I care about in a new and meaningful way.
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Thea Dudley听 14:25
Yeah, well, just the whole a lot of times, people think they get into a role and they鈥檙e either pigeonholed, or I鈥檝e invested so much time in this, I knew I really loved credit and collections. I did not want to step out of that. I, over the years, had, oh, you should be in sales, you should do this, you should do that. And it鈥檚 like, well, that鈥檚 great, but you didn鈥檛 ask me what I wanted. And that鈥檚 a that鈥檚 a big part of it. So when you recognize, look, I did this role, here鈥檚 all the things it taught me. And then I decided I was ready to go into a new challenge or a new change. And. Lot of people don鈥檛 think that far through. I love that you leveraged everything that you learned, and then that brings you to, okay, so when you when you made that transition, you know, what were your biggest hurdles? What was the what was, again, we鈥檙e back to what was surprising, what what was different from credit managing to managing an association.
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Kelly Franklin听 15:22
So, I mean, honestly, like shifting your perspective. So, you know, working for a family owned 麻豆传媒 supplier was about the success of one company, right? And how to, how to keep that in line. And, you know, the association side of it is supporting a broad membership with that has very diverse needs, different priorities and multiple viewpoints, right so? And in credit management, how is used to making a decision, executing them directly and being pretty, you know, autonomous, I guess. And at the association level, there鈥檚 a much greater emphasis on collaboration and serving the collective good, which is just a little different strategy,
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Thea Dudley听 16:12
changing that perspective from you make a decision, and a lot of them are autonomous. Hey, you鈥檙e getting open for, you know, 5000 or, you know, whatever, because I鈥檓 going to watch you versus, okay, this is what we鈥檙e going to do with we鈥檝e got this much Association funding. I鈥檝e I鈥檝e got to listen to what my membership wants. I鈥檝e got to work with the other people on my team. It does make it a different conversation. What I think is is fascinating to me, and I鈥檓 sure I鈥檓 not the only one is how that that credit perspective helped you execute on the role here. Because now confrontational does not look the same.
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Kelly Franklin听 16:55
No, it鈥檚 very different. But I mean honestly, being in credit management taught me some of the like, most fundamental leadership skills that I have, honestly, so balancing risk with opportunity. I mean, that鈥檚, that鈥檚 what credit managers do all day, every day. Well, I still do that every day here at the BMSA, you know, making tough decisions. You know the credit management always, you鈥檙e making tough decisions and as well as here in the association world, and how to communicate clearly and professionally often in high pressure situations, it may it makes some of my association situations not feel so so intense, because credit management can be a little Intense sometimes,
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Thea Dudley听 17:40
Oh, definitely. When you鈥檙e telling somebody not getting their order, and they鈥檙e telling you, I don鈥檛 have any money, but I really need it, it you do have it鈥檚 like, well, we have a problem, right? So it鈥檚 a tough one. Do you ever dabble in collecting dues from from members?
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Kelly Franklin听 17:59
Absolutely, because we are a four person staff total. So yes, we all help out in any facet necessary. So yeah, I mean, you know, if I鈥檓 on the phone with somebody having just a conversation about whatever, and I happen to notice that their dues haven鈥檛 been paid, I鈥檒l be like, Oh yeah, just a, just a quick reminder. You know, by the way, that鈥檇 be fantastic. So, yeah, I mean, you know, it鈥檚 such a small staff, it鈥檚 one of those situations where everything鈥檚 important and everybody鈥檚 all hands on board all the time.
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Thea Dudley听 18:39
So do you think that credit managers thrive in this industry. Or do you think they tend to get trapped and maybe feel like, oh, there鈥檚 nowhere for me to go because it鈥檚 a family owned business.
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Kelly Franklin听 18:51
I think that鈥檚 up to the credit manager. And you know what they want to get out of it. Honestly, I think I just think that鈥檚 up to the person. I think it can, it can definitely happen. But I think that you can certainly flourish and thrive and and and be the most phenomenal credit manager ever.
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Thea Dudley听 19:10
But you hear that, I mean, I in your role, I鈥檓 sure you get to hear lots of of just sidebar conversations, and that鈥檚 one thing I hear a lot from credit people. It鈥檚, well, there鈥檚, or really anybody in a company that鈥檚 family owned, it鈥檚 like, well, there鈥檚 really nowhere for me to go. And, you know, I鈥檓 not really sure how I鈥檇 grow and I kind of look at it鈥檚 like, well, you realize, no matter what company you鈥檙e in, there鈥檚 only so many seats at the top. There鈥檚 only so many, you know, roles, or, unless we鈥檙e giving out vice president roles, like their candy, and then everybody has one. Does it really have any meaning? So you know, when you鈥檙e looking at that, it鈥檚 if you if you can鈥檛 grow up, why wouldn鈥檛 you grow out? You know, expand what you鈥檙e doing, expand your knowledge, expand your value to the company. And then those opportunities will present themselves. You just have to watch for them, like what you. And the way that you just work through the entire Hey, this is I鈥檓 going to rock and roll what I鈥檓 doing right now. But that always makes people want to look and go, Hey, well, maybe let鈥檚 tap her for this. Because typically people that are busy and that, you know, get stuff done, or the people that always get asked, Hey, can you do this? Can you take on this extra? And it can鈥檛 always be about, Well, are you paying me more? Which we all think we鈥檙e worth more, but at the same time, it鈥檚 okay, show me what you can do and earn this position.
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Kelly Franklin听 20:32
You know, credit managers and credit professionals in general. You know, you already have the the critical thinking skills. You already have risk assessment skills, you know? So I think as long as you鈥檙e willing to step outside your comfort zone or think outside the box a little bit, you can grow your position in any direction you want. You know, you can grow out or you can grow up. I mean, I think that that鈥檚 totally just up to the person.
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Thea Dudley听 20:56
I think that鈥檚 very well said, Right? A lot of people do get get trapped. No, it鈥檚 true, they do get trapped into you know, what can I do? Or that person鈥檚 lucky? It鈥檚 like, no, they鈥檙e not lucky. They work their butt off and they鈥檙e ambitious. Yeah, it鈥檚 a different perspective. I do want to talk about the association some, because one of the things early on in my my credit career that I learned was hanging out at the associations, not just credit management associations, but hanging out where my customers were was one of the best things I ever did. Was going to like, whether it was a roofing contractor Association, insulation, whether it was building materials, you know, whatever it was, hanging out at those associations and getting them to be comfortable seeing me and talking to me. Because, you know, sometimes you鈥檒l tell them, what company are you with? Well, what do you do? And you鈥檙e like, credit. They鈥檙e like, Oh yeah, I just, are my credits really good? It鈥檚 like, Are you sure? Because don鈥檛, don鈥檛 try to, don鈥檛 try to Buffalo me, because I鈥檓 gonna, I already know. I鈥檓 just being polite by agreeing with you, right? I want to start something here at the at the bar, at the Sheraton, you know, you know, as you鈥檙e going through it is, I think it鈥檚 a great place for credit managers to continue to thrive and to go there and learn. One of the best things is go to the monthly meetings and get to know other you know, your competitors business get to have those relationships. Hey, I may need to call over and say, Hey, do you have this customer? Are they paying you? I may need to get a little Intel, or just keep up on what鈥檚 going on in your industry, so that you know if someone, if someone, is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, you鈥檙e like, that鈥檚 not happening. I don鈥檛 know where you heard that.
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Kelly Franklin听 22:41
Right? Yeah, that and that does happen. You would be surprised how well you wouldn鈥檛, but some people would be surprised at how much that really does happen, and they think they can just trick you right into to overextending.
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Thea Dudley听 22:58
You鈥檙e like, Oh, that was such a great story. I think I鈥檓 going to sign up for chapter two. You can鈥檛 get right into that. I do like the fact that the associations have their yearly conferences. You guys have one in one of my favorite towns in North Carolina. You guys go to Hickory, which, for those of you that are not familiar with Hickory, North Carolina, it used to be the furniture manufacturing capital of the South, and they still have the furniture manufacturers credit Association still meets there every year. Wow. And it鈥檚 just a cool little town, and you guys do such a great job up there.
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Kelly Franklin听 23:36
Thank you. Yeah, we have our annual trade show there, so it鈥檚 basically like a traditional trade show, but it鈥檚 for networking. We have education we have that鈥檚 included as part of it, then we have other education that鈥檚 offered simultaneously. So to kind of be an all inclusive event, we do estimating classes, usually our speakers, usually one of them usually does an economic update, and then there鈥檚 industry specific topics, and then there鈥檚 usually, like a keynote that can be anything from leadership to, you know, how to how to hire and maintain your staff and things like that. So it鈥檚 a great event. It鈥檚 every February in Hickory, North Carolina, and we鈥檙e looking forward to next February.
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Thea Dudley听 24:26
Yeah, it鈥檚 a great time of year to be there, too. And there鈥檚 some amazing restaurants.
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Kelly Franklin听 24:30
I鈥檓 a food is fantastic, unfortunately.
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Thea Dudley听 24:35
But I do think if you鈥檙e going to I, because a lot of a lot of credit managers sometimes will say, Look, I can鈥檛, I can鈥檛 get away to some of these conferences. They鈥檙e too far. If you鈥檙e in this region, it鈥檚 a really easy most of the time. It鈥檚 not that far of a drive, but getting connected and having that community and that backing or you can call somebody at the association office and. Say, Hey, do you know anybody over here? I could use this or, Hey, I need to find a credit manager. Do you know anybody that might be looking you could do all of those kind of things through the association, just keeping up on the knowledge piece of it, I think is amazing. I鈥檇 like to focus on some of your challenges and advice. So it鈥檚 like our speed dating round here. Kelly, okay, what were the toughest moments along the way in both roles? What was some of your toughest moments in credit? What was some of the toughest moments in the association?
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Kelly Franklin听 25:34
The toughest moments in my credit experience? Just, you know, making difficult decisions about long term, long time customers, or customers that were, I鈥檓 gonna say this delicately, friends of ownership, or, you know, those, those can be sticky situations sometimes, and they were some of the toughest to deal with, because sometimes people just don鈥檛 want to hear what you have to say on either side, the customer side, ownership side, they still want to hear it, um, even though you know you鈥檙e telling them what鈥檚 best in their best interest.
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Thea Dudley听 26:17
So how, how personal did you take it, when not so much from a customer standpoint, because I understand that sometimes customers get into a bad spot and they get defensive and they lash out irrationally. And I try to, I鈥檓 not always successful at it, but I try not to take that too personally. But the other side of it, when you are working for somebody and you鈥檙e like, look, we鈥檙e on a team, and I鈥檓 telling you, for all of these reasons that I鈥檝e got here, this is a bad idea, or we need to do this, because, as we鈥檝e mentioned before on this podcast numerous times, friends don鈥檛 not pay you. Friends are actually friends like treat you good. They don鈥檛 not pay you and and call that friendship. So how personally did you take it, when, when your leadership or ownership said, our skillet ride?
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Kelly Franklin听 27:04
Um, I take things pretty personal anyway. So I might not be the best person to ask, but, I mean, there were many days I cried. I mean, I鈥檓 gonna, I鈥檓 not gonna lie like there. I mean, it would bring it would bring me to tears, and I would just be so upset because I just knew I was doing what was in the best interest of the company, which was my job, and I felt like I was just being met with such resistance sometimes. And it it鈥檚 like, but I have good, valid data. I have good reasons. It鈥檚 not like, I just don鈥檛 want to do it, you know?
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Thea Dudley听 27:36
I got a picture of his boat, right? So look at him, and he鈥檚 waving at you with his middle finger.
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Kelly Franklin听 27:48
So, you know, you can鈥檛 help but, but take that personally, I mean, and I can understand both sides of it, but at the same time, it鈥檚 like, come on. You know, that鈥檚 what you鈥檙e paying me to do. That鈥檚 what I get my check for every week, so let me do what I鈥檓 here to do.
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Thea Dudley听 28:06
Do you ever go in there and just say, you know, I鈥檓 not sure why you鈥檙e paying me because you don鈥檛 listen. So I don鈥檛 really know why I鈥檓 here.
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Kelly Franklin听 28:12
I wasn鈥檛 that brave.
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Thea Dudley听 28:19
like, I don鈥檛 know why I鈥檓 here. So what was toughest so far in association world?
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Kelly Franklin听 28:27
Oh gosh, the first quarter. Just, you know, the biggest challenge for me at this point. I mean, I鈥檝e only been in this role since the first of January, so this is very new still to me, and I鈥檓 working to cultivate meaningful relationships with our members. And I鈥檓 not, I鈥檓 not, I still don鈥檛 love having long phone conversations and things like that, but I鈥檓, I鈥檓 learning too. And so the biggest challenge for me is changing some things about me and making me a better president.
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Thea Dudley听 29:07
It鈥檚 fascinating to me how your whole career has evolved, and that you just had met every challenge. Like, yeah, I鈥檓 doing this, and I鈥檓 going to take every experience and leverage it into what my next adventure is, and you weren鈥檛 afraid of any of that. And that is really cool, and the fact that you haven鈥檛 been doing these roles for 100 years, and maybe you got out of credit before you got too jaded. And although think once you鈥檙e in credit for like, six months, you鈥檙e there but leveraging that into moving forward, into what you鈥檙e doing today, and all of the value that brings, because now you can look at members and say, I understand your business. I鈥檝e lived in your business. I鈥檝e worked in that, and I know the money, cash flow side of it, so I get every component of it. And. That鈥檚 gotta make you a just a killer President.
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Kelly Franklin听 30:03
Well, I hope so. You know, I keep taking on responsibilities and roles that really do challenge me to work on myself a lot, because they鈥檙e roles that it require me to do my least favorite things on earth. But the more you do those things, the better you get at them, right? So I鈥檓, I鈥檓 trying a lot of personal growth here.
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Thea Dudley听 30:28
You know, I you either grow or you die. There鈥檚, there鈥檚 really no, there鈥檚 no standing still that鈥檚 still dying. There鈥檚 no, oh, I think I鈥檝e grown to my capacity, and we鈥檝e all seen those people that you鈥檙e like, what decade are you stuck in? Because we that鈥檚, I don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 happening over there. They don鈥檛 move forward. They don鈥檛 want to learn anything. They don鈥檛 want to challenge themselves. They hoard information. They鈥檙e, you know, it鈥檚 just, it鈥檚 very cool that you鈥檝e continued to just evolve those roles and roll them all up into the next one. Thank you. So what advice do you have for credit professionals that hear your story and are going, hey, you know, I like what I鈥檓 doing, but I you know, I would like to grow, or I think this role has taught me everything that I can learn from it at this point and I want to move forward. What advice would you give to those credit people?
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Kelly Franklin听 31:27
I would say, make sure that your upper level management knows that that you are open and that you are willing to take on new challenges, definitely to embrace opportunities outside of your comfort zone. I have that have every opportunity I鈥檝e taken has been outside of my comfort zone. But, you know, you figure it out. You know, saying yes to new challenges, because I feel like that鈥檚 where growth really starts. When you鈥檙e willing to say, even if you don鈥檛 do it, what you think is the best ever. It doesn鈥檛. That鈥檚 not the end of the world. I mean, you know, at least you took the challenge and you tried.
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Thea Dudley听 32:07
its a good point. I mean, I think that鈥檚 one of the things that people sometimes mistake for luck. It鈥檚 like, oh, you know, Kelly, you鈥檙e just lucky. You had good opportunities come to you. It鈥檚 like, call it luck. But it was, yeah, I鈥檒l take that on. Or, yeah, I鈥檓 looking, you know, if you have some extra stuff, yeah, I鈥檒l blend it in. I鈥檒l figure out a way to make it work. I The people that always say, Oh, I鈥檓 so busy. I鈥檓 so busy, I can鈥檛 get to that. I don鈥檛 really trust those people, because it鈥檚 like, really, are you just a lot of talk? You know, when you鈥檙e when you truly are, someone who鈥檚 getting stuff done, you just jump in and do it. Everybody鈥檚 busy. Just dive in bed first for what you want to get done. Yeah, I don鈥檛 know anyone that says, you know, I鈥檓 just hanging around at work today.
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Speaker 1听 32:51
We gotta let somebody know, I鈥檝e got some things they could do.
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Thea Dudley听 32:57
You鈥檙e by that coffee pot, hugging it like it鈥檚 your job all day long. Let鈥檚 see if we can help you out a little bit. I want to back up to when we鈥檙e talking about associations. And, you know, we talked about why it was important for credit managers to attend Association events, and one of the big challenges is everybody says they鈥檙e so busy, and you tend to make time for what鈥檚 important to you. When I I didn鈥檛 want to give up my evenings to go hang out with a bunch of contractors, our other building material people at an industry event. It wasn鈥檛 always something I was excited about after working all day, but I was never sorry that I went when it was done. Sometimes it was just getting myself psyched up to go to something when I鈥檓 when I was just done for the day. It鈥檚 like, I鈥檝e just, I鈥檝e had it. I just can鈥檛. But then you get there, and it鈥檚 a different vibe, and it鈥檚 more relaxed, you know, I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. Yeah, I know you鈥檒l agree with me as the association president, but, and you know, anything you want to add to that or that, there鈥檚 just something that you know. I I know I sound like a broken record. I sound like that with credit reports, where it鈥檚 like, get a credit report, and then the associations are so important, going to conferences and getting those connections. And that鈥檚 the more people that you know, the more people that you have in your network, it makes such a huge difference to how you鈥檙e able to execute your job.
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Kelly Franklin听 34:25
Oh, for sure. And associations certainly lend themselves to to fostering these relationships and making these connections with other industry professionals, whether, I mean, if you鈥檙e talking about just like, like we like when I used to work in for the in the lb for the 麻豆传媒 supplier. We used to go to Home association meetings, home builder association meetings, I鈥檓 sorry, and it was great. I mean, we found new employees there. We, you know, we, we met all kinds of people that would might be coming to the area to start building. I mean. Was just all kinds of great connections that you could make. And the more you went and the more they saw your face, the more familiar they were with you, the more comfortable they were with you, the easier it is to talk to them. And you know, and and then when the other professionals that are are within your within your group are there, you have those people to that you鈥檙e comfortable calling and leaning on and asking for advice or help, because, I mean, you don鈥檛 want to do that with just anybody you know. You need to have a foundation and a secure relationship with that person before you鈥檙e going to call and say, hey and give me some advice about so and so, because, you know, what鈥檚 he doing over there, because this is what he鈥檚 doing over here. And you know, if you don鈥檛 want to, you don鈥檛 want to, you don鈥檛 want to have those conversations with just anybody,
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Thea Dudley听 35:43
well, you want to know who you鈥檙e talking to, and you want to know who there鈥檚 that relationship that鈥檚 built there. Cold calling somebody is really hard on both sides, because typically it鈥檚, I鈥檓 going to give you the basics. Here鈥檚 how long they鈥檝e been buying here, you know, they鈥檙e typically run about 30 days past due, or no, they pay, you know, flawlessly, or whatever, I鈥檓 not going to maybe get into in a totally compliant, non antitrust kind of way. Here鈥檚, here鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening, you know, hey, we just cut them off and, you know, they just got back from Aruba or, you know, whatever, you know. But, you know, keeping I鈥檓 not going to do that with just some random person that I don鈥檛 know it鈥檚 going to be, hey, what have you heard? Or you鈥檙e just hypothetically, what鈥檚 going on in the industry? What鈥檚 the economy doing? What are you seeing? The same thing as I鈥檓 seeing? Because sometimes you do get in, I sometimes have to turn the news off in the morning because I start to go down that rabbit hole, and it鈥檚 like a spiral, and pretty soon I鈥檓 like, I don鈥檛 know why I鈥檓 going to work today. The world鈥檚 going to blow up, right? Well, just, just boycotting. I鈥檓 just going to sit on my back deck and drink Bloody Marys and wait till the end and watch it happen, right? Yep, just not even going to participate.
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Kelly Franklin听 36:55
I mean, it鈥檚 just like when you call for a trade reference, right? I mean, it鈥檚 a it鈥檚 basically like you said, it鈥檚 a cold call, and they鈥檙e going to give you the very basic information, most basic information available. But when you have, you know, been to association meetings, and you鈥檝e seen the credit manager from the company down the street, out and about, you鈥檝e had a beer together, or whatever, chit chatted, spent some time together, when you call them and say, Hey, I got something switch strange going on, they鈥檙e more likely to share, you know, a more deeper dive, a little deeper. I鈥檓 trying to think of the correct way to say that.
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Thea Dudley听 37:30
Somebody鈥檚 gonna send me an email and go, Well, you know, you violated antitrust. It鈥檚 like, we鈥檙e not talking about price fixing and, oh no, that sort of thing. It鈥檚 just, hey, what? What did you get from this is, are they telling you the same story? You know, we鈥檙e being held up for money. I don鈥檛 want to chase sales down the road, but he鈥檚 also placing a lot of orders here. My gut is that you just cut him off.
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Kelly Franklin听 37:54
You can just have a more candid conversation when you have that kind of relationship, versus such a, you know, flat basics only. And you know, it鈥檚 not going anywhere.
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Thea Dudley听 38:02
They鈥檙e not going to run up to the president鈥檚 office and go, let me tell you a story. It鈥檚, hey, we鈥檙e just Yes, would I like to kick your your butt? You know, sales wise, sure, but I also don鈥檛 want you to lose money either. You know, I don鈥檛 get any joy out of that. I Well, right?
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Kelly Franklin听 38:19
It鈥檚 about protecting the businesses. At the end of the day, it鈥檚 really, you know, it鈥檚 not about anything underhanded. It鈥檚 about, I mean, honesty, really. So
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Thea Dudley听 38:29
as we kind of wind down this episode, Kelly, how can everybody get a hold of you?
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Kelly Franklin听 38:33
So you can connect with BMSA on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and you can learn more about what we do and who we are at www.mybmsa.org, that鈥檚 our website, and there鈥檚 lots of great information. Our phone numbers on there we are here in the office. You can give us a call anytime, and we鈥檙e happy to to chat well.
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Thea Dudley听 38:55
we鈥檒l put all of that down in down below the episode, but yeah, and everything but Snapchat. I mean, I can manage my LinkedIn profile, and that鈥檚 about it. I鈥檓 like, Look, if you鈥檙e looking for anything else, I can鈥檛 help you. Kelly, thank you for sharing all of your insights, the journey from how you got into credit and to what you moved into and that, to me, that is such a pivotal point where it doesn鈥檛 matter where you started, the experiences all gain. I was trying to remember there was some, some entertainer that said, you know, what would some of the question was, what would you change about yourself if you could go back in time and change something? And she said, nothing, because then I wouldn鈥檛 be who I am now. And that鈥檚 what your story really reminds me of is that every experience you had just led you on. So I鈥檓 really excited to see what you do next.
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Kelly Franklin听 39:47
I think we鈥檙e I think we鈥檙e done, no promises. You know, just that never on you know whether you鈥檙e in credit or any other. In the 麻豆传媒 industry, don鈥檛 underestimate the value of showing up, staying curious and investing in all of those relationships. You know, the more you engage and the more you grow, it doesn鈥檛 just benefit the person. It benefits the entire industry. And we all, we all gain value from it. So that鈥檚 all,
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Thea Dudley听 40:18
no, I think that鈥檚 really well said. Well, that wraps another episode of 麻豆传媒 talks credit, and I want to thank everybody for joining us once again. Thanks for the emails, the comments and the willingness to share your experiences to help benefit the trade credit community. New 麻豆传媒 talks credit comes out every other Tuesday on Spotify, Apple and YouTube, and if you can鈥檛 wait, you can catch our back episodes at the same place, and you can listen to them over and over to your heart鈥檚 content. If you miss in between and you鈥檙e like, wow, I showed up on the wrong week. Don鈥檛 tune out, because you鈥檒l see Sally on our social media podcast. 麻豆传媒 Talks Social Media, and she鈥檚 incredibly talented and insightful. Thanks for joining us. This is your only place for practical strategies for trade credit in the 麻豆传媒 community.
