With construction accounting for 16% of all UK business failures, relying on yesterday’s static data is an active threat to contractor survival.

The UK construction industry isn’t just navigating standard economic cycles; it is undergoing what analysts call a permanent “structural reset.” For credit management departments and finance directors, relying on yesterday’s data to make today’s exposure decisions has transitioned from a minor risk to a direct threat to the bottom line.

As we look closely at the forces actively moving the needle across the sector, four critical developments are shaping the risk landscape:

1. The Retention Ban Liquidity Shock The UK Government is actively moving toward a full ban on retention payments over the next 12 to 24 months. While this shift will eventually improve long-term cash flow for subcontractors, main contractors are facing an immediate “liquidity shock” as they lose access to decades of free working capital. Credit teams must remain hyper-vigilant as Tier 1 contractors begin tightening other payment terms to compensate for this missing cash flow.

2. The Ripple Effect of Sector Insolvencies Construction currently accounts for roughly 16% of all UK business failures. High interest rates are finally biting, marking the definitive end of the “zombie company” era. We are witnessing a severe domino effect where a single mid-sized failure quickly topples multiple smaller, exposed suppliers down the supply chain.

3. Squeezed Margins and the Labour Gap. While material prices have finally stabilised compared to the volatility of 2024, a chronic labour shortage of approximately 250,000 workers has pushed wages up significantly. Many firms remain trapped inside older fixed-price contracts signed 12 to 18 months ago. Operating on razor-thin margins of just 2% to 4%, even a minor payment delay can push these businesses from standard operations into “critical distress.”

4. The Administrative Burden of the 8% “Stick” New regulations have handed credit managers a much larger stick, mandating that large firms pay statutory interest on late payments at a rate of 8% above the Bank of England base rate. While this is a powerful deterrent, it significantly increases the administrative burden of calculating and chasing penalties. Now is the time for businesses to proactively audit their Terms & Conditions to ensure their statutory rights are perfectly aligned.

The Strength of Community Data. We recently hosted an industry meeting that put over 150 years of collective credit management experience in a single room. The takeaways were clear: from cracking down on fraudulent online account applications to surviving insolvency ripple effects, our best defence is collective intelligence.

Standard, static credit scores simply cannot keep pace with the speed of modern insolvency. To navigate this structural reset, finance teams must move away from outdated history sheets and move toward real-time, industry-specific trading experiences.

At Top Service Ltd, we stand alongside nearly 4,000 construction businesses, providing the live community insights and specialised debt recovery backing required to protect your margins. Our mission remains simple and unchanged: helping our customers minimise debt and maximise cash.

To learn how community-driven data can safeguard your credit control processes through this transition, visit top-service.co.uk or speak to an expert today at 01527 518800.

Construction remains the most exposed sector as England and Wales company failures rise 2% month-on-month.

Overview

Registered company insolvencies in England and Wales ticked upward in April 2026. This increase sustains the financial pressures we saw at the end of the first quarter.

The Insolvency Service recorded 2,085 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales during April. This figure represents a 2% increase compared to March 2026 (2,037). Furthermore, it sits 3% higher than the same month last year (2,028 in April 2025).

While regional shifts skewed the wider UK data, England and Wales saw a steady, month-on-month rise in business distress. For construction firms, this steady increase is a clear warning. The trading environment remains highly challenging. Consequently, keeping a close eye on your supply chain is as important as ever.

(Note: You can view the full dataset on the official Insolvency Service page.

Headline figures at a glance

• Total Insolvencies: The department recorded 2,085 company insolvencies across England and Wales in April 2026.
• Month-on-Month Change: Figures rose by 2% compared to March 2026 (2,037).
• Year-on-Year Change: Figures rose by 3% compared to April 2025 (2,028).
• Top Impacted Sector: Construction remains the most vulnerable industry. It historically takes the biggest hit and accounts for around 17% of all business failures.

Construction: ongoing pressure beneath the headlines

With insolvencies creeping upward across England and Wales, the underlying pressures facing the construction sector haven’t gone away. Construction consistently tops the list for business failures. Therefore, the steady increase in April’s numbers signals that trading conditions remain incredibly tight.

Firms working across complex supply chains continue to battle severe headwinds:

• Sticky material costs and high everyday overheads.
• High interest rates make project financing much harder to secure.
• Ongoing payment delays from clients who are managing their own cash flow issues.

Construction relies on a heavily interconnected network of developers, main contractors, and subcontractors. For this reason, cash flow remains the biggest risk. Financial stress in one part of a project can quickly domino. As a result, it causes sudden disruption and bad debt exposure for everyone else down the line.

What’s driving the April increase?

A closer look at the data shows that April’s numbers represent a steady, ongoing grind. This is not a sudden, unpredictable spike.

• Widespread Trading Distress: In March, a one-off cluster of connected real estate failures drove a massive spike. In contrast, April’s 2% rise points toward regular, widespread financial pressure across the board.
• A Higher Baseline: April’s figures sat 3% higher than April 2025. This demonstrates that business failures are establishing a higher baseline than we saw last year.
• Squeezed Cash Flow: Pressures on the high street and challenges in manufacturing are filtering through to commercial construction. Consequently, businesses have smaller buffers to absorb financial shocks.

A longer-term view

Insolvency rates across England and Wales are still well below the historic peaks of the 2008–09 recession. However, they are plateauing at a noticeably high level.

Today, more active companies operate in England and Wales than in previous decades. Therefore, even a minor 2% month-on-month increase means a significant number of businesses face severe financial distress. Because of this volume, credit managers cannot afford to let their guard down.

What this means for construction businesses

The April data prove that risk is firmly present and actively growing. In an environment where insolvencies are creeping upward, a proactive approach to credit control is your best defence:

• Tighten your customer checks: Do not rely on past relationships. Check real-time credit positions before starting new phases of work, not just at the start of a contract.
• Watch how fast you’re getting paid: A sudden slowdown in invoice payments is almost always the very first warning sign of client cash flow issues.
• Act early on overdue invoices: Be decisive with your credit control. This prevents a client’s payment delay from putting your own cash position at risk.
• Spread your risk: Review your projects and clients. Ensure your business isn’t overly dependent on one major contract for its core revenue.
• Keep communication open: Talk to your clients regularly. If you do this, you can spot and sort out potential payment roadblocks early.

Our view

April’s 2% increase in insolvencies tells us that economic challenges are a persistent reality for businesses in England and Wales. This is not a temporary blip driven by a one-off event. Instead, it is a steady indicator that trading conditions remain demanding.

From what we see on the ground day-to-day, construction firms are managing to protect their margins if they maintain strong visibility over their cash flow. Robust credit management and proactive debt recovery aren’t just administrative tasks right now. They are essential tools to keep your cash flowing and your projects moving forward safely.

How can we help

Are you starting to notice delays in customer payments? Do you want to check your current credit risk exposure? Our specialist construction credit and debt recovery team is here to support you.

We use live credit insights and practical, straightforward recovery strategies. As a result, we help you stay in control of your ledger, protect your business against third-party failures, and make commercial decisions with absolute confidence.

The latest figures from the Insolvency Service show that company insolvencies rose in March 2026, following a quieter start to the year.

There were 2,022 company insolvencies in England and Wales, up 7% on February (1,895) and broadly in line with March 2025 (1,995).

This increase comes after four months where insolvency levels were lower than typically seen between 2022 and 2025. However, the March rise was heavily influenced by a one-off spike in administrations, driven by more than 100 connected companies in the real estate sector entering administration.

For construction businesses, where projects often rely on interconnected suppliers and developers, this kind of activity highlights the importance of keeping a close eye on the wider network you’re operating in.

Headline figures at a glance

• 2,022 company insolvencies were recorded in March 2026
• Including 299 compulsory liquidations, 1,468 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 235 administrations, and 20 CVAs
• One in 194 companies entered insolvency in the 12 months to March 2026
• Equivalent to 51.6 per 10,000 companies, down from 53.0 per 10,000 the previous year
• Construction remains the most affected sector, accounting for 17% of all insolvencies

Construction: ongoing pressure beneath the headlines

Construction continues to top the list of insolvencies, with 3,851 cases in the 12 months to February 2026, representing 17% of all industry failures.

While March’s headline increase is largely linked to activity in the real estate sector, the underlying pressures in construction haven’t gone away. Tight margins, rising costs, and ongoing delays in payment continue to create a challenging trading environment.

For many businesses, particularly those working across complex supply chains, cash flow remains the key risk, where issues in one part of a project can quickly ripple through others.

What’s driving the March increase?

A closer look at the data shows that March’s rise is not necessarily a shift in the overall trend, but more of a short-term spike:

• Administrations increased sharply (+52% month-on-month, +82% year-on-year), largely due to a cluster of connected real estate company failures
• CVLs (73% of all insolvencies) remained broadly stable month-on-month but are slightly lower than last year
• Compulsory liquidations rose compared to February, but remain below the 2025 monthly average
• Overall levels are now back in line with 2025 averages, following a quieter start to the year

This suggests that while March looks like a jump, the underlying trend is still one of gradual stabilisation rather than escalation.

A longer-term view

The 12-month rolling insolvency rate now sits at 51.6 per 10,000 companies, slightly down from 53.0 per 10,000 a year ago.

Although this is higher than the unusually low levels seen during the pandemic, it remains well below the peak of 113.1 per 10,000 during the 2008–09 recession.

With more businesses operating in the UK than ever before, even a stable rate still represents a significant number of companies under financial pressure.

What this means for construction businesses

While the data suggests some stabilisation overall, the reality for construction firms is that risk remains firmly present, particularly when it comes to customer solvency and payment performance.

In this environment, a proactive approach is key:

• Stay on top of customer credit profiles to spot early warning signs
• Monitor payment trends closely; changes are often the first indicator of stress
• Act early on overdue invoices to reduce exposure
• Review concentration risk across projects and clients
• Keep communication open where payment issues arise

Our view

March’s increase in insolvencies is notable, but largely driven by a one-off spike rather than a broad deterioration in trading conditions.

From what we’re seeing across the construction sector day-to-day, businesses are still navigating a challenging environment, but those with strong visibility over their customers and cash flow are in a much better position to manage that risk.

Effective credit management and timely debt recovery play a key role in maintaining stability, helping businesses protect margins, reduce exposure, and keep projects moving.

How can we help

If you’re noticing changes in payment behaviour or want a clearer view of your risk exposure, our specialist construction credit and debt recovery team is here to support you.

With real-time credit insights and practical recovery strategies, we help you stay in control, protect your cash flow, and make informed decisions with confidence.

Call us today for further information on 01527 503990.

Charging statutory late payment interest and compensation is your right, but applying it consistently and successfully can feel complex.

Join:

• Elysia Ady – Collections Team, Top Service Ltd
• Nicola Hannant – Credit Lead, Cemex
• Philip King FCICM – Credit Industry Expert, Non-Exec Director – Top Service Ltd
• Emma Reilly FCICM – CEO, Top Service Ltd
• Paula Swain FCICM – Head of Litigation & Recoveries, Kearns Legal Solutions Services

For this practical CICM webinar: Charging statutory late payment interest and compensation – practical tips for success

This session combines legal clarity with real-world experience.

You’ll gain:
✔️ Clear guidance on the legal framework
✔️ Practical collection strategies from the frontline
✔️ Insight from a Top Service client actively applying late payment charges
✔️ Key compliance considerations from a legal expert

If late payment is impacting your cash flow, this session will give you the confidence to act.

Watch Now:

Construction remains most exposed as insolvency levels ease compared to last year

Overview

The latest figures from the Insolvency Service paint a mixed picture for businesses across England and Wales.

There were 1,878 company insolvencies in February 2026, up 7% on January (1,749) but 7% lower than February 2025 (2,015).

While insolvencies have ticked up slightly month-on-month, the broader trend is more encouraging. Levels at the end of 2025 and into early 2026 are lower than those typically seen between 2022 and 2025, suggesting some easing in pressure, even if challenges remain, particularly in construction.

Headline figures at a glance

• 1,878 company insolvencies were recorded in February 2026
  
• Including 249 compulsory liquidations, 1,473 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 146 administrations, and 10 CVAs
  
• One in 194 companies entered insolvency in the 12 months to February 2026
  
• Equivalent to a rate of 51.5 per 10,000 companies, down from 52.3 per 10,000 a year earlier
  
• Construction remains the most affected sector, accounting for 17% of all insolvencies
  

Construction: still under pressure

Construction continues to see the highest number of insolvencies, with 3,912 cases in the 12 months to January 2026, around 17% of all industry cases.

While overall numbers are beginning to stabilise, the reality on the ground remains challenging. Tight margins, rising costs and ongoing payment delays are still putting pressure on businesses across the sector, particularly subcontractors and SMEs. Where projects rely on multiple parties, delays or disruption in one part of the chain can quickly impact cash flow elsewhere.

Even with some improvement in the wider data, cash flow remains the key pressure point for many construction firms.

What’s driving the trends?

Looking a little closer at the data, a few key themes stand out:

• CVLs (78% of all insolvencies) have increased month-on-month, but remain slightly below last year’s levels
  
• Compulsory liquidations are down significantly year-on-year, suggesting fewer creditor-led enforcement actions
  
• Administrations have risen compared to last year, which may indicate more businesses seeking breathing space while they restructure
  
• Overall insolvency levels over the past four months are around 10% lower than the 2022–2025 average
  

Taken together, these points point to a market that’s still under pressure, but beginning to show signs of greater stability.

A longer-term view

The 12-month rolling insolvency rate now stands at 51.5 per 10,000 companies, down slightly from 52.3 a year ago.

While this is higher than the unusually low levels seen during 2020–2021, it remains well below the peak during the 2008–09 recession (113.1 per 10,000).

With more companies operating in the UK than ever before, even a lower rate still translates into a significant number of business failures in real terms, particularly in sectors like construction.

What this means for construction businesses

Although there are signs of improvement, the trading environment remains unpredictable. For construction firms, the risks linked to late payment and customer failure are still very real.

In this climate, taking a proactive approach can make all the difference:

• Keep credit checks up to date to spot early warning signs
  
• Watch payment behaviour closely; small changes can signal bigger issues
  
• Act early on overdue accounts to protect cash flow
  
• Review exposure across your customer base, especially on larger projects
  
• Maintain open conversations with customers where possible
  

Our view

While insolvency levels have eased compared to last year, the construction sector is still feeling the effects of sustained financial pressure.

From what we’re seeing across the construction sector day-to-day, the businesses best placed to navigate this period are those taking early, informed action, staying close to their customers and responding quickly when risks emerge.

Strong credit management and effective debt recovery aren’t just back-office functions; they play a key role in protecting cash flow, maintaining stability, and keeping projects moving.

How can we help

If you’re noticing changes in customer payment behaviour or want greater visibility over your risk exposure, our specialist construction credit and debt recovery team can support you.

From real-time credit insights to proactive recovery strategies, we help you stay in control, reduce risk, and protect your cash flow,  even in challenging conditions.

As the financial year approaches its close, many finance teams review their ledgers with one goal in mind: cleaning them up before year-end.

Outstanding balances that appear unlikely to be recovered are often written off so the books look tidy. But while writing off debt may simplify reporting, it isn’t always the best commercial decision.

Before making that call, it’s worth asking a few important questions.

Has the debtor been reassessed recently?

Credit risk can change quickly, particularly in sectors like construction. A debtor that looked unstable six months ago may now be trading more securely. Equally, a previously reliable payer could now be showing early signs of distress.

Without a recent reassessment, writing off debt may mean walking away from money that could still be recovered.

Has trading intelligence changed?

Traditional credit reports often rely on historical financial data. However, real trading behaviour — payment patterns, disputes, and sector activity — can reveal changes much sooner.

This kind of real-time insight can dramatically alter how a debt should be handled.

Could structured recovery still work?

Internal credit control teams sometimes reach a point where chasing simply stalls. Communication slows, promises are broken, and progress stops.

That doesn’t always mean the debt is unrecoverable. In many cases, a structured recovery process or professional intervention can produce results quickly.

A recent example saw a construction debt of £80,000 outstanding since September. Internal chasing had made little progress. When the account was escalated in December, formal action and direct contact resulted in full payment the following day.

The debt wasn’t uncollectable; it simply needed the right intervention.

Writing off isn’t the only option

Year-end decisions don’t just affect the current reporting period. They also shape next year’s cash flow.

Before writing off another balance, it’s worth taking a final look at whether the situation has changed and whether action could still recover value.

Because sometimes, the difference between writing off debt and recovering it is simply timing.

If you’d like to explore how real-time construction intelligence can help you minimise debt and maximise cash flow:

📧 sales@top-service.co.uk
📞 01527 503990

When foresight is better than hindsight!

By Philip King

As we moved into 2026, I spent a morning chatting with members of the Member Support and Debt Recovery teams at Top Service. I wanted to know what they had seen in 2025 and what lessons they learned for the year ahead. Several key themes emerged.

Insolvency issues have always been the subject of many calls to the Member Support Team, but slightly less so in 2025. Perhaps members have built their knowledge, or they’re becoming better at dealing with it. The general impression was that, while insolvencies remain high, there have been fewer high-profile instances in construction over the past year, although Corbyn Construction Ltd and Sheen Lane Developments Ltd stood out as impacting a number of clients and involving sizeable amounts. In both cases, Top Service had issued warnings six months before their demise and had successfully collected £1.3m and £250,000 respectively on behalf of clients in the intervening period.

Fraud has replaced insolvency as the number one subject of calls. Long-firm and short-firm frauds are still frequently seen, and impersonation fraud is increasing exponentially. This often seems to be perpetrated by the same people or organisations who repeatedly target suppliers with a view to getting materials or equipment shipped using a genuine customer’s details. By the time the fraud is spotted, the supplies have disappeared, and the fraudulent party/ies cannot be traced.

All too often, members believe that, while they recognise the risks, they won’t get caught. They start to take preventative action only after they have been scammed and become a victim. Where the amounts are sizeable, for a small or micro business, this can be too late. Members are urged to look far more closely at the information they obtain. Checking for cloned websites and minor email inconsistencies can reveal and help avoid the risk.

While the changes being introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023 are to be welcomed, especially the verification and validation of directors’ details, there remains a fear that fraudsters will find ways to circumvent the controls. Their ingenuity is breathtaking at times!

Debt Recovery specialists saw 2025 follow the pattern of previous years for the can’t pays. The inability to pay is often the result of the domino effect caused by a larger or main contractor delaying payment, or through difficulty in finding work or contracts to generate the cash flow needed to pay suppliers promptly or at all. The complexity of contracts signed without having been properly reviewed continued to be a problem. Sub-contractors only find out too late that non-compliance with a particular clause is preventing payment. The relevant clause might be considered unreasonable or even immoral, but that makes it no less effective. Sadly, and all too often, the excitement offered by landing a big new order or contract outweighs the need to be vigilant beforehand.

By far the biggest change in 2025 was the rising eminence of a new weapon for the won’t pays! The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence tools such as ChatGPT allows debtors to identify alleged reasons not to pay, even if those reasons are inappropriate, inapplicable or factually wrong. The use of such tactics, even when the grounds cited are without substance, causes delays while investigations have to be conducted and responses prepared, often leading to a repeated cycle of the process! This is where the Debt Recovery team comes into its own. They know the law, they know the Codes being quoted or misquoted and can have real conversations that cut through the noise being generated, and get back to the crucial issue of getting payment for unpaid invoices.

Interestingly, both teams had the same biggest wish for 2026. They wanted Top Service members to make more use of the payment experience and other shared information available to them. Better informed credit decisions would mean fewer regrets about supplying too much credit to the wrong customers, and fewer invoices being unpaid.

Foresight is so much more effective than hindsight!

Insights from CEO Emma Reilly FCICM

It’s been a bust but productive start to the year for us at Top Service. We are freshly back from the CICM’s British Credit Award,s where Top Service made the finalists lkist in two categories! It wasn’t the night for us to bring home the awards, but it was a fantastic night celebrating our wonderful credit management industry.

It was an honour to be there to watch Rosie Payne, of Saint Gobai,n collect her award for Credit Professional of the Year! A well-deserved award for Rosie. I won the award myself last year, so I know how special it feels – a huge well done to Rosie and also to the team at Saint Gobain, who also picked up an award.

We also celebrate the team at Tarmac – who picked up ‘ Excellence in Credit’ – what a win for you guys! Another well-deserved award to a brilliant team!

Further on in this update, we cover why some of our team, names I’m sure you will recognise – Laura, Lauren, Rachel and Alison decided to start their CICM qualification – a great piece for anyone thinking of doing the same.

We’ve been to a few events already this week, and Laura is attending the Let’s Talk Credit, credit circle in London in early Feb. The feeling on the ground from the majority of our contacts is that ‘volume is down and insolvencies up’. A phrase that has stuck with me since I heard it mentioned at an industry meeting I attended a couple of weeks ago.

The insolvency statistics tell us that insolvencies are down slightly, but with construction remaining the most affected industry. Now, although the numbers tell us the rates are moving in the right direction, it is clear from talking to you and other industry contacts that things are tough on the ground.

Another phrase that always. sticks with me is ‘forewarned is forearmed’, and if there’s one piece of advice I can give to you all is to make use of our member support team. If you’re looking at our credit reports and see there aren’t any trading experiences, please call us or email us. Our team can focus on the company of interest and can look at what other members have shown an active interest in and gather up-to-date, in fact up-to-the-minute trading experiences on your behalf.

Earlier escalation will also help to support you. We are seeing more and more new users to our debt recovery service, and all are experiencing great results! In fact, one of our customers sent us a test debt. It was over £50K plus statutory interest and compensation. It was collected with the charges, in full, within 8 hours, and the relationship has been maintained. My team is skilled at collecting money, professionally and quickly.

Our account managers are here to make sure you are maximising your membership and welcome the opportunity to carry out a training call with you and your teams to ensure everyone knows exactly what you have access to and how to make the most of your membership.

As always, thanks for being part of the Top Service community. Let’s stay strong, together,

We’ve already been out and about at industry events this year & and one consistent message we’re hearing on the ground is that “volume is down and insolvencies are up.” It’s a phrase that’s come up repeatedly, and it matters.

While insolvency statistics suggest a slight overall decline, construction remains the most affected sector, and from speaking with many of you, it’s clear that conditions remain challenging day to day. Numbers may be improving on paper, but the pressure on credit teams is very real.

That’s why one phrase I always come back to is “forewarned is forearmed.” My strongest advice right now is to fully utilise our Member Support Team. If you’re reviewing a credit report and don’t see recent trading experiences, please don’t stop there — call us or email us. Our team can actively investigate the company, identify which members are currently trading, and gather up-to-date — and in fact up to the minute — trading experiences on your behalf. That insight can make all the difference to your decision-making.

Early escalation is also proving critical. We’re seeing a growing number of members turn to our Debt Recovery Service, and the results speak for themselves. Recently, one customer sent us a test debt of over £50,000 plus statutory interest and compensation. The balance was collected in full, including charges, within just 8 hours, and the commercial relationship was preserved. This is exactly what our team specialises in: professional, fast, and effective collections that protect your business relationships.

Contact us today to find exactly why over 3500 other businesses in construction use Top Service to minimise debt and maximise cash. 

Call 01527 503 990 or visit www.top-service.co.uk  to see how we can help you stay financially resilient.

Why the best business outcomes still depend on people talking to people.

By Philip King FCICM

I was privileged to represent Top Service at the 2025 CICM CreditFest events held in Birmingham, Manchester, London, and Leeds in recent months. They were great events, and it was suggested I might share some of my thoughts with a wider audience through this magazine.

Let me start with the warning I gave the attendees at each event. There’s nothing here that you don’t already know. Rather, my intention is to make us think about how we communicate and consider if an alternative medium might make us more effective.

Chambers Dictionary defines communication as “to succeed in conveying one’s meaning to others”. That’s surely what we all set out to do when we start interacting with anybody, so why does it sometimes go so spectacularly wrong?

The pitfalls of modern communication

I’m sure we’ve all misunderstood the intention of an email and reacted more stridently than we should, or we’ve sent something quite innocuous, but the tone or wording we’ve used has resulted in it being misinterpreted and led to some backtracking and explanation. Might a conversation have worked better?

I recently shared a disastrous chatbot exchange, which resulted in me being asked about facial or fingerprint recognition, and avoiding fees and charges, presumably because the bank hadn’t yet taught the bot about CIFAS markers being raised on an account! Eventually, a real conversation produced a satisfactory outcome.

Has the phone fallen silent?

Let’s talk about the phone. I wonder how Alexandra Graham Bell would have felt in 1876 if he’d known how little the device he invented would be used for its intended purpose 150 years on. A Uswitch survey in 2024 found that 25% of 18-34-year-olds never answer their phone. They want a text first or respond by text before having a conversation.

And whatever happened to simple telephone conversations? These days, I suggest a follow-up conversation to someone, and they tell me they’ll send me a meeting invitation. I then sit in front of my computer, while they sit in front of their computer, as we look at each other for ten minutes and have the conversation. It can be usefu,l but is it really always necessary?

Communication is a people thing

People buy from people, people pay people, people talk to people.

That’s why I have a bad taste in my mouth, before I’ve even started eating, when I’ve stood at the podium at a restaurant entrance being ignored by several staff members, waltzing backwards and forwards until the appointed person comes across and greets me with a big smile. If only staff were trained to acknowledge customers when they see them waiting.

That’s why Mrs King didn’t buy a car from a particular dealership earlier this year. The salesman didn’t smile, didn’t make eye contact, didn’t seem interested, and just went through the motions without showing any real interest. The car was probably ideal, but the interaction failed. People buy from people.

That’s why in 1978, at the start of my career in credit, I used to telephone a customer every Monday morning; we’d chat about the weather, football, weekend activities and all manner of things, but rarely mentioned money. If I called him on Monday, his weekly cheque would arrive on Wednesday. If I didn’t call him, it wouldn’t. People pay people.

Some conversations, and especially difficult ones, need more than just words. When we sit with someone, we pick up the unsaid. Body language, eye movement, and gestures all help us to learn what’s going on beneath the surface and gain a better understanding. These are real people conversations: telephone, Zoom, email won’t cut the mustard.

When talking pays off

In my presentation, I shared some examples of Top Service members who had benefited from the organisation’s passion for conversations and sharing. Two were from member support activity and two from the debt collection team.

A member was concerned about an application for a £75,000 credit line from a potential customer. Her call into the team generated some further calls, and the team identified that the application was fraudulent. As a result, the member – and several others – avoided being duped into supplying significant sums. Another member was nervous about an application for substantial credit. Her call into the team led to the unearthing of a number of other similar applications, alongside negative information. They, and other Top Service members, declined the facilities requested and were saved from substantial losses.

The close monitoring of a winding-up petition allowed the debt collection team to act when the petitioner was paid and the petition withdrawn. Quick action allowed the full six-figure sum to be collected in full within 11 days of instruction, with an additional £10,000 recovered for late payment interest and compensation charges.

The final example related to a member of the debt collection team, noting a complete change in the tone of voice from a member of the debtor’s accounts team who moved from “the payment will be on the next run” to “I need to get authorisation to add to the next payment run” when it had failed to arrive. The collector spotted nuances in the voice of the other party. As a consequence, further digging revealed an as-yet-unadvertised winding-up petition. The Top Service member supported it and got paid.

All four examples pay tribute to the monitoring activity and speed of contact, but, more importantly, they demonstrate the value of real and timely conversations that allowed quick decisions to be made. People working with people get positive results.

Try it and see the difference

My challenge to CreditFest attendees was to go away and think before each interaction each day. Will a text elicit a simple piece of information without adding to the recipient’s inbox? Is it quicker to wander to someone’s desk and ask them for an update, and avoid the writing, responding to, and reading of emails? Could popping your head round the boss’s door and asking for a chat, or picking up the phone, work better than creating a long email chain providing the background and story, then answering questions that arise, before getting into the process of agreeing on next steps?

Do that enough, and it will become a habit, and we’ll be more effective. Why not give it a try?

Philip King FCICM is a non-executive director at Top Service Ltd