How do you take a leadership role and drive Commercial Card program success, especially if you lack card experience? Obtain tips from a pro who has been there and done that. Tiffany Lovelace, CPCP, Kansas City Southern, has taken a P-Card program from stagnant to sensational, including 150% growth in volume over four years! Following are her words, which are part of a three-page series about her journey and card program transformation.
Make Use of Your Unique Skills
If you have inherited a program, but lack direct card experience, don’t let that be a barrier to success. Embrace your inherent skill sets and transition them to the world of Commercial Card payments. I had no experience in Commercial Card payments or in the accounts payable arena. What I did possess was the knowledge and fortitude to successfully evaluate and market programs and products.
Build Strong Relationships
Build strong and consultative relationships with: (1) other organizations within the Commercial Card space, (2) your issuer and (3) internal peers.
Humility is a good thing. While you may have moved mountains in your previous positions, leaning on industry experts, admitting you do not have all the answers, and exerting the willingness to educate yourself will help pave the way for success.
Break the barriers standing in the way of your success and that of the card program.
Sync Up Your Strategy
We have a saying in our department: If it makes sense, do it. Our organization was willing to rethink how we utilize Commercial Card products and services. We created program goals and objectives to be in sync with accounts payable, strategic sourcing and treasury, as all three business functions are critical elements, contributing to the overall program success.
Market, Market, Market
My expertise in marketing provided the opportunity for our team and super users to become an extension of our issuer’s account management team. We launched surveys, formed focus groups, and created process maps to unveil issues plaguing our program. With this new-found knowledge, we birthed a new program and crafted targeted messages for our marketing campaign to promote solutions across our organization.
Read the complete series to gain additional tips from Tiffany.
About the Author
Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…