Good morning!
Joan Jett didn’t give a damn about her reputation, so much so that she sang a song in which repeated those words fifteen separate times.
Okay, so maybe she cared a little more than she was letting on.
Do you worry about your reputation? You should. I’m not talking about what friends and family think of you. I’m not even talking about what your customers think of you. This reputation is far more important than those things.
I’m talking about your internal reputation. That is, what do your coworkers think of you? What is your brand within the walls of your own company? Are you the one the CSR’s dread seeing or the one who gets their jobs entered before anyone else?
All salespeople, whether they know it or not and whether they like it or not, get talked about by their CSR’s and by production. Why should you care? Because every once in a while a decision needs to be made on whose job becomes the priority. That arrogant rep? That demanding, inconsiderate, and condescending salesperson can be sent to the back of the line very easily.
In a way, it’s not fair.
The funny thing about salespeople is that it takes a lot of confidence to be successful. You have to believe in yourself, almost to the point of being cocky, but without crossing that line. You have to be assertive without being aggressive and forceful without being pushy. You are ten feet tall and bulletproof. Your cape is blowing in the wind as you stand over the city repeating, “I can do anything I want” over and over again.
But all of those qualities need to be checked at the door when you arrive back at the plant, replaced by humility, appreciation, curiosity, and respect.
Make no mistake about it, your company needs you at your self-assured best in order to get those orders. But they (and you) need that approach removed and put on a hook when you go to enter those orders.
If you are at all concerned your internal reputation is lacking and you DO give a damn, start the repair today by humbly asking those around you what you need to change. Then do it. Then ask again to prove you are serious.
The good news is, it won’t take fifteen times.
The better news is, it will result in nothing but positive change.
