Four Ways To Fix a Bad Reputation with Pamela Gockley #158

Four Ways To Fix a Bad Reputation with Pamela Gockley

Pamela Gockley had a bad reputation and it wasn’t going away soon. It was a shock when she first heard about it and it was hurting her business. But she was able to overcome and she has since authored two books: The Reputation Factor and The Art of Running Red Lights. In this episode Pamela shares four ways sales professional can fix a bad reputation for themselves and their companies. Are people talking about you? In a bad way? In this episode let’s find out.

The Four D Process

Pamela has a process you can use to fix a bad reputation. It has four stages, you pass through each to create and rebuild your reputation.

Discover Stage – To begin, find out if you have a reputation problem Become self aware through self-assessments and asking strategic partners and peers.

Define Stage – Answer the question “what do you want your reputation to be?” Consider the 6 skills of a successful sales person, where do you rate on each skill? Be honest.

Development Stage – In this stage you start to work on yourself. Let’s focus on three areas:

First impression – hair, clothing, posture, body language and non-verbal behavior all affect how people judge you. Be awake to what people perceive the first time they meet you

Communication – communicate with people in the medium they prefer. That may mean email, cold calling, Twitter, etc… Meet people the way they want, not the way you want to.

Network – answer the question “who is around you and who are you seeking out?” Find your niche. Pamela defines it in three floors:

The ground floor friends and family,
Second floor business contacts
Third floor is people you want to meet.

Defend Stage – Bad things happen that may or may not be your fault. Have a process in place to recover. Have a plan (insurance policy of sorts) to stop panic and to make certain everyone in the organization is on the same page.

A Bit About Apologies

We all make mistakes. Some times we’re innocent but the company we represent is guilty. Make it your responsibility to accept responsibility. Admit your guilt and make it right, maybe gifts and discounts, but most importantly a heartfelt apology. Survey your clients often and find out what’s working and what’s not.

Take Action

For 7 days note how people react to you. Positive, Negative? What can you learn from your observation?

How To Connect with Pamela Gockley

Pamela is the author of two books:

The Reputation Factor
The Art of Running Red Lights

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelagockley

https://www.facebook.com/pamela.gockley

Twitter @pamelagockly

Get a Free Book

To get a free copy of The Art of Running Red Lights send and email to pam @ vigilant.net

Download Find the Itch Before you Pitch!