People today buy from people they know and feel they can trust. Trust is more than a feeling. It’s based upon a factual and logical conclusion that the individual with whom one is dealing has the best interests of all parties in mind and would do nothing to injure one party for the good of another. Thus trust becomes an interwoven part of a reputation. A reputation is earned over years of ethical, honest behavior where one is demonstrating trustworthiness, fairness and integrity at all times.

The population, however, has grown very cynical and more skeptical of the motives of all individuals who approach them for any reason. Advertising that has over-promised and under-delivered, products of inferior quality, prospecting that is driven only by product, and the need for a sale as opposed to building ongoing mutually-profitable relationships have all contributed to this skeptical, cynical attitude in the mind of the buyer. The financial services industry has perhaps suffered even more than other industries from this cynical, skeptical attitude. This is an outcome of the incessant industry bashing that has occurred by government and special interest groups, as well as, of course, the negative press that the industry has endured for several years. In addition, fines that have been levied for the conduct of a few miscreants have also contributed and made the path upon which the industry is proceeding very difficult for everyone involved.

For this reason you must guard your own reputation zealously. There is no room for situational ethics, lapses of attention to detail, or "I had no choice but to do it" behavior. A reputation is a precious thing. It is a measure of who you are and what people can expect of you. Nearly 2,500 years ago King Solomon said, "A good name is better than riches." Clearly a good reputation was valuable even then.

Your reputation is linked to your character—the kind of person you are when no one else is around. Whether your reputation is lost or stolen, it cannot be easily retrieved. People are not inclined to give second chances or fresh or different second opinions.

When we first started our educational firm in 1983, we had an individual in our database whose name was spelled unusually. Unfortunately, his name was loaded into our database twice—with two different improper spellings. He received a letter from me not long after we met and his name was misspelled. He fired off a letter to me indicating that he wanted the mistake changed immediately, which we did. However, not knowing that it was in the database twice, when I sent him my second letter apologizing for the mistake, his name was again misspelled. Imagine his response when he came back to us with a very terse reply, "Don’t ever contact me again. Obviously you cannot pay attention to detail."

I could not imagine what had happened, and after we researched it, we discovered the problem. Of course, I could have told him it was an honest mistake, and he probably would have said, "I can appreciate that." But there was no mistake that we had dropped the ball and not guarded our reputation by double-checking and proofing the letter to make sure it was correct.

Some people would say this was an over-reaction on his part, but I’ve discovered over a period of time that it’s not always the big things that make the difference, it’s often the little things that sully a reputation. The lesson we learned from all of this is it has strengthened our resolve to constantly be on guard and double-check not only our data, but also the details, to ensure that we do the right thing. You see, your reputation can be lost or stolen not just by the big things, but by the little things as well. However, one cannot live in fear of every mistake being the end of a career or a relationship. To the contrary, a solid reputation in the marketplace will create an atmosphere of trust and, when appropriate, forgiveness.

To develop a reputation for honesty, integrity and fairness, I encourage you to practice these principles in your practice:

Principle 1: Align yourself with trustworthy people.
In every organization and every society there are individuals that stand out for their honest, ethical behavior—individuals whose word is their bond. Identify these individuals and spend time with them. Develop these individuals as the friends, mentors and managers with whom you will work. Adapt and adopt the behavior that they model on a daily basis. Ask yourself what it is that drives them. Ask them how they make the decisions they make and why they make them. Learn from the opportunities you have to rub shoulders with these individuals so that you can begin to re-evaluate your own value systems and your own foundation to be certain that you’re on firm footing.

Principle 2: Have a code of ethics.
A great deal has been said about a code of ethics, however, very little is often placed into practice. The reason appears to be that too often a code of ethics is exactly that. It’s some code that’s mounted on a wall in an office or written in a notebook. A code of ethics is simply a creed or statement that will help you make decisions. If, for example, your code of ethics included such things as "Doing the right things right with my clients’ interests first" this would help govern any behavior where the client is perhaps demanding to buy a particular product that doesn’t fit their portfolio and you know it’s not in their best interest. Your code of ethics will give you the confidence and the passion to explain to your clients if they are moving in the wrong direction. It will also allow you to be comfortable when you have to walk away from a situation when you know that proceeding forward is not only the wrong thing to do for yourself, but also the wrong thing to do for your client and the company with whom you associate. A code of ethics need not be a long dissertation, but simply a short group of words that you have brought together that articulate how you’re going to make decisions and the rules that will govern you. A code of ethics acts as a wall to contain and to shape your behavior and decisions and to give you a guide to follow. The common cry, "I don’t know what to do," is often created because a code of ethics is not in place to guide one’s behavior and thus do the right thing. The result is that often the expedient thing is done instead.

Principle 3: Know your purpose.
What is the overwhelming, burning passion that drives you to continue in the industry? Is it a simple desire to serve other individuals? Or is it something more complex such as the purpose that drives me to work in the financial services industry? My mother died when I was five, my dad when I was six. They had done no financial planning of any kind and so my brother and sister and I were split up and lived in foster homes all over New York. I resolved that, once I began this educational firm, one of my target markets would be the financial services industry because I have a passion to inspire and educate brokers and others to see more people and assist them in every way to get their financial affairs in order. What is it that drives you? What is your passion? With which types of people do you really enjoy working and want to build future business around? Where do you see opportunity to serve the marketplace and the people in it? If your purpose for being in the industry is simply to make money, I believe that you will find that it leaves a sense of emptiness within you, because money becomes a very small measure of one’s worth. Purpose not only helps shape your decisions, it helps shape the path you will take and will enable you to make the right choices and the right decisions to move ahead.

Principle 4: Practice self-discipline versus self-indulgence.
In a time when society’s motto and creed appears to be, "Go with the flow," you would be well served to stop and adjust your thinking and ask yourself, "How am I proceeding?" Are you indulging yourself based upon how you feel, or are you disciplining yourself based upon your ultimate destination? To help you define whether you’re working from a self-indulgence or self-discipline perspective, consider the following:

• Self-indulgence says, "Think about how you feel, then take action or no action and worry about the consequences later."

• Self-discipline says, "Think about the consequences and then decide which action is appropriate and, having taken the appropriate action, you feel great afterwards."

I read an interesting study recently of successful women in the marketplace. They were asked what it was that helped them to be successful. Their overwhelming response was that they were aware of the consequences of their behavior prior to making a final decision about the process they were going to implement. Self-discipline and self-indulgence not only deal with the issue of making decisions. Self-discipline needs to come into play to limit your depression and to recognize that life has its ups and downs. By having made a decision to guide your life by a sense of self-discipline versus self-indulgence, you will not only limit your depressions, you will bounce back more quickly and won’t make bad decisions that injure your reputation during your down times.

Principle 5: Focus on thankfulness versus entitlement.
Sometimes, because of the nature of the business, a feeling of entitlement can invade your attitude. This is particularly true as one becomes more credible within a market. Nothing can destroy a reputation faster than conveying an attitude that you deserve it. Avoid coming across to others as if they owe you a favor or they owe it to you to see you. To develop and keep an attitude of thankfulness, focus on being thankful for the opportunity and business that you are receiving. Being thankful keeps you in the right frame of mind and thus earns you respect in the eyes of the buyer. An ancient proverb tells us that before honor comes humility. It’s the thank-you notes that you send and the sincere appreciation that you show to all concerned that become the bricks and mortar of your reputation. People begin to perceive you as an individual who’s truly there to serve and not just to sell—who is interested in binding together with them in a spirit of cooperation, fellowship, and a relationship that’s mutually-rewarding.

A reputation is a fragile thing. It must be protected at all costs by realizing that as the ancient writings tell us, "As a person thinketh in his heart, so is he." Examine your heart and determine your motives to ensure that you are building your reputation as an honest, ethical individual with whom people will want to do business. Guard your reputation zealously and be constantly on the lookout for the myriad of opportunities to enhance your reputation by focusing on other people versus yourself.

Copyright © 2000 by C. Richard Weylman.  All rights reserved.