Several years ago, when I was managing an insurance office, I was interviewing a prospective sales rep whom I felt had great potential as an agent. Throughout the interviewing process she was articulate and demonstrated excellent people skills … I was convinced that I had found a real superstar.
The truth comes out …
Shortly after she was hired, my new agent invited me to attend her son’s high school football game. When the referee called a questionable foul on her son, my superstar jumped to her feet and let loose with a flurry of cuss words that would make a sailor blush. Everyone within shouting distance was as shocked as I was to hear such profanity come out of her mouth.
In the selling process, there’s a great deal of emphasis placed on training the sales rep to say the right word at the right time to close the sale. While this is all well and good, unfortunately, there’s no training in the world that can prevent a person from blurting out the wrong word at the wrong time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re stuck in traffic, missed your flight or bogeyed the 18th hole, your character and professional reputation are forged by the words that come out of your mouth.