5 ways to ruin your industry reputation

Sean Cheyney
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Media Planning & Buying Posted on June 18, 2008

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Be sneaky

Would you like to know a good way to cut off your chance of earning my business before the contract is signed? Be sneaky.

Along the same lines of over-promising and under-delivering, the sneaky individual is notorious for sneaking terms into contracts that put the client at a major disadvantage, contrary to negotiated and agreed upon terms. The hope is that the client won't notice until the contract is signed and they are "locked in" to the contract and the terms contained in it.

The fact that these types of people exist in our industry is the reason I'm thrilled that I took a contracts class in law school. It's a pain to comb through mind-numbing legalese in order to make sure every term you're looking for is spelled out correctly, but it will do two things for you. First, you'll be able to make sure everything is accurate and you're getting what you're paying for. Second, you'll flush out a sneaky rep and kill a deal that will likely cause nothing but problems.

As an example, a year ago I was negotiating a media buy with an individual at a rep firm. Although I had worked with the firm before, I had never worked with this specific rep. We spent quite a bit of back and forth time going over the media properties before agreeing to one specific network containing a handful of properties. It didn't take very long while looking at the contract that the rep had swapped out the agreed upon network and replaced it with an inferior media property for our specific needs. When confronted with this fact, he simply stated that the agreed upon network didn't accept the negotiated CPM rate, so he put another network in the plan instead. Infuriated, I didn't sign the contract and haven't worked with this rep or his company since. In addition, I've advised others to steer clear of this individual.

All it would have taken was the rep to come back to me and let me know that he had a snag with the original network, and he would have left the door open to doing business with me in the future. Trying to sneak something by me not only hurt his own sales opportunities, but it has taken away business from his company.

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Joseph Porcellini July 22, 2008 at 11:42 PM

Sean,

Well said. Companies need to spend more time training and retaining there sales teams.

As a publisher, we continue to stress the importance on Positively Outstanding Service & Treatment. In order to succeed the #1 thing we need to do is listen to our customers!

Thank you for your insights.

Zohra Parnell June 21, 2008 at 10:13 AM

Hello,

I am so empressed by the comments of the Author Sean Cheyney that even if you have made mistakes before, But as long you maintain your integrity and ethics to rebuild yourself a better and stronger way, that is amazing, never to give up, continue to walk until you get there.

Very positive notes.

Thank you,

ZP

Sean Cheyney June 18, 2008 at 11:00 PM

Adam,
Excellent points. It's easy to forget that job candidates are interviewing you as much as you are interviewing them. The same tactics that I use as a hiring manager I'm sure are being used to some degree by the people that I'm hiring.

Adam Kmiec June 18, 2008 at 10:02 PM

Sean

Don't forget about personal reputation as it comes to working with/for people. If you don't honor your word when you manage someone that information travels fast. It's a sure fire way to have top talent look the other way.

Adam

Gillian Kelly June 18, 2008 at 8:50 PM

Great article! As a personal branding strategist I continually talk about the value of your personal reputation to your business and career. Everything you do should be analysed to ensure that it enhances your reputation in the long term. Don't get caught up in short-term gain at the risk of long term loss. I think everyone should live by the 'first do no harm' principle. Act ethically and authentically everyday and the rest will follow.

Denise Zimmerman June 18, 2008 at 5:21 PM

Hi Sean,

I thought this was a great article and a topic that rarely if ever is addressed publicly. Valuable advice! Bravo!

-- Denise

Sean Cheyney June 18, 2008 at 1:19 PM

Thanks John. I appreciate your supportive comments. You and everyone at your agency have always been a stellar example of how to do things the right way and your continued success is proof positive.

John Durham June 18, 2008 at 11:31 AM

should be must reading for all entry level people at brands, agencies and publishers. Sean, as usual, you drive points home in a smart and engaging way

i have already sent this to several agency and publisher people with a note to go over in meetings, valuable stuff

and sent to everyone in our office and during our weekly staff meeting, will discuss!

John Durham June 18, 2008 at 11:31 AM

Tim Bottiglieri June 18, 2008 at 10:58 AM

Mr Cheyney, well said sir, lesson in business ethics, let's also include personal lives. Those that throw stones, eventually end up bruised themselves.

Sean Cheyney June 18, 2008 at 10:32 AM

Kip, Thanks for pointing that one out. You're right on the money. At least 2-3 times per week I get an introduction email from someone that includes an attachment so big that it clogs my inbox. The result is an immediate delete of future emails and voice mails from those people.

Sean Cheyney June 18, 2008 at 10:29 AM

Steve, I couldn't agree more with your assessment. Partnership is about the long term.

Kip Edwardson June 18, 2008 at 10:25 AM

And don't send attachments or use email to introduce yourself. To me, email is still very impersonal. A phone call always is best, and when you call ask if the person on the other end has 3-5 minutes to talk. If not now, set up a time later and then ask PERMISSION to send an email. When I was in PR, the rule of thumb when calling a reporter was to always ask how they like to get information from your company, and respect deadlines.

steve jacoby June 18, 2008 at 10:17 AM

RIGHT ON! I think if more people pay close attention to these key insights, we'll all be much better off. Doing the right "things” will earn trust and respect, doing the wrong "things” will lose you respect and business. These key qualities make up great partnerships, and great partnerships usually make for good business.