In sales, your reputation can either destroy you or be your biggest asset. Your sales reputation is something that you nourish or damage every single day. Your day-to-day actions and your interactions and communications with co-workers, clients, and superiors are the building blocks of your reputation. Commit the following mistakes repeatedly, and you will ruin your sales reputation. Steer clear of these mistakes, and you will enjoy a reputation that will lead to sales, enviable jobs, and prestige in your industry.

1. Miss Deadlines

It’s such a simple thing, but you can ruin your sales reputation simply by missing deadlines. A customer needs a product Tuesday, but you forgot to order it on time. Think they’ll order from you again? No way. Your sales manager asks for a list of all of your third quarter sales by Friday, but you give it to him on Monday. Do you think he’ll consider you for a promotion? Not if this behavior is typical.

If missing deadlines has become habitual for you, what can you do to turn things around and save your sales reputation? Consider whether or not you’re over-committing. If you overschedule your days, you will have a difficult time accomplishing everything expected of you. If, after examining your schedule, you see an ordinary load, get tough with yourself. Don’t go to bed until you’ve accomplished everything on your to-do list, and make an effort to plan ahead and hold personal calendaring sessions with yourself on a weekly basis.

2. Make Excuses

Sometimes there are valid excuses for failing to accomplish something or meet someone, but if making excuses has become your mode of operation, you could be ruining your sales reputation.

Next time you feel like making an excuse, stop and consider the situation. Often, when sales people habitually make excuses, it’s because they don’t take responsibility for their failures or for their successes. Instead of making excuses, be resourceful and do what you can to find solutions to the problems that will inevitably come up from time to time.

3. Don’t Prepare for Sales Calls and Sales Meetings

You’ve talked about your products and services a million times before, so why bother preparing for sales calls and meetings? Failing to prepare can ruin your sales reputation. Hopefully, you already know your products and services inside out, but have your done your research about how your company’s products can help each particular customer?

This kind of preparation takes time, but you’ll get better at it with practice. Your sales reputation can really benefit from the personalized service you can offer when you take the time to adequately prepare.

4. Be Unresponsive

Answering e-mail can really be a drag sometimes, and who wants to answer work-related text messages in the evening? Like it or not, being unresponsive to e-mail and texts can ruin your sales reputation.

Sales reps sometimes make the mistake of thinking that not responding to an email means the same as saying “no” or simply telling people you’re busy, but instead, it introduces ambiguity into the conversation. Your customers and co-workers may wonder if you got the message at all, and they might even surmise that you’re avoiding them. Respect your customers, co-workers, and mangers by being responsive.

5. Ignore the Details

Sales can be full of details, and it’s tough to keep track of everything, but your sales reputation depends on your paying attention to the small stuff. When you make lots of small mistakes, they add up over time. When you neglect to remember which customers like which products, you miss out on sales.

Sales reps who are good at details enjoy the most success. If you want to improve your sales reputation, sweat the small stuff. Make lists and set reminders if you have to, but do what it takes to remember the details.

Start today to build your sales reputation and enjoy greater success.