What To Do When Others Want To Cash In On Your Reputation

A Bad Choice

A guy in marketing made an unfortunate series of choices in the last few months.

He sent out a blast of emails to therapists stating that he and I had “collaborated” when we had not.

He also took the liberty to take images of my banner / logo from my website and use them on his own website effectively implying my endorsement of his business and work.

I only found out when several of my colleagues forwarded emails they had received from him and asked me if indeed his claims were legitimate.

They were not.

At a Loss for Words

Truthfully, I was so mad that I couldn’t think straight!

Very little of the words swirling around in my head would have professionally represented my business.

Nor would the tone of my words have done anything to appropriately convey my concerns and meet my business needs.

A Better Choice

Over the last few decades I’ve learned that in times like these, it’s in my best interest to reach out and invest in professional support just like my clients reach out and invest in me.

That’s why I reached out to my colleague and friend (former attorney now turned Licensed Professional Counselor and consultant) Michelle Stevens.

Michelle helped me draft a letter as a first response and she was able to do that from a calm, centered, and matter-of-fact place (that I was totally unable to access).

She drafted a letter that I reviewed, tweaked, and sent.

Within an hour, I received a reply from the offender with an apology, an assurance that it was an error on his part, and that he would correct the matter promptly.

(We’ll see . . . . I asked him to contact those of you whom he initially contacted to correct his statements.)

Suggested Guidelines for Therapists

When others want to cash in on your hard work, good name and reputation in this (or some other variation of this) manner, here is what I suggest you do.

• Get professional advice quickly from someone you trust.
•  And, should you decide to write a letter of complaint, I recommend you include the following . . . .
  • State why you are writing.
  • Explain the significance of the offense.
  • Ask for the response that you want.
  • Ask for a time-specific response.
  • Note any additional support that you may have.
• Keep a copy of any correspondence concerning this matter.

Additionally, you should also be prepared to escalate your response to the next level.

That means you may need to contact a professional like Michelle Stevens.

(Her consulting business is called Cover Your Ethics and includes services to handle situations just like this.)

Or, you may want to engage the services of an attorney.

Your good name and your body of work constitute the bulk of your professional assets.

These represent your livelihood.

In the event that your name and / or your body of work are threatened, compromised or stolen, your practice . . . and your ability to practice mental health are vulnerable to being damaged or lost.

Just as you would tell your client who is being threatened or compromised in to way to protect herself, so should you be ready to protect yourself.

To each of you that took the time to reach out via email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter to offer our support, encouragement, and a little sleuthing, too . . . . THANK YOU, THANK YOU!