How to Lose Trust in 30 Seconds (and How to Avoid It)
Ever been tempted to drop a big client name or repeat something you only half-heard from leadership? One slip like that can cost you trust in 30 seconds flat.
In this episode, Lisa and Cindy break down a real-life sales story that proves why credibility always beats charisma. They reveal the ripple effects of stretching the truth and how quickly word spreads when you misstep.
Most importantly, they share their secret: verify before you amplify. Tune in for practical strategies to build trust, protect your reputation, and keep your sales career on the high road.
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
02:14 The Importance of Credibility in Medical Device Sales
02:35 A Cautionary Tale: The New Rep's Mistake
04:14 The Cost of Exaggeration
05:01 The Doctor's Perspective: Calling the Bluff
10:16 Analyzing the Mistake and Its Consequences
13:36 The Stakes: What You Stand to Lose
17:48 Best Practices: Verifying Information
21:05 Building Credibility the Right Way
22:19 Conclusion: Verify Before You Amplify
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
The Sales Slip That Ends Careers – Lisa shares a true story of a rep who lost a physician’s trust in one conversation.
Credibility vs. Charisma – Why charm might open doors, but only trust keeps them open.
The Ripple Effect of Broken Trust – How one mistake spreads far beyond a single hospital.
Our Sales Secret: Verify Before You Amplify – A memorable rhyme to keep your facts straight.
Best Practices for Building Credibility – From double-checking data to asking for documentation.
The Power of “I Don’t Know” – Why admitting uncertainty and following up shows integrity.
No Shortcuts in Med Device Sales – Why physicians demand full respect for their expertise.
The Call to Action – Before you repeat a story, pause and ask: “Do I know this for certain?”
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“Your credibility is your currency once you lose it, it’s almost impossible to earn it back.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Verify before you amplify. That one step protects your entire career.” - Cynthia Ficara
“When you say, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out,’ you’re showing integrity and that builds trust.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Credibility is more valuable than charisma every single time.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Before you repeat something, pause and ask: Do I know this for certain, or am I just hoping it’s true?” - Cynthia Ficara
“There are no shortcuts in medical devices. Physicians don’t shortcut their training and you can’t shortcut your credibility.” – Anneliese Rhodes
“If you only know 50% of the story, don’t tell it. Know 100% before you open your mouth.” – Anneliese Rhodes
“Be resourceful instead of roomful, that's how you gain respect.” – Anneliese Rhodes
“Apologize, own your mistake, and work hard to earn back trust. That’s the only way forward.” – Anneliese Rhodes
“Credibility shows physicians you respect them, and in return, they’ll respect you.” – Anneliese Rhodes
Follow The Girls of Grit:
We'd Love to Hear Your Stories!
Even in life’s darkest moments, we have the power to create change. We’d love to hear from YOU — whether you’ve taken a leap of faith, overcome adversity, or found purpose through a challenge. Share your stories with us in the comments or send us a DM. Let’s keep the conversation going and continue lifting each other up.
A Team Dklutr production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Cindy, have you ever been in a sales call when you're tempted to maybe stretch the truth a little bit, maybe drop a big client name or repeat something that you have heard from your manager or vp?
Or talk about a product you think is coming to market. You know, really we do that when we're under pressure and we wanna sound like the expert, but deep down we're not a hundred percent true or not. Damnit, sorry, Nicoletta. Let me redo this. All right, one more time. Here we go. Cindy, have you ever been in a sales call when you're tempted to stretch the truth, maybe, or drop a big customer name?
Or repeat something that you may have half heard from your manager or even talk about a product that may be coming to market. You know the moment when we're under pressure to sound like the expert, but deep down we're not a hundred percent sure it's right. Yeah. Here's
Cynthia Ficara: the thing. If your customer finds out you exaggerated game over.
Trust is gone. And in sales, or whether you're in medical device sales, real estate, financial services, any type of sales, your credibility is your currency. So once you lose it, it's almost impossible to earn it back.
Anneliese Rhodes: So today we're going to talk about a specific example that Cindy and I know all too well, and we don't want you guys to do the same thing. We're gonna break down why it happens, how to avoid it, and best ways to build trust the right way, because charisma might open doors, but credibility, that's what's gonna keep 'em open.
Welcome everyone to another episode of Secrets and Medical Device Sales, brought to you by the girls of Brit, and we are bringing you guys a really great episode today. I mean, all of our episodes are awesome, Cindy, I don't even know why I say that because I'm like, oh, I love this topic, but like for real, today's topic is super fun and good and important.
Oh, oh
Cynthia Ficara: my gosh. I am so excited. And you know, it's every day when we are out working and things happen because remember, Lisa and I both work all the time. We are in the field. We are, we are. In hospitals, we are speaking to doctors. This is something we do every day and sometimes something will trigger a memory, and Lisa and I had this conversation, which is why this episode today is important.
When Name-Dropping Backfires in Sales
We talked about something that happened to Lisa years ago, and we thought, this is so important that every rep needs to hear this because you can lose business if you're not gonna listen to this. You can very quickly. Lose all the hard work you put into going somewhere and the way to lose this business, hint, hint is extremely preventable.
This isn't like something that's just gonna happen and out of your control. Yeah. So I, I don't even wanna say what it's about. I just want, Lisa, can you just dive into the story that we talked about? So none of our listeners will lose their business in 30 seconds. It's,
Anneliese Rhodes: and isn't it funny that we get all of our material from the things that we see out in the field?
I mean, like literally, these are things that we have. We have either gone through ourselves or we see and observe on a daily basis and we're like, oh my gosh, we've gotta talk about this. Because it's like that's our job is here to support you guys and give you all, all the dos and don'ts of medical device sales, women in medical device sales and women in general and male dominated industries.
And so today, yeah. So it was spawned by something you guys that I was telling Cindy about. That it happened a little while ago and I can't remember why I was thinking about it. Maybe it's just 'cause I saw the rep again. I really can't remember now. But, um, okay, so here's the deal. So this happened a little while ago and I was, I was, I was going into the OR to go, uh, do a case with one of my surgeons and he is like a big doctor.
You know, everybody knows him. He is a podium talker or podium speaker. He's a big time guy. And he had just finished a case. With another rep and totally different, like not in my industry or not in my, uh, specific situation of what I was selling at the time. And he was like, Lisa, I have to tell you something.
And I was like, what? And he is like, well, listen. He goes, I know you know this rep. He's like, the rep is brand new. You know, I feel really bad for the rep. He is like, but Lisa, I cannot stand it when reps do this. And I was like, what? And he's like, listen. He goes, this kid was pedaling anew. Uh, device. And he's like, the kid started spouting off to me, all the doctors that are using the device.
And I'm like, okay. And he goes, but you know me, Lisa. He's like, I'm super connected. And I'm like, yes I do. I know you're super, I know you know everybody. And he's like, well, what do you think I did? And I go, you called us Bluff, didn't you? And he is like, I sure did. And he goes, guess what? He goes, every doctor that I called that he name dropped, this kid was name dropping.
You know, Dr. So and so, all these doctors. And he goes, Lisa, what he didn't realize is I know them from the industry. We talk, we share the podium together. You know, some of these guys I've known from like fellowship and training and med school, he's like, so I'm really good friends with them and oh, by the way, I have their cell phones.
He goes, so Lisa. He was in the middle of a case and this kid's like spouting off to me that all these doctors are using this new product. And he's like, really? He goes, you know what? We're just gonna call him. And all of a sudden he goes, I can see the kid. Oh boy. Oh gosh. And so he picks up his phone, Cindy, and he starts dialing the physicians one by one on their cell phones.
And of course they all pick up because they're all friends and they all know each other and they're like, Hey, what's up? You know Dr. Smith? And he is like, Hey, so I got this kid in here and he's selling this device. And he told me that you guys use it all the time. And he is like, Lisa. Every single one of those physicians were like, uh, I've never even heard of the product before.
I don't even know what company you're talking about. What are you talking about? And he goes, I called the kids bluff. And he is like, you know, it really irritates me because he's like. Here you are a person in a very valued position selling for a company that's, you know, either a small or a large company, and you're spouting off information that you haven't even verified.
You haven't even, you're going off of what somebody has told you and you are literally gonna say that to somebody like me. And he is like, and I don't even have to be a guy that's connected. I could be a brand new doc out there. He goes, but. The thing is, is we all know when you're not telling the truth.
We all know when you're full of things. He is like, why would you come into this specific industry where knowledge is key and trustworthy and loyalty is all part of the job? And you lie. He's like, why would you do that? And I was like, wow, man, that's really sad. I'm really sorry. He is like, he's like, eh.
He's like, that kid won't be back. And I was like, wow.
Cynthia Ficara: Look, I'm just trying to put myself in this kid's shoes. Okay. So he says, Hey doctor, so and so, I have this amazing, um, pen for your to write in your, to write your notes in, right? And doctor so and so down the street uses it. What on earth did he say to the kid when he.
Declutter. I'm going to start again because somehow the internet went out, so I'm gonna say. What on earth with, I could just try to picture this kid standing there telling this doctor, oh, Dr. Smith, I know Dr. So-and-so down the street. Oh, he uses it. It's great. You gotta use it. He uses it. I can't imagine when the doctor right in front of him picks up the phone calls so and so, and he goes, I know.
I mean, like, I wish I could have been there to hold the phone and say. Oh, you don't use it? Really? Where are you getting your source from? And then to tell the kid right there, like did he tell you what he, what he said? I mean, I'm sorry, let me, let me clarify. Did he tell you what the kid said after the doctor?
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. So the kid basically said, well, my VPs told me this. These are the names that my VPs gave me. So, you know, poor kid, he's relying on the company to give him the good information. And, and here's the thing, Cindy, we probably would believe that, but wouldn't you wanna see something in writing? Like, wouldn't you wanna see the data?
That the doctors are like providing for the device or the product or whatever it is that you're selling. Wouldn't you wanna like at least know, well, what are their thoughts on it? I mean, before you just start touting off. And the other thing is this, why wouldn't you do your homework as the rep to know?
Hey, this doctor might know those doctors, so let me verify that part of this information just because, you know what I mean? Like, I don't wanna go and say something that my doctor, my customers might know these guys. I mean, it's all part of the sales cycle, you know? You always, yes, sure, we can use doctors to play off of one another.
Well, Dr. So-and-so uses it, but you better be darn sure that you have that information correct. 'cause if you're not, it's gonna make you look like an idiot. And thus, this,
Cynthia Ficara: this poor kid looked like it. And there's so many things that you said in there, and I think this is what will take our time in this episode to break down because this story could be real.
And you know, just even what you just said, oh, my VP said this. Well, you know. Maybe if you, if you think about the kid, maybe this wasn't a blatant lie. Maybe he wasn't just naming things, but maybe the conversation from the VPs were, Hey, we're going to meet with these doctors, or we're going to introduce to these doctors.
Like maybe he didn't have the whole story. Right?
The High Cost of Borrowed Credibility in Medical Sales
So I think it's important. Let's start just kind of diving into why would this happen? Okay. So you've got this rep who is going out there saying something without. Validated information. So
Anneliese Rhodes: why would a rep do this? Yeah. Well in his case, he's young, right?
He's brand new in the company. So I think the pressure, and I mean I know this just from being new in companies and, and when I was younger, and you as well, you know, the pressure to be a high performer, to hit your number, to be well known, you wanna be like all those tenured reps. I mean, it's like so much pressure and you feel.
Especially when you're younger or newer in the medical device industry that you need to build this up. You need to build your character up by name dropping or by like, you know, whatever it is, building your, your connections within your physicians. Mm-hmm. Um, so I think that's probably one of the things is to really try and impress.
You know your customers really quickly so that you look good.
Cynthia Ficara: Exactly. There's a lot of pressure to do that. So then I guess maybe like an expansion of what you're saying, it's more like a temptation to borrow credibility from somebody else, but where. What if you think about this particular situation, it wasn't until he was in the defensive mode and had to answer as to where this came from, that he said, my VPs, if you almost take that same situation and you're speaking to the doctor about this bright brand new device, the conversation was too like, oh, this doctor uses it.
You know it. Mm-hmm. It wasn't, um, being able to say in speaking with my VPs, um mm-hmm. They're having conversations with doctors. Yeah. You know, I, I mean, so there's a little bit of that, but, um,
Anneliese Rhodes: just to, you know what that reminds me of? Sorry. You know what, you know what reps will do is they'll like exaggerate.
It's like, yes. Oh, you know, like you have a new product coming, right? Like you have an awesome product coming, but you know that it's not coming for like another six to 12 months, but you're like, you wanna get the doctor's sale, you know, buy in and, and get them to start using you now. So you're like, guess what?
It's right around the corner when you know for darn sure it's not right around the corner. And it's like overpromising something. You're not, you're not being truthful. You're not being o, you're not being. Fully open and honest, and you're right, Cindy, if that conversation had then had instead sounded like this, my VPs are building the relationships with these physicians who I know, you know, and they're in discussions with trialing the product, the whole conversation would've been completely different.
Such a good point. Totally different. You're such a good point, Cindy.
Cynthia Ficara: Yes. And I also think just, you know, just to bring one more point as to why this would even happen is something you touched on at the very beginning. He's very new. So lack of experience and not that is, I, I wanna point this out because if you are new physicians are, they know everybody.
They may be on one side of the country or they may be in another country. Mm-hmm. Um, but. You know, when you have a specialty, it's formed a bond. I mean, if any of you have ever been in a sorority or a fraternity, you know, you, you have brothers, you know, across, across the country and sisters as well. And so sometimes you have a tie together of, you know, you go, you go to conferences, medical conferences in your specialty.
Maybe you're neuro and you speak with the other great point, neurosurgeons and neurologists. And then that's how you, that's your. Your, um, what word am I trying to say? Lisa? You're not cohorts well.
Anneliese Rhodes: Well, its your, uh, I don't know. You mean your group? Your small, they're a cult. No, I'm kidding. They're not a cult.
I'm just kidding.
Cynthia Ficara: Yeah, I mean, this is your group of people that, Hey, declutter. Can we just cut all this part out about group? Just let me just say, um. You know, physicians really are close with all those others in their specialty. That's where they focus. So, yeah, again, if you're new, your temptation is to mm-hmm.
Borrow credibility from somebody else and lack of understanding all that would be why it happens. But, okay. So now we know why, Lisa, what are the, what is at stake? Yeah. Like what is at stake if we do this? If you spread misinformation, where does that lead you in this industry?
Anneliese Rhodes: Well, that poor buddy was kicked out.
Probably never got him back. I mean, I don't know. I never saw him again. Um, you know, gotta feel bad for him. But listen, again, it, like the physician said to me, it is an honor and a privilege to do this job and you need to take this show. Like you need to understand the levity of that, right? So when you don't, and you either give them misinformation, you mislead them, you blah out, lie to them, they're going to see right through you and you lose all credibility, Cindy.
I mean that trustworthy, that honesty, that loyalty, all those part out the window, everything goes out the window and you are now labeled. As a used car salesman. Sorry. But you're, and they're probably not gonna invite you back. And I'll tell you what, you and I talked about this in another episode, but it's funny.
Physicians have memories like elephants, smart, they don't, smart things, very smart, right? And so you may have done this 10 years ago. You may have been that old, new rep 10 years ago, and now here you are again 10 years later, circling back with that same physician, you can rest assured that they're gonna remember, they're not gonna forget.
So, you know, it's a, it's a not a great mistake to make.
The Mistake You May Never Come Back From
It really, isn't it? It's one that I think, and, and I'm sure we're gonna talk about this, but like, how do you come back from that mistake? You know, that's really important. So let's make sure that we talk about that, Cindy. 'cause I think you can. Um, but it would be great to like not even make the mistake.
Cynthia Ficara: So you and I think along the same lines, 'cause I was literally just coming to say we talk about making mistakes. Mm-hmm. We talk about things happen and how you overcome them. This mistake is one that you may not ever come back from. Yeah. This is where, because it's not a mistake. In what you're saying, it's falsifying credibility.
It's, um, a way of permanently closing doors. It also reflects on your reputation, because think about this, you're saying something so profound. It's a character flaw on you. It's not a, oh, she made a mistake. Oh, she missed something. Or We're gonna get past this or keep showing up. 'cause we all make mistakes.
We are all human. Mm-hmm. This one to me seems intentional. Even if it's not, so if you're new, we're telling you this. 'cause we don't want you to be naive because you may think, oh, just because I heard it from somebody, it's okay. It is very much not okay. Very much
Anneliese Rhodes: not. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I think at this point, the only thing you can do is apologize to the physician and just say, you know what?
My bad. I took a word or I took this out of context, or you know, own up to your mistake that you misspoke, misled, and you're gonna probably have to work really hard to get back in that physician's good graces. Um, but yeah. Yeah.
Cynthia Ficara: You, you know, think about it too. You're talking about this one conversation you have with this physician in one hospital.
Well, what do you think word gets around if the one doctor calls the other doctor. I mean Oh, absolutely. It's domino effect of every ripple effects. That will follow you in your career. A hundred percent. I believe that story. Yeah. No matter, say he switches job, say it's 10 years from now. Yeah. I mean, maybe he can have a relationship with that doctor and joke in years later to say, okay, here's the doctors.
I personally call it myself. I knew this. Yeah. This is what they specifically told me. Yeah. I have it on record for you. Yeah. Yeah. They're ready to speak to you. I mean, I guess it's. Some ways you can come back very adamant, but it would take a very long time. And why do that? Like we are here to shortcut your career.
We want all of you to do the right things and not think something like this is okay.
Verify Before You Amplify
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. All right. So what's our secret? 'cause I think it's about time to reveal our secret before we move forward. Um, so do you wanna say.
Cynthia Ficara: Yes. So our secret rhymes today. Okay. I always think it's good to know a rhyme. Yeah.
We want you to verify before you amplify, so you better be all your facts stamped. Validated, verify the information that you're actually being given before you then go broadcast it to anybody. And if you take our little secret in your hands, you will never lose trust In 30 seconds, you will build a long career instead.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love it. All right, so what are best practices for verifying information? I mean, what, you know, you and I kind of already talked about this. Yes. But you need to always double check your sources wherever you're pulling your information from. If you're touting data. You probably should have the data on you highlighted with the specifics.
Like, let's not just put a bunch of numbers out there and assume that you were memorized them correctly. You really need to know them all the way. Um, and that's with trials, that's with, you know, clinical trials, all that kind of stuff. Um, and, and company releases as well that goes alongside, you know, companies make releases all the time on different things, changes of leadership, changes in manufacturing products.
Product releases, all that kind of thing. You better have that information down pat and probably print it out so that if a physician questions it, which they probably will, you now have the data to show them, Hey, this is actually what was shown to me, or printed for me, or, you know, or given to me, whatever the, whatever it is.
But I think you have to verify it, right? That that's one way to make sure that you're doing the right thing.
Cynthia Ficara: So, so, so true. And the second best practice is something you mentioned early on, and that's when like if senior leadership is talking about something or telling you something, you need to ask for documentation or proof before repeating, you know, because there's a lot of things that, you know, maybe they're excited, maybe something's coming, and then all of a sudden last minute something got.
Pulled back or, or maybe you heard a detail wrong. When you have it documented, you can read it, you can see it, you can speak to it, and then you have something to pass on. So if you're ever in doubt, ask before you go tell.
No Shortcuts in Credibility
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. And you should verify regardless. And so here's another one I, and I'm thinking about this is, so let's just take this kid for the example again, right?
And he is like, oh, he heard that the VP said, or the VP said this to him. So he heard that these doctors are using it. It could be a conversation that could have gone, and you and I said this already, but let's just reiterate it. I was having discussions with my senior leadership and they mentioned that Dr.
So and So, and Dr. So and So might be interested in this product as well. I'll circle back and see if they've trialed the product. There you go. That's simple. What a different, right. That's so different than saying they're using it right now, you know? And you know what I love
Cynthia Ficara: too is what was so important about what you just said.
You didn't just say, oh, I've heard them talking. You made it a point to be a continual conversation. Every time we're in sales, we're looking for that lead. We're looking for that open-ended question. We're looking for a reason to come back. And the way you worded that about confirming that you're gonna circle back gives you an opportunity.
To circle back. Yeah. And say, Hey, remember that discussion? I have some more information for you if you'd like to hear. So I think that's huge. I think the fourth best practice that I just also wanna drive home is to be comfortable saying. I don't know, but I will find out, you know, when you, I think that statement alone is showing integrity.
Yeah. Because not everybody knows everything and maybe a doctor asks you something you think you know most about and you can speak to say, well, this may. Be what I know of this, but let me find the answer for you. Let me get back to you. Because that shows you're gonna come back with facts that are what are secret.
They're verified. Verified. You want to verify before you amplify.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. That's so, that's so, so important. You're exactly right. So, you know, and we, and so how do you build the credibility the right way? Well, what we just discussed, you know, these best practices. Making sure you're doing these things. I think, you know, the, the constant follow up, you know, like you just said, Cindy, if it is something that you don't know a hundred percent, then now you have another sales call, which is great, but you're also showing follow up.
Um, be knowledgeable, right? Like, know as much as you can about something before you just open your mouth. Don't know 50% of it. Know a hundred percent of it. I, I mean, if you read an article and you're like, gosh, this is really interesting. I think Dr. Smith would love this information well. Why don't you read it first, understand it first, maybe even bounce it off a colleague and then go use it within your sales call, because I think sometimes.
You may think it's like a huge deal and maybe it's not, and you can tend to exaggerate. Mm-hmm. And that also then looks like you're lying. Right. So, you know, I, I, things are, there is no shortcuts in medical devices. There should be no shortcuts period. But there's really no shortcuts in medical devices.
There's no shortcuts in medicine. Physicians have gone to school for 11, 12, 13 years. They're not shortcutting their way, so you can't shortcut your way. And I think that really shows them that you respect them and they will respect you when you're delivering that information.
Cynthia Ficara: A hundred percent when you, when you position yourself as being resourceful instead of roomful.
Anneliese Rhodes: Oh, good. Yeah. Then
Cynthia Ficara: that's huge. Right. So I, I am really excited that while somebody may think this was quite a simple conversation, it is so important. And I think the story that Lisa shared, it happened like it's real. And if you're ever tempted, we just wanted you to understand. As we look back to kind of summarize this conversation, we just talked why it would happen and the pressure and the credibility and, but we also talked then again about the stakes.
The stakes. What is at stake if you do this and the best practices to avoid this? Always double check with your, with your sources, a thousand percent. Being credible. So I think to wrap everything up, what I'm trying to say is we don't want you to lose your business in 30 seconds ever, and we don't want your career to end that quickly, and it won't if you verify before you amplify, if you know that being credible is way more value.
But while way more valuable than charisma, credibility is more valuable than charisma. And if you lose a doctor's trust, it's not just your reputation, it's, it's your entire future career. So I'd like to leave with a call to action.
Anneliese Rhodes: Ooh, I love your call to action.
Cynthia Ficara: Or unless, Lisa, do you wanna do a call to action?
No, you're really good at it. Okay. You go for it. So I would think our call to action today would be the next time you wanna repeat something you heard, pause and ask yourself, do I know this for certain, or am I just hoping this to be true? Just that one second.
Anneliese Rhodes: That was awesome, Cindy. Thank you everybody for tuning in again to another episode of Secrets and Medical Device Sales. We love hearing from you guys. Our subscribers are growing. This is just becoming such an awesome thing for us to do with you guys every week. So keep writing into us. Keep telling us your stories, your questions, your career decision.
We love talking about this stuff, and we will keep sharing all our tips and tricks for becoming a high performer.
