No professional in their right mind would sabotage their own sales intentionally. Nevertheless, self-sabotage – the act of undermining one's own credibility and alienating the very clients and prospects we count on for our livelihoods – occurs with dismaying frequency.

The many ways in which professionals sabotage their own efforts range from obvious mistakes, such as blaming their clients when services do not deliver as promised, to very subtle insults hidden in the things that we say.

On the self-sabotage spectrum, it's easy to recognize the obvious "I should have known better" mistakes that damage relationships with clients. The far more common and harmful situations occur when our words and actions insidiously erode the client's trust and personal credibility that we work so hard to establish.

Here are two sources of self-sabotage that cause professionals to shoot themselves in the foot: "dangling insults," and the "old brain."

The Dangling Insult

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