The nightmare scenario: a disgruntled client posts a complaint about you on the Internet. It’s so negative that it gains immediate traction on social networks. Soon thousands of consumers see it and pass it on to their online friends. Before long, your business reputation is dead and, thanks to Google, beyond resuscitation . . . forever!

Likely scenario? Probably not. Malicious reputation attacks are rare. More common are business owners and professionals spawning complaints through their own negligence or neglect. This is so tragic. They could have easily avoided reputation death had they acted more sensibly. But they didn’t, and the Internet was a cruel accomplice.

So who are these reputation killers? They’re all around us and fall into six main categories. Let’s line up the usual suspects:

Reputation Killer #1: “The Shameless Narcissist.” He has a flawed character. He wants success a little too much. He doesn’t understand right from wrong and has little empathy or concern for others.

Reputation Killer #2. “The Black Hat Trickster.” He loves to market his firm in the shadows. He excels at misleading his prospects and concealing his objectives, the nature of his business, and his business relationships.

Reputation Killer #3: “The Me-First Seller.” She has no clue about needs-based selling. Her sales system is all about meeting her own needs. Not surprisingly, she loves selling high-cost/low-value products.

Reputation Killer #4: “The Agent of Chaos.” He has a lot of sales talent. But he is lacking in practical follow through. He is inept at handling new-business paperwork, blows off client requests, and hardly ever promptly returns client phone calls.

Reputation Killer #5: “The Obstinate Technophobe.” He is a great guy and a great salesperson. But he’s afraid, very afraid, of technology. Even in this day and age, he needs help generating basic correspondence and often fails to use computers to manage his activity.

Reputation Killer #6. “The Pain Merchant.” Her clients find her tough to deal with. She never stops talking AT them and is quick to get irritated. She also feels superior to them and doesn’t hide that feeling.

Do you recognize yourself in any of these killers? Then do the following:

• Write down three customer interactions that went bad because of those traits.

• For each, consider how you might have handled things differently.

• Finally, learn more about each “killer” by reading the remaining articles in this series.

At the end of the day, the more you can avoid thinking and acting like a “reputation killer,” the safer your reputation will be.