与你的个人外表和自我态度一样，你做生意的方式也可以使客户产生良好的印象。当拜访客户时，很重要的一点是谈话开门见山。他并不会真的对你所谈论的天气情况，前一天晚 上的总统演说，或是星期天的橄榄球赛感兴趣。他也不会对你夸奖他的西装好看，和墙上的照片中他女儿的模样令人倾倒感兴趣。这样的闲聊是一种不真诚的表现形式，而且侵占了他的时间。我一直认为直截了当是最有效的，因此我向你保证任何一个商人都会因为你能这样做而对你尊重有加。
正如外表决定了人的第一印象，外表也同样决定了产品、地点以及公司的第一印象。
比方说，你也许注意到了生意兴隆饭店的泊车服务生会把劳斯莱斯、奔驰、凯迪拉克等 汽车停在最显眼的位置，这样你在走向饭店门口的时候一定会看到它们。我过去以为这么做是因为有钱人给了更多的消费，但真实的原因是每个成功的饭店经营者都懂得良好的形象能推销食品。他想告诉公众：我们招待的是懂格调的客人。因此，很明显，我们的食物一定是精心烹饪的。
一个干净整洁的外表也表示你讲效率有条理 ——我所知道的公司无不希望拥有这样的形象。如果你曾经走进过汽车维修站一间干净而整齐的车库，我确信你会和我一样，认为把车留在那里进行维护感觉更舒服一些。
Just like your personal appearance and attitude, the manner you adopt in doing business can also make a good impression on your customers. When visiting clients, it’s important to get right to the point. He’s not really interested in the weather you’re talking about, the President’s speech the night before, or Sunday’s football game. He won’t be interested in you complimenting him on his suit or the way his daughter looks in the pictures on the wall. Such small talk was a form of insincerity and encroached on his time. I have always believed that it is most effective to be direct, so I can assure you that any businessman will respect you for being able to do so.
Just as appearance determines a person’s first impression, appearance also determines the product, place and company’s first impression.
For example, you may have noticed that the parking attendants at a thriving restaurant park rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Cadillac and other cars in the most prominent locations, so that you are sure to see them when you walk to the door of the restaurant. I used to think it was because rich people gave them more money, but the real reason is that every successful restaurateur knows that good looks sell food. He wanted to tell the public: we’re entertaining style-conscious guests. Therefore, it is obvious that our food must be carefully cooked.
A clean and tidy appearance also indicates that you are efficient and organized — an image that every company I know would like to have. If you’ve ever walked into a clean, tidy garage in a garage, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it feels better to leave your car there for maintenance.
