Have you ever stopped to think about what message your car sends about you? Depending on the line of work you are in, you may be in a position where clients see the inside our outside of your care on a regular basis. If you are in the type of business where image matters, stop and think about what type of message your care is sending about you. Don’t just focus on what kind of car you drive. Some people assign a lot of status to the make and model of a person’s car, as well as the age of the vehicle, but those things are certainly not the only ones that matter.
If you want to make sure your car is sending the right message about you as a professional, start with making sure that you are driving a vehicle that is clean and in good repair. If you will be taking clients anywhere in your vehicle, it’s also important to make sure that your car is not cluttered and that it always appears freshly vacuumed and smells fresh. If you drive a brand new BMW 5-Series that is dirty and smells like a wet dog, people who encounter you won’t leave with a positive impression. They won’t focus on your nice new car. Instead, they’ll remember that you seemed disorganized and unprepared – and that your car smelled bad.
Not everyone can afford a luxury automobile, but you don’t have to have one in order to send a positive, professional message. A clean, well kept Ford Ranger or Honda Pilot will send a much more positive message than a BMW 5 series that is not in good shape and that is disorganized and messy.