The referral source wants you to pick him up on the way to lunch. His car is in the shop.

Your car is a trash heap. The car itself isn’t bad. It’s a three-year-old Honda Accord. The exterior looks nice, but the interior has two child seats in the back. The child seats are surrounded by cracker crumbs, and the rear windows have these odd smears (maybe peanut butter?).

The floors in the back and on the passenger seat side of the front are covered in wrappers and papers. Anyone sitting in the front next to you has to slide some stuff out of the way.

You’ve got an hour before lunch. You panic because you don’t want the car to make a bad impression.

How to Make the Best Impression With Your Vehicle

What do you do?

Head straight to a car wash. Stop at the trash can and throw out all the crap. Keep going, armload after armload, until it’s all gone. Then run it through the washing process. Get the outside washed and the inside vacuumed. You’ll be good to go in 20 minutes.

Get on your way to lunch. Go, go, go.

What to Worry About—And What Not to Worry About

Don’t worry about the car seats in the back. They make you human; they make you real. Lots of people have kids. We can relate.

Don’t worry about the car make and model. I no longer own a car, but I’ve owned everything from a Hyundai to a Range Rover. The car never mattered. What mattered was my willingness to connect with my referral source, not my car.

Do worry about your car if it’s in outrageously bad condition. People assess us based on our attention to maintaining our possessions. If your car is bashed up and rusting, with pieces are falling off, then it’s time to take action. However, if your car is simply old but well maintained, then don’t stress. People just want to know that you’re diligent about your responsibilities.

What if your car is an inexpensive model? Won’t that make a bad impression? Shouldn’t you be driving a $65,000+ vehicle? No, don’t worry about it. You’ll get referrals regardless if they like you. The make and model of your car won’t matter at all.

When you get situated in the car with your contact, don’t apologize for the car. Don’t explain it. Just drive it to lunch while you ask questions and listen. Get your contact talking about himself or herself, and he or she will barely notice your car. After all, it’s just a car.