• "Unshined shoes are the end of civilisation" – Diana Vreeland, fashion editor.

• High Tech, High Touch – technology and our search for meaning. Author: John Naisbitt. Publisher: Nicholas Brealey.

• www.killerfonts.com Now you can write letters in the handwriting of past greats like Abraham Lincoln. If you buy three, they’ll throw in OJ Simpson for free. Just what you needed I’m sure.

At a recent conference where the audience of approximately four hundred real estate agents was evenly divided between men and women. I asked a question of the group, which I only wanted the women to respond to. The question was, "as women growing up, what part of a man’s attire did your mother, grandmother, aunt or sister tell you was the quickest way to check out a his character? On the count of three, I want you to call out the answer. One, two three"…SHOES!

It took some time to convince most of the men that the question was not a ‘set-up’.

Time and time again I have asked this question in my workshops and the answer is always the same. A good friend of mine who has been in real estate for many years knows the value of having clean and shiny shoes. As some one who not only works hard, he also plays hard and on many an occasion has awoken wishing that his fuzzy head and lethargic body belonged to someone else. But no matter how bad he feels, he religiously adheres to his morning ritual of vigourously polishing the pair of shoes he is going to wear that day. To me, it is no accident that his sales results are well above industry averages.

The importance of clean shoes is not restricted to sales people. Builder’s labourers are equally subject to the perceptions of others in regard to the state of their apparel including their shoes, boots or gumboots. Sports players are the same. Can you imagine Pat Rafter walking on to centre court at Wimbledon wearing dirty shoes? Of course not.

The other side of wearing clean well-kept shoes is psychological. You simply feel better. The military have known this for years. Shiny boots have a direct impact on morale.

Cleaning your shoes on a daily basis and getting your staff to do the same is a ritual that delivers many benefits.

Many happy customer returns!

Graham Harvey APS

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