Have you ever heard the term heuristics? Heuristics with an H. If you haven’t, it’s an interesting concept that deals with the power of first impressions — how people perceive you and treat you.

As human beings, we do something we don’t even realize: we assess people within milliseconds of meeting them based on a lot of factors. One major factor is how they’re dressed, their demeanor, and their overall appearance. Those things play a big role in how we view someone — the respect we give them, how much confidence we have in what they say, and whether we believe them.

It’s all built into what’s called heuristics. The human brain developed this over tens of thousands of years because, back in the caveman days, we had to make split decisions. Can I trust this person? Should I run the other way? We had to decide quickly whether we were in a good environment or not.

Today, we can apply that to business. The way we approach a client, the way we’re dressed, our demeanor, our grooming, can c...