It may be just your imagination, but the phone isn't ringing as much as it used to.

People aren't coming in the door quite as often, either, and you're not sure why. It could be the economy, but that's supposed to be getting better. It could be the market, or the fickleness of the buying public.

Maybe people just don't know enough about your business. Or maybe they do know all about it, and that's why the phone isn't ringing as much.

First impressions count, but so do seventh and 12th ones. In the new book, "The Power of Reputation" by Chris Komisarjevsky, you may learn how to protect the best asset you and your business have.

Chances are, you don't own the only business that does what you do. You undoubtedly have competitors and your customers know how to find them. But, says Komisarjevsky, a "good reputation is the reason (customers) choose you."

The best way to make sure you're looked upon as favorably as possible, then, is to build a positive reputation because of what clients think of you. How they perceive your business, and how you deal with customers are make-or-break factors in corporations and careers. Building a good reputation is done by heeding the three critical components: