6. Making the most of what you've learned

As a direct consequence of what has just been said, when a study seems essential to the project, or simply if you feel it's legitimate to reassure your customer that you're not accompanying him on an "industrial adventure", you'll be all the more reluctant to do so if the study already exists, if you know the ins and outs, and if the presentation will cost you little or nothing.

The only restriction is whether you present this study to your customer as specific, specially produced for him, or as a general study that you decided on one day, without assigning it a specific commercial destination. In both cases, no suggestion, however minor, should be made by the primary recipient. But in no case should it be admitted that the study was first carried out for someone else. It is rare for a customer to admit that he can be satisfied with a suit tailored to the measurements...