Dress can play a huge role in sales and customer service. If you’re not dressed right, it can make or break whatever piece of business you’re working on. So how do you make sure how you dress contributes to what you’re doing, rather than detracting from it?
If the people you call on are wearing three piece suits, you’d better wear a three piece suit. If the people you call on are wearing jeans and work boots, then jeans and work boots are okay.
If you’re trying to sell to someone who is dressed in a three piece suit, and you’re wearing jeans and a polo, how likely do you think you are to get that sale?
Not very!
Instead, the person will assume that you’re not serious about doing business with them. In many companies, you won’t even be able to get in the door.
On the other hand, the reverse can be true as well.
I think back to when I worked for a different company that sold power tools, and this is always something that amazed me. We would send product managers out to do field research. They would come and work with field reps who were typically in jeans and steel-toed boots. Believe it or not, the managers would show up in a fancy shirt and dress slacks.
How do you think the field reps reacted to that?
They lost tremendous credibility instantly, because that isn’t what the field reps could relate to.
Don’t dress for the job you want, dress for the job you’re selling to.
Some people think that how you dress is a little thing. But it’s those little things that make people comfortable or uncomfortable. They allow your prospects and clients to either connect with you quickly, or disconnect with you quickly.
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