Dress to Impress

"It doesn't matter what I wear, it's my level of service that's important."

Whether we like it or not, people make judgements about us from what we wear. From across a room someone cannot tell whether you are a financial advisor, a painter and decorator, a personal trainer or a car mechanic, but they will take a pretty good guess from the clothes that you wear.

Take the lady above. If you were at a networking event and saw her talking to others, I bet you'd never guess her profession. What if she then came up to you and said "Hi, I'm an accountant"?

You might think this is an extreme example, but I have seen a bookkeeper go to networking events with a shabby old t-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and Crocs. Not only did her style of dress not suit her job, it didn't suit her either and she looked awful. I haven't seen her at any networking events for some time... I wonder if she is still in business, or if she found networking "didn't work". 

I am not saying you have to wear a suit and a tie, in fact in some cases that would be inappropriate. However, I would suggest there is one rule to follow when dressing for a networking event:

Dress how clients of your industry would expect to meet you

So, while a smart suit and tie may well be the order of the day for a financial advisor, while a personal trainer or gardener would look very out of place.

 

Remember, you are trying to tell yourself before you sell what you do. Where B2B sales are concerned, people usually buy from people. If they are going to spend hundreds or thousands of pounds they want to know, trust and feel comfortable with the person they are talking to. 

"It's all different now, it's more relaxed. I don't think a suit and tie matters"

Try selling insurance, financial services, etc., without at least a tie and see how well you do. I bet you don't sell very much, or even get a lot of interest.

There are a lot of people (myself included) who still believe that dressing right is important. 

There was an insurance broker who used to turn up to meetings with an open-collar of a casual shirt and even wearing shorts in the summer. He used to say the sentence at the start of this blog post:"It doesn't matter what I wear, it's my level of service that's important. If someone can't see past the clothes, that's their fault". This statement is so wrong.

If you are not selling because you are not dressed properly, it's not the customer or client's fault, it is yours! Can you really tell me that if someone met two insurance brokers at a networking event, one wearing a casual shirt and shorts, while the other in smart suit and tie, that that person would give equal respect to both brokers? It's highly unlikely.

 

Keep it neat and clean.

Of course it goes without  saying that no matter what you wear, looking neat and clean is a major factor. Don't have grubby clothes - even if you are a painter and decorator. At least make sure the clothes look freshly laundered and ironed (where appropriate). Make sure you don't have pens in a shirt pocket, in case they leak.

Try not to spill anything over your clothes while at the event. If you have a drink (preferably non-alcoholic - a topic of a later blog post) then only have it in your hands when you are drinking from the cup or glass - otherwise put it down on a nearby table. It "might" get taken away, but it is very unlikely, and that is a small price to pay compared to having your arm nudged by someone squeezing past and ending up with coffee all down your front or, worse, down the person you are talking to.

If the above seems like a lot of bother, then just ask yourself how much of a bother is it really, if it leads to a lot more sales?