The new rules on dressing for success

I have a number of super-successful Silicon Valley clients who dress in ripped denim, Vans shoes and t-shirts. They are worth hundreds of millions, even more, but it's a status symbol to dress like you're homeless to attend board meetings.Conversely, I have worked with trash-hauling company executives who dress in suits and ties every day of the week. And this contrast shows the dramatic shift that has occurred in business attire in recent years, as each industry has developed its own rules. 

So how do you learn the rules? Back in the early 1990s, as a young exec, I read Dress for Success by John T. Molloy. It gave me a clear understanding of how to dress to impress. But the "business casual" dress movement has turned all of that book's ideas into quaint nostalgia. But fair or not, dress still has an impact on how you're seen. For sales people, especially, first impressions matter.

My daughters will confirm that I am not a fashion plate, but I do have some simple rules for successful dressing if you are in sales.

Know your prospect's uniform.

Before you meet with a prospect, you should know that company's dress code. "Business casual" has a lot of meanings. Call the front desk at the company and ask what the company's dress code is and what the men and women wear. Or ask your contact. The point is, part of your responsibility is to understand that company's culture, including its dress code. Ask for examples, especially of the senior most person who will be in your meeting.

Dress one step up.

If your prospect is in denim, you wear khaki. They wear sport coats without ties; you are in suits without ties. The point is that you always dress one step further up the clothing ladder than your prospect, but not two. One step says that you respect and value them. Two steps can send a loaded message.

It's not just what you wear--but how you wear it.

Polished shoes, pressed shirts and well-fitted pants always.  At this point, some of you are thinking, "Does he really have to say this to people?" while others are saying, "Why do I have to tuck in my shirt?" But when your clothes are pressed, buttoned down and well-fitted, you convey that you are a person who pays attention to the details and are professional 

Grooming trumps style.

Even if you're wearing a great suit, if you've got a terrible haircut, you'll give a bad impression. As crazy as it sounds, everything on the grooming punch lists - fingernails, facial hair, haircuts and oral hygiene--matter. 

Know your company's uniform.

One of my clients makes sure that when his sales reps are making their sales calls, they wear a very specific uniform. (His company's clients accept this because they see it as an extension of the brand; the company sells safety products.) It doesn't matter if the reps are presenting in a board room or on a manufacturing plant floor, they wear the sample simple uniform. Obviously, if you work at this company, you follow this dress code in order to fit in.

Remember, you can dress in a way where your attire is the only message people remember, or you can dress in a way that takes nothing away from the message of value your company brings to them.

[pvtairborne]

I agree that a well groomed, suited person has a better shot during a job interview. when I came back from my deployment, finding a job was hard; however with the help of Janine Giorgenti I was able to get a job. She updated my wardrobe and gave me a lot of helpful advice. she is highly recommended by me, and can be found @
http://www.giorgentinewyork.com/

[lois eisenberg]

Let's not forget to have those leather shoes clean with a half way
decent shine??

[ExecutiveDecisionsCoach]

I know that how you dress doesn't have anything to do with how competent you are at your job, but it does say that you give a damn. If you don't care how you look, how do you expect to be taken seriously. Most employers want to hire people who give a damn. And, more importantly we all make judgements about those around us ALL THE TIME.

If you want to get ahead in your career and find your passion and purpose check out my website www.executivedecisions.com or read my new book "How to Find Your Best Job Ever"

[MIO42]

Prince Harry would say its
"UNDRESSING FOR SUCCESS"

[SandFox999]

Its good to have professional dress standards. But sadly, fashion nazis care more about looks than performance and those who perform bad get promoted overs that perform good, all because they look better. So we have a bunch of slackies at the top. Maybe this explains why our economy is so bad? Or at least has a good portion of the cause?

[razzkid]

I always recall the story of the guy who started his own company, his primary motivation being so that he would never again have to wear a necktie for business. He would be the CEO & chairman of the board, and HE would set the dress code. And he NEVER wore a necktie again, for any meeting or business purpose. Flew around in his own jet, though. Corporations create hacks & lackeys who will do anything for a buck.

[Ancient_One100]

Always intrigued at the extent to which business attire has become more important thatn professional skills in the U.S. marketplace.

[jhallard]

That's why I never made it to the big time. I felt that my hard work, always on time, and never sick would be a rise up the ladder. I have never ever dressed to impress. However, I watched others come to work in full regalia, kissing up to the Big Kahuna, while slacking off on the job: And, climbing the ladder faster than a Pronghorn antelope and leaving me in the dust, while doing their job too.

[fjew9438]

If I had sweated blood and poured my life into a position I held that required me to hire people for MY company. You can be your bottom dollar that their appearance on interview day would be very important to me. You can always dress down later. If you aren`t willing to dress appropriate to the occasion don`t apply or if you have already done so you can simply cancel your interview. Grab your flip-flops, put on your holey T-shirt and tattered jeans and go for a walk. Your time and mine will be better spent.

[itsthexypat]

The problem with these kinds of articles and the people that are supposedly the professional standard setters is that they are wrong and have no place trying to dictate any standards.

I own my own multi-division firm and do quite well. Some of the reasons and psyche that makes entrepreneurs successful is they don't adhere to and are sick of the BS that dumb people try to keep alive, such as wearing dress clothes to work.

Truly, human beings are about the dumbest creatures ever to walk the face of the planet. What's the funniest about people who want men to wear suits and ties is that 99% of them don't even know the history of the tie. If they did, they'd realize how it has nothing to do with and no place in the work environment.

So being the top man in my own firm, I get to work with a lot of other successful entrepreneurs that we do business with. Do you want to know how most of the work gets done and most of the money is made? More times than not, we're most likely working at our leisure at home in our sweat pants or skibbies.

The bottom line is any normal human being doesn't want to dress up. Dress clothes are annoying, illogical, expensive, uncomfortable, and promote an environment of inefficiency and a poorer quality of work.

Here's something to think about. Why are all the people in favor of dressing up worried so much about doing it? It seems the popular answer is to be successful, get more sales, make more money. While at the same time wealthier entrepreneurial spirits aren't worrying about dress codes. Maybe you dress up people aren't as successful because you're too worried about what you're going to wear instead of doing what counts and going out there and getting business and building lasting long term relationships with clients rather than trying to make a short term impression by looking pretty.

Any fool can choke their own necks with a pretty ribbon; a true professional does what counts to earn the trust and respect of the client.

[jonesmatty]

Wow, I couldn't agree with you more. In our little consulting firm, I'm in flip flops everyday. When clients come in, if I remember when I leave, I might wear jeans instead of shorts. My attention to detail comes in the work I do, rarely in the clothes I wear. I can't imagine someone meeting with Bill Gates discounting what he says because of his bad haircut. Forget the first impression myth. When the rubber meets the road, are you going to hand over business to someone with a slick suit or someone that will deliver results.

[nohater]

you pay me a good salary and i'll wear whatever you want from a loin cloth and sandals to a full dress tux. it's about the money, the salary.