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.
