{"id":377,"date":"2022-02-02T18:25:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T23:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/?post_type=chapter&p=377"},"modified":"2022-04-25T14:46:48","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T18:46:48","slug":"10-2-dress-for-success","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/chapter\/10-2-dress-for-success\/","title":{"raw":"10.2. Dress for Success","rendered":"10.2. Dress for Success"},"content":{"raw":"Your appearance communicates volumes about you before you ever open your mouth. Do you want to be taken seriously? Yes, of course. Think about it this way, when you are buying a product off the shelf in a store, isn\u2019t packaging the first thing that catches your attention? Marketers know that packaging can influence a consumer\u2019s decision to buy before they buy and the way a salesperson presents themselves to build trust and credibility is equally important. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to err to one end of the scale or the other, err on the part of overdressing, but obviously not to an extreme. You don\u2019t wear a suit and tie or a dress and high heels if you are going into an industrial environment. On the other hand, don\u2019t wear cargo pants and a polo shirt if you\u2019re calling on senior management. You must dress appropriately. (Christie, 2020). Your appearance should convey professionalism, competence, and success.\r\n

Casual, Business Casual or Business?<\/h2>\r\nWhen you are making a sales presentation at a company, remember the advice from Chapter 9 and dress one step above what you would wear if you worked at the organization. If you are ever unsure about a company\u2019s standard dress code, always dress up. It\u2019s easier to take off a jacket and tie than to put them on at the last minute (Chapin, 2008). However, if your prospect tells you the dress code beforehand, here are some general guidelines to follow. (Guide to business attire, 2020).\r\n\r\nCasual:<\/strong> T-shirts, sweaters, jeans, shorts, pants, sneakers, sandals.\r\n\r\nSmart Casual<\/strong>: A little more trendy that casual, heels, scarves, boots, sports jackets and ties.\r\n\r\nBusiness Casual<\/strong>: Women-pencil skirts, blouses, sweaters, jewelry, heels, boots. Men-trousers, polos, sport coasts, optional ties, leather loafers.\r\n\r\nBusiness:<\/strong> Far more traditional. Think accounting, banking, and government or law offices.\u00a0 Tailored suits, professional shoes (no loafers) and neutral colours.\r\n\r\nBusiness formal<\/strong>: For award ceremonies and formal settings.\r\n\r\nGender neutral<\/strong>: Gender neutral elements include pants, sweaters, button downs and plain shoes. Pantsuits in the more formal settings.\r\n

Details Matter<\/h2>\r\nGetting the clothes right but missing the mark on the details will create a poor impression just as much as underdressing for the occasion can, so make sure everything from your nails to your hair and choice of accessories conveys professionalism.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • All clothes should be cleaned and pressed. Wrinkled or stained clothing looks very unprofessional.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Look through the About Us page and social media profiles for clues about the prospects culture to help you determine the dress code for your presentation (Guide to business attire, 2020).<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Avoid busy accessories (too high of heels) and busy language (profanity for instance) (Guide to business attire, 2020). Men should avoid sports watches, and women should wear conservative jewelry\u2014nothing flashy.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Absolutely avoid wearing perfume or body spray (Ellery, 2016) and don\u2019t forget good grooming. Body odor, bad breath, poorly manicured fingernails, and messy hair can be a deal breaker.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","rendered":"

    Your appearance communicates volumes about you before you ever open your mouth. Do you want to be taken seriously? Yes, of course. Think about it this way, when you are buying a product off the shelf in a store, isn\u2019t packaging the first thing that catches your attention? Marketers know that packaging can influence a consumer\u2019s decision to buy before they buy and the way a salesperson presents themselves to build trust and credibility is equally important. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to err to one end of the scale or the other, err on the part of overdressing, but obviously not to an extreme. You don\u2019t wear a suit and tie or a dress and high heels if you are going into an industrial environment. On the other hand, don\u2019t wear cargo pants and a polo shirt if you\u2019re calling on senior management. You must dress appropriately. (Christie, 2020). Your appearance should convey professionalism, competence, and success.<\/p>\n

    Casual, Business Casual or Business?<\/h2>\n

    When you are making a sales presentation at a company, remember the advice from Chapter 9 and dress one step above what you would wear if you worked at the organization. If you are ever unsure about a company\u2019s standard dress code, always dress up. It\u2019s easier to take off a jacket and tie than to put them on at the last minute (Chapin, 2008). However, if your prospect tells you the dress code beforehand, here are some general guidelines to follow. (Guide to business attire, 2020).<\/p>\n

    Casual:<\/strong> T-shirts, sweaters, jeans, shorts, pants, sneakers, sandals.<\/p>\n

    Smart Casual<\/strong>: A little more trendy that casual, heels, scarves, boots, sports jackets and ties.<\/p>\n

    Business Casual<\/strong>: Women-pencil skirts, blouses, sweaters, jewelry, heels, boots. Men-trousers, polos, sport coasts, optional ties, leather loafers.<\/p>\n

    Business:<\/strong> Far more traditional. Think accounting, banking, and government or law offices.\u00a0 Tailored suits, professional shoes (no loafers) and neutral colours.<\/p>\n

    Business formal<\/strong>: For award ceremonies and formal settings.<\/p>\n

    Gender neutral<\/strong>: Gender neutral elements include pants, sweaters, button downs and plain shoes. Pantsuits in the more formal settings.<\/p>\n

    Details Matter<\/h2>\n

    Getting the clothes right but missing the mark on the details will create a poor impression just as much as underdressing for the occasion can, so make sure everything from your nails to your hair and choice of accessories conveys professionalism.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • All clothes should be cleaned and pressed. Wrinkled or stained clothing looks very unprofessional.<\/li>\n
    • Look through the About Us page and social media profiles for clues about the prospects culture to help you determine the dress code for your presentation (Guide to business attire, 2020).<\/li>\n
    • Avoid busy accessories (too high of heels) and busy language (profanity for instance) (Guide to business attire, 2020). Men should avoid sports watches, and women should wear conservative jewelry\u2014nothing flashy.<\/li>\n
    • Absolutely avoid wearing perfume or body spray (Ellery, 2016) and don\u2019t forget good grooming. Body odor, bad breath, poorly manicured fingernails, and messy hair can be a deal breaker.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[49],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-377","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":189,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/284"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":569,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/377\/revisions\/569"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/189"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/377\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=377"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=377"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}