Do You Know How to Dress for Sales Meetings?

Section: Dressing for the Occasion - Blog

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Have you ever felt suspicious or wary of someone who's making a pitch to you because their appearance did not give you a sense of trust? Wearing the wrong clothes to a sales meeting can cost you a sale. Here's what you need to know to crack that deal and meet your sales targets every time.

Gents, when you attend sales meetings, your goal is to convey three impressions: trust, competence and health.

1. Trust

If those you're making a pitch to are suspicious of your intentions or words, they probably won't trust you. Without trust, they probably won't buy into whatever it is you are saying.

2. Competence

Given the increased awareness levels nowadays, it is unlikely anyone will believe you based on your words or your sleek tailor made men's suits. You must appear as if you know all there is to know about the subject. Further, you need to be convinced about this, too. This shows your confidence and competence to your audience.

3. Health

The third and final impression you want to convey is of health. If you appear ill at ease or unwell, you don't make a forceful pitch. Therefore, the odds of convincing your audience are slim.

Types of Sales Meetings

Examples of typical sales meetings could be:

• Entrepreneurs speaking about their ideas to investors
• Business school interviews
• Consumer or business to business sales

What's your goal when attending such meetings? Usually, you want to persuade others and convince them of whatever it is that you are saying. In other words, you need to bring your audience round to your point of view.

Make a good impression

When you're selling something, dress as sharply as the situation allows. Dressing smartly enhances your appearance and automatically makes you feel confident. Thus, you put your best foot forward.

For example, if you're selling transportation services, consider wearing dark coloured Dockers and your company's polo shirt. Choose dress slacks and sports jackets, if you're selling life insurance.

A store manager generally wears men's suits during the week. All his suits will be purchased at the same store, fitted by the in-house tailor, and each necktie will match with his business shirt. All garments in the entire outfit come from the same store.

Each of these men dress in accordance with their career and environment. A man from a transportation company might raise eyebrows in a custom made suit. Equally, a polo shirt on a departmental store manager does little good to enhance his appearance as someone in authority.

Lastly, heed those regional differences and style accents that contradict societal norms. For example, if you typically wear a paisley pocket square in your jacket breast pocket - and have done so for years – consider wearing something more conservative to an interview. The interviewer does not know what you've been wearing for the past several years and might think the pocket square is too flashy for his liking.

Do you need some fresh ideas for dressing successfully for your upcoming sales meeting? We invite you to pop by our Sydney showroom and pick our brains for some brilliant ideas.

Original idea for article from Antonio Centeno, author of the internet's most actionable men's style guide. We recommend a read!

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