Do the clothes make the “sales” man?

For over a year, I knocked door to door in a full suit. Day in and day out, I would wear a full suit and tie, no matter what the weather does. The bills did not stop because it was too hot out or there was a foot of snow on the ground. I would come home soaked with rain or snow. One time I needed to leave early because I passed out in someone’s yard on a hot day.

Why do we do this to ourselves? I know, I know, we need to be “professional”. But what does that even mean? To me, professional is the manner you treat someone, not a dress code.

I have known many professionals in my life, and they ran the entire gambit. I will say some of the most professional people I have ever met wore jeans or overalls.

Think about the most professional people you have ever met. Were they wearing suits or were they tradespeople of all walks of life that took their jobs seriously?

I am willing to say, on a percentage basis, I have seen more professionalism from janitors than I have from salespeople in tailored suits.

Rather than wearing the costume of a professional, let’s strive to be professionals. That means wearing clean clothes that are authentic to who you are and what you do.

To make the point even stronger, who do you think of when you think of suits?

Politicians?

Funeral Directors?

Bankers?

Are those people who are generally seen as "trustworthy?”

If you want to earn the trust of your prospect, why are you wearing the uniform of people they do not trust?

I am not saying go to work in an old Metallica T-shirt with mustard stains, but people can tell when you are being inauthentic. Don’t give them even more avenues to distrust you.