Business Networking and Sex - Ivan Misner [10]
People gravitate toward winners, and those winners win partially because they’ve observed a set of details that make people feel comfortable and secure. One of the ways to create an image that shows you’ve gotyour act together is to dress the way you’d like people to see you. Accept that humans are extremely visual animals and that we judge by what we see.
To inspire people to give you their money, which is the end goal in business, you’ve got to show them with the way you look and conduct yourself that this is a smart thing for them to do. Think of dressing well and observing social courtesies as earning your sale.
Men, listen up for some extra insight on this. Women in particular notice every detail in your attire, and will remember it for a very long time. How many times have you heard a couple reminisce about the first day they met and notice that the woman remembers exactly what both of them were wearing that day? If you want to impress everyone, dress for the female audience, and you can’t go wrong. Pay fantastic attention to detail to capture your female audience, for they’ll remember whether or not your suit matched your tie, if your shoes were polished, and if your suit sleeves were tailored to the right length.
Let’s remember the women in our lives, guys, and their dressing process. When there’s an upscale event coming up, the cycle begins. It starts with an hours-, days- or even weeks-long shopping bonanza for the perfect dress, and only ends when the pursuit of the matching shoes and jewelry yields a perfect score. Then comes the review: Scrutinizing model sessions in front of the mirror, turning this way and that, comparing it to other dresses, will have her asking you your opinion on whether it makes her look fat, outdated, frumpy, matronly, slutty, and anything else she can think of, to cover all bases. The correct and only safe response is, “No, honey. You look fantastic. It is both classy and sexy at the same time. But it’s not the dress that’s sexy—it’s YOU that makes that dress look sexy!” Fellas, trust me on this one. This keeps you out of the doghouse, and you’ll thank me for it later.
When it’s time to go to the event, she’ll be on cloud nine, feeling like a million bucks and projecting that feeling to everyone. Guests will tell her how beautiful she looks, and she’ll have a great time and love you more for helping her “decide” on the right dress. Here’s the clincher: The only place you’ll ever see that dress again is hanging in the closet. She’ll never wear it again. She can’t! “People” have seen her in it! Oh my! Is this weird or is it just me? C’est la vie. We don’t have to understand women to love them, do we?
A woman can also usually tell you what every other woman at an event was wearing after you’ve left. They’ve noticed it all. They can also retain that information to compare those outfits to what the same women are wearing at an event eight months later, down to the earrings. Guys, I know I must be boring you to death, but what you absolutely need to take away from this is to remember it when you’re dressing yourself for business functions, networking, and other social events.
Am I telling you to buy dozens of ties, suits, shirts, and shoes so you never wear the same thing twice? No. Just be aware. The women you do business with are keenly observant of what you’re wearing, all the time. They even remember your own wardrobe better than you do. Do you remember the suit and tie you wore to the last event you went to?