Question for those who recieve B2B sales calls

[MZhammer]

So I am a recent college graduate and landed a job that sells their services to many fortune 500 companies. My position will transition into a sales role soon enough but wanted to pick your brains. How do you feel about a salesman who is well dressed calling on you? I assume SF will be biased towards appreciation but I want to hear responses that discuss how to navigate this subject.

Do you dress as nice as you want all the time and just say F it? Or do you ever set limits on your clothing price tag for this reason or wear extra conservative pieces?

Any advice would be welcome.

 

[lmaligaya]

Hi, I have been in sales for a little more than 2 years and my advice is to be well put together but there is no need to go "all out" depending on the industry. Clothing shouldn't scream "expensive" it should project confidence and style. You don't want to be so dressed up to make the people uncomfortable either. Your personality and how you open is also key.

Will you be in inside or outside sales? It will take some time to develop your sales style and all of this will become second nature. One day you'll be as good as this guy:

 

[Relentless]

I have been a sales professional for 8 years. It's a great plan to dress similar to your clientele, only slightly better. You do not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but you want to keep a sharp look. Other than that, you better get on your sales game, because that's what will make or break you, not the clothes. Best wishes.

R

 

[Joffrey]

Dress well but don't over dress. No one needs to know how expensive your stuff are. Also, many companies (no matter how high up the F500 ladder) have certain styles/cultures, so you should take those into consideration when meeting their staff. Research prior to meeting with their officials should give you an idea on how to present yourself.

tl;dr: Dress Appropriately.

 

[chet31]

^ All good advice. You are in sales, you are expected to show up in a semi-boring charcoal or navy suit. However, there is no reason the suit can't fit well, the shoes polished, etc.

 

[globetrotter]

pretty much what people said - what I like to see when somebody calls on me is neat - dark suit that fits well, well pressed, white or blue shirt that is ironed, highly polished shoes. a funky tie won't throw me off, but it usually won't gain a lot of points. too expensive will probably not impress me.

good luck

 

[MZhammer]

Hi, I have been in sales for a little more than 2 years and my advice is to be well put together but there is no need to go "all out" depending on the industry. Clothing shouldn't scream "expensive" it should project confidence and style. You don't want to be so dressed up to make the people uncomfortable either. Your personality and how you open is also key.
Will you be in inside or outside sales? It will take some time to develop your sales style and all of this will become second nature. One day you'll be as good as this guy:

I will be outside sales for the most part but I generate leads over the phone. My organization works with Fortune 500 companies and so a lot of time will be spent traveling to and meeting with the the clients face to face.

Thanks for the great video!

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Dark suit, well cut. Nice lace up shoes, white shirt and neat pattern ties.

 

[Canadian]

I sell commercial printing. I try to dress "nice" for customers, because a lot of the sales I do are counter sales (I don't have many external accounts).

I might wear a shirt, tie, khakis and a sportscoat.

When somebody comes into my shop and wants to sell me something, I have a degree of suspicion if they're either too put together, or slightly off. I once got called on by a guy from "Tuxedo Cleaning" and he wore a full black tie rig. With one exception, his shirt wasn't long enough and his gut was hanging out.

I also once had a kid (I'm 28, he was probably 22) who wanted to talk about my phone service. I said I wasn't interested and told him if he wanted to speak to my manager to come later. He literally walked past my front counter, pushed me aside (literally) and started taking notes after viewing my phone. I kicked him out and told my boss, and he said he'd phone that sales person's boss if he came back.

To me, how you're dressed, unless it's exceedingly poor, is less important than what and how you're selling a product. Some salesmen think because I'm 28, they've got the right to bypass me at the front desk and storm into our prepress or warehouse divisions. I don't hesitate to put my foot, down and step directly in front of them.

Granted, once we were called on by a salesman representing the student magazine at a local college. It is printed through my firm and it's basically a final project for their print media students. The "salesman" basically told one of our other reps that, "I don't know what you advertised last year, but we want you to do it again. Can you decide in three minutes because I've got to catch a bus.". I deem it reasonable in that case, as my co-worker did, to phone his professor and explain that we did 1/4 page, would probably do the same, but for Pete's sake, send a competent salesperson who has fifteen minutes to go over options and discuss pricing. To top it off, this guy was wearing a graphic tee and jeans and sandals.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

These guys aren't talking about door to door salesmen, if I'm nt mistaken. I think if I found myself in an outside sales role I would dress like gatsby.