Being mistaken for the boss.
Getting hit on by random women.
Getting stared at in public…
These are the struggles only sharp-dressed guys understand.
Okay, so they're not really hardships. But they can be a little jarring – all you did was spruce yourself up a little bit, and suddenly people expect so much more of you.
The good news? If you're already taking charge of how you present yourself, you can handle it. And if you've been thinking about taking charge but haven't yet – maybe this hint of things to come will spur you forward.
#1. Looking Good Means You’re Put In Charge
When you look like the person in charge people are going to defer to you and default to your opinion. If you’re wearing a sports jacket and looking like a boss, a random person who comes into your office will probably assume you're the one they need to see.
You may actually have just started that day, so you’ve got to be ready for this – you’re probably going to have to point them to the right person, or you could take the bull by the horns and say, “I can show you around.” Then they'll know that you're the kind of guy who's going to make things happen.
#2. Looking Good Makes People Do What You Ask
People are going to do what you ask them to do because you dress like an authority. Think of firefighters and police officers – they wear uniforms because they need people's immediate trust to handle emergencies, and it's been ingrained into us to respond.
So when you’re wearing a jacket, you’re properly groomed, and you look like you’re in charge, people are going to treat you as a person in charge and they’re often not even going to question what you say to them. It's your responsibility to never abuse this and to use it to get positive things done.
#3. Looking Good Means People Expect To Pay You More
Dressing well can make you look expensive – as in, like somebody who should be commanding a high salary. This can sometimes work against you – but it can also work for you.
If you’re in sales or you’re a business owner and you’re selling your company’s services, they’re going to expect you to sell at a high price point. Why? Because when we look at someone we make a snap judgment.
Neil Patel sells high-level consulting. He’s charging top dollar for his services. And he wondered if dressing the part – wearing high-end, designer clothes – would affect how many sales he closed.
He didn’t change anything in his pitch, only the fact that he now looked like an expensive consultant. He went from a 25% closure rate to 37-38%.
His style upgrade made him almost a million dollars in extra sales per year.
So gents, it’s real – when you look the part of an expensive consultant – of a business owner that knows what he’s talking about – you can actually charge more.
#4. Looking Good Makes You Seem Smarter
When you dress sharp, people are going to think you're smarter than you actually are.
There are things you can wear to be more persuasive – a little bit of red will make you more believable.
Glasses will draw attention to your eyes if they have high contrast with your face, and that increased eye focus can increase others' perception of your intelligence.
#5. Looking Good Makes You A Model Of Success
You’re going to become a model of success. You’re going to have your company say, “Can you be in the pictures for the brochures? You always look so great, you really represent what our company stands for.” Next thing you know your picture’s going to be all over the place, you’re going to be on billboards.
We don’t think about success in words, we think about it in pictures – and when you start to actually become that vision of success for people, you’re going to have people looking up to you.
This may be putting the pressure on, but you can handle it.
#6. Looking Good = A Good Reputation
You're going to develop a good reputation. And you do it without even saying a word.
Suppose you’re in a meeting at your summer internship. You’re in the back taking notes, and all of a sudden your boss’s boss is asking about you. “Who was that guy back there? He really looked like he was paying attention. He was on top of things.”
Now, why did he notice you? Everyone else was doing the same thing.
The answer is because you stood out from the crowd.
You looked like his vision of success. He’s looking for the future leaders in his company, and he picked you because you looked the part.
#7. Looking Good Means You’re Stared At
Why? Because you stand out in a good way from the norm. You look amazing. You look like you came out of a GQ magazine shoot.
People are going to ask you, ‘Are you a model?’
You’re going to laugh about it, but to them, you look so much better than any guy they’ve seen in a long time. And they’re going to ask you questions – which leads to the next dangerous side effect.
#8. Looking Good Means Other Guys Ask You For Advice
“How can I get a suit like this?” “Man, those shoes are great.” “Tell me about this watch.” You’re going to have people coming up to you for style advice.
Another one you might hear is “Man, I just love the way you put yourself together, and my wife has been wanting me to improve my style – can you help me out?” You never want to miss the rewarding experience of strengthening a friendship while helping another man step up his game.
#9. Looking Good Makes Her Jealous
Your girlfriend or wife will be jealous not only of your amazing wardrobe, but of the compliments. You guys are going to go out both looking great, and guess what? You’re going to get the first compliment. You’re going to get the second compliment. A woman is going to hit on you right in front of her, and she is going to turn red and nearly start a fight.
You’re going to have to learn how to deal with being a wanted man. Guess what? This is actually going to improve your relationship, because she’s going to realize that she’s got a guy that other people are attracted to, and she’d better hold on to what she’s got.
#10. Looking Good Makes You Perform Better At Work
This comes out of the science of enclothed cognition, and it shows that not only does the clothing you wear have an effect on other people, it has an effect on how you perceive yourself and how you perform.
This isn’t about wearing a costume – if you don’t normally wear a suit then don’t wear a suit. But wear the right clothing for the right situation, and you’re going to feel more confident and perform better.
Think you can handle all these dangerous side effects? 🙂
Then you might be ready for this article too… click here for 10 things sharp-dressed men NEVER say.
