Have you ever noticed that male news anchors at the major networks wear similar clothes? They wear perfectly fitted suits in dark, neutral colors (deep blue, charcoal gray or black), white or blue shirts with spread collars, and muted ties of high quality. The overall look is elegant and understated.
TV news anchors are often ranked based on their Q scores, a measure of "likability." A recent survey gave the highest Q score to Scott Pelley at CBS Evening News, followed by Anderson Cooper, Lara Logan and Brian Williams. Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, came in last.
Importance of likability
In a previous article, I discussed the importance of likability and how it positively correlates to success in sales. If you haven't read this article by Michael Lovas, a consultant specializing in the financial industry, I highly recommend it. “If your target market does not like you, they will not hire you," Lovas observes. If you are not likable, according to Lovas, 83% of people will also perceive you as untrustworthy.
Follow the lead of TV anchors
Television anchors have discovered something that has eluded many financial advisors, both male and female. The clothing you wear has a significant impact on whether you will be perceived as likable and trustworthy.
There is a "uniform" that maximizes a favorable impression on the likability and trustworthy scale. It is not to look “average” or just “okay.” The goal is to look stunning. This means allocating an appropriate amount of the funds in your marketing budget to your wardrobe.
Budget to dress for success
Registered investment advisor firms spend, on average, 2% of their total revenue on marketing and business development. On $1 million of revenue, that is $20,000 a year to spend on marketing.
There are many vendors competing for your marketing dollars. These include coaches, trainers, social-media consultants, web designers and others. I urge you to take 25% of your marketing budget (think of that as a minimum of $5,000 a year) and invest in your wardrobe.
If you are starting from scratch, this budget will permit you to easily purchase one great outfit to use exclusively when meeting with prospects and clients. The goal is to build up your wardrobe gradually so that you will eventually have at least five terrific outfits.
Details of your wardrobe
For men, it is easy to accomplish your wardrobe goals. Google an image of Brian Williams and emulate him.
Here's a breakdown of cost:
Suit: A custom suit will cost $2,500. A well-tailored designer suit of similar quality (Armani, for example) would cost around $2,000.
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Shirt: (Armani) $245.
Tie: (Armani) $160.
Shoes: $500-$900.
I used Armani as an easy-to-identify standard of excellence. There are other high-quality designer clothes that would be equally suitable.
For women, Google “image professional dress skirt suit.”
Here are the details of an appropriate wardrobe:
Armani skirt suit and blouse: $3,000-$4,500
Shoes (simple low pump): $200-$2,000 ($500 should be adequate)
The bottom line is that for around $4,000, you can replicate a wardrobe designed to increase the probability of converting prospects into clients.
Evidence of the effect of clothing
In her e-book, Mind What You Wear: The Psychology of Fashion, Professor Karen J. Pine notes “the huge, transformational power of clothing.” The right clothing not only conveys a powerful message to others, it affects your mood, your thought processes and even how you perform a given task. This effect is called “enclothed cognition.”
In her work, Pine refers to studies showing that both men and women do worse on math tests when they are wearing a swimsuit rather than more formal clothing.
Participants in an experiment who were tested while wearing a white lab coat (and were told it was a "doctor’s coat") made far fewer mistakes than when they were wearing their own clothes.
Participants who were given a Superman T-shirt felt superior and more confident then those given regular T-shirts. They also believed they were physically stronger.
It has been demonstrated that people wearing the uniform of a sports team, those in the armed forces, members of police forces and prison officers all act differently in and out of uniform. As these studies indicate, what you wear can change your behavior.
I have personal experience with enclothed cognition as well. When I started paying more attention to my wardrobe, I felt less nervous, more confident and more in control when speaking to audiences and conducting workshops.
Professor Pine has previously established that people make rapid judgments of others based on clothing alone. Men wearing custom clothes were perceived to have higher confidence, success, trustworthiness, salary and flexibility than men wearing off-the-rack suits. Women were rated higher for confidence, salary and flexibility when wearing a skirt suit rather than a trouser suit. The suits for both men and women used in these experiments were dark blue.
As you consider your marketing budget for 2015, allocate the funds required to follow these recommendations. It will be money well spent.
Dan Solin is the director of investor advocacy for the BAM Alliance and a wealth advisor with Buckingham. He is a New York Times best-selling author of the Smartest series of books. His latest book is The Smartest Sales Book You'll Ever Read. He limits his sales coaching practice to advisory firms that advocate evidence-based investing.
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