I remember my first day at work in a new sales position that I was excited about. I wore a jacket and tie to the interview because I wanted to make sure I positioned myself as a professional, so on the first day of work, that is what I wore to work. No bait and switch with me. They then proceeded to hand me a stack of company clothing that included four cheap company polo shirts that wrinkled if you breathed on them and two button-up shirts that were starched so heavily that I felt like I was wearing cardboard. But it was company-issued uniforms, so what was I supposed to do? I played along for about two weeks with this dress code until I decided that I just wasn’t having any of this. I started wearing my shirt and tie again, and every so often I would show up in a suit. It made me feel like a sales professional instead of a little league coach. Two weeks went by, and nobody said anything about it, so I figured I was in the clear—and besides, what company wouldn’t want to be represented by a well-dressed salesperson? Apparently, the company I was working for wanted no part of this. I was told that I was given that stack of shirts for a reason and, besides, what’s the problem with wearing them anyway? I answered them back, “If you want cheap polo shirt types of customers and work, then I will go in the bathroom and change my clothing. But if you want suit-and-tie work and customers (which they did), then I’m going to stick with these types of outfits.” They reluctantly agreed, but once they saw the results I got, they quickly changed the dress code for the sales team to reflect my style and threw the old shirts away.
My intention was not to be openly defiant in my new job (a risky move indeed), but to challenge what they had accepted as professionalism. Being professional means being principled. Standards make a big difference for successful people—especially salespeople. We need every advantage we can get in a hyper-competitive world. I’m not suggesting that coat-and-tie dress is for everyone, but we really need to examine our standards, both as individual professionals and as the companies we represent. If you’re trying to make a strong case to increase your standards, consider these 5 Laws of Professionalism.
- Professionalism signals competence – Presenting yourself as a professional is the first step in showing customers that we know what we are doing and can be trusted.
- Professionalism creates influence – Appearance and communication greatly affect how we are perceived. People will always take you more seriously based on how well you dress and speak.
- Professionalism becomes confidence – Presenting as a professional strongly impacts our self-worth. When you look good, you feel good.
- Professionalism attracts opportunities – This is a big deal. Being a professional creates its own gravity. It’s hard to explain, but customers will always be attracted to people who look successful.
- Professionalism can make mistakes, but it never fails – Being professional implies constant improvement, but not perfection. You’ll continue to make mistakes, but in the long run, things will work out just fine for you.
