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“What’s the dress code for tomorrow’s meeting?”- A question that I now hear on a regular basis as my sales team prepare to meet with potential clients across the UK. It’s also a question that I had seldom heard before the start of 2011.
Until recently, we always wore business suits to any meeting, irrespective of what sector the client we were visiting worked in. Looking back it was inflexible, but it was safe. “You can’t go wrong with a smart suit” my old boss always used to tell me, and I never even thought that this mantra could be wrong. Like putting on a school uniform, we therefore donned our smartest suit and boldest tie and headed off without a second thought for what the client might think of our attire.
Demonstrating such inflexibility is strange really, especially when one considers that a key part of Phoenix’s approach is based on understanding our clients and designing solutions that really reflect their culture and values, as well as their learning objectives. Equally, we put a great emphasis on preparing for every meeting and finding out as much about the potential client’s business and yet no matter what we knew about them, we never thought to change the way we were dressed.
One of my first experiences of ill-matched dress codes arose when a colleague and I turned up at a Computer Games company wearing suits. Within seconds of meeting our t-shirt wearing hosts, I could detect some clear indifference and there was a distinct feeling that we were ill matched in every way. No matter what we had to offer from a learning & development perspective, it was a battle we were never going to win. Needless to say, we didn’t get the business.
Now, the decision on what we should wear is an important part of preparing for any meeting. Where guidance is needed, we’ll ask the client who are often surprised by the question but are equally very pleased that we’ve taken this level of interest in them.
So while a suit is still a safe option, I’d urge you to take the time to consider who you’re meeting and reflect their culture and values at the earliest opportunity. Of course, the suit still has a key role and can really make you look the part but dress codes evolve like everything else and you don’t want to be left behind. After all, how often do people wear bowler hats to meetings nowadays?
