I don’t know what it is, but over the past several days I have seen more tattoos than I have in the past decade. I turned on TV the other day and saw a show about beaches and it seemed most of the people on the beach had some tattoos. I went to a movie with my wife and some friends and the group in front of us was covered in body art (their words not mine). I went to the grocery store tonight and every isle had someone with a tattoo walking beside me.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have seen a lot of tattoos I really like, not enough to ever get one myself but still I liked them.
I had to laugh because as I watched the TV show about beaches one of the hosts made the statement that if you are considering a tattoo you should go to the beach first. At the beach you will see what your tattoo may look like 30 years from now and reconsider… (That made me laugh!)
Over my career I have seen tattoos, haircuts, piercings, make-up and plastic surgery on reps that have sold everything from diamonds to pots and pans and in some cases these “enhancements” have helped the rep and in other cases have been a factor in their failure.
When I first graduated I went to work in the jewelry business and eventually gained enough skills to become a diamond wholesaler. I traveled from jewelry store to jewelry store selling loose diamonds and color gemstones. I also attended many wholesaler shows, it was at one of my first shows that I met a gentleman who became one of my mentors in the business. He had a son that wanted to learn his father’s business and become a jewelry rep. His son had one of the first tattoos I had ever seen that covered the entire top half of his body. It went from just under his ears down to his hips and left nothing but his hands without ink.
His father was devastated. Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s this was not the look of success. It definitely wasn’t the look of a jewelry rep. His dad taught him the business to the point where his son knew every step of what he needed to do to keep the business going. However he never sold enough to even make a difference. His son took the business over, but had to hire a rep to sell his line and to this day he doesn’t do anything that puts him in front of the customer.
How you look, as superficial as it may seem, makes a big difference as to how people view you. I am not just talking about dressing for success, over my personal career I have sold more in a polo shirt and slacks than I ever did in a suit, I am talking about YOU the entire package not just the wrapping.
I know that you need to dress for your industry. When I sold diamonds I was always in a suit, when I sold pots and pans I was in jeans and a polo shirt, when I sold chemicals I was in a company logoed shirt and slacks. Each industry has its own ideas of what a rep should look like.
If I were selling to motorcycle shops the tattoos, piercings and haircuts may make all the difference between being an insider or an outsider. In this case because a high percentage of the customers accept these looks they become an asset. The same look walking into a jewelry store could get you arrested!
Before you go out and get that tattoo of a horse jumping out of a cake put on your neck where it will be seen, think about what it is you do for a living and how it will impact your career. If you sell horses that jump out of cakes, GO FOR IT! If not TYHINK ABOUT IT!
Lorin
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