A while back, I showed up to a formal party wearing a tuxedo. I thought it was a “black tie” event. Boy was I embarrassed when I showed up and saw everyone wearing simple cocktail attire.
My friend and I stood out, like two penguins. We scrambled to his car to take off our bowties and tried to dress down.
That experience taught me something about degrees of overdressing. While wearing a tuxedo may be too much, at work it’s important to be slightly over dressed than looking ragged or overly casual.
Our industry needs more owners who think the same way. Whether it’s for a networking event, or for your company dress code.
Because you can’t put lipstick on a pig, and you also can’t show up looking like one.
Look the Part
Your appearance (at networking or at a client’s property) is a signal before you say a single word.
Branded uniforms elevate your team. A logo hat, vest, or water bottle when you’re meeting a client shows pride and commitment.
Note, when an owner also wears the logo, that means something special (especially to their team.) Nothing beats company pride.
Unfortunately the bar is set low, and if you want to stand out, it does not take much: Clean, neat, and pressed will put you ahead of many competitors. Non-iron golf shirts exist everywhere. There’s no excuse for wrinkles.
And it’s not just you. Your trucks, equipment, and your yard also send a signal to your clients and employees.
A dent that doesn’t get fixed becomes two dents. A truck that has two tools out of place will soon become four or eight. People start caring less, and it snowballs.
The Real Work After You Show Up
Looking good gets you in the room, but it doesn’t keep you there.
An owner or leader (or salesperson) who comes from a well-organized operation should show up calm, prepared, and on time.
Though, in Germany (where I lived for a short time), they consider showing up “on time” to be late. e.g. if your appointment is at 9am, then rolling up at 9am would be late for them.
Plan to be five minutes early. That alone will make an impression and start things off right:
- Phone off.
- Organized for note taking.
- No oil leak in the driveway (this last note comes from experience).
And follow up. Because if you look sharp but don’t follow through, you’re still a bozo in a nice vest. (Again, I know this from experience, too.)
The salesperson’s appearance and the follow through have to match.
You Can’t See Your Own Cracks
This is where many owners get stuck.
- The dent on the truck becomes invisible to you.
- The wrinkled or ripped shirt looks normal in the heat of the moment.
- The slow email response doesn’t register because you’re busy.
- You’re too close to your own operation to see what everyone else sees.
Outside eyes change that. When you walk through someone else’s company and really look at it, you start seeing your own blind spots in a whole new light. And when someone does the same for you, it’s one of the most valuable things that can happen to your business.
Your Challenge: Engage Your Team and Your Peers
Ask your team three questions this week:
- Where do we look unprofessional?
- Where do we act unprofessional?
- What’s one thing we could fix right now to upgrade our professionalism?
Then take action. Your team sees what you don’t and they’ve probably been waiting for someone to ask.
Go get ’em, Jeffrey Scott!
P.S. You can also engage your peers. Our Leader’s Edge Peer Group is built exactly around this outside-eyes experience, where we visit each others facility and learn to see our companies in a new light.
Same goes for our Summer Growth Summit. You go behind the scenes at real landscape companies, seeing how the best operators run their businesses.
