Although it is not the most important part of the job, estate agents need to look smart and chic just as curb appeal is important when selling a house. Your personal appearance largely determines how prospective clients perceive you as a professional.
As a professional in the property industry, it is important that you look the part because you need to convince people that you are the right person to sell their most valuable asset.
Simply put, first impressions are vital and in most cases, you only have a fraction of a second to make that impression. First impressions could just be the difference between a client choosing you or your competitor whose presentation is much better. The reasoning is, if you do not care about yourself, then you will not care about other people.
The truth is that within the first few minutes of meeting someone, they are able to make a judgment based on what the person is wearing. Thus, for estate agents, dressing to impress is more than an extravagant indulgence. It is worthwhile and may be the key to success for your estate agent business.
We understand the dynamics of nonverbal cues such as dressing and how they can affect our business. Consequently, we strive to create the right impression when meeting our clients both new and existing.
Making the Right Choice
There is a proper way to dress for every profession. Yet the majority of the wardrobe decisions you wall make relate to the location of your work and your audience making it a tricky situation. To begin with, as a real estate agent you probably interact with different types of people. Secondly, you will handle different properties in different locations. How then do you make the right wardrobe choices for the sake of your business? Here are some principles to guide you through different work settings:
- Professional attire – When dealing with high quality homes and commercial property, consider wearing a conservative colour suit, preferably navy, black or gray and a white or coloured shirt to go with it. Avoid shiny and flashy colours to maintain a professional image. You will do well to go for those colours that are seasonally appropriate. For women, the skirts should be at least knee length or slightly higher.
- Casual attire – You can opt for a casual attire when visiting low cost properties. This way, you will not intimidate the buyer or seller. Even then, it should not be too casual as to imply lack of seriousness on your part.
- Office attire – When going to the office, you may consider having a consensus with your colleagues in the office. However, if you have set up a meeting with a client in the office, then stick to the professional attire.
- Social gatherings – Estate agents often attend social gatherings. For these, you can go easy by opting for slacks and polo shirts. Other occasions will require professional, casual or even formal wear. The key here is understanding the nature of each gathering before dressing.
Ultimately, as an estate agent you must dress for success. This is a sure way of avoiding fashion disaster that may work against your business. This has been one of our guiding principles at Ready Steady Sell – they are always prepared to not only create a lasting impression for their image and the property for sale but also to bag the business contract. If you do not like dressing up, you may opt to keep a complete the outfit in the office in case you need a quick change.Bottom line, your attire should look professional and successful. Be careful to avoid looking too drab so that it is forgettable.
