Clothes make the man.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Dress for success.

Hogwash. These platitudes are not worth the pixels that make them appear on your screen. Attitude is everything.

I heard some guy on the radio saying that to be a man, you can’t wear blue jeans. Well what about Steve Jobs? He wore jeans. He was a man. And wasn’t the co-founder of Apple Computer pretty successful?

As far as I’m concerned, even shoes are optional. Look at Peter Jackson, he usually doesn’t wear shoes and no one will argue that the guy who directed the Lord of Rings films isn’t successful.

They are, from what I understand, quite different from each other, one intense, the other casual. But they were both focused and had an attitude of success.

If you exude an aura of success, reliability, professionalism, and dedication, you will inspire confidence in your customers. That confidence in you will lead to trust and sales. You’re much more likely to buy from someone you believe in and feel that they will be there for you. I realize that appearance does have a place. It’s not a bad idea to have a professional LinkedIn photo and a businesslike email address, but that’s not the be-all end-all. You need to have the professional can-do attitude as well.

Here’s a few tips from the Velsoft production team to boost your confidence. These, and many more, are featured in Building Your Self-Esteem and Assertiveness Skills.

  • Pretend you are confident
  • When you meet people, look them in the eye
  • Know your stuff
  • Rehearsal is the best confidence builder
  • Every day, remind yourself that you have done some things well
  • Read inspiring biographies and autobiographies
  • Be thankful
  • Push yourself to accomplish short-term goals
  • Do something for yourself every week

There, now you have the tools. Go for it, seize what you want to accomplish.

You know you can.