What not to wear to a new business pitch

My 14-year-old loves to watch the TLC channel's "What Not To Wear", a reality-TV show in which hosts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly gently mock the wardrobes of fashion naïfs, guiding them through makeovers. I get a chuckle out of it, too. Who can resist watching 'ugly ducklings' become swans, right before our eyes?

I'm probably the farthest thing from a fashion guru, but over the years I've seen many a pitch presenter who could have used Stacy and Clinton's help. While sartorial elan alone won't win pitches, fashion gaffes can definitely lose them. Agencies are supposed to be arbiters of visual taste, after all. Thoughtless choices can seed doubts in your audience's mind about your team's judgment and character, making clients question your ability to be stewards of their brand. And good choices help your audience focus on you and your key messages and ideas, not what you're wearing.

Some examples of the fashion faux pas I've witnessed: For one executive presenter, it was his black open-collar Western shirt and hand-tooled snakeskin boots that kept screaming, "Cowboy!" throughout his branding presentation. Much as he may have hoped the look would differentiate him and convey courageous, fashion-forward thinking, I was told by his audience that they took away a message of rebelliousness, unpredictability, and lack of understanding of the seriousness of their business.

For another presenter, a flouncy peasant dress was her undoing. In client eyes,it neutralized years of experience and savvy, making her seem much more junior in experience than was truly the case.

And for one art director, it was hair so utterly lacking from attention, long overdue for combing, cutting, and re-coloring to help roots match tips, that made potential clients wonder whether their images, layouts, designs, and other visuals would equally suffer from neglect.

Clients judge books by their covers

Of course, none of these observations made it to the official answer to, "Why didn't we win the pitch?" They never do. Few clients are kind enough to tell you what they're really thinking, especially about something as personal as attire or hair. Nor do they want to be thought of as people who judge books by their covers. But in the bathrooms and around the coffee pot, after the agency's left, they tell each other. And they can be brutal.

Much as we've all been told not to judge a book by its cover, we all do it anyway. And that's ever so true of clients evaluating agencies, who often lack experience in evaluating agencies (how many chances have they had, after all?) and who mistake their prejudices about appearance for a "gut feeling" about an agency team. The classic, widely-cited Mehrabian communication study shows that a day after your presentation, audiences can remember what you were wearing far better than they can remember what you actually said.

Here are a few things that men and women who pitch can do to avoid sending the wrong messages about their agencies even before they say a word.

Draw attention to your head and arms, not your body. This is one of the most important 'rules' to observe. You want pitch audiences to be intently watching your facial expressions and arm gestures as they listen to your logic. Dark blouses, shirts, and jackets work like a picture frame, creating a dark outline in which your face shines out. They draw eyes to the bright spot: you. When I say 'dark', I'm not suggesting a black shirt with a white tie–unless you're pitching to Don Corleone. Think greys and blues (particularly for men), maroons, and warm earth colors; these can all work well.

Both men and women should generally avoid white shirts: in a semi-lit room, the shirt is brighter than your face, leaps out like a spotlight focused on your chest, and makes you look wider than you really are. To conform to audience sterotypes of what success looks like, you want to look as tall and lean as you can. Sadly, the anti-discrimination laws and guidelines that apply to hiring people don't apply to hiring agencies.

For women, something that sparkles or adds color just below the chin, like a necklace or a scarf, also helps frame the face, as does something bright in the hair (comb or headband, for example) that draws eyes upward and away from the body. Same with a colorful necktie on a man. I'm assuming you'll pitch wearing a jacket, which should also be dark, lightweight even in winter (because pitching can be sweaty work), and buttoned throughout your presentation (to convey a sense of control and order). Dark jackets have come to connote power and authority, thanks to Hollywood and all the movies we've seen. Dark suits make us look slimmer, too.

Chests, waists, and legs are generally problem areas, because unlike hand gestures, they generally tell nothing that adds to the client's strategic story. Worse yet,they may send distracting messages. For women, avoid anything low-cut at the neckline, to keep audience eyes focused on your eyes and minds focused on your message... instead of on your pectoral assets. While we're on the subject, keep in mind that chilly rooms can cause undesired anatomical reactions, so keep your jackets buttoned. Similarly, dark or neutral hose and longer hemlines–if you decide against trousers–will minimize distractions and wandering minds. I'm not suggesting that women should wear the chador in the boardroom, or that part of the allure of working with the agency shouldn't be the prospect of working with attractive men and women. I am saying, however, that great eye contact, a bright and energetic smile, and breakthrough thinking are typically more seductive to pitch audiences than bare flesh.

Leave the frayed jeans home. Everyone, including the creative team, should dress better than they usually do. Rich woolens, linen, and high-count cottons suggest tastefulness and good judgment. For most clients, a well turned-out agency shows a businesslike approach. It's worth spending the money to buy an outfit in which to pitch, especially for the younger members of the team.

Dress for the client. Some clients, particularly those outside the US East Coast urban centers, may find it a little intimidating to see a team of Armani-clad 'city folks' from the agency descend on them. (Especially if they bring a condescending attitude with them.) I'm of the opinion, however, that dressing up helps more than dressing down. If your intent in such a pitch is to stress how much your teams have in common, you can consider more casual attire. Or if you know you're up against an agency located in the client's home city, and you want to avoid looking out-of-place, wear what's typical there. Most of the time, though, it's a mistake to assume that because the client's wearing khakis and tab-collar polo shirts, you should too. Perhaps once you've earned the business. Pitches are serious business, with big-time consequences for clients; dressing more formally is a way to show respect for this.

Dress for the role. When people see overalls, they think farmers; hard hats, they think blue-collar workers, and white coats say 'medical professional' loud and clear. Many clients will expect the creative team to wear a kind of 'uniform' (what an irony!), too. If you're a creative, the trick is to show a certain amount of unconventionality and daring, but to do it with class, and in a way that draws attention not so much to what you're wearing as it does to you. It's no help to your pitch if your pink polka-dotted tights or your Hawai'ian shirt distracts them from your concept boards. Wearing all black is a creative cliché, but it has practical advantages in drawing attention to your hands and face, as any mime would tell you (if he actually ever spoke). Jeans can be OK for creatives, if they're expensive, fit well, and have no obvious holes, stains, or fuzzy fringes. So can unusual necklaces, pins, and hair adornments that demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness (while drawing attention to the head). But please, no shorts at pitches. For anyone. Not even the Web/interactive guys. Ever. If you're a 'suit', the word speaks for itself. Go out and buy the best you can afford.

Good taste and judgment will always win admirers, and business.

In their book, Visual Selling, presentation experts Paul Leroux and Peg Corwin write, "When you stand to convince, viewers may have no idea about your education or social standing. Nevertheless, in seconds, they will come to some opinion. People will more easily form a positive impression if you dress well." They go on to advise 'test-driving' your pitch outfit to see how it feels when you gesture and point, and to get comfortable in it. It's good business to do so. As advertising agencies, we're in the business of packaging our clients' products in ways that bring out their best features and downplay their flaws. It's fair game for clients to expect us to do the same packaging ourselves.

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