So, you have been making some sales calls and finally got an appointment with the collections manager of a lender you are trying to get repossession business from. What should you wear to the meeting? I have seen some real fashion disasters worn by auto repossession company owners going to meet with a lender. I once was visiting one of my clients and one of my competitors dropped in unannounced to try and get some repo orders. He showed up in jeans with the knees torn out of them, a wife-beater t-shirt, a wallet chain and a pair of flip flops. He had a dirty ball cap on that said “Porn Star”. I am not sure if he had bathed or brushed his teeth that morning, but he smelled like recycled summer sausage! I have told this story before and have been told I am a great story teller. I wish it were just a story, but it did happen. Needless to say, he never got one order from my client and was soon up for repo himself.
I have had many people tell me that all they wear is Harley Davidson shirts, jeans and boots, and they are not changing who they are for anybody. That is great; I used to wear “biker wear” a lot myself. In all my years in business, I found one thing out – people react to what you are wearing. If you show up anywhere in a ketchup-stained tank top and shorts, you will be treated a whole lot differently than the man that is wearing a pair of dockers, a buttoned-down shirt and some casual shoes. I came to this revelation some years back in my daily trips to my bank to take care of personal and business transactions. If I went into the bank looking like I just fell off the mattress, I was treated exactly how I looked. I was barely greeted, there was no smile, no chit chat, and even the customer service was substandard. However, when I entered the bank in casual business attire or, once in a while, wearing a nice suit jacket and tie, they fell all over me. They greeted me, they smiled, they were in a hurry to assist me, and sometimes they told me I was looking fine! Some of you may say that they should treat all customers the same, and that is 100% true. But the reality is, that it does not happen that way. Shortly after I made my discovery that your appearance will determine how you are treated, that particular bank approached me and offered me an unsecured business line of $60,000 to use for payroll, if some of my clients were slow to pay. Was it because of how I dressed when I went in there? I would say that was definitely a big part of it.
I am not saying you need to wear a suit all the time, but I am saying to dress for the occasion. If you are going jogging, wear a jogging suit, t-shirt and tennis shoes. If you are going on a poker run on your “hog”, put your leather chaps on and a Harley shirt – but do not forget to wear a pair of jeans under those leather chaps! And if you are going to meet with a lender, dress appropriately if you want your auto repossession business to grow.
So, I ask again. What is appropriate dress for meeting with a lender? Is it a suit? I would say no. You are a repossessor and, honestly, I can’t ever remember meeting a client that was wearing a suit. You do not want to dress better than the client you are meeting, so I am suggesting you wear casual business attire, like a pair of dress pants or khaki dockers with a nice buttoned-down shirt. You will also want to be sure you have showered, slapped on a little anti-perspirant, combed your hair, brushed your teeth and ironed your clothes. Below are a couple of examples of what to wear and what not to wear when you are trying to get clients to use your auto repossession business or visiting clients that already use your repossession service.