Does the amount of money you spend on clothes affect your business success?

A question usually answered with: “No, you can dress the same as XYZ guy with XYZ dollars as long as you just dress for the occasion and make sure the clothes fits you well” or the other more ignorant answer being: “Have you seen how billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs dress, of course it doesn’t matter!!”

Well, I’m thrilled to say that thanks to Neil Patel we actually know the answer to this question. In 2015 this guy decided that it would be a fantastic idea to drop the average net worth of a young American on designer clothes (lol)

He did this to finally figure out if the price of your clothes matters for business success or if the whole high end luxury clothes thing is really only good for showing off.

Neil would go on to spend exactly $162,301.42 on decked out Tom Ford suits, high end luxury fragrances, Zegna clothes for his everyday wear, Gucci shoes, and the list goes on…

Patel is known to be frugal and not particularly flashy in his personal life. He doesn’t own a car, doesn’t drive due to fear, and often works from the floor in his condo. This contrast between his personal frugality and his professional image highlights the strategic nature of this experiment

These were his official findings:

Patel off the bat noticed that when he dressed in expensive clothing, he received numerous compliments and appeared more successful in the eyes of others. This perception aligned with the idea that people are more likely to trust and do business with someone who looks successful.

Increased Meeting Success Rate: By dressing in high-end clothing, Patel increased his business meeting success rate from 25% to 40%. This means that his perceived success translated into a higher closing ratio for deals

Social Proof and Influence: Patel’s experiment also highlighted the power of social proof and influence. When potential clients saw him dressed in high-end clothes, they were more likely to associate him with success, which in turn made them more comfortable and confident in doing business with him

Consumer Psychology: The experiment underscored the importance of consumer psychology. People tend to believe what they see, and when they perceive someone as successful, they are more likely to trust and engage in business with that person. This is especially true for high-value contracts where clients expect a certain level of professionalism and success from their business partners

Due to the increased business meeting success rate, the “investment” on the clothes more than paid itself off.

So to answer the question: “Does the amount of money you spend on clothes affect your business success?” the answer is HECK YES.

The original article has been taken down sadly but if you’d like to learn more about this experiment, check out this article Forbes wrote on it

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