One day, I was on the road, making targeted cold calls. When I walked into one of my stops, the guy working at the parts counter immediately recognized me as a sales rep. Before I could even introduce myself, he said something to the effect of, “We’re corporate, and our head office is in New Brunswick. You’re wasting your time and mine.”

I was taken aback, but not speechless. “That sounds like something you’ve rehearsed.” I joked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Also, you look like a rep.”

“I kinda do, I guess” I agreed.

He was right: I do look like a rep.

Being out in public, I regularly cross paths with other reps, not just in my channel, but in adjacent (and not-at-all-adjacent) ones too. I’m not going to say that reps for different channels/industries/verticals wear a uniform, just that in any given sector there’s a degree of conformity that reps adhere to. I suppose that’s important — in that dressing the part people expect of you is one piece of the puzzle in playing the part and building your credibility.

One little game I play when I’m out and about is to guess what industry sales reps are in. It’s like bird-watching but for sales reps. Sometimes, it’s easy, and sometimes, there’s more nuance involved, especially in a big tent like consumer electronics. Keeping up appearances is only part of the equation. Other than their plumage, sales reps can often be identified by their personality type. At the risk of bending the birdwatching metaphor out of shape, it’s like identifying them by their songs or chirps.

No two people are entirely alike, but there are patterns you can identify, and while I hesitate to stereotype, stereotypes often exist for a reason. Think about car salesmen: yes, there are variations, but your mental picture of a car salesman is probably 90% accurate.

One of my friends who owns an AV distribution company once joked to me that AV industry reps fall into two groups:

• Nice guy, everyone likes him/doesn’t know anything
• Knows everything/zero people skills

And while he made a compelling case to support his argument, I differ and suggest that industry reps fall broadly into three types.

• Nice guy/doesn’t know anything
• Propeller-head engineer
• Shooter McGavin

There might even be a little overlap between the three: shades of gray, nuance and all that. For example, I’ve known actual engineers who defy the stereotype and, in addition to knowing everything, actually have people skills. That said, more often than not it’s best to either never let your engineers talk to the client, or, if they’re an engineer with people skills, let them talk to the client’s engineers, but not the client’s sales or marketing people.

I know I’m coming across as maybe a little snide and dismissive, but I don’t mean to be, except maybe a little about the Shooter McGavins of the world. Whatever kind of rep you are, lean into that, and be your authentic self. Back to appearances, one parting shot: One B2B dealer I work with has a full-length mirror in their office, with a sign above it that reads “Are you presentable to meet your clients today?” as an ever-present reminder to make sure their team is dressed the part.

That’s certainly on my mind every morning as I stand in my closet and ask myself, “Where am I going, and who am I seeing today?”