You can’t afford to be ugly

We all hate to admit it, but we judge a book by its cover and judge people on how they look.

You’d agree that when you look good, you feel good. But, looking great can also be a HUGE bonus to your bank account.

Attractive people earn more money than their less attractive peers. This has been researched scientifically and is called the ‘ugliness penalty’.

Surprisingly, men are MORE subject to the penalty than women. In a Canadian and American survey, ugly men earned -9% of average income, while ugly women earned -6%.

Why does this happen? Are attractive people smarter? More qualified?

NO! Just look at the track record of many handsome movie stars.

The ugliness penalty happens because of the ‘Halo Effect’. The Halo Effect is a trick of our subconscious. Our inner minds look for signs of health. It’s a throwback to SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. We assume that people who have a symmetrical face, a trim waist and a healthy glow are better than their lackluster counterparts.

The good news is the Halo Effect diminishes with time. The longer we know a person the less likely we are to base our judgment on their looks.

The bad news is beauty in the eye of the beholder.

More bad news: Some people are born with an undeniable natural attractiveness. This has been studied in depth and is called Erotic Capital – a concept we cover in the program.

Good news: Thankfully, there are measures that everyone can take to appear more attractive.

GOOD HEALTH is the universal indicator of attractiveness.

You can achieve a healthy look through proper DIET, regular EXERCISE and LOW STRESS levels. Moderation is another key to the look of attractive health. Excesses that can diminish attractiveness include alcohol, smoking, and drug use. On the other hand, multivitamins and meticulous grooming can go far towards improving your looks.

The ULTIMATE way to look your best is to have confidence in yourself. No amount of sparkle and glow can make up for the look of someone who is unsure of him/herself.

I know this all sounds obvious, but here’s the exponential twist you’ve come to expect…

What is 6 or 9% of your wage/earnings/salary?

If you make $50,000, it’s $3,000 to $4,500 in lost income.

If you make $100,000 it’s $6,000 to $9,000.

I know you never quite saw it this way – sure makes your gym membership seem inexpensive doesn’t it?

It gets worse…

Here are some sobering stats reported in one of the most respected business journals, The Economist Magazine:

• Just over a decade ago Dr Hammermesh presided over a series of surveys in the United States and Canada which showed that when all other things are taken into account, ugly people earn less than average incomes, while beautiful people earn more than average. [i]

• The ugliness “penalty” for men was –9% while the beauty premium was +5%.[ii]

• For women, perhaps surprisingly considering popular prejudices about the sexes, the effect was less: the ugly penalty was –6% while the beauty premium was +4%.[iii]

• Since then, he has gone on to measure these effects in other places. In China, ugliness in penalised more in women, but beauty is more rewarded. The figures for men in Shangai and –25% and +3%; for women they are –31% and +10%.[iv]

• In Britain, ugly men do worse than ugly women (-18% as against –11%) but the beauty premium is the same for both (and only +1%).[v]

• The tallest quarter of the population earns 9-10% more than the shortest quarter, according to two recent studies. [vi]

• In countries languishing at a real income of $4,000 per head (in 1985 dollars), boys average less than 145cm. [vii]

• In places that are $6,000 a head richer, boys are 4cm taller, according to calculations by Richard Steckel of Ohio State University. [viii]

• 3 out of 4 Australians believe that the way you look defines your character.[ix]

• A recent Heat Group Poll of almost 500 women  revealed that 85% believe there is greater pressure on women to be attractive at work compared to men, with 30% having personally experienced appearance-based discrimination. A shocking 18% of Australian women would consider or have already had a cosmetic procedure to improve their appearance in order to get a major promotion at work.

• 86% of managers say they hire people they like rather than what the job requires.

So where does that leave you?

Most people will respond with “I was born like this and I have to live with it.”

An exponentially minded person will ask “How can I use this to my advantage?”

Here’s how:

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – that means they are countless things you can do to enhance and improve your appearance without getting an extreme makeover.
• Height is perceptual meaning you can make yourself appear taller without wearing platform shoes or stilletos.

What if there was a way to combine both of these and convert them to your advantage?

What if you could you appear “bigger than life” as well as “more attractive and alluring?”

At Become The Next Corporate Rockstar, that’s exactly what we’re going to teach you:

• By creating a persona, you will gain confidence so you will start to walk a little straighter, gain confidence and assume the posture of a successful person.
• With greater confidence, the Halo Effect’s perceptual bias will be shifted to your advantage for a change. People will start to give you the benefit of the doubt and will view you with a positive disposition.
• You know that when you shrink from fear, your shoulders droop and your physiology is weak and looks downtrodden as opposed to when you stand up to something it figuratively and physically makes you feel (and look) taller.

I know you might be thinking this is all ‘intangible’ and therefore unmeasurable, but that’s where you’re wrong.

I know how powerful these strategies are that I am willing to GUARANTEE IN WRITING that when you attend the Become The Next Corporate Rockstar program, you’ll make at least $5,000 more in the next 12 months.

The strategies we will teach you are not provocative or manipulative – they are tried and tested and GUARANTEED to work.

Here’s a quick test you can take:

If you were to stand up in front of 10 people who don’t know you and you had 60 seconds to explain what you or your company does, how many of the 10 spectators would say:

• You speak clearly and with confidence?
• You are calm, cool and collected?
• You aren’t sweating or fidgeting?
• You are professional and convey and sense of certainty and assurance?
• They would want to do business with you?

If you’re honest with yourself and you think less than half would answer yes to ALL of these questions, guess what?

You’re selling yourself and your company short. In pure statistical terms it means you could be losing as many as half your sales, contracts or proposals just because you can’t present yourself as well as you should and could.

Go ahead and register for the Become The Next Corporate Rockstar program right now.

You need to start making your first impression count for you rather than against you.

[i] “To those that have, shall be given”, The Economist, 22 December 2007, page 69

[ii] “To those that have, shall be given”, The Economist, 22 December 2007, page 69

[iii] “To those that have, shall be given”, The Economist, 22 December 2007, page 69

[iv] “To those that have, shall be given”, The Economist, 22 December 2007, page 69

[v] “To those that have, shall be given”, The Economist, 22 December 2007, page 69

[vi] “Feet, dollars and inches”, The Economist, 5 April 2008, page 84

[vii] “Feet, dollars and inches”, The Economist, 5 April 2008, page 84

[viii] “Feet, dollars and inches”, The Economist, 5 April 2008, page 84

[ix] Croucher, John S, 2008, “Number Crunch”, Good Weekend, December 19-21, pg. 9