Last night I had an allergic reaction the result of which is a very swollen lower lip. Quite disfiguring and most definitely prompts a “oh, what happened to you.”

Happily enough my workday today is comprised of a series of conference calls and report writing and my foray outside will be in the evening when, hopefully, the swelling will have subsided and my lip has returned to normal proportions.

Yes, it’s uncomfortable and distracting but it will go away and things will return to normal but it has taken me off of my selling game because I just don’t feel on top of things.

Sales is a real contact sport, face-to-face or phone-to-phone and it requires that you are firing on all cylinders. To be successful you must listen well, speak coherently and well, know your stuff.

But you don’t have to look pretty.  Or do you?

There have been lots of studies that point to the fact that male CEOs tend to be tall (and c’mon the majority of CEOs are male), that successful people are rarely morbidly obese (another c’mon because we all know that food addictions reside in the brain as much as in the stomach) and well, “attractive” people seem to be more successful.

Yes there are lots of reasons explaining the psychological “whys” of this situation and I’ll add a few links at the end of this post but for now, I’m just thinking about me!

• I don’t feel at the top of my game.
• I’m self conscious.
• I can’t speak as clearly as I always do.
• I feel distracted by the circumstances.
• And…all of the above are making me feel weary.

Obviously since my “condition” is so very transitory I don’t really have to “get used to it.” Nope, I can just pass this day in self-imposed solitary confinement and limit my interactions.

But what if this was constant, a new me if you will?

I imagine that I would learn to adjust and that the act of selling and the self-confidence that must come along with it would soon return. I’d rise above, perhaps get stronger, and sell even more.I’d get used to people staring and asking “what happened” and perhaps even use it to my advantage.

But for today, not so much.

Interesting links:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/attractive-people-success-statistics/

http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/are-attractive-people-more-successful-0604133

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/attractive-people-land-job-interviews-study-article-1.1452436