Forget power suits and ruthless ambition; it’s old fashioned flirting that gets women ahead.

According to a new study, feminine charm is still the most effective weapon in sealing a good deal and impressing the business world, but men may as well not bother.

The Telegraph tells us that men are more likely to react favourably if the woman appears friendly, authentic and interested. The researchers from UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School and colleagues from University College London questioned 100 volunteers about how much they rely on charm when negotiating, and asked their partners how effective they were at negotiating. They found that women who said they flirted more were judged by their partners to be better negotiators, while men who said they used more charm were not seen as having any advantage.

In a second experiment, the volunteers were told to imagine they were selling a car worth  $1200 (€932) and asked how much they would ask for it. They were presented with one of two scenarios about a potential buyer ”“ one in which she conducts business in a serious tone, and one in which she behaves more warmly, touching the seller’s arm, winking and flattering the seller.

Male sellers were more likely to knock around $100 (€78) off the selling price for the flirtatious buyer than the serious one, while female car sellers were unmoved by the behaviour.