Lookin' for love? Then shave off that scraggly beard, ditch the too-tight tee from a geeky conference last decade and leave the Teva sandals at home. That's just some of the advice from matchmakers who help techies master the dating scene.

From Route 128 outside Boston to Highway 101 in Silicon Valley, techies seem to run into the same problems when it comes to dating. They dress too casual. They don't talk enough, and when they do talk it's about work. And sometimes they're so busy writing code or tinkering with systems that they forget to shower. (Read a Q&A with an online dating expert to learn the hottest trends and view a slideshow of the 10 best places to take a techie on a date.)

"We definitely have to talk to techies about grooming and social skills," says Julie Paiva, CEO and founder of Table for Six Total Adventures, a matchmaking service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Paiva has thousands of techie clients and claims credit for more than 900 marriages in Silicon Valley.

"We tell techies to get a nice dinner jacket, even if it's just to pop over a Polo shirt. If they're wearing khakis and a T-shirt, we encourage them to have it color coordinated," Paiva says. "Ponytails are OK. The problem is having them clean, shiny and well-groomed."

The bottom line for techies: You don't want to look like a member of ZZ Top. But you should follow the rock band's fashion advice `cause every girl crazy `bout a sharp dressed man.

The same holds true for techie women. Leave the sneakers at home and strap on a pair of heels, matchmakers recommend. And don't forget to shave your legs.

"Put on some lipstick and let your hair down,'"Paiva suggests. "Techie women need to think about investing in a few shapely black dresses because dresses are really attractive to men of all ilk."

Techies may be brilliant at computer science, but they often need a little tutoring in Romance 101. That's where matchmakers come in.

More than other professionals, techies are comfortable seeking help from online dating sites and matchmaking services to improve their love lives.

"Techies are more willing to try online dating services because that's what they're comfortable with. They can manipulate data and move it around. They can get around one of these sites a lot easier than regular folks," says Paul Falzone, CEO of matchmaking services The Right One of Norwell, Mass. and Together Dating of Washington D.C.

"But after being misled and lied to at online sites, they get frustrated and then they come to us," Falzone says. He estimates that around 30% of his clients -- which total 300,000 members at 60 locations -- work in technology-related fields. Falzone says his dating services are responsible for more than one marriage a day nationwide.

The popularity of Web sites such as Match.com and eHarmony.com has made it acceptable for techies to use dating services. Increasingly, they are shifting from online-only sites to full-fledged matchmaking services

"Techies know that they are not going to meet people who want to get serious about dating and get married online. And they're not going to meet the right people when they are out and about on their own," says Amy Brinkman, director of matchmaking at It's Just Lunch Silicon Valley, a matchmaking service with a majority of its clients working at technology firms. "They're outsourcing so many other things, this is something they can outsource, too."

The good news is that with a little guidance, techies can be as successful as any other professionals at finding true love, matchmakers say.

"Techies try harder because they are well aware of the negative stereotypes around their social lives," Paiva says. "They are much more open to suggestions than a venture capitalist or a doctor or an attorney because they want to fight that stereotype. They are much more open to advice about how they dress and what they should do."

"Techies are very successful with our program," Falzone agrees. "All they do all day long is take instructions from software or manuals or whatever. They're more attuned to coaching."

To succeed on blind dates, techies need to not only expand their wardrobes but also to expand their reading material, experts suggest.

"Everybody is not as fascinated as they are about technology," Paiva says. "They need to read Newsweek and Time. They need to look at the entertainment pages. They need to be open to asking lots of questions of others.''

Being up on current events should give techies something to talk about with their blind dates.

"It takes more than one or two dates for techies to open up. They seem to be more closed, guarded, shy or introverted than people of other professions," Brinkman says. "I always encourage women going out with one of these men to try again. They'll tell me that they don't think the guy liked them or that the conversation didn't flow naturally. I encourage them to go on more dates."