The trick is to raise the baselines (as in, every guy should be reasonably fit (quite easy) and well dressed, etc) while having more dimensions on which to measure men and partners (as in, not just bank account; find niches where you can excel, probably the easiest approach is to combine two separate areas/skills, for example be a specialized lawyer, or learn Chinese if you're American and combine it with your profession).
I agree the advice is also towards getting a job, but also helps getting a date.
Of course, other factors interest women, such as confidence, assertiveness, looks, intelligence, sense of humour and all that.
It also depends which age group we're addressing. There's a world of difference between 20, 30 and 40yo.
All else being equal, you are more interesting if you speak more languages, for example. Although it depends how you frame/sell it :)
Anyway, what I meant to say is that the top X% story is not the whole story. It's not just relative, your absolute status is very important as well.