I'm from the south/back in the south, and the "sweetie/honey" thing is a daily occurance here.
I like it :)

It does all boil down to confidence. Like most of us, I've known of a marginally attractive guy who always had a date/got laid.
When i questioned this a friend of mine said, "You know why that guy gets laid all the time? Because he knows he CAN".

I've never forgotten that.
He had confidence. (not that confidence always does it either, but it certainly helps)