Walking round a supermarket last week I was gobsmacked to see a Lindt chocolate spruiker standing in the isle giving away samples of Lindt. Actually, I wasn’t gobsmacked about the fact that they were there giving things away, what did surprise me was the uniform that they were wearing, which was a chef uniform with that poofy pressed and starched white hat.

Hmm, why the need for the outfit?

Or maybe I just got caught up in it all as I’m on a sugar free detox 😉

When I had my training school in China I was very caught up in a minimum dress code for the teachers who worked with me at my school. Having spent more time in China than my other western staff, and being able to speak and understand more Chinese than those other teachers I had witnessed first hand just how important looks were to Chinese people and how openly judgemental they were about appearance, so I wanted to project an image of professionalism for my business and the people who were part of that business. I didn’t want appearance projections to be a reason why people would walk away from receiving some gold education.

Realistically, I guess that Lindt are wanting to do the same. Yet I have been pondering ever since. Like seriously, who are they kidding? Some temp worker Uni student, representing the company, without any cooking qualifications or time spent crafting chocolate goodies whatsoever has donned a poofy white hat and a chef coat to hand out sugary samples. Does that make people take them more seriously? And raise the brand recognition or product level for Lindt? Or are they just luckier than those M&M folks who have to hang out in massive round green red and/or blue blob costumes whilst wearing brown thick tights?!

And taking that one step further, brand symbols and the power of marketing. You say M&M’s and I think large blobby costume and peanuts, you say Lindt I think poofy chef hat and waaaay too much sugar. So what if we said your name, what would your nearest and dearest, workmates or employer come up with in a couple of words as your brand identification?

So you know the drill……my suggestion to you to ponder over the next week is…….

~ to ask someone, what is brand you?

In the first year that I opened my coaching business I asked some close friends and clients what car or vehicle brand they thought my business was (as in, if you could represent my business with a car brand, what would it be). I was stunned at the results as they were so different from what I had in my head, and had to ask myself was I content with being that brand representation, or did I want to do something about it and change my business approach. The most surprising answer was ‘you in your business are an ambulance’.

But I wanted to be the powerful 4×4 for my clients, going across terrain that other vehicles couldn’t cross, or the helicopter looking at the traffic from above but not needing to play the rush-hour game. Or even the limo, packed to the rafters with more amazingly magical tools and techniques to whizz my clients to their next destination in style. Interesting though, when I delved a little deeper and found out that getting into an ambulance was an immense relief when people were so frightened and in so much pain, and that they knew someone was there who knew their stuff, and the ride to where they needed to get to was going to be fast, much faster than if they were going there alone. And that they could breathe easier now. And have the pain dealt with to move onto a brighter future.

As always, if you are ready to receive coaching to bust a belief, GET A PAYRISE, feel / look / sound / be different, and are keen to tap into a support team ready to challenge you to where you need to go then you know where to find me…………ambulance, helicopter or limo at your service 😉 HH

And who else do you know that likes thinking & questioning? Plus being the best that they can be WHILST KICKING BUTT IN THEIR CAREER and delivering massive value? Well forward this on and invite them into the community 🙂