Five Essential Areas of Total Image Management By CLARE MAXFIELD
Image Management is not just how you look it is a whole concept that makes us up or breaks us down in the eyes of those around us. To think that you can succeed without paying any attention to your image is, simply put, asking for trouble. Your image is just your packaging, and once you know a person, it has even less impact. But let me ask you this. “When purchasing toothpaste, you enter the store, go to the shelf and see there are only two boxes there. One box is dented in the corners while the other box is pristine and new. Which do you pick up?
Your Inner Image This is the you that no one knows or sees. It's the sum of your life experiences: your childhood, your hopes, your fears and your hobbies. As many coaches out there will know, with any client, if their inner self-worth is unstable, their outer life will suffer.
The pristine box of course. Then you go home, rip it open, and throw the box in the bin. Both boxes contained the same contents, quite possibly in identical condition, but you weren't sure that you could trust that the dented boxes contents would be as good. So, rather than taking the time to open the box and look inside, you just quickly grabbed for the box which looked the best. You opted for that which looks better, even though it was the product inside that counted.” Over the past 16 years, I have coached many clients into new jobs, promotions and relationships, by working purely on their outer image. It is one of the first building blocks required to be successful; whatever success may mean for you. Now before you throw Steve Jobs of the 'eternal turtleneck' and other business success icons at me, saying, "They don't care for their image" let me say, they are what I call 'the exceptional'. Page 18
The exceptional make their own rules. The exceptional have that IT that draws people to them. They do not need regulations, and if you are an exceptional reading this, then read no further, or maybe keep going to help a friend. For the remaining 99% of us, success doesn't just come to us; we need to work for it. By understanding the elements that compel or repel clients to you, you have a much better chance at success. There are five essential areas of your image that you cannot afford to overlook to be successful as a coach and a business owner. There are the four 'non-hidden' zones: • Visual Image, • Assumed image, • Experienced Image, • Proven Image, as well as the 'hidden zone' • Inner Image.
As an image consultant, it is crazy how often just working with a client’s wardrobe reveals hopes and fears that are hiding beneath the surface. Often, through the means of clothing, inner fears are raised. I once had a client in tears from merely revealing her true personality that for years she had kept hidden from her family. There was nothing twisted about this woman, she was a very giving person who wanted to please everyone at the expense of her preferences. So, step one: Ensure that you and your clients are solid in who they are and what drives them.
