Brand, Tech, & Tools Toolkit

Timing: 3–4 days before the workshop

Before any prep communication is sent to the client, submit an inquiry through the company’s website as a new prospect.

This step is critical. The purpose is to experience the company’s default system — not the version that shows up when leaders are paying attention.

How to Run the Test

• Use the company’s primary contact or inquiry form
• Submit as a realistic prospect (do not identify yourself as MiM™ or as the coach)
• Use a neutral, believable inquiry related to the company’s core offering
• Use an email address you can monitor for follow-up

Do not notify the client that you are doing this.

What to Observe

Pay attention to the experience from the moment the form is submitted.

Document:

• Whether you receive a confirmation or acknowledgment
• How long it takes to receive a response (if any)
• The clarity of next steps
• The tone and preparedness of the response
• Whether the interaction builds confidence or creates friction

If no response is received, note that clearly. Silence is data.

How This Is Used in the Workshop

During the session, you will ask:

“What happens when a new prospect reaches out to you through your website?”

Let the leadership team narrate their expected process first.

Then, share your actual experience submitting the inquiry and invite the group to assess whether the prospect experience matches their intent.This is not a “gotcha.” It is a mirror.

The goal is to help leaders see how their systems show up before a relationship exists, and how those early moments either build trust or quietly erode it.

Whiteboard Prep

Add any relevant notes or screenshots from the experience to the Technology section of the Working Whiteboard to anchor the conversation in observable reality.

Timing: 1–2 days before the workshop

Before reviewing any client materials in detail, spend time with the Quick Start™ – Brand, Tech, & Tools Teach Deck.

This deck establishes the standards and language you will use to guide the session. Reviewing it first ensures that your assessments are grounded in MiM™ criteria, not personal preference.

What to Do

• Open the Quick Start™ - Brand, Tech, & Tools Teach deck in Canva
• Use Presenter View to review the speaking notes
• Read the deck start to finish at least once
• Pay attention to how each section builds on the previous one

You are not memorizing slides. You are calibrating how you evaluate what you’re about to see.

What to Listen For as You Review

As you move through the deck, note:

• The criteria used to assess logo, website, technology, and tools
• The language used to describe trust, friction, and credibility
• The transitions between teaching and discussion

This will help you recognize relevant signals when reviewing the client’s materials and when facilitating the conversation live.

Outcome of This Step

By the end of this step, you should:

• Understand what “good” looks like through MiM™ standards
• Be able to explain why something matters, not just that it does
• Feel confident moving between teaching and facilitation

This step sets the foundation for all remaining prep.

Timing: 1-2 days before workshop

From: MiM™ Architect
To: Client Team
Cc: MiM™ Coach
Subject: Workshop 3: Brand, Tech, & Tools Prep
----------------

Hi team,

I'll be leading our next workshop, Brand, Tech, & Tools, and I'm looking forward to continuing the momentum!

Before we meet, take a few minutes to review each of the following as a first-time customer would:

• Your logo
• Your website
• Any systems a prospect encounters when interacting with you — scheduling tools, email platforms, proposal software, or anything else that touches the first impression

To help us come in with real context, please send along anything you have from the list below. Don't worry if you don't have everything — just share what exists:

• A recording of a first meeting with a prospect
• Your most recent proposal document
• Supporting materials your team uses today: email templates, meeting schedulers, NDAs, virtual meeting backgrounds, pitch decks, one-pagers, or case studies

We'll use our time together to look at MiM™ standards for brand, tech, and tools, and to view your business through that lens as a leadership team.

If you have any questions before we meet, feel free to reach out.

Talk soon,
MiM™ Architect

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This should already be on the calendar at this point, but as a quick reference, this is your calendar invite.

*Client Name* // Workshop 3: Brand, Tech, & Tools
Required: Client leader, Client team, MiM™ Coach, MiM™ Architect
----------------

Meeting Room: *Zoom or Teams info*

Purpose: In this session, we’ll assess how your brand, technology, and tools show up to customers today. We’ll look at what’s reinforcing trust, where friction exists, and how well your current systems support building trust in the customer experience.

 

The goal is to create shared clarity at the leadership level using MiM™ standards. Familiarity with your website, core systems, and sales tools will be helpful.

 

A brief prep email will be sent ahead of time.

Before reviewing the logo, ground yourself in how brand and marks are defined in the Teach Deck. You are applying MiM™ standards, not personal preference.

Review the company’s logo as it appears in real-world, customer-facing contexts. Do not evaluate the logo in isolation — assess how it shows up where prospects actually encounter it.

Look at:

• The logo on the website
• The logo in PDFs or downloadable assets
• Any visible use in proposals or sales materials (if available)

Assess the logo using MiM™ criteria:

• Modern: Does this logo feel current today, not inherited from a past era?
• Clean: Is it simple and easy to recognize at a glance?
• Flexible: Does it work well across real-world uses (digital, print, apparel, signage)?
• Distinctive: Would someone recognize this without the company name attached?

For deeper context on this topic, see Brand Readiness.

Whiteboard Prep

Add the logo to the Logo section of the Working Whiteboard along with your preliminary assessment (e.g., yes/no or simple score against the criteria).

You'll discuss your assessment live in the workshop after the leadership team shares their perspective.

Before reviewing the website, ground yourself in how websites function as trust-building systems in the Teach Deck. You are applying MiM™ standards, not evaluating design quality or personal preference.

Review the website as if you are a first-time visitor encountering the company with no prior context.

Focus primarily on the homepage and top-level navigation. First impressions matter most.

Look at:

• The homepage and primary navigation
• Messaging above the fold
• Calls to action and paths forward
• Any immediately visible proof or credibility signals

Assess the website using MiM™ criteria:

• Clear audience: Within seconds, would the right customer know this site is for them?
• Clear next step: Is it obvious what someone should do next if they’re interested?
• Credible proof: Does the site show evidence that the company can deliver what it claims?
• Feels current: Does the site feel actively cared for and up to date?

Whiteboard Prep

Add a screenshot of the homepage to the Website section of the Working Whiteboard along with your preliminary assessment (e.g., yes/no or simple score against the criteria).

You'll discuss your assessment live in the workshop after the leadership team shares their perspective.

Before reviewing technology, ground yourself in how technology supports follow-through and trust in the Teach Deck. You are not evaluating tools for sophistication or completeness — you are assessing whether the systems in place support a smooth, trustworthy customer experience.

Technology is evaluated through a combination of external observation and internal narration.

External Observation (Before the Workshop)

From the outside, review:

• The website inquiry or contact flow
• Confirmation messages (or lack of them)
• Follow-up timing and clarity
• How the handoff from “interest” to “conversation” actually happens

This includes your secret shopper inquiry.

Live Narration (During the Workshop)

In the session, you will ask the leadership team to describe the systems that support the customer experience today.

Use prompts such as:

• "What systems support your client and prospect experience today?"
• "Do you use a CRM?"
• "Do you use a marketing or follow-up email platform?"
• "How are meetings scheduled today?"
• "Are there tools in place to reduce friction in scheduling or follow-up?"

Let the team narrate what they believe happens and what systems are involved. This context is essential for understanding intent versus experience.

Assess technology using MiM™ criteria:

• Clean handoffs: Is it clear who owns the next step once a prospect reaches out
• Timely follow-up: Would a new prospect feel acknowledged and responded to promptly?
• Leadership visibility: Can leadership understand the status of current relationships without having to ask for updates?
• Consistent process: Does the journey feel repeatable and reliable, or ad hoc?

For deeper context on this topic, see Tech Readiness.

Whiteboard Prep

Before the session, add notes or screenshots from your secret shopper experience to the Technology section of the Working Whiteboard along with your preliminary assessment.

During the session, layer in what the team shares about their internal systems. The contrast between what is intended and what is experienced is the core of this discussion.

Do not resolve discrepancies in the room. Surface them, name them, and move on.

Before reviewing tools, ground yourself in how tools function as extensions of brand and technology in the Teach Deck. You are not evaluating creative quality — you are assessing whether these tools support trust and forward motion in a sales conversation.

You may not be able to complete this step until the client shares materials. If no customer-facing tools are publicly available, wait until assets are provided.

Tools are evaluated based on what the team actually uses with customers.

Look at:

• Sales decks or pitch presentations
• Proposals or proposal templates
• One-pagers, leave-behinds, or PDFs
• Any customer-facing assets shared ahead of the workshop
• Any sales tools available publicly on the website

Assess tools using MiM™ criteria:

• Branded: Do these materials clearly feel like they belong to the same company as the website and logo?
• Customer-centered: Do these tools focus on the customer’s problem, or do they primarily talk about the company?
• Consistent: Do the materials reinforce the same message, language, and positioning across assets?
• Sales ready: Do these tools help advance a real sales conversation, or do they function more as marketing artifacts?

For deeper context on this, see Tools Readiness.

Whiteboard Prep

Add representative examples of tools to the Tools section of the Working Whiteboard along with your preliminary assessment (yes/no or simple score).

Do not mark up individual slides or pages in detail. Capture patterns, not execution details. You’ll discuss your assessment live in the workshop after the leadership team shares their perspective.

Before capturing any input, set the context for how this section will work.

You are intentionally using the same criteria for everyone in the room — including yourself.

What differs is perspective.

Use language like:

“We’re going to look at your company using the same lens we just used together. You’re bringing the perspective of people who know this business deeply. We’re bringing the perspective of a new prospect seeing this for the first time.”

“Neither of those perspectives is wrong. The value comes from comparing them.”

This framing helps leaders separate identity from experience and lowers defensiveness before any scoring begins.

For each section (Brand, Website, Tech, Tools):

1. Reveal only the Client Perspective area on the whiteboard.
2. Ask the group to assess themselves using the agreed criteria.
3. Capture their answer at a high level (yes/no or where they land overall).

If discussion starts to drift into debate, bring it back to the lens:

“Using the criteria we just aligned on, where would you place it today?”

The goal here is self-reflection, not precision.

Once the client perspective is captured:

1. Remove the cover over the MiM™ assessment.
2. Share your perspective as fresh eyes, not final judgment.

Use language like:

“Here’s how we saw this coming in, using the same criteria.”

Anchor observations in experience and pattern recognition, not opinion:

• What a new prospect would notice
• Where trust is reinforced or strained
• Where signals are clear or mixed

Keep this concise.

Do not relitigate each criterion unless it’s necessary to move the group forward.

During the Brand, Tech, & Tools workshop, it’s common for the client’s self-assessment to differ from the MiM™ assessment.

When the client thinks something is working for them but our assessment is that it's not working, here's a field guide of how to handle this conversation live.

Use this sequence:

1. Name it neutrally

“This kind of split is really common.”

2. Remove right/wrong framing

“This doesn’t mean someone is right and someone is wrong.”

3. Reframe the difference

“It usually means the same thing is doing different jobs depending on who’s looking at it.”

4. Anchor the MiM™ perspective

“We’re looking at this the way a new prospect would, without history or internal context.”

5. Close without resolving

“We don’t need to settle this today. What matters is that we’ve surfaced it clearly.”

Then move on. Do not linger. Do not debate.

If the client references past success

 (e.g., “This logo helped us get to $150M.”)

Acknowledge, then reframe forward:

“Absolutely — and that context matters.”

Pause.

“The question isn’t whether it worked. The question is whether it still works for where you’re going next.”

Transition on.