It’s a common strategy: get them in the front door and impress them so much they can’t leave. However, if you have been thinking of the office as solely a vehicle to help make your team more productive, you may well not be in the right place to start welcoming clients. Ensure you make the right impression with the following tips.
Make the right impression from the get-go
Your office should start selling your business as soon as your clients get in the door. As such, you should make sure that you have a welcoming reception area. A comfortable place to sit, some magazines out, and even a coffee machine can help you make sure that anyone waiting is treated with respect and care. Of course, hiring a decent receptionist to take care of their needs until you can see to them is important, too. You don’t want to keep them waiting all that long, all the same.
Freshen your space up
It’s not just the reception area or your office that you should be concerned with, the entire office space should work to sell your business. To that end, you should consider working with a professional decorator to give your workspace the vibrancy and energy it needs. Not only can new wall coverings, floor painting, and restoration of any worn or damaged surfaces make it look much more presentable for any clients or visitors, but they can also help the workplace feel much more comfortable for your team. A team that feels like it’s invested in, via the space they work in, is more likely to invest more of their energy and enthusiasm back into the business.
What if you can’t make it right?
Some spaces simply aren’t well suited for engaging clients and improving their impression of the business. They might be too small, a little too in need of repair, perhaps too old fashioned in their architecture and standards. If that’s the case, make more trips to them, invite them out to dinner or coffee, and keep them out of the office in general. Of course, you can always look at choosing another premises for your business, but you need to make sure that you have a good reason to do so. Don’t move just for aesthetics, move because a new location would benefit you in a variety of ways.
Make sure that you’re not distracted
It’s not just the office that has to be ready, it’s you as well. First of all, make sure you’re using scheduling software to clear your agenda so that you have time to dedicate to them undivided. If you need to inform your team that you will be busy with clients, so you shouldn’t be bothered unless it’s a true emergency, then you might want to do that as well.
Your office needs to be an asset that adds value to your business and not just property value. The tips above can help you ensure that you create the welcoming and inviting space that sets the tone just right for those client meetings.
