“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” You’ve most likely read the oft-quoted adage before, particularly if you run your own business. It’s noteworthy advice, like first impressions can be formed in as little as seven seconds, Forbes warned.
First impressions are also hard to shake off once they take root – so what factors can influence a client’s perception of your business when they first visit the office?
Your admissions should be easy to find
Write for Small Business Balance, professional career coach Mitchell York recalls when an extremely important customer made their first visit to the head office of the business they worked with. However, reception is not in the most evident of places…
It’s on the third floor of an office building where the business itself occupies the second and third floors. The customer’s difficulty finding the receptionist somewhat spoiled their first visit to this office.
All of your staff should think of themselves as “salespeople”
We mean that if a client just shows up at the office looking lost, employees should not just brush them off believing it isn’t their job to do otherwise. Every member of your staff should consider it their responsibility to help make sure that visiting clients feel welcome.
In the example previously mentioned, nobody appeared from their desk to offer support to the customer – but your staff can learn from this, particularly if your reception is in an awkward location.
Give clients something useful to do while they wait
If the person a client wants to meet in your office is not available yet, you can stop these clients from wasting time if you leave them delicious food and drinks – think such as fresh fruit, sparkling water, and refreshing coffee – for them to enjoy while they wait.
For this reason, you should consider leaving the coffee and water system visible and simply accessible in the reception area. After all, clients can feel dry after a long journey!
Make yourself look good to sell great things
No, it isn’t about making yourself look like Henry Cavill – even though you might learn a thing or two from how well he wears a suit. Instead, it is mainly about keeping yourself presentable and being gracious to clients when you speak to them clearly and concisely.
All these little things can add up collect a positive first impression on the minds of clients, such as Talk Business make clear. Don’t forget a couple of firm handshake either.
Keep your workplace clean
One day, as you enter your office, reassess how much you can see from the reception area. Does every part of the workplace look convincingly clean?
Diligently maintaining cleanliness can clearly take time, but a serviced office space from BE Offices will be cleaned every day and night by the service provider, giving the occupants of that space another thing to add to their already busy schedule.
