In the business world, first impressions do matter. Perhaps they shouldn’t, and companies and individuals should be judged more on their actions and their successes than anything else, but, well, it’s just human nature to judge people and things on first impressions. That means, if you want to be successful, you need to ensure that you make a good initial impression on potential customers and clients. One way to do this is by making your office more impressive.
If your office looks good, and you look good in it, then it’s much easier to make a favorable first impression in those nerve-wracking first meetings. With that in mind, here are some simple things you can do to make your office better:
Clean and Clutter-Free
The simplest thing you can do to make your office look much more impressive than it perhaps does at the moment is to give it a good clean and get rid of any excess clutter. An office that is cluttered could give them the impression that you are slovenly, messy and erratic and none of those things would exactly inspire confidence in a potential new client, so sort them out if you don’t want to blow things before you’ve even had a chance to work your charms.
Invest in an Impressive Desk
Your office desk is probably going to be pretty prominent in the space, which means that it will receive a lot of attention from visitors, whose eye-line will immediately be drawn to it. So, if you do not spend much on anything else, at least ensure that you purchase an office desk that looks good. Desks carved out of traditional oaks or walnuts, and which feature sleek curved lines always sit will and give off an impressive, confident and professional air, but do take the time to choose a desk that fits the decor and matched your brand image if you want to really make a good impression.
Invest in Better Art
If you’re like most business people, you’ll perhaps have a few piece of ‘off-the-shelf ‘corporate art’ hanging up in your office. These are art prints which are prepackaged and sold to corporations en-masse, and they are the worst. Some of them might not look that bad, but they are hardly inspiring, and they don’t let your personality or the personality of your brand really come out and shine. Instead, spend a little money on bright, bold and unusual artworks, or even have your own commissioned, and visitors will notice the difference, and be impressed.
Add Some Surprise Items
Addin something visitors would not expect to see, such as a vintage telephone or a slightly kitsch lava lamp can really help to show your human side and make it clear that you aren’t a clinical, hard-nosed business person who only cares about the bottom line and nothing but the bottom line. This is something that can really help you in those early stages of negotiations.
Banish Fluorescent Lighting
Fluorescent lighting not only looks cheap, but it can hurt the eyes and give people headaches, replace it with higher quality lighting if you want to really impress visitors to your office.
As you can see, it only takes a few minor changes and added touches to make your office more impressive, so why wouldn’t you do it?
