Whether you know it or not, the most essential thing about creating a great first on-site impression with your visitors has little to do with what you have to say, and the whole enchilada to do with how you make them FEEL. One of the paramount ways to achieve this is to formulate the energy of your office reception area before you even think about engaging with a potential client there. You want the vitality of your lobby space to capture and build interest in your business right from the start. You want your entryway to be filled with positive thought and energy. After all, why waste the opportunity?
What do I mean by that? Let’s say your reception area is designed in a way that is dull and uninteresting, waiting then becomes an amount of time that spent as a necessary evil, rather than one inspiring and educational. Well, guess what? Believe it or not, energy is infectious. It gets transferred via phone, through e-mails and especially person to person, because body language and energy speaks with more volume than words. It’s true. Any adverse energy in your office will only invite more negative energy. Here’s an example…
I was having a meal out, at a restaurant the other day with my daughter and her friends. The waitperson who attended to our table just seemed to be surely in a bad mood. I can certainly understand having bad days sometimes, though I make it a practice to lessen them, at least in my mind. I’m more of a playful type, often when I’m out to eat or having an encounter with a clerk or cashier. I like the idea of everyone having something to smile about, even the wait staff, and I hope they have a good feeling while serving, as well. This time, it appeared that no matter what I said or did, our waitperson simply refused to venture out in a positive way. She never smiled or engaged with anyone at the table. Unsurprisingly, by the time we had all completed our meal, everyone was talking about what a grouch she was being. Her energy was contagious.
Your office reception environment works in precisely the same way. If your receptionist feels good energy in the space where he/she is working and the environment is giving off optimistic energy, your visitors will actually feel good in the space around them, and they will begin to radiate similar energy, as well. Good energy transmitted from your reception space in turn, draws good people, good involvements and more good energy.
In planning, you can secure the experience (and results) you want your guests to have with a modern, upbeat, reception area, one that sizzles with joy and imagination even before inviting anyone in. Think through the visual experience you want your customers to have. Is it dull, lifeless and boring is it something out of the past or is it a modern entryway that speaks today’s language? Preparing that visitor experience in advance helps you to be on top of what your guests are feeling without having to wonder. You can plan where they sit, what they sit in, tools and information about your company they will be able to access, showing you care about their needs. You can plan what they hear and smell, and the way they will be treated by your team.
By the time your receptionist comes face to face with your guest, the visit becomes an once-in-a-lifetime experience for you -- and for them. You want to coach your reception person to make sure that he or she really bonds with your guest. It’s such a gift to deliver to someone your unbroken attention, to really connect with them and facilitate a valuable exchange. Look them in the eye and give them a firm handshake. Ask questions that allow them to feel your interest in their well-being, and listen and reply accordingly. Let your visitors read instinctively that you, your workspace, and your people have everything to give…and embrace a warm smile.
Obviously, first impressions are typically formed at the first point of encounter, the entrance to your workplace. Let it be warm, giving and inviting. Make your reception area earnest and contemporary. Have it say to your guests that they are welcome. Remember, with these recommendations in place, visitors and your people will in the end, be more attracted to you and your company, and they will remember you by the way you make them feel.
If you need help designing that perfect modern reception area, the furniture you put in it, and the energy it sends out for your company, 90 Degree Office Concepts is just a phone call away; 855-699-0334 or email info@90degreeofficeconcepts.com
