Green plants add security to reception area, office
If you're looking for ways to make prospects and clients more comfortable, fill your reception area, office and conference room with green plants.
I'm not talking about one hanging plant over the magazine table in the corner. I'm talking about serious green plants. Lots of them.
Plants have long been used in client areas because they cause people to feel more comfortable, relaxed and secure.
For design ideas, call in an interior decorator, your local nurseryman or a plant service designer. They can help you choose the right plants based on the size of the rooms, the amount of available sunlight and the amount of care they need.
If you don't want to care for plants, you can hire a plant service to take care of them for you. Or, instead of live plants, you could always use silk plants.
Personally, I much prefer live plants because they give off oxygen and because their moisture keeps the room cooler -- two benefits you lose with silk plants. Still, for a purely visual effect, silk plants work fine, as long as you remember to dust them.
People, not buildings, create eye-catching photos
When preparing a brochure, display ad, Web site, or anything else that involves photographs, keep people in your photos.
Lawyers often show their building, office or conference room. These are fine as backdrops, but what prospects and clients want to see are your people.
People like to look at people. They like to read about people. They like to build relationships with people. That's why People Magazine is one of the most successful magazines in history. That's why most popular magazines feature people on their covers.
While you may want to show your facilities, realize that most people don't care what your building looks like. They care about who you are, who they will meet when they come to your office, and who they will work with.
"Who's" are far more important than "what's."
Keep people in your photographs. And in at least some photos, show them sporting warm, engaging smiles and looking directly at the camera. This will seize your readers' attention, hold their interest and make an immediate emotional connection.
© Trey Ryder
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