20 Ways to Create an Impressive Office Reception Area (Infographic) Beyond coffee, tea and candy. How to make a sweet first impression on potential clients, right when they set foot in your office.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It may be a cliché, but it's true: You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. The old but wise adage rings particularly cutthroat in business.

Within milliseconds of entering your office, potential clients make up their minds about you and your company. In a glance, they instantly decide how trustworthy you are, if you're broke or in the money and, oftentimes, if you're good enough to do business with.

Related: The 9 Things People Decide Within Seconds of Meeting You

While you can't control what people think, you can pad the first impression deck in your favor – and not just with a bowl of M&Ms and a comfy padded couch in your reception area. There are countless ways you can convey the success and professionalism of your business right in your entryway.

From offering a welcoming smile (this should be a given) to sprucing your space up with lush (real, not fake!) plants, to lighting up your logo to offering free Wi-Fi, here are 20 ways you can make a positive, lasting first impression with your office reception, all neatly tucked into an infographic by U.K. interior design firm SEC Interiors.

20 Ways to Create an Impressive Office Reception Area (Infographic)

Related: 6 Tips to Overcoming a Bad First Impression

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

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