Clean Up That Mess!

The physical space of your office should not only be professional and comfortable for clients, but it should also be clean and tidy. In particular, papers and books should be stored neatly. “Many advisors are packrats,” says Chris Holman, an executive coach at ClientWISE in Tarrytown, New York. “Don’t let that overflow into the conference room space,” he adds. Most advisors agree that the place where an advisor and client meet should be free of any distractions, especially messy offices or items that are out of place. “In our space, the neat offices are in the front with the conference room,” says Matt Keeling, a financial planner at Keeling Financial Strategies, Inc. “The messy offices, like mine, are in the back so that the clients don’t have to see them.”