This article originally appeared on catjohnson.co.
Creating a workspace where your members feel a sense of belonging starts the minute someone walks through your door. How they’re greeted, treated, spoken to, and welcomed are everything.
And a tour of your space is your first opportunity to truly shine, connect, and invite the person into your community. First impressions are everything. If you fail to connect, you’ll likely never see that person again.
The worst possible way to give a tour goes something like this: Here’s the meeting room, here’s the coffee machine, here are the rates, any questions?
The best possible way to give a tour is more along the lines of: What are you working on? Why are you looking at coworking now? Do you live nearby? What would your perfect workspace and week look like? Are you familiar with coworking? What is your current work setup? What are you hoping to get out of a coworking community? Let’s sit down and find the membership that’s right for you.
If someone leaves your space after their tour with a skip in their step and a head full of ideas about the possibilities of having a fantastic new workspace and community, you’ve done your job.
If they leave doubting whether their kitchen table, local coffee shop, or bedroom desk is really that bad, you’ve failed.
When there was only one coworking space in most towns (if they even had one), the option was to coworking or not to cowork. But these days, people have a lot of options and, for the most part, they’re not sure exactly what they need. But they know they need something.
And if you’ve managed to get them through the door of your coworking space, the best thing you can do is to help them feel that they are part of something extraordinary — that their work/life is about to get much better — that your space is the space for them. (If, indeed, it is.)
So treat a tour of your space like the essential first step it is and help the person understand the vision, values, and vibe of your space and community.
A lot of coworking spaces look the same. The ones that truly stand out are the ones that invest in their members, team, and community — their people.
The tour is your chance to demonstrate this.
