Sometimes the most important messages we convey to clients aren't the intentional ones.

Take the signal your office sends when people come for a meeting.

Ask most advisors what they want to communicate to existing and prospective clients and you'll hear words like "professional", "organized", "disciplined", "successful" and "client-focused."

Those are certainly the right qualities, especially during times like these - but a stark contrast to what many advisors actually communicate. Just a few of the image killers I've seen in advisors' offices:

• A reception area with magazines that are either too low end for the advisor's client base or out of date
• Coat closets used as overflow storage space, filled with a jumble of miscellaneous material
• Signage, furniture, carpets and prints on walls that appear shopworn and tired
• Advisors' offices that are cluttered, with jumbles of magazines and client files on side tables
• Framed items on walls that are faded or no longer current - four year old Andex or Ibbotson charts are a common sight on the walls of many offices.

The reception area is especially important as the first thing clients see.

In January, I spoke to one newly appointed branch manager who took a look at his reception area and immediately made some changes:

1. Hiring someone to put a fresh coat of paint on the reception area walls wasn't in his budget, so he and two volunteers came in one Saturday morning and did it themselves.

2. He bought new chairs and a coffee table and some updated prints for the walls from IKEA.

3. He replaced the three month old Time and People Magazines on the side tables with a daily subscription to the Globe and Mail and Wall Street Journal - and gave his receptionist instructions to ensure that any newspapers or magazines left behind were immediately discarded.

4. He installed proper coat hangers in the coat closet in place of ones that looked like they might come from a Motel Six - the kind where the hanger twists off and fits into a slot, to prevent people from stealing them.

This manager got immediate feedback that the changes made a noticeable difference when clients came in. More important, they had a big impact on the mood of advisors in the office.

In discussing how he justified spending the money at a time when budgets are tight, his reply was simple: "My total cost was $1200. The issue wasn't whether I could afford to do this - the question was whether I could afford not to."

With the onset of better weather, many people are taking the time for the traditional spring cleaning ritual - airing out houses and looking to get rid of clutter in their homes and garages.

For many advisors, you need to do the same at your work environment. Depending on the firm you work for, you may not be able to do much about your reception area and meeting rooms - but you can certainly take a hard look at your office.

Even if you meet clients in a conference room and they seldom see your office, there is still benefit in spending 90 minutes to get rid of clutter and perhaps $200 to update it. At a time when many advisors are working hard to stay motivated, we need to get everything we can working for us. The office environment you're in has a big impact on your mood - consider investing some time to organize and clean up your office - chances are you'll be surprised by how good you feel as a result.