A motivational speaker began a presentation by showing the audience two presents. One was gorgeously wrapped with a fancy ribbon, and the other was in a crumpled paper bag. "These both contain the same gift," she said, "but which would you rather receive?"

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but people do it all the time, especially when selecting commercial real estate in Nashville. When they see the outside of a commercial property, they make assumptions about what's inside. If it's attractive, they'll think it's a good place to rent and a good place to shop. If it's run down and shabby, they won't want to live there, work there or even walk through the front door unless they have to.

If a property owner ever wants to sell a commercial property, curb appeal means as much as selling residential real estate. Keep reading to learn how to attract buyers, renters, and customers by boosting the curb appeal of your commercial property.

How To Increase Commercial Property Curb Appeal

If a commercial property needs a lot of curb appeal work, it's hard to know where to start. Here are seven steps the owner can take to make their building more attractive and valuable.

Evaluate and Plan

The first step is to understand what others see when they look at the building. Stand out in the street, forget for a moment that you own the building, and ask yourself what you think of it. Do it in the daytime and again after dark.

Is there anything that pops out? One place where a change will have the most significant impact? Listed below are six areas to address. However, there may not be the time or the money to deal with all of them. Also, there may be one where the most significant opportunity for improvement.

This is the time to think about how improvements can work together. For example, is there a color that can be repeated on the exterior, landscaping, and signage? Can a company color or logo be worked in? Is there a pattern or another design element that should be iterated?

Improve the Parking Lot and Sidewalks

Nothing makes a negative first impression like a parking lot in disrepair. Cracks, potholes, and hard-to-see stripes are not just unsightly; they're a liability. People can trip or damage their vehicles.

Sometimes filling holes and cracks, seal coating, and re-striping will bring the parking lot to standard. It might have to be torn up and resurfaced in the worst cases.

Once folks get out of their cars, the next thing they see is the sidewalk. It should be clean and in good shape.

Create Appeal with Landscaping

Not every property has open space that can be landscaped, but it's an ideal place to get a significant curb appeal bang for the buck when it's there.

The first task is to deal with what's already in place. Remove dying shrubs and dead grass. Trim trees and bushes that are worth keeping.

Before planting new, think about maintenance. Will there be a sprinkler system or a hired lawn service? If not, sturdy grasses and hardy low-water perennials are a good choice. Consider plants and shrubs that are Tennessee natives.

See to it that garden areas are weeded and mulched. Have a little fun with annuals; use them as color accents. Be cautious of creating a crowded look. Landscaping with some open space suggests peace, order, and serenity.

Brighten the Exterior

A dirty exterior can happen without you realizing it. It might not be noticeable day-to-day that the walls are getting grungier. Over the years, however, buildings collect earth, dust, and debris. A building might look old when all it needs is a good power washing and possibly some stain removal treatment.

Dirt is an ongoing issue. Roof tiles and shingles crack. Gutters get worn or dented. Taking care of all those slight blemishes gives the exterior a new life.

Once the exterior is clean, consider repainting it. A new color can bring renewed vitality. Accents and trims sometimes make a nondescript building stand out.

Doors and windows get worn and dirty, so they should be washed along with the rest of the exterior. In some cases replacing the windows and doors to ensure smooth functionality is worth the investment. It will save energy costs as well as improve the building.

After the exterior has been spruced up, consider some special touches to give the building an up-to-date personality. Put an awning over the entryway. Hang some window boxes. Add a new fence.

If there are display windows, use them. This advice isn't just for malls and retail operations. Office buildings and even factories often have windows that can display products and advertising advantageously.

Lighting

An attractive property looks good at night, and that requires lighting. The lighting should be bright at the entryway and in the parking lot. Additional exterior lights can show off the entire building. Consider motion lights along a sidewalk.

Also, lighting improves security. People are more comfortable approaching a well-lit building during the evening. The benefits of commercial real estate lighting almost always have a strong return on investment.

Amenities

A few amenities make the building occupant-friendly and visitor-friendly. Seen from the street, they denote a building where people are a priority.

These might include bike racks, picnic tables, chairs, benches, and strolling paths through the landscaping.

Signage

One approach is to pressure wash or otherwise clean and repair the signs already in place. Another is to erect entirely new signs. The latter is an opportunity to tie together the company logo with the building colors and design. A new sign on a spruced-up building explicitly states what the property is.

Commercial Curb Appeal Creates Strong Impressions

Rightly or wrongly, people form an opinion of a building and its owner based on its curb appeal. An attractive, maintained building shows tenants and customers a commercial property where someone cares about details and knows how to take care of them. Commercial property managers who want to be successful should follow these tips to reap the benefits of strong curb appeal.