Selling Art Offline and Online – Part 1

Artists often ask me, “How do I sell art?”

First, you have to have something to sell.  Your best work; a cohesive body of high quality work.

I can’t tell you how many artists I speak to who want to sell their work but they have little to no inventory available.  You can’t open a store without inventory.

Selling is different from marketing.  Selling comes after marketing.

Marketing art requires that you articulate your unique value proposition and define your target market.

Once you have defined your unique value and your market, then you  are ready to sell art.

Selling art is simply a numbers game.  It’s about getting in front of enough prospects and qualifying them.  Notice I didn’t say sell them?

Selling starts by just having a friendly conversation that helps you qualify each prospect.  But it is a directed conversation that follows a certain sequence.

First three steps to selling art:

1.   Build rapport. Step one is just about having a conversation. People buy from people that they like and trust. Ask questions so that you listen more. 80/20

Note: Social media is not about selling art; it is about starting and continuing the conversation.

2.   Get an up front agreement. Take the pressure off you and your prospect and ask for permission to have a conversation where you can both determine if it’s a fit or not.  If it is a fit, then agree on the next step.

3.   Uncover their pain.  “But art is about pleasure not pain?”  That may be true, but if not having the art they want is not painful enough then they will not be motivated to buy.

Here are some questions that you can ask to help uncover their pain.

·      Do you own art that has real meaning to you?

·      What aesthetic objects do you own that inspire you?

·      Does your home/office/room need a visual focal point?

Did you enjoy this article?

Tweet

Share

the

Love

Get Free Updates