“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” – Chinese proverb

This proverb really resonates with me.

This wisdom immediately reminds me of a common question that I still receive when I introduce myself as a painter in social or business settings.

The common question I receive in response is “Oh, do you make a living at that?” Ugh!

I try to maintain control over the fine muscles in my face so that I do not betray my mild disgust, frustration, and defensiveness.  This just feeds into their negative perception and energy.   And who wants to be perceived as a loser?

“Yes indeed.” I reply.  “In fact, I’ve turned a profit since my first year in ‘business’ over five years ago and my ‘business’ has been profiled in Fortune magazine, among other national media.” This quickly shifts my audience’s response to me from pity to fascination.

But that’s not the point of this post.  The point is that I don’t like to be interrupted by negativos.  Nor do I like to give them too much time or energy.  I’d rather continue to march forward and build my enterprise.

Ironically I find too many creatives even more steeped in poverty consciousness than even the general public.

To all artists I say, note to self. Marketing trends confirmed by respected research sponsored by American Express reveal that during this decade’s economic downturn sales in all categories of luxury declined, except one.  Which one?  You guessed it.  Fine art.

So yes indeed, people are buying art.  So don’t interrupt me.

When I posted this anonymous quote, “I like compliments but I prefer cash” it received a whole lot of “likes” on the Artists Who THRIVE Facebook fan page.

Why?  Because most artists can relate to this sentiment. Before I received Sandler sales training this dynamic used to really frustrate me.  I’d think, “If you love the painting so much, and since you’ve been talking to me for over an hour, why the heck don’t you buy it!”

That was before I knew how to take control and qualify a sales prospect.  Before this, they were in control and I was ruled by the tyranny of hope that they would buy from me.  Now I know to start probing earlier in the conversation with “test close” questions like:

·      “Tell me about your art collection?”

·      “What rooms in your home or office would benefit from a piece of original art?”

·      “Would you like to take this painting home today?”

Notice that each question gets increasingly direct and to the point.  Do you want it?

We all admire things that we can’t have or that we are just not prepared to buy.  I had the money to purchase the hand crafted yellow pearl diamond earrings that I was admiring last weekend from the jeweler at the Sausalito Art Fair last week.

And I could have justified this purchase.  I have been longing for the right pearl earrings since I saw Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer’s masterworks “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” and it was my birthday yesterday.

But I have higher priorities for $3400 right now, regardless of the jeweler’s desires and needs for my money.

The lesson. If someone is genuinely admiring your work but they don’t buy, don’t take it personally.  This is one of the four principles of the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

Why do people buy art?  Why do they buy anything? Because the pain of not having what is being sold is greater than parting with their money.

So what is your mission when selling your art?  You might think that it’s communicating the value of your art.  Yes and no.

Remember.  During a conversation with a prospect, you’ll want to talk about 20% of the time. Your prospect should speak about 80% of the time.

So how do you convey the value of your work and not talk so much?  You ask questions.  What kind of questions?  Leading questions.

Remember the show Columbo? Peter Falk played a private investigator who asked suspects leading questions.  That is what you want to do with your prospects.

What questions do you ask?  First, relax.  Selling is simply having a conversation.  Your first job is just to establish rapport.

Once you have established rapport  you may find that your prospect has just remodeled their dinning room, they have a celebration coming up, or they have been looking for something special for the wall in the den for a year.

Selling art is not  a manipulation.  Who likes that?  You are simply helping your prospects come to their own conclusions. And if you’re effective they will conclude that what you have to offer will solve a particular pain in their life.

Please note.  Everyone’s pain is different.  Your job is to uncover it.

Pain?  Isn’t art about  inspiration?  Well.  That’s what I used to think, until I uncovered my collectors’ pain.  The real reasons they bought my work. For example:

1.    The real estate investment firm that needed to convey the story of their luxury resort property in a way that distinguished them from every other luxury property.
2.    The busy CEO who needed to come up with a memorable, meaningful, and thoughtful gift for his wedding anniversary to, in his words, help him “save his marriage.”
3.    The empty nester who was ready to indulge and celebrate her passion, not her childrens’ or her husband’s.  Her passion is art and color.
Note this too. If you uncover enough pain it is interesting how their budget will increase.

During this process your prospect may conclude that what you have to offer does not provide an antidote to their pain.  And that’s okay.

You can then let this prospect go and just ask for a referral.

I talk a lot about how to sell art. Referrals, hands down, are the easiest way to sell art.  You can very likely prove this to yourself if you do what I suggest that each of my artist coaching students do.  Keep track of how they found each of their collectors.

Some of the ways that collectors find their way to me is through events, press, annrea.com, or by seeing my prints and wanting an original.

What is the very top marketing strategy? Referrals.  How do I know that?

Because each year when I update my company’s business plan I crunch the numbers and I determine exactly how many collectors each strategy yielded.

Why do I do this?  Because this is the only way I can know what marketing strategies to focus on in the coming year.

• Collectors who arrive through annrea.com, site are wonderful. Because they can collect when I’m sleeping and I may have never even met them.
• Press is fantastic too.  In fact it’s the best form of advertising and it’s free. It also conveys credibility and gives collectors confidence.  But I can’t guarantee that this strategy will be consistent.  And marketing is like breathing.  It has to be consistent.
• Events can be very effective because I’m meeting prospective collectors face to face when celebration is in the air.  But again, they’re not always consistent.
• Referrals are not only are the most effective marketing strategy, they are the very easiest and they are free.

Think about it.  When someone refers you to a business aren’t you much more likely to buy?  Don’t you just have more confidence in doing business? Don’t you take less time to make up your mind?  I know I do.

I’ve often already made up my mind to buy when I have a referral.  I’m just going in to confirm my decision.  So that’s what you want to cultivate.

How do you get referrals?  That’s easy.  Ask. Here’s what I actually say…

“I don’t advertise.  So most of my business comes from people just like you.  Can you think of one or two other people like you who might also like what I have to offer?”

Notice I didn’t say, “Can you think of some people?”  No. I gave them a very specific assignment.  I asked for one or two prospects.  If I leave the number vague their thinking will follow suit.

So just ask.  Ask every single collector or prospect. Ask when you have established a rapport. Ask during the sale or after, just ask.

That’s all there is to it.  No advertising budget required.

Before you sell to an art collector get an “up front contract.”  In other words, get permission from art collectors to sell to them.  Then you will not be selling.

What is an “up front contract?”  This is a term coined by the Sandler Sales Program.  The sales methodology that I encourage in my artist coaching program and the one I use.

Essentially it goes like this.  When you are pursuing a prospect you want to first get permission to qualify them and give permission for them to bail if they are not really interested in buying.

You might say something like this.  “If you don’t mind I’d like to ask you a few questions.  And of course you are welcome to ask me questions.  Then when we are done talking I’d like to agree that we take the next step or we agree that it’s just not a good fit.  Is that okay with you?”

This offers mutual consideration, to you and to them.  And it lets you both off the hook.

What have you done here?  You’ve done a few things:

1.   You are inviting the prospect to ask you questions.

2.   You are getting permission to ask them questions and to qualify them.  They make be just an admirer or they may be an interested collector.  Wouldn’t it be good to know this sooner rather than later?

3.   You are taking the pressure off by giving them a way out.  No one likes the pressure of being sold.  So don’t do it.

4. You convey confidence rather than desperation to close a sale.

5.   Most importantly, at the end of the meeting you’ll know if they are a prospect, a new collector, or if they are just not qualified.  Qualifying meaning that they have the money, the authority to spend it, and enough interest in buying.

Why is the latter so important?  I don’t believe in expending limited energy pursuing prospects that will not yield sales.  Let them go and confirm who you should court.

Take your energy and attention back and focus on viable sales to collectors and your creative productivity.

My artists ask me about how to sell art.  How to sell art is a big and complex question that is very difficult to answer in the space of one post.

I can tell you where to start.

And I can give you the short answer to “How do I sell art?” It’s simply this, don’t.  What?  Yes. Don’t sell.

Start by building rapport and bonding.  This is where it can be very helpful to like people and to be naturally curious about them.

Engage your potential collector by asking them questions, then listen.  Let them talk.  They should do most of the talking.  80%.

You can usually determine quickly if they are actually a prospective collector of if they are just an admirer.  Don’t assume.  Find out.

Always start the conversation by simply developing rapport.  Maybe ask:

How did you hear about this event?

What brought you here?

Are you visiting from out of town?

You know.  Make the questions your own and just let the conversation flow naturally.

If you have developed rapport then you can engage your prospect further and determine if they are a prospect.

Why start with bonding and building rapport?

1. Because people like to buy from people that they like.
2. Rapport eases communication.
3. It actually makes the exchange much more pleasurable and rewarding for you and your collector.

If you find a business endeavor daunting the very best solution is to develop or to adopt an effective system, whether it’s marketing systems, financial systems, or sales systems.

I use the Sandler Sales system which  breaks the sales cycle into seven sequential steps.

1. Bonding & Building Rapport
2. Up-Front Contracts
3. Uncovering Pain
4. Uncovering the Prospect’s Budget
5. Identifying the Prospect’s Decision Process
6. Fulfillment
7. Post Sell

Look for future posts on the second step, establishing “up front contracts.”