I’ll admit.  Selling art can be a very difficult endeavor.

But I never let my frustration outweigh my gratitude for the opportunity I have to earn my living through my art.  This is bliss.  Yet it wasn’t always this way.

I’ve had to struggle and work hard to get where I am.  And I’ll have to continue this to get where I aim to go.

Every time I make a sale I am grateful.  Very grateful.  And I express this very clearly to my patrons.

In fact, I stay in touch with them each year and express my gratitude by offering them a small gift such as calendars or note cards.

Notice, I’m not giving away original oil paintings or fine art prints. These are thoughtful, affordable, and tasteful tokens.

I recently sent a patron a small package of note cards.  I had no attachment or expectation of a response.

To my delight she asked if she could purchase a custom order of these note cards.  My investment in a small gift resulted in an immediate $2000 sale.

Again, I wasn’t attached to the outcome. I considered this a gesture of good will and simply a good customer relations practice.

Good will is very important because most of my business comes by way of referrals.  Outside of my website, I do not advertise my art.

What are you grateful for?  What patrons have supported you? What can you give to express this?

Give and receive freely. Practice gratitude.  What you focus on will multiply.

When is an artist ready to sell their work? An art gallery owner or art representative will determine this based on an artist’s answers to a few questions:

1. How much similar art work do you have in inventory? Art representatives will want to know if they can come back for more.
2. What other art galleries do you work with? They’ll want to have a monopoly on a certain geographic area for your work and want you not to work with anyone else in that market.
3. Do you retail your work through art galleries for more than you sell to art collectors directly? This is a no no.  If you have done this, then it demonstrates a lack of integrity because you are willing to undercut your art representative and compromise the value of your own work.
4. Do you have a website that displays your retail price or allows visitors to purchase online? Again, many art galleries not going to like this because you are eating into their market.
5. Do you accept commissions? It’s easier to sell your work if you are willing and able to do custom work and to deliver it on time.
6. Have you given your art away as gifts to your friends or family? They’ll want to know if you value your work or if you have compromised its value by gifting it.
7. What retail price do you want to sell your art work for? You need to know the answer.  That’s not their job to determine this and it will demonstrate your professionalism.  You’ll receive 50% to 60% of the retail price.
8. Do you make art full time or part time? If you make art part time, how much do you make?  What is your part time job?  The catch is that you can be judged as a hobbiest for making art part time.
9. And here’s the kicker question?  How much work have you sold your art for  for how much? If you haven’t sold anything you are far less appealing.

My answer to the question, When is an artist ready to sell their work? Anytime you have a buyer.

When you build your own market, you have control.  No one can claim a monopoly on a market where the terms are consignment, a common practice that is unethical at best and illegal at worst.

Am I slamming art galleries and or art consultants?  No.  I’m just relaying the questions that I was asked when I worked with art galleries.

Once I realized that I could develop ongoing relationships with my collectors, keep control and all of the money, I stopped working with art representatives.

When is an artist ready to sell their work? I’ve found that I’m always ready to sell my work.  But a representative may be involved in selling another artist’s work.

“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.”

I’m typing on my iMac after a huge data fire.  I’m still sifting through the charred remains of my intellectual property.  The digital images that I reproduce of my paintings are responsible for well over half of my annual income.

When I bought my shiny new iMac last year I thought that I was smart because I bought the computer system that they recommended to me at the Apple store.  I bought an external hard drive to store my huge image files and that hard drive contained another drive that would mirror my data, two backups.

But one morning I was getting ready to print one of my images and my hard drive was not in my finder window.  What?!

Here’s what happened. Despite what they sold me, they did NOT configure the external hard drive correctly. I only had one drive and it was fried.

After a whole lot of valuable time, I’m still discovering what creative assets have been lost, and maybe forever.

Fortunately, most of the unformatted images were backed up on CD but each one has to be painstakingly reformatted to print.  And that’s time that I could be spending painting or selling.

To the credit of the Apple Store on Chestnut they tried their best to make it right.  One of their Geniuses even walked me through setting my system back up after he had clocked out.

What now?  I do have an external hard drive, with two drives, configured properly.  And in case a tsunami comes roaring through my window off of the Pacific Ocean, I’ll be backing up to Mozy, an online data storage site.  For $4.95 per month, I have unlimited storage, which I’ll need for my huge .tiff files.

Learn from my pain.  Your images, your creative assets, could represent significant future income.  Take the simple steps necessary to safe guard them.

Now I could be very discouraged.  And if I am I can’t ignore those feelings. But if I remain discouraged I won’t increase my sales.  So I have to decide.  Do I want to continue to experience feeling discouraged where my negative emotions will prevent me from thinking or do I want to choose to evaluate the event and inform my next steps?

What will I do?  Well, the first thing that I will do is send a hand written thank you note to my host.  Then I will send an email to each person who signed up to be on my mailing list.  Thanking them for signing up will engage them further and hopefully entice them to collect at annrea.com. One thing I know is that there are a certain number of people who will buy later if I stay in touch with them via email.

While I was idle at the event I made a mental list of action steps to take this week to book more lucrative events, to get additional press, improve my sales techniques, and a way to help my host sell more of the merchandise they purchased from my company.  I’ve also written it off  as a “marketing” effort and the more qualified events I participate in the more my sales will increase.

It also forced me reconsidered the demographic match of this winery’s profile customer and the physical positioning of my display relative to the traffic.  The focus of this two day event was a crowd moving from winery to winery to taste.  This audience was not oriented to linger in one spot for very long and that did not work to my advantage.

Obviously, I can’t guarantee my sales but I can increase my chances.  And that is a simple choice.