How to sell art

This question came up on The Breakfast Club this week. I'm pretty sure I threw a cat among the pigeons when I said that artists should charge three times the cost of a regular painting of the same size. For example, a 40 x 40 piece that sells for $8,000. A commission for a 40 x 40 piece should be charged at $24,000.

This number raises quite a few questions; the first would be: why so much? The first reason is that it will likely take the artist 3 times as long to do it, with 3 times the stress and 3 times as many sleepless nights spent thinking about it. The second reason is that you don't want or need to deal with penny-pinchers. Telling someone looking at an $8,000 painting that a commission will cost $24,000 will quickly eliminate the time-wasters. Of course, that three-times number is also a point of negotiation, but in my opinion, you should never go below double your normal price. If you start high, you have room to negotiate, but if you start low, you're stuck. One thing you might not realize is that the $24,000 number will stick in their heads. If it is too expensive for them, buying one of your regular pieces at a third of that price makes it feel very reasonable.

The biggest hurdle is having the confidence to ask for that amount since it is so far above the numbers that the artist is used to thinking in. This is a mindset issue, and that's all it is. When I was running the gallery, I was often asked to negotiate on behalf of our artists. They knew that even with the percentage we took from the deal, they would end up with more money than they could have gotten on their own. If you're not good at negotiating, and you have a friend who is, ask them to do it for you.

My next post will include a downloadable Questionnaire that you can give interested clients.

#artsales

It's a strange title for a post, but if you only knew how many times a day you say one of these words, you would be a). horrified and b). staggered. Even some professional broadcasters are guilty of it; they should definitely know better. But what are these words? They're called fillers, filled pauses, or even disfluencies. They also go along with "like", "you know", "I mean", "basically", and "literally", all of which are actual words used without their full meaning. They are speech patterns often used by people to gather their thoughts when they are not quite sure what they are going to say. Claude calls them 'verbal tics or hedges'.

Most people aren't even aware that they use them, let alone that they use them many times a day. I've trained myself not to use them, but I'm also aware when I do. Anybody reading this can, and should, do the same. It's not that difficult. Record yourself speaking, practicing for a speech, or having a conversation with a friend. If the latter, tell them what you are doing and why, so they don't think it's weird. Then get a piece of paper and a pen, and listen to the recording, making a note of how many times you used each filler word. Listen to it again, and check that you got the counts right. Then make another recording. What is interesting about this exercise is that you will now hear yourself using those words, and you probably won't use them as often. Keep on with this exercise until you record something where you can't hear a single usage.

By this point, you're probably asking yourself why is this important. When you don't use filler words, you will sound more professional, competent, and confident. It also means that when you are trying to persuade somebody to do something, oh, I don't know, buy a piece of your art, your credibility and persuasiveness go way up.

#artsales #motivation

Most people ramble on and on and never get to the point. I think it was Shakespeare who said, "Brevity is the soul of wit." When somebody rambles, we tune them out in the same way that we tune out the sound of the refrigerator. Artists who ramble may notice how many people just walk out without saying goodbye.

In sales, the extent of our talking should be asking open-ended questions, and then listening intently to the answer before asking the next question, which will be based on what they just said. We have two ears and one mouth, which means we should listen twice as much as we speak.

#artsales

Believe it or not, but one of our deepest-held fears is getting up in front of an audience and speaking to them. Having said that, it is one of the greatest skills you can ever master because once you do, you can call yourself a communicator, which is a vital sales skill.

But what is it that people are afraid of? There are two things.

1. I'll forget what I was going to say.

2. I'll make a fool of myself.

Let's deal with the second one first. Everybody in the audience is rooting for you to succeed. Whatever happens with your presentation, you've succeeded and shown courage. Even if it went badly wrong, it's just a learning experience, and you'll do better next time.

As to the first fear, the only person who will know you forgot something is you. You will either realize that you've forgotten something, or you won't. If you don't, no one in the audience will know. If you do realize it, you have a choice. Either come back to it later or just ignore it. No big deal either way.

Speaking from a vast amount of experience speaking to an audience, I will tell you that it is one of the biggest buzzes you will ever get. Once you get over the nerves, it is an amazing feeling, but you only get good at it by doing it a lot. I got my initial experience with Toastmasters International, and I highly recommend it.

#artsales #motivation

Almost everybody starts a new venture with enthusiasm, but it rarely lasts. If you don't get the results you expect, it's human nature to lose interest, and that can quickly turn into apathy.

Being an artist is a lonely profession for the most part. We are in a studio on our own, creating, often without getting any feedback or encouragement. In fact, the only barometer we can rely on to sustain our enthusiasm is sales, and if you need to make sales to survive, it is very easy to become discouraged and feel like giving up. Apathy wins, but how do you stop that from happening?

I'm not sure of the answer because everybody's situation is different. What I do know is what works for me. I keep busy. I bounce from one thing to another constantly, and I keep my energy up by doing so. I realize that not everybody has the diversity of interests I do, and this is a serious question I'd like an answer to: what keeps you enthusiastic?

#motivation

I'm not sure that 'conundrum' is the right word, but I am puzzled by Instagram. About a week ago, I had 1969 followers, not a massive number, but a decent number nevertheless. Every day, I get notifications that new people are following me. Often these numbers are in the low 30's, but one day it was 75. Honestly, I don't get excited because, as I said in my previous post, I believe that followers are worthless.

This morning, out of curiosity, I checked how many followers I have now. 1969, which is the same number I had a week ago before all the new followers. That number has also remained the same every day since I first checked. Mathematically speaking, the odds of this happening are astronomical; in fact, I asked Claude, and it said the odds of net-zero growth for my account size are ~2–5%.

On that basis, and that basis alone, Instagram is not to be trusted. Am I wrong, and if so, why?

It seems that the prevailing thinking is that the more followers you have, the better off you are, and the greater the likelihood that sales will come from them. I don't believe it; I honestly don't. It's nice to have lots of followers for sure, but they add no value for the simple reason that they are not following you specifically, and are also unlikely to be looking at the work you are doing. You, me, all of us are just one in hundreds of others that they have signed up to follow, and then promptly forgot about. You only have to look at the engagement numbers for the work you are putting out to know that this is true.

So if followers are worthless, as I believe they are, what is the point in trying to get more? If the engagement numbers are to be believed, and I believe they are, why are we all trying so desperately to produce content that sticks when it isn't going to?

Let me have your thoughts on this very important subject.

#artsales #motivation

Self-promotion is something a lot of people have trouble with. You might say, and you would be partially correct, that not everybody has anything to promote. Where I would disagree is that all of us have things we believe in, and any time we are talking about those things, we are self-promoting.

As artists, we have to be good at promoting ourselves. What gets in the way is self-doubt. Am I good enough? Is my work unique enough? Questions such as these dwell in our subconscious mind. With that said, let's get one thing out of the way. Your work is not unique. You may never come across work that you could easily have been the artist of, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. As an aside, I've been told by numerous people that my Critters Mandalas are unique. While it is a lovely thought, I don't believe it for a second. In fact, I would love to find similar work to review and compare.

Moving on from that piece of depressing news <grin>, how do you promote yourself and your work? In the first place, whenever you meet someone new, you introduce yourself with your well-defined 10-second elevator pitch, delivered with energy and enthusiasm.

https://www.arthelper.com/community/howtosellart/post/the-elevator-pitch

So you've got your elevator pitch out of the way, but there is a lot more that you can do. The next thing is you need business cards. https://www.arthelper.com/community/howtosellart/post/amateur-or-professional

All artists in ASF have their own domain name; if you don't have one, invest a small amount to get one. It's really important and gives you gravitas. It also gives you a professional email address. If you have a Gmail address, or any generic one, Yahoo.com, etc., what it says about you is that you are unprofessional. Some people reading this will disagree because they've had one of those for years and it has been working fine, but that's not the point. The point is the impression it gives.

The last, and most important aspect that will prevent or enable you to self-promote is confidence. When you are talking to people about your work or just talking to people, you have to come across as extremely confident, whether you feel it or not. If you don't feel it, fake it until you do. Confidence is the next best thing to ability. When you have both, you will be unstoppable.

#motivation #artsales

It's much easier to make an excuse than an effort. There are any number of excuses people give when something doesn't work, or they don't want to do it. They are generally referred to as reasons, but let's call a spade a spade here; they are excuses. People often play the blame game. It's somebody else's fault, but is it? Occasionally, they are correct, but in general, the fault lies with the person making the excuse. Human nature comes into play here, and by that I mean, negativity, a woe-is-me attitude. The reason is that it is much easier to be negative than positive. If you were in a room with a lot of people and two dominant personalities, one negative and one positive, most of the people would surround the negative person. Unless that is, the positive person is considerably more positive than the other, who is negative.

Those who say they can, can, and those who say they can't, can't. That's an aphorism, and it's a truism. As a regular to @Hava Gurevich's The Breakfast Club, i listen to a lot of artists talking, and in my time as a Gallery Director/General Manager, I've listened to many more than most. "Oh, I can't do that!" or "I'm not comfortable doing that." or "I'm not making any sales," or a myriad of other excuses.

If you are reading this, and you sense that there is truth, about you, in what it is saying, then you need to recognize it. Until you do, you'll just continue along the same old path, and that's not what I want for you, or, more importantly, what you want for yourself.

But how do you change from the old negative you, to the new positive you?

Nobody likes change. Even homeless people don't like it. They might ask you for change, but what they really want is dollar bills. But here's the thing to remember about change. It's inevitable and without it, decay sets in. Who remembers the typewriter? Who remembers using maps to navigate. Both gone the way of the dinosaur.

Start by analyzing the cause of your negativity. Why is it? What is causing it? Is it something you're doing, or not doing? Go back, and read this article: https://www.arthelper.com/community/howtosellart/post/the-risk-of-failure

Write down your thoughts. Don't just keep them in your head as they won't take life until you write them down. (I recommend taking a sheet of paper, drawing a line down the middle, and writing down all the negative things on the left). Now go to bed and sleep on it. Let your subconscious mind wrk on them while you do. When you wake up, get a cup of coffee, and start filling in what you can do to eliminate the stuff you wrote down.

The most important thing you must do however is change your attitude. People sometimes tell me that I'm obnoxiously positive, and I am because I don't believe there is anything I can't do. I'm not good at mechanical stuff because I'm not interested in it but if push came to shove, I can figure it out. Many years ago, I became a feature writer for a full color magazine with a circulation of 80,000+ copies every week. It never occurred to me that it was difficult. Attitude is everything.

#motivation

In all our lives, we will face criticism; sometimes it comes from those we love, and sometimes from people we barely know. Our natural reaction is to become defensive, to try to justify, but we must not, because that gives credence and power to that person. What I try to do is acknowledge, then put that person on the defensive. I do this by saying, "I'm sorry you feel that way. Do you mind if I ask you to tell me why?" The first sentence says you heard them, and the second asks them to explain.

When you do this, many people will back down immediately because they know they made a stupid statement. Depending on how offensive the remark is, you can either let them off the hook or you can dig in. If I sense that the person is trying to be a bully, then I dig in hard. However, most of the time, I'll let it go.

A commonly heard statement by artists is, "A five-year-old child could do that!" Now that's ignorant and offensive at the very least, but if you bristle, you've already lost. Instead, ask "Do you have a five-year-old child?" If they say yes, reply "Do you have any of their work with you?" Or, you might say, " That's interesting you say that, because that's not what my professors told me. What do you see that they didn't?" You've firmly put the ball back in their court.

By the way, you shouldn't ever put up with people who are being deliberately rude. I turn my back on them generally and make a point of ignoring them. They hate that because they are subconsciously looking for a fight, or at least a confrontation.

#artsales #motivation

Yesterday, at The Breakfast Club, @Hava Gurevich started an interesting discussion about elevator pitches. For the very few who are not familiar with the term, an 'elevator pitch' is where you have a very short period of time to tell somebody what you do. Some people will tell you that you have 30 seconds, or even a minute, to deliver it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it needs to be delivered in ten seconds or less.

Before I explain why I am saying this, let's talk about the purpose of an elevator pitch. It is nothing more than a conversation starter. If what you say intrigues the person you are talking to to the point that they want to know more, then you have succeeded; otherwise, you have failed. For that reason, it has to be very clear and very concise.

My elevator pitch is "I'm Michael Rocharde. I'm an artist. I create wildly colorful mandalas full of whimsical creatures." It takes less than 8 seconds to deliver, but in that 8 seconds, it tells people precisely who I am and what I do.

Yesterday, quite a number of artists gave their elevator pitches. All but one failed to 'start the conversation'. They were vague, very vague. They were meandering. They were about things that were only relevant to them, and which had the same chance of turning somebody off as getting them interested. I don't care if you're religious or not, but bringing God up in an elevator pitch is to be avoided at all costs.

"I paint all types of subjects" is way too vague. Contrast that with saying "I am a photorealistic painter of life on a cattle ranch. Think Yellowstone."

Which one of those two statements would get your interest?

The other thing I noticed while listening to all the elevator pitches was that there was hardly any excitement or energy in the delivery. If you can't be excited about what you do, what chance does anybody have of getting excited on your behalf? Being boring kills conversations. Some 50+ years ago, I was in the army, and there was a guy in my squad named Brian Ingledew. He was brilliant, had been a University lecturer in advanced mathematics, and spoke 16 languages fluently. You'd think he would be interesting to talk to, but he was the most boring human being ever; well, maybe not ever, but close.

I'm going to close this post with a challenge to everybody who reads it. Come up with an elevator pitch that you can deliver with energy and enthusiasm in 10 seconds or less. Post it as a comment. I'll look at your art and tell you if you have succeeded or failed in describing who you are and what you do. If you've succeeded, practice (in front of a mirror) until you can deliver it effortlessly and flawlessly with lots of energy and excitement. If you've failed, write something better.

Now, if you can't be bothered to do that, think about what it says about you and your journey to be a successful artist. Just sayin!

#artsales

Sales fright is very similar to stage fright. The difference is that one requires you to ask for money, and the other asks the audience to bear with you. I've done a lot of public speaking in my life, and I love it, but I remember the first time I had to speak in front of a large audience. It was a Toastmasters group, and the regional finals for a Tall Tales competition. I had won at my club and then at the next level, but the audiences were quite small. The Regional Final was held in a large auditorium, with a 500+ audience. I was with my girlfriend and some other friends. I wasn't remotely nervous until I walked on stage. My knees were knocking so loudly that I'm amazed somebody didn't immediately call a paramedic. My voice cracked. I stuttered and stammered my way through my speech. I got applause I was sure I didn't deserve and went back to my table, where Sharon asked me how I thought it had gone. I told her the sad tale, and she laughed. I was not amused. Then she said something that I've never forgotten. "Michael," she said, "You were as poised and as professional a speaker as I have ever seen!" Everything I had experienced was in my head. Since then, I have never experienced stage fright. So the next time you're about to ask somebody to buy, and doubt creeps in, take a deep breath, remember it's just nerves, and spit it out.

P.S. I didn't win the contest, but I did come in 3rd out of 20 speakers.

#artsales

Throughout my life, I've lost count of how many times someone has said to me, "That's a bad idea," or "You shouldn't do that." I have never once listened to any of these people, and I'll tell you why. They are not saying it because they think it's a bad idea for me to do, they are saying that they couldn't do it themselves because they don't have the courage to take a risk. Only a very small percentage of people are risk-takers. I'm definitely one of them. Those who are often entrepreneurs because risk-taking is part of that skill set.

The more interesting question is, why are there so few risk-takers? My father was not one of them. He worked for the British Civil Service and rose to a very senior position, but, for him, it was all about security and a pension at the end of it. My godfather offered him a partnership in a property management deal. Dad said no. If he'd said yes, he would have made millions. He wanted my brother and me to join the Civil Service. We told him we weren't interested. He was heartbroken. He didn't understand it. As a non-risk-taker, he found taking risks abhorrent.

Years later, he broke down in tears when I told him that I was playing poker professionally. Gambling was, for him, a risk too far. I explained to him that it really wasn't gambling. Yes, there was money involved, money that could be lost, but there was a high degree of skill; an understanding of mathematics, pot odds, and implied odds. Psychology and skill at reading people also came into play. It took a while, and quite a lot of effort on my part to explain it, but he eventually came around.

Both my brother and I have been very successful. If we'd listened to the naysayers, we wouldn't have been.

#motivation

The answer is yes, absolutely. The print market is where you will make the most money. It increases the number of collectors who can afford your work. It also means your work reaches a much wider audience, so over time, you become better known and can charge more. The next question is, do you produce limited editions or poster prints? You do both. Poster prints are mass-produced and sell for small amounts; limited editions sell for more. Both are profitable. The most likely criticism that you will hear is "Oh, you're so commercial." If you ever hear somebody say that, just say "Thank you very much." It will shut them up in a heartbeat. Ignore the naysayers; they've always got an opinion, which is rarely rooted in reality.

#artsales

Somebody recently commented that they wanted to be an artist and not a salesperson. Unfortunately, in today's world, you have to be both, unless, of course, you are wealthy enough to hire somebody to sell for you. With that said, let's talk about why people might not want to be seen as a salesperson.

Some people think that being in sales is beneath them. What they are failing to recognize is that we are all salespeople. We might not make money from it, but we are selling ourselves, our beliefs, and who we are every day.

Some people think that it is a dishonest profession. It's true there are some professions where being in sales has such connotations; however, for the most part, it is as honorable a profession as any other. If, as a salesperson, you act with integrity and honesty, then that is who you are.

Some people believe they aren't cut out to be salespeople. I would argue that it is a mental block: they already know how to sell; they just don't want to.

But what does a salesperson do? They sell a product or a service that people either want or need. Nobody needs to buy art, so the artist is dealing with people who want what they have created. If the artist doesn't sell their work, they eventually have to stop being an artist, for they cannot afford to be one. The artist who sells fills an emotional vacuum for the buyer and gets money so that they can continue creating. Both sides win. The corollary is also true. When the artist fails to sell their art to someone who really wants it, both sides lose.

Now, here's what I want you to think about. You're the artist, and you've sold a piece to somebody who fell in love with it. You've made some money, and they have a piece of art. How long will the money you've just made last you? How long will that piece give the buyer pleasure? I guarantee you that you, the artist, will have spent the money long before they fall out of love with that piece.

#artsales

If you have children, the question you will have heard most is "Why?" Children instinctively understand that it a) forces a response, and b) puts the person being asked on defense. When they get the answer, what is the next thing they ask? Yes, you've got it. They ask "Why?" again.

I have a slightly different question for those of you who sell art. My question is simple. "Why aren't you asking why more?" Why are you afraid of it? What is the worst that could happen if you say to a prospect who is just about to walk away forever, "If you don't mind me asking, why aren't you buying the piece that you so obviously love?" For those who think that's going too far, or it's too direct, why do you think that is so? Let me backtrack a little here. In the first place, I've defused the question by saying, "If you don't mind me asking," which, incidentally, are the six most powerful words in sales. I've followed that with a closing question designed to elicit the real and final objection.

It's absolutely true, and quite possible that the prospect will ignore the question and leave, which they were about to do anyway, or they can respond. If the former, you've lost nothing; if the latter, you have another opportunity to close the sale.

Don't be afraid of asking why. If parenting young children has taught you nothing, it is the power of that question, and of persistence, because they don't stop with asking why? once.

#artsales

We all think that some salespeople are aggressive and that it is an adversarial process; used-car salesmen are a typical example of that type of thinking/selling. But when it comes to selling art, it cannot and must not be so, no matter how frustrated you get or how badly you need to make the sale. Selling art should always be like a dance with a new partner. Searching for a rhythm, a synchronization, getting in tune. When that happens, it is magic.

Obviously, this is a metaphor for the sales process, but it is a valid one.

#artsales

One of the most powerful selling tools you have at your disposal is curiosity. Curiosity about where your customers come from, what they do, and what they collect; in other words, qualifying. Then there is curiosity about the art they are looking at, and finally curiosity about them buying. All of this curiosity is done by asking questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no. You could ask "Is it a sunny day?", or "How would you describe the weather today?" One will get an answer that leads nowhere, and the other will start a conversation. The other thing that curiosity will do for you is show interest in the other person.

#artsales

I have a young (19) Ukrainian friend. Like much of his generation, his life revolves around his phone. He is constantly on it, playing games and chatting online. We went out for dinner a while back, and I told him to put his phone away. I said, "We're going to have a conversation, you and I."

"What are we going to talk about?" he asked.

"What are you most interested in these days?"

"AI, I guess."

"Are you sure, or are you just guessing?"

"I'm sure."

"Good. So what is it about AI that you find most interesting?

The floodgates opened, and we had a most interesting conversation. The best part is that he enjoyed it, even though he thought he wouldn't.

As a seller of art, or anything for that matter, you have to be able to strike up a conversation, a conversation that has the sole purpose of you making a sale. You do that by asking, as I have said many times before, open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a yes or a no and elicit a response.

"What type of art have you collected so far?"

"What drew you to those pieces?"

"Where have you found (or bought) them?"

When you get a response that you feel is just scratching the surface, dig deeper by first paraphrasing what they just said and then asking a second question. As an example, if somebody says that they've collected abstract art so far, you might say, "Ah, abstract art. That's interesting. What is it about those pieces that appealed to you?

Let's say that they've collected abstract art, and yours is definitely not, say, "If you don't mind me asking what it is about my art that caught your eye?"

You must keep the conversation going until they either buy something or leave.

#artsales

A shrug of the shoulders followed with a smile, saying "Sorry", then walking away is a good technique to use when somebody is insistent on getting a better price. It shows a couple of things. One is you're firm on the price, and two, you don't care whether they buy it or not. The serious buyer will re-engage; the tire-kicker will not. The other thing you should never do, and this avoids that, is trying to educate or persuade your customer about why the piece is worth what you're asking for. Every piece of art should be priced at what you, the artist, believe it is worth. You don't need any justification whatsoever.

Sometimes, when a potential buyer walks away because you won't lower the price, they come back later for a second go-round. If I see them doing that, I shake my head, say, "No, same price." What's even better is if they come back and the piece has already sold to someone else. There, the shrug of the shoulders says everything you can possibly say.

#artsales