This post is in response to a conversation I overheard the other day at an art fair I was attending.  The artist who whined the loudest was issuing verbal complaint regarding the lack of sales at the fair.  I found it interesting because I knew that a few other artist I had talked to were doing quite well and were excited and upbeat about being there.

I overheard her loud complaints while I was standing in another artists booth space.  As a bonified art and marketing geek I make it my point to check out as many spaces as possible when I go to any kind of art show.  My ADD style of perusing had not yet brought me to her doorstep so I deliberately walked across to her booth so I could check out her work. (this is like a bad horror movie…you may see where this is going)

As I moved over and entered her space I didnt even get  any eye contact. Not a smile a nod or a hello. Not a sneer, leer or even a snort. It was as if I didnt even exist. No love. Wierd, I was the only one in there at the time.  After the cursory guy-type breath and pit check I decided I was clean and worked up the courage to approach her.  Her work was really nice…very unique.

My question uttered forth, much like that of a school boy asking the new girls name. It was simple really, “Do you have prints available?” (I knew based on the original prices that a print would be a more likley purchase for me) My skin crawled as lady Godiva turned from her interior design magazine and set her stoney gaze in my direction. I felt I would lose bladder control as the velocity from her shriek-like answer threatened to tear my geek-glasses from my face. “I ONLY DO ORIGINALS!” Yikes! Stop,drop and roll man. I was out the doorway frantically searching for my wife and kids so I could save them.

C’mon. I hope she likes rice and beans sans beans cuz she aint selling no work that-a-way. Yep. True story by the way. Check this out though, first at a street show, expo or fair you cant control the environment or the type of person who comes in to see you. Variety is the spice of life here. Dont cha think it might make sense to leave the nicest high-end work at home? Use some prints, small sketches and less expensive stuff if your trying to drive sales.

In my opinion, the best way to treat shows that you dont get to control the enviornment, is as an entry to your marketing funnel.  Showcase a high-end piece or two but try to cover your expenses with less expensive work.  Use the opportunity as a marketing venue to start the ever-so-important relationship. Ask them questions about themselves, engage in the art of conversation.  Art lovers enjoy talking with artists. You are the heros. Read Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and apply that information in an authentic manor. Be sure to have a point of collection via cards or clipboard so you can market to them down the road. (That should be the number one goal of most street shows or fairs).

You will find that you have more fun, make more sells on the spot and more opportunities for larger sells down the road.

Let me know what you think.

What I am talking about here is the perfect buying environment. One of the many hats all small business people have to wear is that of “salesman”. Now don’t get all scratchy on me because I am not politically correct and saying salesperson. Gag. Of course I mean man or women. I choose to use salesman using a conjugation, sales and of humankind. Ok there. (WOW the ole’ ADD gene has bite me in the rear today, sorry) Must be a hotspot for me.

Alright back to the issue a hand….Salesmanship gives me a stomach ache. I just want to create. I don wanna sale, wah. Well I hope you like lentils and rice then because somebody somewhere has to sell. Perhaps you have made it to the level that you never have to sell because your rep or galleries do it all for you. Ok, well you still have to sell them. Maybe you are the less than 1% who are accomplished enough that galleries are beating down your doors, you have an unlisted number and taken down your website. Cool. But if that is so you wouldn’t be reading this, and even if that is so if you are taking commissions, check this out.

Creating the perfect buying environment. Where is the best environment? It is in the environment best suited for the selling activity. That is vague. Well look at this example from copywriting genius and teacher Joe Silverman.

The Honolulu Experience
i was in Honolulu after a trip to the Far East. I usually stop at Honolulu to recover after traveling so long and so far and over so many time zones. As I was walking down one of the main streets in Waikiki, I stopped to look into and art gallery and saw a painting of scenes from outer space. Since JS&A was known for selling space age products, I thought the painting would fit very nicely in my office. I walked into the gallery noticing how very elegant it looked and saw the paintings neatly displayed on the wall. The gallery look like it sold expensive paintings. (he expected it to be expensive. emphasis Tim) In short, I expected it to be expensive.
It didn’t take to long before a well-dressed saleswoman noticed me, walked over and asked if I needed assistance. “Beautiful Painting, isn’t it?” she asked. (a better question so its not yes or no would have been…what do you like best about the painting?) “Very nice,” I nodded. “It really looks great.” At that point the lady said, “Please follow me,” as she lifted the painting off the wall and walked towards the back of the large gallery. I followed.

We entered a large room, carpeted from floor to ceiling. In the middle of the room were three very comfortable easy chairs all facing the front of the room where the saleslady mounted the painting on the wall. She then went back to the entrance of the room, turned up the classical music being piped in through load speakers and dimmed the lights leaving two spotlights focused on the painting. The Painting Looked Incredible.
I must admit the painting looked incredible. the vibrant colors, the quality of the art, and the nice feeling I experienced from hearing the classical music put me in such a buying mood that I was ready to reach into my pocket and pull out my credit card and buy the painting.———-

Joe Silverman did end up buying the painting and over time 49 others from this artist. He also eventually sponsored the artist and sold his paintings and prints through JS&A. What we should take away from this is that we want to set up a buying environment and we need to do it from the beginning with branding, advertising and sales copy all the way through to the packaging our clients receive the canvas, print or whatever in.

You have total control over the appearance. If we were selling a nice upper end and expensive piece we would present ourselves in an environment that showed class and refinement-one that exuded confidence and trust. If we have a niche that is more “bargain” orientated we would have a much different environment to piece together.

In the next piece I will walk you through one way that we attempt to control the buying environment for a commissioned piece. Until then, Live, Love, Laugh.

tim

I left a post on the digital painters forum today about elevator speeches. I thought this post was already on my art marketing buzz blog but it was not. I wrote it on another blog. So here you go.

Basically the elevator speech or pitch is the first volley from the standpoint of self promotion. It really isnt a “speech” per-say it is basically an introduction. It is a short description of what you do or the point you want to make given in 30+60 seconds and is the first impression of your business. Thought out, planned, and practiced.We all have heard the ol’ “You dont have a second chance for the first impression” saying eh? Trite perhaps but true. The purpose can vary but here we will look at introduction. As entrepreneurs or infopreneurs we need to be diligent about marketing and self promotion. So here is the target, to write a clear, concise Elevator Speech so people say “Wow! You do that?! I want that! When do we get started?”

Your Elevator Speech tells (1) who you are and who your clients are, (2) what you do for people — the results you get, and (3) the value you provide — what’s in it for your clients.

Here is a short blurb I use when I am prospecting for Portrait clients. When someone introduces themselves and i am responding, “Hi I’m Tim. I help VIP families retain there visual heritage by providing heirloom commissioned portraits in timeless mediums.” Not extremely compelling and needs some tweaks but it works because usually they say, “what?” That is an open door for me to say, “I am an artist that specializes in blending cutting edge techniques with the masters proven quality control processes specific to heirloom portraits.” It is a way to start a conversation and they ask questions. It is far better than saying, “Hi I am Tim…I am a photographer or I am an artist”

Here is what I use in the investment world. “Hi I’m Tim. I help people make smart decisions about money, I facilitate the creation of strategic financial plans for lifestyle.”

Here is an another example of an Pitch from my day job. This is from Robert Pagliarini he is the CEO of SeekingCapital.com. You will get the idea, it is 60 seconds and really what we want is more in the neighborhood of 15-30 for a quick intro. So this is too long for my tastes but will work for some specific things.

“Here is what I’d use to “pitch” SeekingCapital.com:

SeekingCapital.com is changing the future of private equity investing.

Private equity is a $100 billion a year market, with over 400,000 entrepreneurs aggressively seeking capital at any given time.

SeekingCapital.com offers entrepreneurs and investors an efficient and uniquely interactive method for obtaining or investing capital in pre-IPO companies.

SeekingCapital.com is not an “Internet only” company, but supports its online community with local franchises in the United States and internationally.

Our team has decades of experience in the securities industry, investment banking, private equity, and executive management. My partner and I have worked together side by side for several years co-managing and running the entire Internet operations of a publicly traded brokerage firm.

Our competitors such as XYZ Corp. and ABC Capital have had much success-ABC Capital was recently valued at $550 million . . . despite several limitations.

SeekingCapital.com isn’t just a listing or matching service, we offer a community that breeds interaction, education, and discussion. We work with companies globally, through all stages of funding, and across all industries.

We are anticipating $XXX million this round to be used for employee building, increased office space, and marketing.

We have a compelling two page executive summary that I would like to send you. Can I get your address?”

About the Author:
Robert Pagliarini is the CEO of SeekingCapital.com-an online and offline community that offers entrepreneurs a cost-effective, efficient, and uniquely interactive method for obtaining capital while offering qualified investors access to select pre-screened, pre-IPO investment opportunities.

Okay, so again for me to long and to salesy but…it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For an intro something short may be more appropriate. The big thing is do something.