A note about this guide: This is the first of a two-part Art Marketing News guide about becoming more comfortable and effective at selling your art. Part Two will be published next Sunday.
I’m making both parts available for free to all Art Marketing News subscribers through September 30. After that, they’ll be found in the Guides section reserved for paid subscribers.
I’ve worked with enough artists over the years to know that many feel uncomfortable selling their art. That is completely understandable. As I’ve often said, I’ve never met an artist who became an artist to get into business and learn marketing and sales skills.
Developing selling skills is all just part of the business of art. They are things you need to get at least proficient at if you want to earn an income from what you make. Unless you are one of the lucky few who have someone who can do this for you, this is an unavoidable part of getting your work to market.
The good news is that since selling is a skill, you can get better at it. You don’t have to change who you are to improve your selling skills. A little knowledge and practice will go a long way toward helping your potential buyers decide to purchase your work.
As you continue to improve your selling skills, you’ll find you feel more at ease using them, and that builds self-confidence. That is an attractive trait. Your prospective buyers will take notice, which will help them feel good about making the purchase.
That’s part of the equation when it comes to buying something expensive. That is subjective. When the buyer not only feels motivated to own the piece but also feels confident that they’re making a good decision, it removes doubt that might otherwise stall or kill a sale.
You’ve likely experienced this before. You sense that the buyer wants to decide but is held back by uncertainty rather than affordability. They might be unsure whether it’s the right piece or whether they can confidently make a good purchase of something rare and costly. They can’t admit this directly, as it makes them feel insecure, so they hide their doubts. When you appear comfortable and confident discussing your art and pricing, it helps to alleviate their unspoken doubts and fears about making the purchase. And you always thought you were the only one feeling insecure about closing a sale.
Get Comfortable Talking About Your Art
I understand it’s a lot more fun to spend time developing skills and creating art than to learn sales skills. That’s natural; we all gravitate to what we like and tend to avoid the things we don’t. Selling is something many would like to avoid, but for artists, it is unavoidable and comes with the territory.
It helps to clear any negative thoughts you have about selling. Instead, try thinking of selling as mostly a way to explain clearly, answer questions (including the unspoken ones that always come up), and politely ask to make the sale. We’ll talk about the last part in a minute, but let’s talk about talking about your art.
I’ve said for years that every good thing that happens in an artist’s career begins with a conversation. Get in a gallery, get a grant, get a favored art show booth, get into a juried show, impress a potential patron, and, of course, get a sale. Since conversation is inevitable, why not teach yourself to be conversant in your natural way of speaking?
Before you get into the details, picture yourself and your buyers in a selling situation, like at a show. They’ve shown interest in one of your pieces by asking you something about it. You are calm, centered, and casual.
You may want the sale, or even need it to make the show profitable, but you don’t show it. A couple of imperceptible deep breaths through your nose lower the anxiety, and you smile at them because this is not your first rodeo, and rather than wanting to make a sale, you think of how they will enjoy owning your artwork. A two- or three-second mindset refresh puts you in the right frame of mind to make this interaction pleasant and productive for everyone.
Practice Makes You Natural and Confident
When you realize you can’t sell them all and you might not be able to sell this one, you can let the anxiety about getting the deal done slip away. That’s the first part. The second is that you already know what you will say and how you will answer your buyers' questions. You’ve practiced how you will answer them, which adds to your comfort and confidence.
Make a list of the questions people regularly ask you. What inspired the piece? Why did you choose the subject? How did you make it? How long did it take? Is it part of a series? What made you start working this way?
You don’t have to sound like a robot that repeats memorized phrases. But it helps to have a one- or two-sentence standard answer.
Practice answering those questions out loud. Your studio is a perfect place to rehearse because you’re already spending time there. You can talk about what you’re doing as you do it by imagining someone is standing beside you asking questions. Like they are looking at you working at the easel while in your booth at a show
You want to make talking about your art feel as comfortable as possible so that when you’re having a real conversation, you’re not stumbling and searching for words. It’s not a buyer anymore; it’s another human you are more comfortable talking with about your work. That attitude makes it easier for someone else to talk with you about it.
Don’t Prejudge the Situation
It’s quite natural to make assumptions and instantly evaluate a situation before it unfolds. Experience gets in the way sometimes. For example, the last three people who asked that question didn’t buy, so here we go again. Or they don’t look serious or like they could afford my expensive originals. Or your Spidey sense tells you that they aren’t going to buy.
The reality is that you don’t know those things for sure. If they are showing interest, there’s a chance, and you’re already committed to being there, so why not set aside negative assumptions and engage with an open mind?
I was in sales for decades, and right to the end, I kept being surprised when my first instinct about how a closing situation would turn out was wrong. What I taught myself was not to get in my own way and to keep a positive mental attitude that this deal might happen if I just gave it a chance.
I might have perceived that they didn’t have the means, or maybe the interest, or both, to buy an expensive year-long ad campaign from me. Then they surprised me by agreeing to 12 full-page four-color ads and two booths in four shows. Not every deal was an unexpected home run like that, but similar things happened often enough to teach me that it was not my job to judge someone; it was my job to help them understand why and what they should buy. Then let them respond.
You’ve been in the booth all day. It’s hot. And it seems like one person after another has come through, and no one is buying. That’s when it’s hard to keep your positive mental attitude. But that’s also when you need it the most. These situations that you put yourself in don’t come along that often. And you probably invested your time and money to get there. It’s very helpful to do your best, even when it seems pointless, because you can’t always predict the situation or the people visiting your booth. And it’s not your 9-to-5 for the rest of your career; it’s a few hours or days that you can get through.
Take Genuine Interest in the Person in Front of You
I recently wrote about why connections are more valuable than followers. When you have a genuine conversation, it creates the possibility of a connection. And connections can lead to sales and more. Connections are what create repeat purchases, referrals, introductions, and relationships that last for years.
So in some circumstances. The best thing that can happen is not that you made a sale, but that you made a connection. We all want the immediate gratification of closing a deal and bringing home the bacon. But we’re also in this for the long run.
People you meet are most valuable to you because of the people they know, rather than because they bought a piece of art on the spot. Ideally, you get both—someone who buys your art and becomes a long-term buyer. A connection may even develop into a friendship or become a benefactor.
One of the best and easiest ways to make a connection is to pay attention to them. Notice something distinctive and comment on it. I’ve seen my wife make a comment to a total stranger about her dress, shoes, hair, or something else. It’s a genuine observation she shares, and at that moment she makes an instant connection with the other person. Maybe it’s fleeting sometimes, but it might turn into something more.
From my observation, this is a female-to-female form of communication that men don’t share as readily. As a male, I’m more selective with comments, only speaking up when I notice something and feel comfortable.
Nevertheless, observant people pick up clues about others’ interests. For guys, it might be a 49ers jersey or a golf shirt from a famous club. You don’t need to be a fan or golfer to comment or ask questions like, ‘Do you go to 49ers games?’ or ‘Did you play golf at Pebble Beach?’
You don’t have to be a football or golf fan to inquire about someone’s obvious interest, but it helps if you know the Super Bowl was played there recently or that Pebble Beach is in Carmel on the Pacific Coast and is arguably the most beautiful course worldwide. It’s small talk that shows interest in the other person, simple as that.
Starting the conversation about them makes the transition to talking about your art. Easier. You might ask such questions as. Which of these pieces caught your attention? Do you collect art? What kind of artwork do you enjoy?
You know you can’t just rapidly fire off a bunch of questions. You’re not interrogating them; you’re just engaging them in a conversation. They’ll let you know whether they’re interested in carrying on. And if they’re not, you can drop it. But when you do have a lively conversation, listen to what they’re saying. The information people give you can help you understand what they like and what they might want.
And there’s another reason for showing interest. And that’s because people appreciate being. Treated. Like they matter, rather than just someone who might buy your art. It’s amazing how far. A little bit of interest and human kindness. Can take you.
Confidence Is Not a Personality Trait Like Extroversion
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’d be better at selling if you were more outgoing. That may be true, but I’ve known plenty of people who were extroverted or outgoing and still weren’t particularly good at sales. Likewise, I’ve known even more artists who were introverts and still excelled at selling their art.
Confident people are attractive, and it doesn’t matter what they look like, who they are, how much money they have, or how smart they are. It’s just that they have an aura of confidence.
And it doesn’t have to be bold. It can be quiet, calm, and confident, and that is just as powerful. In fact, it may even be more so than someone who is borderline boastful, because it’s not off-putting.
Buyers are looking for clues. They may not even be consciously aware, but their subconscious is evaluating the circumstances. When you appear confident, whether you’re talking about your prices or your art, or answering questions, without any sign of anxiety or nervousness, they notice.
That’s why preparation and practice help. The more you’re able to talk about your work, answer questions, meet prospective buyers, and deal with the occasional rejection, the more confident you become in your presentation, in yourself, and in the value of your art. All of that makes a difference for a buyer deciding whether they want to own your art.
Build Confidence One Step at a Time
You don’t need a personality makeover to become more confident. You’ll find you improve incrementally through small, steady steps. Work on a few things, like practicing how to answer common questions about your work and teaching yourself to discuss your prices calmly and clearly. That’s how you can become more comfortable explaining the ideas and process behind your art.
Over time, your preparation will strengthen your confidence, and your prospective buyers will notice. When you observe your progress, it creates a positive feedback loop that motivates you to keep learning, practicing, and improving.
Coming Next Week
Being comfortable talking about your art and confident dealing with prospective buyers gets you a long way. But eventually, someone may actually want to buy.
In Part Two, we’ll get into what happens then: why you shouldn’t sell from your own wallet, how to allow buyers to buy more, negotiating without immediately cutting your price, using stories and secrets in your artwork, and something every artist who sells directly eventually has to learn—how to ask for the sale.
See you next week.
— Barney
Part Two publishes next Sunday.