Last week, in Part One of this guide, I wrote about getting comfortable talking about your art, avoiding assumptions about prospective buyers, making genuine connections, and building confidence through preparation and practice.
Now we get to the other side of selling art: what happens when someone is interested enough that buying becomes a real possibility.
If you haven’t read Part One, you can read it here.
Don’t Sell from Your Own Wallet
This is a lesson I learned that made a huge difference in my sales efforts. It’s simple. Never assume that someone else thinks about money the same way you do.
It might be difficult to imagine buying several of your artworks, especially if they are expensive and beyond your budget. In your mind, purchasing them all at once might not be realistic. But you can’t possibly know what someone else can buy or what their intentions are. And you can’t judge them in advance.
Don’t make the mistake of projecting your feelings about your financial situation on others. You might feel like these are expensive and that you can’t afford them yourself. But you almost never know enough about someone else to judge whether they can afford your art. The best thing to do is show them your work and let them decide.
Studies show that when you start by showing someone the most expensive work first, everything else seems affordable. And sometimes you find the ideal buyer who falls in love with your most expensive work and wants to take it home immediately. You have got to start somewhere, so start at the top and give yourself the best chance to sell your best work or make the rest of your more affordable work seem even less expensive by comparison.
Give People a Chance to Buy More
When someone buys a piece of art, it doesn’t mean they’re not open to owning more. You never know. Sometimes you need to make a good suggestion. Suppose someone likes one of your artworks and you have another piece that works beautifully with it. You can suggest, “Can I show you the companion piece for this?” Or, “I have two smaller complementary pieces. Together, they would make a beautiful and distinctive collection when displayed in the same setting.”
If it makes sense for you to do it this way, it can be excellent for setting your work up to sell multiples. This approach lets you sell more work. You can say, “When I create my art, I often think of it in suites of two or three.” That way, they can work individually or together to create a visual experience.
The point is to give yourself and your buyers the option to buy more than one piece when they show an interest in your work. It doesn’t mean it will happen every time you present it, but putting it out there gives you the opportunity to sell multiples and plant the idea that this is an option they might not have considered otherwise.
Learn to Negotiate Without Immediately Cutting Your Price
If you’ve been doing this for any length of time, you know there will be situations where someone asks for a discount. It doesn’t mean you have to say yes immediately or offer them 15% off. You don’t need to become defensive and flatly turn them down.
Negotiation is a skill, like selling, that you improve with practice and experience. You can decline the offer, but you can’t counter it. You can suggest another lower price. Have you worked out in advance what you would like to do in these circumstances?
Maybe you say, “Are you local?” I can come, deliver this, and hang it in your home at no charge. You might offer to pay the tax. The sale price is flat. Or you can give a discount of your choice. But you want to know your options before you get put on the spot.
Just because they’re looking for a better deal doesn’t mean you’re pricing your work incorrectly. Sometimes it only means they’re asking. And the question shows a level of buying intent you don’t want to let go. You can tell them you don’t normally discount your pieces because you have nearly always had the good fortune of selling your work at full price. Then ask, “What did you have in mind?”
That puts the question back on them, which helps you understand what they’re looking for and whether it’s realistic or unreasonable. Realistic usually means they are probably a good prospect. Unreasonable means they may be the kind of person who always tries to drive a hard bargain, or they could just be pulling your chain.
You don’t know, so either way, stay calm and remember you’ve already worked out what you’re willing to do. As we talked about before, you understand that just because you get into a sales situation doesn’t mean you’re going to sell it. And it’s OK. Your life will go on even if you don’t make the sale. So do your best to accommodate someone with what you’ve already determined you’re willing to do, and be willing to let them go if the negotiation doesn’t work out.
Easter Eggs and Other Secrets
An Easter egg might be a deliberately hidden element. A detail in your artwork that is not obvious. Are there such elements in your artwork? It might be some intricate details that took a lot of time. Or something that doesn’t pop out but subtly adds to the work? Or there is a bonus meaning to the piece, something in plain sight that needs explanation. These are opportunities to engage your buyer with your work in a completely different way.
You can say, “There’s a secret I’d like to show you in this work.” Then draw them closer and explain what it is. These are the kinds of details that buyers love. You can almost be certain they’ll share them with the people they show this artwork to. They’re proud. They own it and feel like they’re sharing insider secrets, just as they did when you first showed them something they wouldn’t have seen or known otherwise.
This can be gimmicky if you do it the wrong way, but it can also be compelling and interesting if you do it in a way that is true to how you make your art and present it to others.
If You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get
That heading is an old saying that’s been around for a long time because it’s so true. It’s a shame to have a great conversation with someone. You tell them engaging stories about your work or hear them share details from their life and then lose a sale because you never asked for it.
Here’s an excellent way to set up a sale before you ask for the order. Get a mental picture in your buyer’s mind. Ask them where they would see this artwork hanging in their home, office, or wherever they have in mind.
When they respond, follow up. Will it hang on a wall by itself? Is it in a room with natural light, or would a picture light be better? What you’re asking the buyer to do is see that artwork in their home.
You don’t need to, and probably wouldn’t feel comfortable, trying to construct some elaborate, clever closing technique. Instead, learn to ask the question. One that you are comfortable with or that fits the situation. For instance. If you’re liking this as much as it seems, can I wrap it up for you? Should we write this one up? Would you like to see these two together? Would you like me to wrap this up so you can take it with you, or ship it?
The idea is to get to the point where you’re asking the other person for a commitment. And once you ask, the next thing that you do is go silent. It may feel uncomfortable, but resist the urge to fill the void of silence by saying or doing anything. Give the other person time to process, and wait for them to respond to your question.
Hopefully, they respond positively, and you’ve got yourself a sale. If they hesitate or give you a reason like, “I’m not ready to make the decision today,” or anything else, you can gently probe. I’d love for you to begin enjoying this artwork. Can I ask what’s keeping you from deciding? And again, go silent. Let them answer.
Selling Doesn’t Mean Becoming a Slick Salesperson
Selling isn’t about memorizing closing techniques or manipulating someone into buying something they don’t want. It’s simply about becoming better at something necessary to get your work into the world.
It’s an overnight process to become more competent at selling. Start by getting comfortable talking about your work. Be curious about the people you meet. Who. May become a buyer.
Don’t prejudge what someone can afford. And give your buddies choices. Think about things like discounts. Free shipping. I’ll pay the taxes. And. Negotiating in good faith. And most importantly, when someone shows an interest in your work. Don’t be afraid to ask them to buy it.
You don’t need to be an outgoing salesperson to make any of these things happen. You need practice. And the more you do it, the less like selling it feels. It becomes what it should have been all along. That is a conversation between someone who made the art and someone who might want to live with it.
Keep This Guide
Parts One and Two of Selling Art Is a Skill That You Can Improve are available free to all Art Marketing News subscribers through September 30.
After that, both parts will move into the Art Marketing News Guides section, where they’ll remain available as a resource for paid subscribers.
See you next week.
— Barney
P.S. This week’s Art Business Brief (exclusive for paid subscribers flags early holiday shipping surcharges that could quietly cut into margins — plus quick updates on resale tests at Bonhams, Etsy’s tariff shift, and new public‑art funding angles. There’s also a small but intriguing movement toward connecting everyday buyers with working artists outside the gallery system.