Community Blog

Conversing With Collectors



by Lori Woodward Simons

A handful of my artist friends get nervous and feel panicked about the prospect of conversing with would-be collectors at an outdoor show or gallery opening. At outdoor shows, artists sometimes resort to reading books - therefore avoiding eye contact with those who venture into their booths, and these same artists will avoid "talking to strangers" at openings by engaging in a deep conversation with folks they already know.

As a follow up to Clint Watson’s recent commentary on why artists should hard sell, I recognized the seized the opportunity to write about a topic that’s been in the queue for a while... "how to talk to folks who obviously love your artwork".

Now, I believe it will be helpful to those who have fear of speaking to strangers about their work to realize that when folks show up at an art show, hardly any of them were dragged to it kicking and screaming. Attendees are there for a handful of reasons, but one of them is that they love and sometimes buy art. A number of times, my husband and I have arrived at an opening, saying... "we’re not buying anything tonight". Well, guess what we did before leaving? We love artwork, and it doesn’t take much for us to fall in love at first sight with a painting. We’re not super wealthy and buy only one painting or so a year, so when we stand - staring in front of a painting for more than a minute discussing it quietly between us, we’ve gotten to the point of being quite serious about buying it.

Another encouraging note: collectors remember the event of buying a painting as a special experience... often they can tell you every detail of the day and event. We artists can feel confident that when we are selling our work that the buyers are having the times of their lives.

I did a lot of outdoor art shows in New England before moving my work into the gallery setting. It was in this venue that I learned to "sell" my work. Clint is absolutely right, someone’s often got to ask for the sale. All the art marketing gurus’ books agree: art must be sold. It will not simply fly off the walls if no one is there to actively sell it. The good part is that folks want to be asked for the sale - when they’ve come to the point of wanting to own it. So what does an artist say or not say to prospective collectors?

Smile: offer a smile to everyone who passes by your booth or looks like they want to talk to you at an opening. Be interested in their favorite subject – "THEM". Be like a golden retriever... it doesn’t hurt if they like the artist as much as the work. If I see someone contemplating one of my artworks, that’s my signal to engage that person or couple in conversation. I avoid using words that have a negative connotation by leaving out phrases such as, "I tried, attempted, goofed, worked, struggled".. Well, you get the idea. You won’t want to give any indication that you think your work is inferior in any way. After all, they’re probably staring at it in amazement, and the last thing you want to do is insult their taste by implying that you think it’s substandard. If you must, pretend that the painting was done by an artist whom you truly admire.

Clint suggests asking the question: "What do you like about the painting?" And I agree with him that the artist should not go down a rabbit hole - going on and on about the process. You don’t want to bore your would-be collectors. Find out how the painting relates to their experience.

I don’t have room in this blog to get into the fine details about what to ask, but before you go to your next opening or show, write down some non-offensive things to say about your work.

Think of open ended questions (questions that can’t be answered with a yes or no) that you can ask those who seem interested in your work.

Then finally, when the collector stands, and looks and gets a bit silent, they are often expecting you to ask for the sale at that point. They want to be sold... so offer them the chance to buy:

Would you like to add this piece to your collection?

I take Mastercard and Visa, you can take it home with you today.

I can see that you love this painting - is there any way that I can make it easy to get it into your home today?

(If you’re at a gallery opening, take the person over to the a member of the staff to complete the transaction, and then be sure to chat with them briefly after they buy).

You can think of your own closing statements. A friend of mine often removed the painting from the wall or display and then let the interested folks view it away from the other works. If. after all this talk (and the prospect has not looked like they were trying to escape) - and they say well... no, ask them what is keeping them from owning the artwork and if you can be of any help. If they still say no... and don’t offer me a reason, I let them go at that point. But before they leave, I ask them to sign my guest book with contact info and ask permission to send them my email newsletter. Most of the time, you’ll hear - not sure because.... then you have an opportunity to help them solve that problem.

OK... very long blog today. Do whatever you can do to speak confidently about your work, and remember... if they stand and stare, they are probably in love with it.

Sincerely,

Lori Woodward Simons

"Reproduced with permission by Lori Woodward Simons" 


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