Emotional vs. logical buyers

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05bfd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Emotional vs. logical buyers</B></div> <div> <B>347-LOVE-ART  (347-568-3278)  </B><B> Toll Free 1-877-512-3333    Email: </B><A HREF="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com"><U><B>mike@mikealbin.com</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05cd2043.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Albin.Com "><U>Mike Albin.Com </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wd.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web design"><U>Web design</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="ma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Articles"><U>Marketing Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="sr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Show Reviews"><U>Show Reviews</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Tools"><U>Marketing Tools</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="l.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#777777" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Emotional vs. Logical Buyers</div> <bR> <div> I used to consider myself a pretty good salesperson, but that was before I started trying to sell artwork! Patty and I began doing art shows almost eight years ago, and from the beginning I kept thinking, "What am I doing wrong?" People loved our work, but only a very small percentage was actually buying. I must have been saying exactly the wrong words to turn off 99 percent of the people who came into our booth. How could that have been? </div> <div> Well, I started reading more books, talking with and watching other artists, and discussing this problem with gallery owners, art dealers and car salesmen. I tried everything, including discounting our work. I took notes on every sale we made. I took notes on every show variable, too: weather, crowds, the types of clothing we wore. I even noted if Patty was wearing her hair up or down. I wanted to see if there was a pattern on days when we sold more. As it turns out, the only thing that remained consistent was inconsistency! Patty finally drew the line when I went to see a psychic witch doctor (who had actually come with pretty good references). I was hoping to exorcise the demons that were stopping people from buying our artwork. </div> <div> Sometimes I actually sold more the less I tried, so I stopped talking so much and started to listen. I listened to what people said before they handed over their credit card, and I discovered that there are two very distinct types of buyers, emotional and logical, each with their separate list of concerns.</div> <div> You do not have to become a high-pressure salesperson to be successful. Never lie or bend the truth to make a sale. Simply listen to what people are telling you and help them find the piece they want, the piece that makes them happy. That's not selling; it's helping people get what they want. </div> <bR> <div> Emotional buyers</div> <bR> <div> These customers buy because they are drawn to the work on an emotional or spiritual level. They're easy to spot because they're always telling you how much they love your work and how talented they think you are. When they are trying to decide whether to buy, these people need to be encouraged on an emotional level, or you will not make the sale. </div> <div> Emotional buyers are more fun to deal with than logical ones because they love your work and usually come back to your booth several times during a show. They may even bring friends or neighbors with them on repeat trips. To help this type of buyer decide, I usually say something like, "Have you ever gone home from an art show wishing you had bought something that you didn't? You kicked yourself for an entire year wishing you had bought that piece, didn't you?" You can follow up with, "I bet you've never kicked yourself for buying something that really made you feel good." Throw in statements such as, "You know how great you are going to feel every time you walk past this hanging in your home!" </div> <div> Appeal to them with statements about feelings. Emotional buyers usually buy first and figure out where they are going to hang it when they get home. They love it and they want it - they just need a little encouragement to buy it. If they do not end up buying from you, they may very well end up regretting their decision later on. Sure, if they find you again in the future, they may purchase then, but a good portion of these people will never see you again. They'll move, get married or divorced, change jobs, or something else will come up. If they would just have had a little encouragement, you both could have gone home happy. It's not a high-pressure tactic - it's simply helping them have a piece of art that makes them happy. Remember, your artwork makes them feel good.</div> <bR> <div> Logical buyers</div> <bR> <div> Logical buyers are also easy to spot. They often have fabric swatches and ask questions such as, "Does this piece come in any different colors?" But these people have a very different set of concerns, ones that must be addressed on a logical level for you to make a sale. The logical crowd is looking for art that matches their décor. That's easy enough to gage, so what's preventing them from buying? There are several answers to this question, and you may not be able to overcome some of their objections, but you can try by focusing on four principle ones: price, fear, timing and lack of space.</div> <div> 1) Price: If someone loves your work but cannot afford it, offer them a payment plan. You keep the pieces while customers take up to a year to pay. It's a good way to have a bit of steady, monthly income. Charge their credit card or have them mail you a check each month until the piece is paid for. Patty and I generally have three or four charges like this every month. We get to keep and show the piece while collecting payment, and maybe even take an order or two for the next piece in the series. If that won't work for customers who can't afford one big payment, another possibility is to offer them something smaller and closer to their budget.</div> <div> 2) Fear: Fear of what? That's what you have to find out. Is it a fear of being ripped off, a fear of not getting what they really want, a fear of the piece falling apart in a year, a fear of spending too much money, a fear of trying to get a large piece home, or a fear of getting it home and not liking it? </div> <div> If you can connect with the people standing in front of you, talk with them and find out what their fear is. Then you may be able to calm that fear and make the sale. If customers are considering buying from you but are thinking, "I'm never going to get this piece in my car or be able to hang it," offering them a better deal is not going to close the sale. Offering to deliver the piece and help them hang it usually will! </div> <div> 3) Timing: If someone is remodeling or buying a home and is not ready to buy now, you have a greater chance if you offer one-of-a-kind pieces that cannot be duplicated. "Buy this piece now because it will be gone in six months," you might tell them. On the other hand, if you do make duplicates, you can always make them another one - and they know that. You may get lucky by offering a better price now, but, generally, if someone loves your work but is just not ready to buy, you may have to wait and hope they come back. </div> <div> 4) Lack of space: We've all heard this one: "I love your work but have no more wall space." Personally, I think this is just something people say as a convenient excuse to get out of your booth without buying. You probably will not sell to this person unless you have something inexpensive they can buy as a gift, so move on to the next person. </div> <div> Good luck selling, and pay attention to which type of customers you have at your next show. Have fun talking with people, making connections and wrapping up your works of art.</div> <bR> <div> This month's question comes from a sculptor who has been selling mostly in galleries and now wants to try the art-show circuit. She asked me if she should charge the same, slightly lower or significantly lower than the gallery price. </div> <div> I get this question a lot from artists, and I sense that they think they'll be able to sell more pieces if their prices are lower. My answer is always the same: Why sell your artwork more cheaply than someone else is already selling it for? You know it will sell for the retail amount because the gallery sells it for that. If you do sell it for less, you're only cheating yourself out of the extra money. </div> <div> Patty and I occasionally discount our work 10 percent from our Web site prices to give people an incentive to buy at the show. It's a technique we use to close a sale. We do this because we hear people say at shows, "We'll just order off the Web site." Most of those people, however, never get around to buying off the Web. But my rule is never discount more than 10 percent unless someone wants to buy three or more pieces, or you've got a piece that you've been hanging onto for a year and just want to get rid of. In that case, we may go with a 15-percent discount. </div> <div> So, going back to the reader's question, offering a 10-percent discount is acceptable as long as the galleries you sell to are nowhere close to the show. If you are within 200 miles of a gallery you sell to, keep the prices exactly the same. It's not ethical to undersell your galleries. If you factor in your expenses for doing the shows (hotels, food, travel and the time away from your home and studio), you actually need to charge more to cover your expenses. </div> <div> By selling your work for the same price that the galleries sell it for, you are taking pride in the fact that, yes, your artwork is expensive because you are a great artist! Make a name for yourself as a great artist, not a discount artist. Your pieces are works of art and should be appreciated as such.</div> <div> I'll close with the story of my friend who sells very nice jewelry boxes - works of art. His line is one of my favorites. He tells potential customers, "I'm not trying to mass-produce jewelry boxes that will go into every home; I am trying to make a few really nice jewelry boxes that will go into a few really nice homes and be appreciated by the people who purchase them." It's a great way to make your customers feel like they are part of an exclusive group. </div> <div> All of my marketing articles, including ones on pricing work, are on my Web site, www.mikealbin.com. Thank you all for the great feedback, and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at mike@mikealbin.com.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>