How to Close a Sale

<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>How to Close a Sale</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"> <bR> <div> How to Close a Sale</div> <div> After talking with so many artists while doing shows it seems the biggest problem facing most of us is our own inability to sell our work. It's happened to all of us. A couple is in your booth for the third time, staring at one of your pieces. You've told them your story, the story behind the piece itself and they are still staring at it contemplating the purchase. WHAT CAN YOU SAY TO CLOSE THIS SALE? If you will read on I may be able to help. To make the problem even worse we usually jump to the conclusion in our own minds that it must be the price is too high so the first thing out of our mouth is "how bout I take a few dollars off for you?" </div> <div> When someone is standing in your booth contemplating a purchase, price may not be an issue at all. If they are wondering if the colors will work in their home, taking a few dollars off the price is not solving their problem. There are a number of problems that may be going through their mind holding up the sale. If you want to make the sale happen you're going to have to find out what they are and have an answer to solve them. If you can do this more often than not you will make the sale.  Don't be too hard on yourself when people are not buying your work.  This may not be your show.  Sometimes you can say all the right things at all the right times and people will just not buy from you.  People are drawn to art in the same way they are drawn to automobiles. Have you ever seen a really hot looking car you had to go over and take a look at? You have no intention of buying it you just want a better look at it. If the salesman offered to take 1000.00 off the 60,000.00 price are you any more likely to buy it? Probably not and when you walk away from not buying the car should the salesman kick himself for not being able to close the sale?  So don't kick yourself when someone walks away from your booth and does not buy!    </div> <div> THE BEST NEWS I HAVE FOR YOU IS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BECOME A HIGH PRESSURE SALES PERSON TO SELL YOUR WORK! All you have to do is ask a few simple questions to find out what it is this potential customer is looking for. Your main objective should never be I'm going sell something to this person. All you have to is <U>try to help people find what THEY want.</U> If you can do this, you're selling! </div> <div> I have found out through a lot of trial and error that selling artwork to someone that does not want it will never work. Trying to pressure someone into buying artwork is going to scare them off more often than not. </div> <div> So what do you do, what do you say to close that person that's in your booth? First and foremost the best thing you can do to sell your work is to sit in or very close to your booth and BE YOURSELF. Talk to as many interested people as you can and tell them your story. How you do what you do. What inspires you to do your art? Your education. If there's a story that goes with your art, tell it! Most art buyers want to relate some how with the art and the artists they buy from. When someone walks into their house and mentions the piece of art, the ! buyer will usually tell them your whole story. So get to know your patrons a little and let them get to know you.</div> <div> Let's start from the top. A couple walks into your booth and is looking around. Say "Hello" and introduce yourself in a friendly manor. Do not ask if you can help them. Think about when you are shopping and a sales person asks you. You usually respond with "no, I'm just looking." You've turned a shopper into a looker. If they have been in my booth for awhile and have not said anything to me, I usually say to them in the form of a statement, "If I can help you find something ! special please let me know." The usually response to this is, "ok, thank you." Wait for them to start asking questions. Answer those questions and then you can start to ask a few questions of your own to find out what their needs are. My first question back to the interested couple is usually "Do you live around here?" If the answer is no, come back with "I will be happy to ship any piece you pick out." You've just solved a potential problem. If the answer is yes, <U>later on</U> in the conversation you can ask them if they would like to take it home to see how well the colors match. It's too early for that statement now.! Keep the conversation light and watch them to see which pieces they are looking at. If you see them whispering to each other you should back off a bit and give them a moment. Listen for certain types of questions like "Does this come in a different size or different colors?" Before you start showing them your work in different sizes and colors, answer their question with a question of your own. "What size or colors are you looking for?" You've just saved yourself and them a lot of time by narrowing down what you will now show them. If you do not have a piece in their size or colors the next question should be "would you be interested in having us make a special piece for you?" Keep asking simple and light questions to determine what they are looking for. Once you have found the answer to that. </div> <div> Your next set of questions needs to figure out WHAT IS HOLDING THEM BACK? Think about the next time you are in a store contemplating a big purchase. Notice how you are feeling, what is holding you back? People are in your booth feeling the same way, trying to overcome those objections on their own. Trying to justify and rationalize spending the money. </div> <div> There are a number of real problems or objections that can be getting in the way of your potential sale. By asking simple questions can eliminate them. There are also false objections that I will discuss later on. Real potential problems can include: </div> <div> 1) Is this piece the correct size?</div> <div> 2) Correct colors?</div> <div> 3) If I don't like it I may be stuck with it.</div> <div> 4) How am I going to get this piece home? </div> <div> 5) Price</div> <div> 6) The last piece of art I bought at a show fell apart 6 months after I bought it. </div> <div> If you can solve these problems for your potential buyers you will turn them into customers. Problems 1, 2 and 3 can all be taken care of if someone lives locally. "Would you like to take the piece home to see how well it will work for you? I'm going to be here until 5:30, if it doesn't work, bring it back and I will make another one for you or refund your money. If they are bringing it back because it is too small, offer to make them a larger one. The amount they just paid will be their deposit on the new larger one you will now make for them. Ask them how much larger they want it! </div> <div> Problem 4 can be solved by offering free delivery while you are in town for the show. After that you'll be happy to ship it to them but they will have to pay the shipping cost. This is a great selling tool, buy it this weekend and avoid the shipping costs! Always charge more for shipping than it cost you to ship it. You have time and materials involved in shipping costs and you deserve to be paid them. If they complain the shipping cost is high, tell them you package it according to shipping guidelines and there are costs associated with that. If they still continue to complain I am usually blunt with them and say "I am in business to make a profit, no one goes into business and! sells everything at cost." This will usually quiet the complaint. </div> <div> One sales closing technique I use at the show if I am trying to persuade someone into placing an order is offer free shipping if they place the order at the show. Monday morning that offer expires. Some people just want to get a deal and this will help close them. </div> <div> Price is a big concern for a lot of people especially if you are selling high priced items. A lot of artists I've met over the past 5 years sell their artwork way too cheap and they'd be the first to admit it. "I'm afraid to raise my prices because my work won't sell." They are thinking way too logical and logic does not sell artwork. People buy artwork with emotional side of their brain because they love it. If you raise your prices from $150.00 to $200.00 there are very few people that would care at all. The same can be said in all price point brackets. We have raised our prices 20 to 30 ! % every year for the past 5 years. Yes, there are people out there that used to buy from us that can no longer afford our work. I feel bad for them but I'm not loosing any sleep over it. </div> <div> It's a great sell tool. If you don't buy from us this year, next year when you come back expect to pay 20-30% more. Patrons that have been watching us for a few years know they have to buy now because next year it will be more. </div> <div> If you are raising your prices several times a year you don't mind taking 10% off one of your pieces to close a sale. When a couple is in our booth contemplating a $2000.00 sale and they say they are not prepared to spend that kind of money. My next question to them is "Are we close, are we in the same ballpark or are we way off?" If they're close I offer to take $100.00 off the price. I still feel great about the sale because the piece was selling for $1800.00 just a few short months ago. I'm still $100.00 ahead of that. </div> <div> If we're not in the same ballpark I ask them if they would like to break the cost into several payments. Take as long as you like to pay for it, I'll be glad to ship it to you when the piece is paid for. This way it holds the price for you. If you wait till next year it's going to cost you more and you get to enjoy the beauty of the piece in your home sooner. </div> <div> How many of you have heard if you want sell something you've had for a long time mark the price up, not down. I guarantee at the next show you do, talk to five different artists and at least two of them have done it before! Don't take my word for it. Try it at your next show. Mark one piece that you've had for awhile up by at least 30% and hang it in a prominent place in the booth. When it sells just image how well the rest of your work will sell after you raise all of your prices! The key to this whole paragraph and remember it when you are at your next show. PEOPLE BUY ARTWORK WITH EMOTIO! N NOT LOGIC. If you can get them to fall in love with your work, they will pay whatever you ask for it. </div> <div> The last real objection you usually have to deal with is people have been burned before buying something at an outdoor show and they don't want to get taken advantage of again. This is probably the most difficult objection to over come. If you are doing the show locally the easiest way is tell the person they can always bring it back to your home or studio. If you've traveled several hundred miles or more that presents another problem. The best solution to this problem is to make a presentation book. In this book you are going list all your awards, news clippings and letters from people that have bought from you in the past and sent you something telling you how much they love y! our work. Have 20-25 letters in there and pull the book out and show your next skeptic. If you don't have 20-25 letters yet simply email a few of your customers and ask them how much they are enjoying the piece they bought from you. You are collecting email addresses, aren't you? Then print up their responses and add them to your book. Tell your skeptical person that you like to add their letter to your book next and you will do just about anything it takes to make sure they love the piece they are buying from you. </div> <div> Now that the real objections have been discussed let's talk about a few of the false objections you're going to hear. False objections are from people that came into your booth love your work but it either doesn't go with their décor, they can't afford it or they just don't want to buy it. They're either too shy or polite to tell you the real reason they're not going to buy from you so they make up something so they can walk out your booth. "We don't have anymore wall space" is probably the one you hear most often. There is no real comeback for this because if they loved your work enough they'd find space for it. They're just being polite. "We are going to walk around and think about it." Is usually another way people can excuse themselves out of your tent politely. For most people it is just a way to get out of your tent without buying. Some of the time they do come back but if your experiences are like mine, only a few of them do. </div> <div> At the beginning of this article I mentioned the couple that's been in your booth 2-3 times, staring at one or more of your pieces. What do you say to them? So far, the best I've come up with is, "So you're back, you are obviously drawn to this piece (or my work), what is holding you back from taking it home today? The answer to that question is usually one of the six objections listed earlier and if you can calm that fear you've just made the sale.</div> <div> The trickiest part of selling is knowing when to talk and when to shut up. After you have made the sale ask how they will be paying for it, get the money or credit card in your hand and write up the order. The only questions you should be asking at this time are name, address, phone and email address. Stop talking about your work, the piece they just bought from you and any pieces you are making in the future. Thank them for their purchase after you have given back their credit card and then you can resume small talk. This is a great time to get to know them a little, pets, kids, that kind of thing. If you start telling them about fut! ure projects they may just decide that sounds better to them and would you refund this purchase. </div> <div> The last piece of sales advice for this month is on refreshing your personal batteries. You can't sit for 8 straight hours and talk. Spend 10 minutes of each hour quietly behind or in front of your booth not talking. This works great if you have a partner or spouse helping you at a show. Take turns giving each other breaks. If you are doing the show alone stay close by and try to go for ten minutes without talking. If a serious potential customer comes by go back in. If not, enjoy your quiet time, you'll be much more productive for the other 50 minutes of the hour.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>