How to Pull Yourself Out of a Sales Slump

<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 Pull Yourself out of a Sales Slump</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> HOW TO PULL YOURSELF OUT OF A SALES SLUMP</div> <div> If you've been doing art shows for more than a few years, you've probably</div> <div> experienced back-to-back shows where your work was just not selling. This</div> <div> business, like no other I have seen, can lift you up really high one weekend</div> <div> and slam you back down to earth the following. It's depressing and</div> <div> frustrating, and it makes you question your work, your prices and whether</div> <div> you should hang this life up and go get a job.</div> <div> My wife and I recently went through one of these tough times, and it made me</div> <div> wonder if I should even be writing these articles. What do I know? I can't</div> <div> even sell my own work! Couple that with a few rejection letters from shows</div> <div> we've done really well at in the past, and I was really down in the dumps!</div> <div> But I started talking with a few talented veteran artists and found that</div> <div> they too have gone through sales slumps and have gotten their share of</div> <div> rejection letters. I spoke with one artist who, earlier this year, had eight</div> <div> zero-sales shows in a row! Another artist said that, in his first year on</div> <div> the circuit, he had six consecutive zero shows. I wasn't alone in my</div> <div> suffering, and that made me feel a little better.</div> <div> Luckily for us, until the slump, we were having our best year ever and were</div> <div> able to put some money away. (I highly suggest that, when you have a good</div> <div> show, you save some money for lean times.) Now all I had to do was figure</div> <div> out a way to get back on track and start selling a few pieces.</div> <div> Most importantly, do not panic. Try not to get too down on yourself. I know</div> <div> from experience that it's really hard not to, but everyone goes through</div> <div> this - it is just your time. You do not have to change your work or lower</div> <div> your prices to get the ball rolling again. Your work sold before - it will</div> <div> sell again! My wife and I joke after a bad show that at least we'll have</div> <div> more inventory for the next event. The best thing you can do is stay</div> <div> positive.</div> <div> If you are doing a show and not selling, lay groundwork for future sales.</div> <div> Pass out cards, collect addresses for your mailing list and keep smiling. If</div> <div> someone comes into your booth and asks you how it's going, tell them,</div> <div> "Great!" If they ask how sales are, answer them with a question such as,</div> <div> "Which one would you like to take home today?" If you tell them this show</div> <div> sucks and you are never coming back, how long are they going to stick around</div> <div> to buy something? It's human nature to want what everyone else is buying:</div> <div> "Buy it before it's too late - it might not be here when you get back!"</div> <div> You could also take things down and rearrange your booth. If someone comes</div> <div> in and asks where a piece is that they saw earlier, say, "That piece sold,</div> <div> and I have only one more like it. It's in the back; would you like to see</div> <div> it?" Create excitement and a positive buzz, and you will sell. If your booth</div> <div> is full of negative energy, your sales are going to be few and far between.</div> <div> I recently met one artist at a show who was so frustrated he put up a sign</div> <div> in his booth (with his cell phone number) reading, "Call me if you want to</div> <div> buy something." If you get that frustrated, it's probably not a bad idea to</div> <div> get away from your booth for five to 10 minutes and clear your head. Go get</div> <div> a bite to eat or chat with other suffering artists. By all means, get your</div> <div> head clear, psych yourself back up and get back in there with a better</div> <div> attitude!</div> <div> Now let's examine a few more things you can do when your work is not</div> <div> selling. First, look at yourself and how you are dressed. Appearance is</div> <div> important to a lot of people. When things are going well and it's hot in the</div> <div> summer, I have sold artwork wearing a tank top. When things are not going so</div> <div> well, I make a point to dress up more. Have your hair cut and combed neatly.</div> <div> Chew gum after you eat to make sure your breath is not offending anyone, and</div> <div> wear cologne so you smell your best.</div> <div> Get to the show a little early and be one of the first artists to open up.</div> <div> If you are one of the few artists that are open, making a sale is very easy.</div> <div> Remember, it takes only one person to walk in your booth and make the show a</div> <div> success, and if you delay your setup, you might miss that early-morning</div> <div> shopper. In addition, stay a little later so you are one of the last to</div> <div> leave. Sometimes people come back to a show late, and the artist they wanted</div> <div> to buy from has already gone. You've been at the show all day, and you're</div> <div> tired, hungry and hot, but sticking around an extra 20 minutes might mean an</div> <div> extra sale.</div> <div> Your mailing list really comes in handy when sales start to decline. My wife</div> <div> and I make a point of collecting e-mail addresses not just from everyone we</div> <div> sell to, but from everyone who asks for a business card. Although a lot of</div> <div> people do not give them to us, our e-mail address book is really starting to</div> <div> grow thanks to all the patrons who do. I try to send them something about</div> <div> four times a year just to keep them thinking about us. There's no cost</div> <div> involved in printing or postage, and it's a great low-budget way to keep our</div> <div> names in front of potential and past customers. It is a bit time consuming,</div> <div> but it's worth it.</div> <div> If you have a show coming up and sales at your last few shows have been</div> <div> slow, send out a coupon or some type of limited-time offer good only at your</div> <div> upcoming show. I'm always shocked to see people using a coupon to buy a</div> <div> $3,000 piece of artwork, but it's happened to us a lot. Also, if you're</div> <div> sending out e-mail newsletters, have hot links back to your Web site. (For</div> <div> those Internet novices, a hot link is a Web address in the e-mail that takes</div> <div> you right to the Web page after you click on it.) New pieces of artwork,</div> <div> special-offer pages and updated pages can all be featured as hot links in</div> <div> the e-mail.</div> <div> If you do not have a show coming up, you can send out newsletters with a</div> <div> special offer for orders placed on your Web site or by calling you</div> <div> personally. This past month, I went as far as putting four of our pieces for</div> <div> sale on eBay. The cost to list our pieces was only about $5, and I put hot</div> <div> links in our newsletters to each eBay sales page. I sent out about 1,500</div> <div> e-mails (at no cost) and got about 250 hits on the pages. The work paid off,</div> <div> as one of the pieces sold and got the ball rolling again.</div> <div> This next suggestion goes against all common sense, but give it a try. The</div> <div> next time you're going through tough times, raise your prices. If your work</div> <div> is not selling for $2,200, it might as well not sell for $2,500. I can't</div> <div> tell you how many times we have raised prices for pieces that do not sell,</div> <div> and as soon as we do, they're gone! I have spoken with dozens of artists who</div> <div> have all told me the same thing.</div> <div> We have even raised our prices in the middle of a show. People came back and</div> <div> said, "Hey, I was here yesterday, and this piece was $1,700. Today it's</div> <div> $1,900?" My standard response to that is, "That one sold; this is a</div> <div> different piece - they are very similar, but this one's better. If you want,</div> <div> I'll split the difference with you, and you can have it today only for</div> <div> $1,800." That's happened to us twice, and I made the sale both times.</div> <div> One thing I keep telling myself is to stop trying so hard to make a sale.</div> <div> You cannot sell artwork to someone who is not ready to buy. They may really</div> <div> love your work, but if they're not closing on their house for another few</div> <div> months, they're probably not ready to buy art right now. Forcing the issue</div> <div> will only turn them away. They'll leave your booth loving your work but</div> <div> disliking you. Your main objective is to help your customers pick out</div> <div> something for themselves.</div> <div> This last item is something I debated sharing because some people may think</div> <div> I'm nuts, but it works for me. When sales start to slow down, I find that</div> <div> doing something for charity or the community not only takes my mind off</div> <div> work, but makes me feel good about myself. I believe in Karma - it's part of</div> <div> the reason I write these articles. Positive energy, if you put it out there,</div> <div> usually returns to you. Donate a piece of work to charity, give blood or</div> <div> volunteer a small amount of time to the local Red Cross. It's a lot better</div> <div> than sitting at home wondering how you are going to pay the bills.</div> <bR> <div> All of my past marketing articles and show reviews are archived on my Web</div> <div> site, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>www.mikealbin.com</U></FONT>. If you have any questions or comments, please pass</div> <div> them along to <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>mike@mikealbin.com</U></FONT>. However, please do not e-mail me with</div> <div> questions regarding individual shows. I try to answer all e-mails personally</div> <div> and cannot take the time to give information on every show we've done.</div> <div> (There is a review for all shows we've done on my Web site.) Thanks for</div> <div> reading the articles and for all the great feedback I get when I'm on the</div> <div> road. It makes my day every time an artist comes up and tells me personally</div> <div> how much they enjoy reading them.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>