Struggling Sales

<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>Struggling Sales Bring Strategy Shifts</B></div> <div> <B>6260 N.W. 19 Street, Sunrise, Fl. 33313 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="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> I've been speaking with a lot of artists lately who are having a tough time making a living on the art-show circuit. Space fees, travel expenses and material costs continue to rise, while sales decline. I've seen several longtime exhibitors drop off the circuit entirely for one of those "job" things we hear about. The news keeps telling us the economy is making a comeback, but so far there are few signs of it on the show circuit. </div> <div> The last part of 2006 was really tough, so I tried everything I could think of to boost sales. I tried dressing in nicer clothes, arranging our booth differently, hanging our work differently, trying different sales conversations, altering our prices, and redesigning our Web site - all with no real results.</div> <div> Patty and I even began considering smaller shows in smaller markets that had given us very little success in the past. We were getting to the point of desperation and were willing to try anything different to make ends meet. (It's that optimistic outlook that keeps us going on the circuit to begin with.)</div> <div> For artists with high-end work, smaller-market shows are very much like betting on a long-shot horse. Once in a while it's going to pay off really big, but more often than not, it's a financial failure. Those financial failures are compounded by the emotional distress brought on by sitting there all weekend, giving it your all and not making any sales. It's downright depressing, especially when you realize after the show that you're now deeper in the financial hole than when you started! The only comfort we can take is that other artists are in the same boat and that sales of artwork are just down in general. </div> <div> So what's an artist to do? I recently spoke with a photographer who was trying new framing techniques to increase sales and also using less expensive frames to increase his profits. He's been doing shows for years, and after introducing a few new images and frames, his sales are picking up. "Shows are still not what they used to be 10 years ago, but they are getting better than they have been in the past few years," he told me. </div> <div> Another artist I talked to had been selling items for $98. He decided to get rid of a few of the pieces at his last three art shows and put them out for sale at $30. He sold only four at the three shows combined. He lowered his prices by almost 70 percent, so I believe the demand for those pieces went down. I advised him to raise the prices of those pieces by 25 percent at his next few shows and then offer a 10-percent discount to someone contemplating buying one. I'll get back to you later with how he does. </div> <div> Is it just up to artists, or can show directors play a part? I asked several directors and promoters if they were aware of artists' financial problems and if they were doing anything different to help. If they had made changes, I asked them if those changes were increasing the success of artists at their shows.</div> <div> Jay Downie, director of the Main Street Fort Worth Art Festival in Fort Worth, Texas, said he was aware that artists were struggling. He also said his show fell in the rankings several years ago. So to improve the situation for both the Main Street Festival and the artists, his staff came up with a marketing strategy designed to attract art buyers. All of their advertisements were worded to say something like, "Are you ready to add to your art collection?" or "Are you ready to start your collection?"</div> <div> Downie said that he and his staff thought this attracted people with the mindset of buying art, not just walking around. The show has also limited the number of artists to 200, and has not raised booth fees since 2003. Additionally, the staff has negotiated hotel deals for out-of-town artists. Since starting this campaign, the show has moved up significantly in the ratings - and stayed there. I would like to thank Jay for his time and for sharing some of the strategies that have made the Fort Worth show so successful for artists. It really takes a caring person to share that kind of information!</div> <div> "I am fully aware [that] the economy is not the greatest, real estate plunges, etc.," Richard Sullivan, director of Naples National in Naples, Florida, among other shows, told me. "Shows that do not attract enough buyers seem to be getting far too large. There is an essential ratio [of] artists to buying patrons. Large crowds are exciting, but concentrating on attracting art buyers is what a show needs to do. Just attracting thousands of visitors is not enough." He also said he tripled the advertising budget for the Naples National and limited the number of artists at his other shows to just 130 to create "a larger piece of the pie for each artist." </div> <div> Cindy Fitzpatrick, director of the Uptown Art Festival in Minneapolis, told me, "We are aware of artists' struggles due to the economy, and in the last eight years, we have dropped our booth numbers from 600 to under 350. We have changed the layout, we have added seating to help in keeping the customer, [and] we have tried varied media outlets and changed our mix of media partners." </div> <div> Carole Moreland of the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in Winter Park, Florida, had a similar story. "We have significantly reduced the number of spaces in the 2007 show (from 308 in 2006 to 225 in 2007)," she said. "We have redesigned the park layout in an attempt to create a better traffic flow, with no dead spaces and</div> <div> fewer mulch paths. We have also created a patrons program to start with the 2007 show, which guarantees the purchase of art by the patrons." </div> <div> I also asked the directors if they had any specific advice for artists. I got almost the same responses from everyone. The first recommendation was to use your mailing lists to let people who have bought from you in the past know you are coming and where your booth will be. They also said that artists should include details of their new works. The second suggestion was to be a proactive sales person. Do not sit behind your booth reading a book, they said. Instead, talk to your potential customers and interact with them. Tell them about your artistic process and techniques. It may not lead to immediate success, but, over time, it will help you create a following for you work - and with a following comes sales. </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>