There is lots of really good advice on the Internet and in books on how to get your art work into a gallery and also how to majorly fail at it.
The thing is, if you follow the advice and keep showing up at your desired galleries open exhibition, visiting exhibits numerous times and become a familiar face you will eventually meet the gallery owner or the galleries curator. And what do you say to them?
Usually you will majorly panic. You will remember that all the advice said how busy they are, how they can only afford a small attention span because of how many other artists are vying for their attention.
To demonstrate my point I will role play a scene from what would happen if I walked into a gallery and the important, career enhancing person I had been slyly searching out for months turns to me and speaks to me.
Art Person - Hello again, you come here quite often.
Me - Yes, I love your gallery.
Art Person - Why thank you. Do you buy art, make art or only come and look at it?
Me - * very nervous laugh* I make art. I'm an artist.
Art Person - Oh really, what kind of art?
Me - *Verbal diarrhea*
Basically I would tell the very important person my entire life history, babble on about my subject and materials at high speed for about a minute until they run away, slightly frightened and most importantly - not remembering anything I told them because I said too much too quickly.
Which is kind of what happened at the Marketing Seminar.
I panicked big time. We were set the task of speaking for a minute, giving a business pitch to the most important client we could possibly imagine who has just stepped into an elevator with us. Hence its name - The Elevator Pitch.
Suddenly the whole days advice went out the window.
The only thing I did do right (for the task) was I identified my audience. In a gallery setting this might not work quite the same, but asking "Are you mr/mrs gallery owner?" would be a really good start. I stood up in front of the table and started.
"I'm Sophie and I'm a Fine Art student. And you, my audience, are all here to buy lots of art from me."
That was literally the most coherent bit.
People laughed because it was cheeky and made them believe for a split second that I wasn't as nervous as I really was. Humour shows you are confident and also builds your rapport with people, putting them at ease. You could emulate this by answering something along the lines of "The kind of art you would love to own." or "The kind of art that would look really good hanging right here" and pointing at the wall and laughing with the person (hopefully they will laugh) and saying "only joking, I make such and such art"
After everyone finished the task Clarke gave us some more advice. He wanted us to write a headline. He asked us to imagine it was the subject field of an email we would send, that we want lots of people to open. I used it to summarize my art work into a short sentence that gives enough information for the person I'm speaking to to actually understand what I'm saying but not enough information that it sounds too technical or dull. It makes them (hopefully) want to know more.
So anyway mine was this - I look at whether surgical thread and dusty old coffin covers can be beautiful.
If you replace the last few lines of my previous role play with this one it has a better outcome, maybe the gallery owner will laugh and ask where I got my hands on coffin covers or maybe he'll simply ask if they can be made beautiful, to which I willl reply "yes". Either way I will have permission to carry on talking rather than just bombarding them with rushed, nervous words.
Thursday 24 January 2013
Wednesday 23 January 2013
Life's a Pitch and then you Buy: Part 1
Good Evening Chaps and Chapettes,
I've been to a business seminar / Marketing day today with the very charismatic Steve Clarke. I went with my mum mainly because she went to a talk by him a few months ago and said he was really interesting, really motivating (which I suppose is why he's a motivational speaker).
I found the day quite tricky to relate to, everyone in the room was a business owner and I wasn't. I felt like a bit of an impostor sitting there. A student, not an employee and certainly not an entrepreneur.
He used a lot of acronyms which I found a little daunting, he even inceptioned the acronyms so that the T (Tonality) in P.I.T.C.H. had to be explained by the acronym A.V.K. (auditory, visual, kinesthetic).
But I had my own light bulb moment (or eureka moment, which he also turned into an acronym by the way). I do have a business. Or at least a product.
I'm an art student, an art maker, an art seller. My business is art and the selling point I'm trying to push isn't that my art is the artsiest or the most colourfulest; it is the content and meaning behind my work. It is my materials and it is the quality of their physical aesthetics.
I'm a business owner.
In a way.
Moving on, this blog post isn't about what a clever sausage I am, it's about passing on advice and it starts with a little list of acronyms followed up by my personal take on why they help artists. Be aware they kind of repeat the same advice, but you can Tailor them to make them useful to you.
I'm also going to break down some of the more complex subjects into other blog posts, but I will still write briefly about them in this. If I write something that seems a little "easier said than done" the likelihood is I'm writing a more in depth post about it. I'm going to rely on bold text to highlight key points since this is quite a substancial chunk of text.
Starting with his EUREKA acronym
E - Engage a Hungry Audience. If you find someone (gallery or person) know how to promote your work rather than turn them off. They're "hungry" for information and are interested, don't blast them with knowledge, have a short business pitch prepared that sums up your work and your interests in a short, snappy minute or so. I'm going to talk about this a bit later.
U - Uncover the Pain. I was a little baffled by this one, but basically find a need that you can fill with your business and your product. Admittedly this one works better in a business where the reason for buying a product of practical, why people buy art is a matter of taste rather than necessity, and the reason people buy your above anyone else's specifically is an abstract and hard to pin down concept. I might write a post about why people buy art later.
R - Reach and Rapport. This is where you make sure you reach the right audience, if your art is about a particular subject find an enthusiast about the subject. Or if you use a particular medium find collectors and galleries who want your medium, and once you do establish a common interest and try to make them like you and listen to you.
E - Establish Credibility. Find your unique selling point, what makes you special and sell it in quite sparing numbers. Make your product a coveted product that is easy to access but also don't under price your work. Make your product exclusive and unique.
K - Key Elements of Every Sale. This is explained quite simply when I say that you need to hit certain targets when you try to sell, but the dynamics and balance are tricky. It is better explained by Clarkes 6 Step Sale Cycle which I will talk about in another post shortly.
A - Attitude and Action. Have the right positive, winning attitude, believe in your work and also follow up business leads. If someone has said that they want to talk to you about your work, or that they simply must see the latest pieces of your work call them or email them and make it happen.
The next acronym is shorter, but a little more complex. I found it very tricky to relate to my art, so I will explain it in terms of another business. The wonderful Care at home summarized it very well. Firstly the acronym is F.A.B. which stands for Features, Advantages and Benefits. This little acronym is perfect for knowing how to explain your art work to someone without over doing it.
Feature - This is essentially what you sell as a service or a product. Mine would be either "Art using textiles from the funeral trade" or the shorter option of "Art about Death", since these are features of my work.
Advantage - This is the advantage for the customer. Mine was regarding my university project, that the work about death comes from a "Knowledgeable source, because of my family background". I not only have an interest in death, I have very extensive knowledge in the matter from a privileged vantage point.
Benefit - This was the hardest of the three to answer, how does my work or products benefit my buyer? Again it comes back to the tricky question of why people buy art. For me I thought about the reason my art would be bought, that they have an interest in my chosen subjects and topics. So the benefit would be that buying my product gives the client "A way of looking at Death that is removed from the reality of it, but also deals with is in a very direct but staged manor." It isn't snappy or short, but my work is quite honest and blunt, but the soft edge of art gives it a comfortable platform for people to view it from. It allows topics to be personal without being hurtful.
The man from Care at Home had a much cooler F.A.B., so I'll tell you his too for comparisons sake.
F - Fully trained Carers.
A - Your loved one gets the best care possible.
B - Peace of mind for everyone involved.
I think this is a great example. It makes it so clear to see, this is the type of thing you would say to someone who is commenting on your work and you are struck with the urge to spew truckloads of information at them. It makes you clean and concise as well as professional. It will help you build rapport with people, if you know why your product or art work is so desirable.
I'm going to write a few other posts in the next few days.
- Explaining Clarkes 6 Step Sale Cycle. But to pitch to people about your product without preaching at them.
- How do you advertise?
- How to sell by listening.
- 10 conversation starters that may get you business.
- Elevator (One minute) Pitch and develop a headline to impress gallery owners. This includes advice on how to know what kind of audience you're talking to.
I've been to a business seminar / Marketing day today with the very charismatic Steve Clarke. I went with my mum mainly because she went to a talk by him a few months ago and said he was really interesting, really motivating (which I suppose is why he's a motivational speaker).
I found the day quite tricky to relate to, everyone in the room was a business owner and I wasn't. I felt like a bit of an impostor sitting there. A student, not an employee and certainly not an entrepreneur.
He used a lot of acronyms which I found a little daunting, he even inceptioned the acronyms so that the T (Tonality) in P.I.T.C.H. had to be explained by the acronym A.V.K. (auditory, visual, kinesthetic).
But I had my own light bulb moment (or eureka moment, which he also turned into an acronym by the way). I do have a business. Or at least a product.
I'm an art student, an art maker, an art seller. My business is art and the selling point I'm trying to push isn't that my art is the artsiest or the most colourfulest; it is the content and meaning behind my work. It is my materials and it is the quality of their physical aesthetics.
I'm a business owner.
In a way.
Moving on, this blog post isn't about what a clever sausage I am, it's about passing on advice and it starts with a little list of acronyms followed up by my personal take on why they help artists. Be aware they kind of repeat the same advice, but you can Tailor them to make them useful to you.
I'm also going to break down some of the more complex subjects into other blog posts, but I will still write briefly about them in this. If I write something that seems a little "easier said than done" the likelihood is I'm writing a more in depth post about it. I'm going to rely on bold text to highlight key points since this is quite a substancial chunk of text.
Starting with his EUREKA acronym
E - Engage a Hungry Audience. If you find someone (gallery or person) know how to promote your work rather than turn them off. They're "hungry" for information and are interested, don't blast them with knowledge, have a short business pitch prepared that sums up your work and your interests in a short, snappy minute or so. I'm going to talk about this a bit later.
U - Uncover the Pain. I was a little baffled by this one, but basically find a need that you can fill with your business and your product. Admittedly this one works better in a business where the reason for buying a product of practical, why people buy art is a matter of taste rather than necessity, and the reason people buy your above anyone else's specifically is an abstract and hard to pin down concept. I might write a post about why people buy art later.
R - Reach and Rapport. This is where you make sure you reach the right audience, if your art is about a particular subject find an enthusiast about the subject. Or if you use a particular medium find collectors and galleries who want your medium, and once you do establish a common interest and try to make them like you and listen to you.
E - Establish Credibility. Find your unique selling point, what makes you special and sell it in quite sparing numbers. Make your product a coveted product that is easy to access but also don't under price your work. Make your product exclusive and unique.
K - Key Elements of Every Sale. This is explained quite simply when I say that you need to hit certain targets when you try to sell, but the dynamics and balance are tricky. It is better explained by Clarkes 6 Step Sale Cycle which I will talk about in another post shortly.
A - Attitude and Action. Have the right positive, winning attitude, believe in your work and also follow up business leads. If someone has said that they want to talk to you about your work, or that they simply must see the latest pieces of your work call them or email them and make it happen.
The next acronym is shorter, but a little more complex. I found it very tricky to relate to my art, so I will explain it in terms of another business. The wonderful Care at home summarized it very well. Firstly the acronym is F.A.B. which stands for Features, Advantages and Benefits. This little acronym is perfect for knowing how to explain your art work to someone without over doing it.
Feature - This is essentially what you sell as a service or a product. Mine would be either "Art using textiles from the funeral trade" or the shorter option of "Art about Death", since these are features of my work.
Advantage - This is the advantage for the customer. Mine was regarding my university project, that the work about death comes from a "Knowledgeable source, because of my family background". I not only have an interest in death, I have very extensive knowledge in the matter from a privileged vantage point.
Benefit - This was the hardest of the three to answer, how does my work or products benefit my buyer? Again it comes back to the tricky question of why people buy art. For me I thought about the reason my art would be bought, that they have an interest in my chosen subjects and topics. So the benefit would be that buying my product gives the client "A way of looking at Death that is removed from the reality of it, but also deals with is in a very direct but staged manor." It isn't snappy or short, but my work is quite honest and blunt, but the soft edge of art gives it a comfortable platform for people to view it from. It allows topics to be personal without being hurtful.
The man from Care at Home had a much cooler F.A.B., so I'll tell you his too for comparisons sake.
F - Fully trained Carers.
A - Your loved one gets the best care possible.
B - Peace of mind for everyone involved.
I think this is a great example. It makes it so clear to see, this is the type of thing you would say to someone who is commenting on your work and you are struck with the urge to spew truckloads of information at them. It makes you clean and concise as well as professional. It will help you build rapport with people, if you know why your product or art work is so desirable.
I'm going to write a few other posts in the next few days.
- Explaining Clarkes 6 Step Sale Cycle. But to pitch to people about your product without preaching at them.
- How do you advertise?
- How to sell by listening.
- 10 conversation starters that may get you business.
- Elevator (One minute) Pitch and develop a headline to impress gallery owners. This includes advice on how to know what kind of audience you're talking to.
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