Selling your artwork

I am celebrating my 10th year as curator for #Cafdgg and I wanted to pull back to the basics of enjoying a successful arts event; be it selling your work, meeting other artists, or using the event as a promotional platform.

Here are a few recommendations for you to mull over:-

The most important thing to remember is that you are in a context that is designed for art appreciation and buying. It is not like cold calling, our visitors are here because they want to see and buy works of art, so relax and enjoy.

First impressions are vital, so always stand up to greet visitors with a hello, smile and invite them to touch and explore your work without feeling pressured to buy. Leave them alone for a few minutes to look without interruption.

It is important to pay attention to their body language and gauge their interest and level of engagement. Do they return to look at a specific piece, do they look at it from different angles or hold it for longer than the others?

The best form of selling is not to sell, but to talk round to find a connection with the visitor or their family. An offer of help or further information when needed will help relax the visitor as you are respecting their space to browse freely.

An easy starter question when engaging in conversation is to ask them which piece caught their eye first? Is it a gift and for whom? Will it be going in a specific room/space? Do they often buy artwork as gifts?

If it is for them, show genuine interest in their choice and reasons to buy. Listen and respond, take time to hear their feedback and preferences. Ask open-ended questions to encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings about your work – this will help you tailor your response with appropriate recommendations based on their interests. Problem solve for them by introducing different pieces of your work.

Make them remember you in a positive way, it is never about a hard sell: just a bit of chat about how they heard about #Cafdgg, what do they think about it, sharing experiences and building a relationship.

Your work has a story to tell, are there any anecdotes attached to some of your artwork on show that might be relevant? Stories about where you had the grain of an idea and how it came into fruition, the giving of information and engaging in discussion regarding its creation and how you made it are simply rounding out the artistic process giving our visitors the chance to appreciate how much effort and expeirence that goes into creating a single piece of artwork.

You can decide in advance which aspects of your process you would be happy sharing so that you have an arsenal of responses that will engage your potential buyer.

Don’t think of #Cafdgg as just a financial buying process. Visitors who buy your work are more likely to have an emotional connection to it. Artwork can be sold through discussion on what the buyer likes about it, why it resonates with them or where it takes them to mentally.

For you it can be a revelation to hear our visitors revealing aspects of your work that were previously hidden, even to you. Selling is a win win situation. The more they feel the connection, the more likely they are to respond and desire to continue that interaction, and buying pieces for their home, office or business.

Price transparency is so important, as some visitors can become nervous about asking a price as they fear they may not be able to afford it or feel you may do a hard sell on them. On a side note, you can have one price list that at acts as a business card for them to take away as a prompt or each individual item can be priced up.

On your exhibition space always have business cards and contact details, any planned workshops or learning experiences and use your laptop or a book to collect email address for future updates whilst encouraging visitors to log onto your website and follow you on social media.

And finally, value-added additional services – framing, mounting, or customise options, be open to collaboration with visitors on special requests or commissions, offer to lend artwork for a trial period, provide assistance with installation and placement.

I hope this gives you a few ideas that selling artwork is not just about a simple transaction; it is about building relationships and creating memorable experiences. By adopting a customer-centric approach and focusing on engagement your passion will shine through as you maximise your selling potential.