Art Marketing 101 excerpt learning to sell art

Selling Art 101 Excerpt

The Prime Factor

The prime factor is the most important concern to your client. It is a specific problem, a particular need, something of great interest, or a love or passion. A prime factor can motivate a person to make a buying decision. If you can find out what a person's prime factor is, you can lead the person to making a beneficial decision. Let your clients talk! Ask open-ended questions, and listen. When people ask you very specific questions and you offer specific details, you are really connecting with them.

If a new client shares information and asks questions about a work of art, you can be certain that the person is interested in learning more about the piece or the artist. One way to discover if you have found a prime factor is to watch a person's body language. If a person changes his posture suddenly, or starts taking notes or asking a lot of questions, you have probably found their prime factor. Once you think that you have found it, stay with it, ask more questions about it, and try to connect the person's interest with her prime factor.

Client:

"We have just moved our office to a new space. It is much larger and we would like to hang some fabulous art on the new walls."

Salesperson:

"Can you describe the walls?" (listen to the answer)

"How large are they?" (listen to the answer)

"How high are the ceilings?" (listen to the answer)

"Are the walls painted white?" (listen to the answer)

Salesperson:

"Why don't I meet you at your office space tomorrow to check out the space? I will bring a few works with me and we can see how they enhance the space. Would 10:00am be a good time for you? Or would the afternoon be better, say 2pm?"

Here, the client shared with the sales representative the prime factor-looking for artwork to enhance the work space. This is a real need, and a real opportunity for you as a salesperson. You will want to work closely with this client. Visit the space. Show the client artwork to learn about his taste in art. Notice at the end of the dialogue above that there is a suggestion and a question. The suggestion is to visit the office space with some works of art. Then the question follows, asking the client to make a choice between two times. When the client answers that 2pm would be fine, the prior suggestion carries.