by Maria Brophy
PROVIDING VALUE
Now that you have completed your reach my right buyers worksheet and have listed three entities you will contact, let’s get you prepared to team up with these entities.
To get one of these entities excited to team up with you, you’ll have to provide value to them. That value is exchanged for payment, recognition, the sharing of your links online or the ability to sell your art at their functions.
To be able to provide value, you first have to know what they need. Sometimes it’s evident; for example, if their newsletter looks boring and blah, this makes it easy for you to offer to use your artwork to style up their newsletter, in exchange for links to your website.
But, we never want to assume anything. That’s why having a conversation with someone at the organization will bring up ideas and needs that you are not aware of.
A few ideas of how to provide value with your art:
Your art decorates their newsletter or a portion of their website or digital images
Your art decorates a physical space such as a stage or room at a function
You donate art to an auction (be sure to share in the proceeds, more on that later)
You team up to co-create a marketing campaign or charity event
Your art goes on printed products that they give out at a function
Do a live painting, poster signing or performance at a trade show or event
Sometimes it’s not evident what a company might need, and so you have to call and ask. But first, do your research on the company so that you have a clear understanding of their mission and their activities and what is important to them. This will make it easier to call and talk to them and connect on a personal level.
Then ask yourself “what value can I bring to them?” Take the time to brainstorm ideas. It could be something as simple as giving them something interesting to offer to their followers.
When you call, have a general plan of what you want to offer and what you want in exchange for that offer. Ask a lot of questions and be flexible if your contact there has a different idea of how you can work together. Have no expectations and don’t be attached to the outcome. If they aren’t interested, thank them for their time and tell them to let you know if they change their mind. Never give up on a potential opportunity. And then move on and call the next person on your list.
Get in the habit of continuously dreaming up non-conventional ways to reach your right buyers. Daily, ask yourself: “What can I do to reach my right buyers? Who can I team up with? Who can I call? Where should I go?”
When we continually ask questions, the answers will come.
EXAMPLES
The most effective and efficient way that Drew and I have reached our right buyers is by teaming up with organizations much larger than ourselves that already deeply connect with large numbers of our right buyers.
Selling art is a numbers game. To sell art in high quantities, you must reach high quantities of people. Only a small percentage of the people who see your work will actually buy, so you have to cast your net wide.
The idea is to reach large numbers of your right buyers at once. This will give you a quantum leap and help you bypass ten years of hard work doing it on your own!
For example: If you are an environmental artist who photographs scenes of nature, your right buyer would be someone who shares the same passion as you for wildlife. They may belong to environmental groups such as The Sierra Club.
Offer to set up an exhibit at an event, allow them to use your art in their newsletters in exchange for a link and mention of you and your website, or license your art for their merchandise. Offer them something of great value in exchange for having access to their members. Set the intention to form a long term relationship with the group for mutual benefit.
Below are a few examples of non-conventional ways to reach your right buyers that I have personally tested:
Team up with a large organization who is already selling to your right buyer (provide something that compliments what they are doing or fills a need for them)
Advertise in the newsletters of charities/organizations that reach your right buyer. The larger their mailing list, the better exposure. You could offer to let them use your artwork to decorate their newsletter, in exchange for a link to your website and a mention of your name.
Exhibit your art at events that cater to your Right Buyer. If there’s a large event coming to town, offer to decorate their walls or stage with your art for the evening, in exchange for a booth or the ability to sell your work there and collect emails from attendees.
We offered three of Drew’s large art pieces to be displayed on a stage that world famous singer Eddie Vedder and other musicians performed on at a local charity event. All of the ensuing media photos showed Drew’s art clearly in the background. This led to new collectors being introduced to his work.
Perform live at trade shows that are in your niche. Trade shows are a very good place to do a live painting, as you are exposed to the decision makers in the industry in which you market to. You can sell your services to do a live painting in the booth of a company exhibiting, or get hired by the event promoter to do a live painting as entertainment for attendees.
Rent a space and curate your own Art Exhibit, and allow a related charity/foundation to set up their own station at the exhibit in exchange for them advertising your exhibit in their newsletter.
Give live painting demonstrations or poster signings at retail stores in your niche (we’ve done this at surf shops all over the world). Make sure you have something that they can sell of yours during the live event, such as art prints or other products.
Offer use of your art in digital form for Holiday Cards for a niche-related charity/foundation—they will mail it to their large database, and your name and website and art is printed on the front or back of the card.
Put on an exhibit and/or talk at a large event where your right buyers will be present.
License your art to a manufacturer who sells to your right buyers.
Volunteer your time to help at an event that reaches your right buyers. When volunteering, we meet the VIP’s and movers and shakers. Offer to decorate the room with your art while you’re at it.
All of these ideas require you to aggressively get out of your comfort zone and meet people, but that’s what it takes to reach large numbers of potential buyers.
HOW WE REACH DREW’S RIGHT BUYERS
AND GET PAID TO DO IT
Over the past twenty years, it took a lot of trial and error, and a lot of brainstorming and bold moves, to figure out what I’m sharing in this chapter. Below are a few of the things we did that worked, in a chronological time-line:
In the 1990’s: As an edgy surfboard artist in the late 1990’s, Drew’s right buyers were males who surf between the ages of 18 and 25 and who loved edgy art.
At the time, we reached Drew’s right buyers by teaming up with surfboard manufacturers. Drew would be paid to paint surfboards live at Surf Expo trade shows and other events. While at the events, he reached his right buyers and he connected with companies who sold to his right buyers, which then led to many different licensing deals with those companies.
In the early 2000’s: As Drew grew older, his artwork and pricing matured, and his right buyers grew up. After the year 2002, we targeted right buyers aged 25-45, male surfers, with an income of $100,000+ who collected surf style paintings because it reminded them of their passion and youth.
One way that we reached the new right buyers was by teaming up with large organizations with big memberships. For example, we gave Surfrider Foundation digital art for their Christmas Cards one year (which were mailed out to a huge number of right buyers), and we exhibited at black tie events that catered to the right buyers. We also licensed Drew’s art for cool products such as skateboards, surfboards and wakeboards. His name was printed on every product, which helped to market his work while being paid for it.
In 2013: Drew’s right buye
r changed again. He’d moved away from surf art and onto sacred geometry art. His new right buyer is highly educated, wants to change the world, has an understanding of physics and science, and is between 35-65 years old with an income of $250,000+.
To reach Drew’s new right buyers, we have to go where they go. One way we have reached the new right buyer was by teaming up with a very large event in Los Angeles called the Conscious Life Expo. Many professionals that teach the concepts that inspire Drew’s sacred geometry art are speakers there.
I wanted to reach our new people there, but didn’t want to pay for a booth. I wanted to be paid to be there instead, so I found a list of exhibitors that would be at the Expo, and started making phone calls, offering Drew’s live painting services in their booths during the event.
The magic of live events is this: you draw people to you when you are creating live. The authors and athletes and mentors that you want to meet will be drawn, like a magnet, to come meet YOU. You become a people magnet when you’re performing live.
After a few days of cold-calling and getting nowhere, I finally connected with one exhibitor who said YES! They hired Drew to paint a mural live in their booth during the event.
Over 10,000 people attend the Conscious Life Expo, and I wanted to make an even bigger impact than just having Drew do a live painting in one booth. So I called the promoter of the expo and asked if we could exhibit Drew’s new works at the event. It so happened they had a thirty foot wall that was in the main walkway, and the promoter said he would be happy to have Drew hang his art there.
It was a great idea. We exhibited many of Drew’s new sacred geometry works on that wall and were able to expose it to over 10,000 people. We were paid to market to our right buyers at a trade show that is attended by some of the most influential people in that field. That one event led to many opportunities and we were able to make a quantum leap with Drew’s new style of art.
Since then, the Expo has invited us back year after year, to exhibit on their wall. The consistency of the art hanging on the wall year after year has gained even more leads to sell the art, as attendees remember it and now look forward to seeing the new paintings each year.
One thing you should note about this strategy: Not once was this ever taught in any of the business classes I took. I have not read this strategy in any art business book. But it works! Yet, no one ever does this. But why not?
It’s a win-win for everyone. The Expo did us a favor by letting us exhibit the art. But we also did them a favor; we made their thirty foot wall look amazing. It was something that we contributed to them, while gaining promotion for Drew’s art. Everyone wins. That’s the key to teaming up with others. Both parties contribute and both parties benefit. Determining what the benefit might be for the other person, requires you to get on the phone and have a conversation.
Brainstorm ideas. Make a bold move. Get on the phone and call people. That’s the magic formula. Let’s do a quick exercise right now. Get out your pen and notebook and brainstorm and write the answers to the following:
NAME ONE ORGANIZATION or Charity that reaches your right buyer.
BRAINSTORM and write down at least three ways that you can team up with them or piggy back on their promotions or events for mutual benefit.
Example: If you paint birds, and your right buyer is a bird watcher, team up with the National Audubon Society. Offer to donate a percentage of sales of your bird paintings in exchange for advertising the paintings in their newsletters (which goes out to over a million bird lovers). Get creative!
They have an “adopt a bird” program, maybe a winner each month gets a print of an artwork of the bird they adopted. Or come up with some other way to make it valuable for the Audubon Society to work with you. Use this example to help get your creative juices flowing! How can you do the same in your own target market?
To gain a stronger understanding of what’s important to the organization or charity you named above, sign up to be on their newsletter list. Get familiar with their promotions and what they do, and look for opportunities to team up in the future.
QUICK TIPS ON HOW TO “TEAM UP”
WITH AN ORGANIZATION
Brainstorm ideas on how they will benefit from helping or hiring you (it’s not just about you, it’s about them too).
Make phone calls—a lot of them—to the decision makers.
Don’t allow rejections to hurt you. Keep calling people until you find someone interested.
Offer to provide great value to whomever you team up with up (determine what they will gain from you, such as, you’ll make their space look great, you’ll provide something special for their customers, etc).
For every 15 “No’s” that you hear, you will get one “Yes”— so don’t give up too early.
Know what you’re offering before you make the offer, and be flexible if they want something different.
Be BOLD and do this! It gets easier as time goes on.
QUANTUM LEAP TO BUYERS WORKSHEET
Name: ___________________________ Date________________
Instructions: This is a brainstorming session. Take 15 minutes with a pen to paper and write out 10 ideas for each question. All ideas count!
Who can I team up with, who is already established, to reach my right buyers?
Which large companies would my work be a fit with? (i.e. If you draw robots as your main theme, think tech companies)
Which Large Charities? (i.e. If your art is inspired by a cause or world problem, which charities or celebrities care about the same things?)
Which Trade Shows? (I.e. if your work is music inspired, think NAMM Show or other music industry shows)
Which Events? (i.e. If you paint a horse theme, think equestrian events)
Of the entities and items listed above, name the top three that stand out as viable candidates for a collaboration or mutual arrangement:
Of the three listed above, what can I offer them in exchange for sharing their connections or platform? (Brainstorm many ideas and write them all down)
Three entities that I am committed to contacting this week:
THE MINDSET OF SELLING
“Selling is more of a science than a natural born gift.”
—Jack White, artist and author of Magic of Selling Art.
Most artists hate the act of selling art, but they love having sold it. The mere act of selling art opens us up to the risk of rejection and disappointment. When someone objects to our prices, it is discouraging. When a buyer shows interest but then disappears, we feel frustrated, wondering why.
We were taught that selling art is hard and painful. We learned to fear the rejection when someone says no. We feel weird when discussing money and art in the same conversation.
All of these feelings were learned or passed down through generations of starving artists. But they aren’t real or reasonable, and they harm our ability to make money with art.
Thankfully, everything we have learned can be unlearned, by reprogramming our minds with new thoughts, feelings and habits. We can learn to sell art joyfully. And when we do, that is one less monkey on our backs. And the art business becomes so much easier.
First, we have to understand that every single thing we do is a habit. Feeling a recurring feeling is also a habit. Feeling uncomfortable selling or discussing money is a habit.
One way to rid yourself of a bad habit is by replacing it with a good one. If you want to quit coffee, you would replace it with herbal tea. If you want to stop hating selling, you can replace that feeling with one of confidence and power.
To make selling easier for you emotionally, you have to develop the habit of separating the personal (my art) from the business (a transaction).
To sell a lot of art, you have to learn the techniques of selling, just like you learned the techniques of creating your art. It took me years to learn how to “sell” and I’m continually working on improving on my sales skills. They get better every day.
There are three
things you can do to make selling easy for you:
Develop the proper mindset to sell art
Allow your clients to spend the money they want
Practice, practice, practice techniques of selling until it becomes second nature
BOOST CONFIDENCE WITH
POSITIVE THOUGHTS
We have to talk about the mindset first, because your mind is where everything begins. Some artists feel uncomfortable discussing their art and money in the same sentence. They are unsure of their pricing, and worry that they are charging too much or too little. These worries and feelings come through in the artist’s body language and vibrations during a conversation, which makes the buyer feel uncomfortable. When the buyer feels uncomfortable, they end up not buying.
Here’s an example of such a scenario with an artist who is inexperienced at selling: You are showing your work at an event and a potential buyer shows interest. She asks you for a price. You feel weird saying the numbers. You worry it’s too much, and so you choke it out in a voice that doesn’t sound confident. She feels your weird vibe, and now feels uncomfortable to ask further questions. She changes her mind. She leaves without buying. You think she left because of the price, but you’re wrong. She left because of the bad energy you sprinkled on the conversation.
Our thoughts and feelings are energy. Our energy is transferred and is felt very strongly by those we interact with. Think of someone you know that is upbeat and happy. Every time you see this person, you suddenly feel great. This is them transmitting their joyful energy to you. And now think of the person that’s always negative and angry. When you see them, you feel icky and drained.
Your thoughts and feelings create an energy that is transmitted directly from you to others. This is why your mindset is so important. If your thoughts are: “I feel weird asking for money. Does this person like my art? Am I any good? What if they don’t buy? I’m going to be let down…” you will transmit your uncomfortable feelings out into your voice and your words and even your body language. Your buyer will pick up on those negative feelings and it will kill the sale.