Does anyone have good tips for closing a sale? I like talking to people, I greet them when they stop by my booth and I am friendly and helpful and knowlegable. I have a great product, I think (custom coloring books and hand-poured crayons) and my price is not very high. But I have a hard time converting into sales. I feel like maybe I am actually talking too much? What do you all say to people when they stop by and how do you convert a browser to a buyer?
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There is no one thing that works on everyone. I would not recommend "sales techniques" that you have learned somewhere. Many people are put off by sales pitches and would rather just have you talk to them like a normal human being. I have learned to make up stories for my paintings and interesting titles because it's what people seem to expect and want. They often lose interest if there isn't something that catches their imagination. But this all depends on what you create.
Just gonna say that without giving it much thought I used one of the suggestions here and it worked like a charm. I was so excited. I am not a pusher when it comes to customers shopping in my booth. I try to give them as much space as I can just letting them know that I am available if they have any questions. Well a lady came in my booth and she looked around for a while and I had said my spill about any questions and she did come over and started saying how she thought her daughter would love one of my painting but she was afraid she might be upset about some grammar and I was able to explain that it was a direct quote and that I even told her where she could find it. Well she thought and talked for a while and I finally just said and I quote, "You know if you walk out and leave it, you will be regretting it." She thought just a moment and said I was right. She walked over and said I want both of them. I about fell over. I did it again with the next two customers and sold two more paintings. I am blown away by this but I remember times when I was on the other side of this situation and someone said that very thing to me and it worked.
Now let me say that this will not work with every customer that walks into your both. If they are hanging a bit though and you engage them by just asking them if they have any questions it can lead to a good opening to shoot that line and it will work most of the time.
The second lady who came in and I engaged her on the second time in to see if she had any questions and she started talking about the one she really liked and did ask about the meaning of parts of it and left again. She stated that she had already been in three times and of course I threw out my line and sure enough she came back in in just minutes and said that she would be sorry and bought it.
That's amazing! It's definitely something to try.
Study the customer's body language. Especially their feet. This sounds crazy but when I remember to do it, it works 80% of the time.
Look at their feet and how they're positioned. If both feet are facing forward when they're looking at something, they're interested in buying. If their feet are at an angle they're just looking.
When a friend at a show told me about this I thought he was nuts. But a customer went into his booth which was across the aisle from me, and her feet were pointed straight ahead while she was facing his display. He said "she's gonna buy! Watch." He went over and showed her some pieces and she did indeed buy! He rang up a $400 sale.
So I decided to watch feet too. And sure enough, when one foot is straight and one foot is at a different position, they're just looking because one foot was ready to keep walking.
Hi Marjorie! First off... listen to the podcast I just completed with Connie - it's on the home page in the top of the left sidebar area. All about how to sell art face to face.
When you mention that you might be talking too much... well, you probably are. In 30 year of teaching sales, this is the number one problem. SO here's a tip sheet that I send as a pdf to people who are joining my email list (which I highly recommend you do):
FREE TIPS from the “E’s of Selling Art System”
The Guidebook and Flashcard System and Live Seminar Series
Be likable. Be attentive
Be SINCERELY interested. Ask questions
Listen fully to the answers. Ask more questions.
People always want to talk about themselves - so ask more questions. Make people feel special. Ask more questions about them and their needs.
Smile. (Really... I mean it: SMILE! Right now! Just do it and see how it changes YOUR mood!)
Do and say things that will make people smile. (Hint: it starts with your smile)
Make people feel happy, successful, clever, smart, unique, worthy, and even more happy.
When they feel good, they can start to trust and be more open and feel more comfortable. That leads to them being more interested. Then they will listen more closely and become more engaged. And that will likely lead to them feeling good about purchasing. (It’s all about them!)
No one (willingly) buys something if they don’t feel good about the entire experience. You are not selling mattresses or outdoor furniture. You are selling a lifelong good experience and potentially a life enhancing experience. Remind them of that when you “ask for the sale!” Always remember: It is always - ALL ABOUT THEM - and their needs. People are mostly interested in themselves. People like to feel good about their purchases and their choices.
For immediate results, get rid of the “Four Dirty Little Words”
Take I, Me, My, and Mine out of your presentation as much as possible. Replace with YOU and YOURS as much as possible.
GOTQUESTIONS? Do you need more sales at your Art Festivals, Studio Openings, and other face-to-face art presentation situations?
Get instant help:
Click here to buy the E’s of Selling Art System Guidebook and Flashcard Set.
Email me for the link if this is a paper handout: icanhelp@mygoldenwords.com
Got Phone? Scan the QR code to go directly to the shopping cart.
CONNIE has a link on the top of the RIGHT hand sidebar to learn more also. And the "special pricing" she posted goes away at midnight ET TODAY.... so if this "feels" helpful" the whole system will move you significantly!
I just took a long look at your Etsy store, Moxie, to see what it is that you are selling. Do you exhibit $10 coloring books and $1.50 single coloring pages in shows? How do you present these items? If we knew more about what you are selling, maybe we could offer better help.
HI Barry, thanks for asking, I have the coloring books bound with color covers (I do that part myself) and those are laid out on my table. The crayons are put together in sets in small tins with a clear lid.
I have a show on Saturday. I will take a picture of the booth when I get it set up and let y'all take a look.
This time I have put the crayons into clear boxes with a label showing the color.. I will have about 12 of those arranged on the table. I want it to have kind of an apothecary look. I am planning to sell the crayons for $1 a piece and the sets for $5.
For the crayons I have a whole thing about small batch, hand poured, sustainably sourced wax plus professional artist-quality pigment. The coloring books are Kentucky-themed and they are bound into a glued binding (not spiral) so they look like actual books.
I sell crayons frequently to little girls for the most part, which I am fine with, especially if they are with their parents who pay! Often the girls will use their own allowance to buy, which I think is really charming.
The books are really targeted more toward adults because the pictures are complex. They can take a hour or more to do. I am going to talk about how it will be a keepsake/memento of a record of the way Lexington is right now (it's being heavily developed).
I always enjoy talking to other artists around me and this last summer a guy in the business for 30 years said to me "if there's one thing I've learned in 30 years it's that you cannot talk someone in to buying your work" and that sorta stayed in my mind the last couple months until I read this thread. Now all those trials and over analyzing I used to do all comes back to me. So, now I'm thinking there may just be a huge difference between 100 dollar items and 4k dollar items.
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