Rick Avalos
Artists & Craftsmen
As artists and craftsmen we pursue our art with a profound sense of passion and find ourselves, sometimes, falling short of the sale we desire. The prospect agrees that your art piece is magnificent and your talent as an artist is exemplary but they still don’t cross the threshold into your domain.
Why, you may ask, are they not reaching the mark you have established in product and/or price.
Consider This Could it be the “presentation of your images”? I don’t mean the visual presentation of your work such as matting, framing or packaging, but how your art is presented to your prospect VERBALLY!
The following thoughts and tips apply to any product or service in any sales environment but since we are members of this wonderful fraternity we call photographers I will customize these comments to our industry.
That’s More Than I Planned on Spending
We have all heard objections like this. Or "I don’t have wall space for that size” or “I’ll take the smaller size” and on and on . . .
For years successful salespeople have understood the psychology of selling and understand the importance of soft selling with soft words. And using the “Feel, Felt, Found” method as our response let us examine this scenario. Let’s use the first objection as an example. Client: “I just love the portrait you created but that’s just a little more than I planned on spending” You: “I understand how you feel, you know many people have felt that way but later they found the enjoyment they received from their portrait was so worth the investment that broke down to just a few dollars a year for a lifetime of pleasure.
It is a little beyond the scope of this blog to address objections. Actually, objections are best addressed before they arise. But I want to offer thoughts on how we can be more successful in our sales by the use of soft word usage.
Word Substitutions
You decide which is a better approach.
“You can buy this” or “You can own this” . . .
“Think about this” . . . or “Imagine this” . . .
“This offer is limited”. . . or “This opportunity is limited” . . .
“I want you to know" . . . or “You may want to know” . . .
“Your payment is” . . . or “Your investment is” . . .
Hopefully these tips and strategies will help you in your presentation of your beautiful works of art.
The Image Critique Show
This is the very reason RIck and I started the broadcast. We want to help you with your images. This is why we bring in a guest each month to offer you another point-of-view!
Smart you say? You're darn right! Alright, all kidding aside. We want to help you. We want to share all of what we had the chance to learn throughout our careers. We want you to be stellar at image competition. But more so, we want you to become the best photographer and artist you can become. You're welcome . . . hahaha!
The Guys
And that's why we are here. Rick and Jeff are always willing to help you with your photography and the images you are thinking of entering into a competitions.
We can help with individual images or your entire portfolio. As a matter of fact, we offer an awesome, constructive, and we promise, friendly situation where the two of us will sit with you on a Zoom session and critique up to 25 of your images. Check out this service HERE. We'd sure love to help. Make sure you are submitting your images to the show regularly so you can get . . . More Better! SUBMIT HERE.
Check out images from friends of the show who have submitted to previous episodes for critiques. Get some awesome and creative ideas for your photographs, HERE.
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