Because you ARE losing sales.
The moment you put those cards on your table you are losing sales.
“No, I’m Not!”
“Yes, you are!”
You are losing sales by making the mistake of setting your contact information out for anyone to grab, at any time, without the benefit of a fully consummated engagement with you. (Re-read the Departure Checklist – Page 36. Don’t have the system? Learn more here.)
And I promise you:
Having a stack of business cards prominently displayed is not creating sales opportunities. Click To Tweet
Oh sure. You may have the occasional person that walks up, doesn’t say a word to you, doesn’t engage in any way, who grabs a card after a few minutes of browsing your collection. And then what? Or what about people who might visit your display when you run for a restroom break or while you are engaged in a presentation with someone already? Don’t they need a card? Again, to what end?
If they can’t remain engaged and browsing while you are “busy”, then that card is not going to turn them into a future buyer. If purchasing art becomes a “thing” for them in the future, there are artists that they have a deeper connection to – artists they get emails from or spent time getting to know at a recent show. You want to be THAT artist. Not just a piece of card stock.
Put your cards away.
How great would it be for someone to be waiting to talk to you because they didn’t have a card to nurture their misconception that they will make a purchase in the future?
But that’s not the biggest problem or the real loss.
There is one thing you might not have considered: The principle of exchanging information. We can more naturally ask for their information if we are “giving” (not allowing them to take) our information. Use your card for leverage. The exchange goes something like this:
Do you have a card?
Yes, I do! Let me get that for you. And while I am doing that, please sign my guest book so we can stay in contact. I have a new piece I am working on and by being on my list, you get all of the sneak previews!
You can fill in the blanks for your situation. Maybe you entice them with subscriber’s only offers for free shipping, or whatever you think will be valuable to your admirers. The bottom line: there is no reason to not get contact information. (Even if you are not sure what to do with it today, you are planning to start an email program, right?)
The worse case scenario
You are sure they are about to say “Wrap it Up” and instead they grab your card and say, “We’ll be in touch”. You just spent 20, 30, 45 minutes with a person or a couple and they LOVE your art and now they leave. You might still be able to get their contact information – please try! However, you will have a hard time keeping them around and focusing on a decision NOW, when they believe (and they do at that moment) that they can buy from your website or contact you in the future. They can walk away and not look back.
And YOU just lost the most important element for finding homes for your art: the emergency. It’s not an emergency if they think they now have unfettered access to buy from you in the future. And you will only look desperate if you now attempt more engagement.
Put your cards away.
Don’t miss these every other week posts
Join the Art Blog Community!
…and please add your thoughts in the comments and share with your network…
I agree with you 100%. They take a card and usually you never here from them again. I would much rather get their contact information.
Nice, Sandra…
And then…(drum roll…..) you MUST actually follow up with a thank-you email – “thanks for taking time at the (event)” – and then put them on your regular list for subscribers, right? Collecting names is not the goal. Collecting the names of future collectors is what matters.
I’ve been practicing this for a little while – since reading about it in your guide and it really makes sense. By making potential customers ask for your card, you can identify them as very interested and ensure you capture their email address. I’m now getting people coming back to buy who’ve received the emails sometimes over 3 years! That would never happen if you didn’t have that drip drip effect – out of sight, out of mind.
Also, I’m trying to combat the “I’ll look on your website later” with “It’s easier to decide when you have the actual work in front of you and can appreciate it’s scale and detail.” If they still won’t make a decision, then I’ve got their details and I can keep in touch with THEM.
Absolutely perfect understanding of this principle, Rebecca! AND you read my mind: next post is called “The Website Trap” and I will address that issue – a sticky one, indeed. One thing that I coach is to downplay the site. “I really don’t maintain a strict inventory control on my site, so many of the pieces you will fall in love with here, might not be on the site – or worse, you fall in love with something on the site and it’s been sold already. Try as I might, it’s just too much hassle to keep it all up-to-date.”
Of course, you should try to get people on your list always – always! But worse case, you can insist they take a card before they leave. Just go and retrieve in from your tucked away location. It’s not bad to have a card and to give a card. It’s only bad to let them TAKE a card! ‘-)
I’ll look forward to hearing what you have to say about websites in a face to face sales situation. I’m afraid I’d be lying if I said the above as I’m one of those sad diligent people who keep their website up to date! (I must get out more!) Also, with selling multiples I do usually have more so it’s only really with original monotypes that I can create that sense of urgency you describe. Sometimes with editions if they really are getting low.
Ah…I had a feeling you were very on top of your “inventory”! LOL…So with that in mind, I will be sure to address “your kind”. Stay tuned (as you always do, Rebecca.)
what a great idea!! thank you for sharing. I set up every Sunday throughout the summer at an outside market. Using your idea will give me an opportunity to acquire a list for my new mailing list. I have been procrastinating as I was not sure how to get a mailing list. Now I know! thanks again.
You are so welcome, Leona! If you want any help with email marketing, I did co-author a terrific e-course with Carolyn Edlund of Artsy Shark. Learn more here: http://www.artsyshark.com/email-marketing-for-artists/
And I will be diving in with more email marketing courses in the future on My Golden Words Academy (still mostly under construction). If you are not already on the online courses list – join here.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t purchased my totally FANTASTIC publication, “The E’s of Selling Art System”, you need to visit this page immediately.
And for anyone looking to see an example of a “sales page”, you should click on that last link, too.