ACE Newsletter

Making Contact

Okay, here I (Steve) go again. I have been talking to artists about the following topic for a couple of years.  I am going to talk about it again even though it always seems to be a conversation stopper when I present it on a art marketing forum or email newsgroup. I get absolutely no feedback from it. No one says "hey, I tried this and it works great!" and no one says "I tried this and its a total waste of time!" 

In this time of computers and the internet, websites, blogs and emails, databases and all the information and communication methods available to us to contact unlimited numbers of clients and collectors and prospective collectors with a click of the mouse or a keystroke, we often forget that personal contact is the most effective  form of communication for generating business.

It's easy and unthreatening to send out and email newsletter or a mailing of postcards. Don't get me wrong, these methods have their place and we use them constantly. However, these are still mass mailings, often thought of as junk mail. When you go to your mailbox, what letter do you open first? The one in the envelope that is handwritten and from someone you know. The same applies to the emails in your inbox.

Let me put it this way, a letter or email to an individual is the beginning of a conversation. And a conversation makes you a real person. Someone they know. All things considered, people will do business with someone they know before someone they don't know. So send out an e-mail or a letter not just to the "people on your list", but to a "person on your list."

Which brings us to the big one - phone calls. This is one that everyone seems to shy away from. It's a step out of our comfort zone, at least until you've done it a few times. But making phone calls to people who are interested in your work is the quickest and most effective way to "cut to the chase." This is where the fear comes in. You can send out a letter, email or postcard and you don't have to worry about being rebuffed. No one has sent me a letter telling me not to write them again. But we think that our phone call will be greeted with anger, cuss words and slamming down the phone. This has never happened to me.  If fact, if someone doesn't want to talk to you or get more info from you they will usually make up an excuse so they can stop the conversation politely. That is all right, you know now that you don't need to put your resources into working with them.

Remember, I'm not talking about cold calling, you are talking to people who have expressed interest in your work and have given you their name and phone number. By giving you their name and number they have given you permission to contact them.

The question most artists ask then is "What do you say when you call someone?" It's a good question. You have to have a reason that applies to them. Do you have a show coming up in their area?  If you are going to be at a show, call ahead, starting a couple of weeks beforehand. Use the call to invite them to the show. Or perhaps you just finished creating a new work. If you have notes from your guest book you will know who might specifically be interested in it. Call them and let them know that you have recently completed the work. You can let them know you will be emailing them an image. Notes from your guestbook will help you remember them and give you additional info for your conversation.

Remember, these are not sales calls. You are making contact to build connections. But don't be surpised if it leads to sales. And sooner than you might think. Just keep at it.

Look, just try it. If you have just one phone conversation a week and send out a couple of cards and a couple of emails to start. Just try it and let me know what happens. You have nothing to lose but a few minutes out of each day.

I have included two logs to keep track of whom you have contacted. We are starting with one a day. That is one successful contact. One log you will keep track of successful contacts and the second log will help you keep track of the attempts that did not result in contact. A final note, phone calls are better than email. Facebook or other social media is considered only when you are making direct contact, sending a message etc.  A handwritten letter is different, since there is no immediate response, so be sure to include a phone number and email and ask them to contact you that way. However a letter or notecard with a image of your work gives them something tangible. There are a lot of ways to go about this.

Click below for the Logs

Prospect Contact Logs