Ever get discouraged when someone seems like they’re genuinely interested in a piece of your art and then they don’t buy it? What if I told you that they may still be interested and that there was a chance you could sell your piece to them? In fact, you could sell twice as much art with this strategy.
This is because 50% of all sales are completed through the follow up. If someone shows an interest in your art but doesn’t buy right away, it doesn’t mean they’re walking away from the sale. It simply means they may need more time and nurturing to decide if the piece is right for them. This is an essential piece of your overall art sales strategy that could double your sales.
A common concern of the artists I work with is that they don’t want to appear annoying or desperate to the potential buyer. The questions then become when and how you follow up and what you say when you do?
When Is The Right Time To Follow Up On An Art Sale?
Just like dating, you don’t want to text your date before they’ve gotten home from your first night out. Being too eager can work against you. An appropriate time frame for an initial follow-up would be within the first 24 hours to say thanks for visiting my open studio (or whatever event you met them at). But don’t follow up too often. Have a follow up strategy in place before you need to use it, so you don’t let your fears about the follow-up derail the sale.
Following up this quickly is especially great if they’ve come to see your art in person. It’s a simple “thanks for coming by” and to let them know you enjoyed and appreciated connecting with them. You’re not asking anything of them, or if they’re still interested in your art (yet), it’s a genuine note that’s showing your gratitude. This is key to not scare them off and not coming across as overeager.
Most salespeople will tell you to follow up until you get a definitive no. If that feels too daunting, try touching base with your potential buyer three times over a few days to a couple of weeks. By then, you’ll have a good sense of if there’s still interest in your work.
Highly personalizing your follow up strategy is the most effective. This applies to how many times you follow up and what you say.
How To Follow Up With Interested Art Buyers
Your follow up strategy includes picking a suitable communication method and striking the right tone.
To help decide what works best, you can look at how they initially reached out to you about your work. Or, if you know the person and have communicated with them before, you’d follow up with how you’d typically communicate with them.
For example, if they found you on Instagram, you may want to follow up through a direct message on the Instagram platform. Keep the conversation going there, where it started.
This also means that if you’d generally talk with this person via email, send them an email. If you usually text them, send them a text message. You get the idea. Use whatever method works best for them (not necessarily you).
Insider Tip: You can now send voice messages through both Instagram and Facebook. When collectors hear your tone in a message, it can go a long way to show that you’re following up to be helpful and not salesy.
If you have their address, you can stand out by sending a handwritten thank-you note to them. This is great when you’re thanking them for visiting. Make sure your follow-up level matches your interaction with them when looking at your work.
The right tone of your message is important because you want to sound like a real human. After all, that’s who people buy from. The tone can be conversational or more formal. If the person you’re working with is more formal, like an architecture firm or interior design group, you may want to be slightly more business-like in your wording.
Generally, when you’re selling to individuals, I recommend that you use a less formal approach because it’ll naturally make you sound less sales-y. Collectors usually like the artists they purchase from so it helps to sound more human and less like someone from a corporation when you follow up with them.
Using the words you’d actually speak out loud in your follow-ups helps achieve this connection with your art collector.
What To Say When You Follow Up
Whichever method you choose for your follow up strategy, be sure to personalize your correspondence by using their name and specific details that answer their questions.
Share what inspired your work or tell more about the materials and process you've used to create it. Then connect those things to the potential buyer if you can.
Address their concerns or hesitations that may prevent them from making the purchase and offer solutions or fresh ideas that may answer those issues.
Ask them questions so you can understand what they're thinking and how to help them make the best decision for them, even if that's not to buy your piece. They may feel overwhelmed by decision making and you can help.
Invite them to envision the piece in their space. How will they feel when they see it every day? How will it transform the look and vibe of the room where it will live? How will it help them?
Give a clear next step at the end of each follow-up you send them; that way, they understand what to do next if they'd like to learn more or buy the piece.
Through this conversation, they'll understand the piece more deeply and emotionally connect with it. They'll also be more easily able to decide if the art is right for them. You'll learn a ton from your follow-ups. And, when you understand who work resonates with most, you'll start to connect with art buyers everywhere you go. By the way, here are some of the top places you can find them.
Following Up Is Helping Your Collector
Following up to make sure your potential buyers have what they need is a generous act on your part, and it’s not pestering or bothering them. And it may be exactly what they need.
Sometimes people genuinely intend to buy but they keep getting distracted or lose track of it. Maybe they need to wait for a paycheck to afford it or they need to get their partner to agree that the piece will work in their house. All of these are minor obstacles that you can help them navigate.
For example, following up can be extremely helpful to the collector who is desperately trying to get their house looking impressive for an upcoming visit with relatives. Pressure around the winter holidays can sometimes spur this need. In this example, you can share in your follow up how your art will tie the room together, make the space look polished and well-conceived, and will be a great conversation piece to talk about how they really enjoy infusing things made by hand in their home.
Overcome Rejection and Harness it for More Art Sales
Having a sales follow up strategy is like giving rejection the middle finger. Artists often view rejection as a “no” whereas it may really be a “not yet.” Don’t let it stop you from getting your work in more homes.
Be savvy and know when to acknowledge when it’s a lost cause as well. If you keep the conversation natural, are helpful, connect according to your genunine strategy, and commit to investing in the relationship, you’re more likely to get a response without being pushy.
Need help creating a custom follow up strategy for your art sales? Let’s get it started! I’m happy to meet with you.