Today Friday, June 2, artist and life coach Quinn McDonald writes about how she recently spent ten days doing art festivals in the cold rain, and some lessons learned that can help sales at a show even when it's not raining.
Watching people who paid to get into a show while it was raining, I had to ask, "Why did you come here instead of the mall?" The answer? "People are nice to me at art shows. No one talks to me at the mall."
What a great piece of information. People will pay to come to an art show, in the driving rain, because artists will talk to them and be friendly.
Interesting information. So I ask another question, "Why did you stop at my booth this morning?" Answer, "Because you are smiling. The last three people were complaining."
Information mining is easy if you keep asking questions. The more you ask, the more you find out. Here are some other interesting facts I got in ten days of rain.
--Thank people for coming out in bad weather. You'll be surprised at the information you get. When people said, "I come to this show in any weather at all," I'd ask them if they wanted to know where I was going next. That puts their name on my e-mail list. I want determined, loyal people who come out even in 50-degree weather with wind and rain on that list.
--Ask people what they like about the show. Listen for clues to help your sales. "I like colorful pieces," "I like to talk to artists," is good information, as is "I'm looking for a baby [graduation, wedding] present." That tells you about product preferences and helps you decide if you should include the bridal/graduation/baby markets in your work.
Read the rest of the article and discover three more ideas Quinn mined on the art show circuit.
Have a great weekend. See you Monday.
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