Mark E Shellshear.

  A good sales experience is very important for your customer and for you. Because your customer knows lots of people and we want them to refer us to their friends. A good sales experience is talked about. An average sales experience is not talked about. A bad sales experience is talked about more. First impressions are important, so smile and be friendly and show interest in your customer. Last impressions are important, thank the customer for buying your Art work and get their email address from them and get permission to send them your monthly newsletter. Happy customers know people and we want them to talk about us, so be referable. .

  P eople succeed because they keep at it and don’t give up . The biggest reason people don’t obtain great success is that they give up trying. Most can achieve moderate success and then their main aim in life is to keep it and not lose it. They get set in their ways and protect what they have . They stop experimenting because it is unsafe. They stop innovating because it is unsafe. S ometimes being unsafe is the safest place to be. We must be always asking ourselves, how can I do this better? What could I do that would improve my performance? What small thing can I change that would make me better? Don’t seek safe, push for constant improvement no matter how unsafe it feels.

  You can change your future, it is not set, it can be changed. What if you could have anything you wanted, what would you want? Most would say they are not sure, why is that? Here is a better question? What don’t you want to happen? What do you want to avoid? Work out what you don’t want and it is much easier to know what you do want. Do you want sickness, poverty, abandoned, unloved, no sales, unknown? So if you don’t want these things in your life, then you must avoid them. I am sure we all want good health, abundance, family and friends, to be loved, lots of sales, known as a celebrity Artist? Once we know what we want, we then write it out clearly what we want in every area. Now we have to act out the script and make it our reality. We can change our futures if we imagine what we want, turn it into a daily affirmation , write out a script of what to do and then act on that script as if it is already our reality and make it so. The future is not set, s...

  What are the consequences of doing nothing? Of feeling sorry for myself? Of giving responsibility to others? Just waiting to be picked or discovered? No consequences here other than you are safe, comfortable and you are not responsible and you get to blame others. So what are the consequences of taking action? Of having a positive personal attitude? Of taking responsibility and making a difference? Of picking yourself and doing the necessary work? You will have purpose and a reason and the drive to achieve your intended goals. Happiness does not depend on others, it depends on your life having positive purpose, good reasons and clearly defined goals.

  Artists are intelligent creative people and very capable of applying that same creative ability to the business side of their Art and promoting themselves very successfully. Many say that Artists are to sensitive to understand business, that is so wrong, business is a skill and anyone who applies themselves can learn that skill. Artist do not let anyone sell you that myth that you cannot run your own Art business and you cannot do sales and marketing, you can and should control your own destiny, this is your life and your career do not leave it to someone else to control, this is your Art career not theirs. Business is not hard but it takes discipline to stay on top of it. The myth says you are to o sensitive to understand business, the truth is you are more than capable of understanding and running your own successful Art Business.

  Have you ever dealt with an Artist who is great at promising, but not so good at delivering on the promise, but they are very accomplished at making excuses. Collectors will accept excuses for a little while but after being let down a few time they will move on. Promises must be kept and delivered on or you will find you have no Art business. Average is easy to achieve, as is below average, doing a good job is better, but if you want to be a successful Artist you will win if you dramatically exceeded your clients expectations. You deliver more than you promise with your amazing Art. With your follow up and relationship building. With the wonderful sales experience you gave them. Now t hey will talk about you for all the right reason, because you just didn’t fulfil your promises you dramatically exceeded their expectations.

  As Artists in the market place we must be the best we possibly can be. The best paintings we can produce. The best smile we can have. The best greeting we can have. The best explanation of our Art work we can have. Because I really do believe that to get the best results we must be the best we can possibly be. When we make the decision to be the best we possibly can be it effects all we do, our mannerisms, our attitudes and our own happiness and the happiness of people around us. Positive and enthusiastic people are fun to be around and these people get results. It is so easy to be the friendly Artist at the exhibition opening or Art Fair. It is so easy to just chat to strangers who have come to look at your work, smile and just have a friendly chat. If you want the best results, then just be the best you can be, do not compare you self to others, just be your best. By being the best you can be now, you are planting seed into your future and your best harve...

  I am just looking around, thank you. Now we have all said that and if you are showing you r Art or you have a booth at an Art show, most likely when we hear that statement we assume that they will not buy. You cannot assume that, you must be smiling and friendly and very enthusiastic, so say something like. I love it when people come to look around my Art. May I point out two pieces to you. First point out the most expensive piece in your show and say the price and then point out an inexpensive piece, and then say. I will leave you to look around. Then walk away. You complied with their request, but you have also pointed out your best piece and an inexpensive piece and you did it in a friendly caring manner and hopefully they liked you and so will like your work. Doing this gives you a few seconds to sell yourself and give them a comparison of your price points, this is important. The customer has two reactions to your high price point, that seems reasonable...

  Why do people find selling so hard to do? Or having to stand up and give a speech in front of strangers? Or making that video? It’s not because they are so hard to do. It’s because of the internal story that we are constantly telling ourselves, that story the reinforces our fears and becomes the reality we live. If we change the internal story to, I can do that, I am very capable of doing this, then we will see this become the reality we live. The way we think about things will determine if we do something or not do it. Reshape your internal stories to the outcome you want. .

  For an Artist getting attention is one of the most important things you can do. Getting attention is standing out from the pack, not being like everyone else but being the best you can be. I know that this is a real challenge because fear does not want us to stand out and be different because that is not safe, you could be criticised and talked about and the thief does not want that so it will do all it can to stop you from standing out. It will use every excuse it can find to stop you and keep you safe and average, it will tell you that you are shy, reserved and you do not have to push yourself forward, but you must ignore the thief and do exactly opposite to what it says. Artists say to me, but I don’t want to do that I just want to be in the background and let my Art speak for me. For a start, Art does not speak and think about what you are saying, that you don’t want to be known, just your Art? Unknown Artist, unknown Art.

Pain points can be lack of sales, lack of recognition, unknown, all the things that can be obvious to us but these can be caused other problems and we recognize these by excuses and procrastination. I will get around to it. I don’t think I need to do that. I am not like that. My paintings speak for themselves. My painting sell themselves. I am not good at making videos. The key is to do the things you need to do and do them again and again. Doing it today and then doing it again tomorrow and then make it a daily habit. Repetition will get you to the point where you say, this is what I do every day.  

  How many times have I been on call waiting and hearing this over and over knowing full well my call wasn’t important because if it was, someone would be talking to me. Careful when we use caring words or statements with a customer, quickly follow it up with action. If the call is important then treat it as so and answer it. When people are calling and there is a delay it would be better to say, I apologize for the delay and we are working hard on improving our services and don’t tell me I am important. Caring for our customers must be genuine and if it isn’t we are hurting ourselves. Hello your call is important, it’s Mark speaking. .

  What are you selling, an Artwork? Here take it, give me the money, good bye. Or are we selling an artefact, something beautiful, that is more than an Artwork. It’s a story, an emotional experience, the beginning of a relationship and an invitation to join the Artists journey. The first story is forgettable and the second is remarkable. When we really care about our buyers we will give them a memorable experience and an invitation to join our Art journey. Caring will make you remarkable. [worth talking about]

W hen people come into the Art business often they have on rose coloured glasses. They think all they have to do is paint beautiful paintings and the Art world will come knocking on their door. The only problem with this is you are unknown and if no one knows you how can they find you and knock on your door? The problem for most Artists is not their Art work, it’s do we know you? The two biggest pain points for Artists is they are unknown and don’t know how to sell. You need to get known, you need facial and name recognition. Post those paintings, write those stories, make those videos and write your blog, you need to get attention.  

  Now I know most Artists when they get a sale are overjoyed and then move onto something else. But sales are a process, so after you get the sale think about what happened. What did you say to them? What did they say to you? How did you start the conversation? What questions did you ask? What was it that made them say yes? What emotional trigger did you use? What not to do next time? The more you can improve your sales process the higher your success rate will be. Most take the money and forget what happened. Go over the sale and improve your sales process and learn all you can from every sale. The better you get at selling, the more sales you will make.

  The difference between being a successful Artist and an average Artist is found in one’s attitude to setbacks, disappointments, discouragements and other difficult situations. All of us no matter how high up the Art ladder are going to face our share of difficulties and disappointments. It is seen in your attitude to difficulties and what action you take regarding them. Your mindset, positive or negative will determine how you come through them, positive outcome or negative outcome. .

There are no shortcuts to success y ou simply do the work until you reach th at point where things begin happening and then work harder to amplify what is happening. It’s like losing weight, you do it until you see changes and then you work harder to make it happen quicker. A s you learn more about your craft and the Art business and yourself you may find better ways to do things that get you there faster. Improve your skills and you get better so your success comes quicker , it is hard work . Learn as much as you can and shorten the time, do not look for shortcuts they will delay you, just work hard on your Art, your Art business and yourself. Y ou are your secret sauce , you are your magic, you make it happen for you, the miracle is in the work . .  

  When we make a sale, why did it happen? We need to go over each sale. Why did they buy, what did they say? How can we improve? What can we do better? This is what most Artists don’t do, but we must go over the sale so we can understand what happened. Make a sale and learn from it. Make a better sale next time. Continually improve your sale skills.

  There will always be ups and downs. The downs are the nights. Up time s are the day. But wait the dawn is coming, opportunity is coming. Take advantage of the coming dawn. You almost gave up during the night. The night of despair, of no sales, of loneliness, we all experience many different nights in our life . This is your dawn moment. What must we do to get to the next level? Change. Dawn is a new opportunity to accomplish your dreams. Never give up.

  I am convinced that mental preparation is the key to a successful life. Having made the decision to do something you do not second guess that decision, this is where so many come apart because you must be disciplined and stick to the plan. I made the decision to do it. I come prepared to do it. At the stated time I do it. Even if you have a few false starts, it will happen. False starts can’t stop you, false starts are part of the process of accomplishing a project. False starts are hard but you must push through them. Do not be concerned about inspiration, once you start work it will come. The miracle is in the work.

  When things are going well and the sales are coming in it is so easy to be positive and enthusiastic, but it is in the lulls, the quiet times when everything you do seems to be so hard, then question ourselves and it would be so easy to give up and you already have the excuses ready in your head, this is when it all matters what you do. Great paintings might be painted in the good times but they are birthed through the difficult times, when we want to quit and all of us at some point want to quit. Escape is never the best option, because it is in these difficult times that seem to go on forever, but don’t really, that we learn about ourselves and how strong our persistence and determination really is. It is in these times, the seemingly endless times that opportunity comes and is usually disguised in difficulty, if we are ready to give up we will miss it,...

  How you think about yourself has a great influence on how others think about you. I have had sales people who were timid and reserved and said that they could not sell Art and they were right. I have had sales people who were enthusiastic and confident a nd said they could sell Art and they did. Both these sales people were right, we talk ourselves into or out of our ability to do something. You are who you think you are. If you are negative and critical about your Art work you will have trouble selling it to others as you are not convinced it is good. But if you love your Art work and you are positive and praise and appreciate yourself you will most likely sell because that is what will come across to your viewers. How we think about ourselves and our Art will largely determines our success or lack of success.

  Listen to the way you talk. What do you mean? If you listen to the way you talk you will learn a lot about why things work out the way they do. “ This always happens to me.” So why are you surprised when it does? “ I always get sick.” So why are you surprised when you do? “ My paintings don’t sell, nobody wants them.” Out of the abundance the heart[ mind] the mouth speaks. + Don’t own what you don’t want.

All of us must work hard, but it must be on the things that matter. It’s very easy to get very busy doing things that do not matter and does not impact on our three priorities, improving our Art, improving our sales and improving ourselves, anything that does not fall under these three categories is not a priority. Improving your Art is personal and necessary, keep doing it. Improving sales is a big subject as it includes finding new customers, looking after the ones we already have and developing new products for them. Sales is also improving our personal relationships with others, finding strangers and making them part of our network and hopefully lead them into becoming a valued customer. We should be thinking about how to improve in these three areas constantly, how can I do it better, how can I do it more efficiently? We need to be always searching for answers and ideas on how to i mprove our business. Self improvement is part of our business and it matters. .

  People send me photos of their Art works, they turn up unannounced in messenger. These are the true orphan paintings, this not marketing. If you are going to send paintings, hoping against hope that I will reply and tell you how wonderful they are or even better I will buy it, but alas I will treat it the same way you do to me, silence. If you are going to interrupt us by sending your paintings to us on messenger, at least say hello, and tell us why you are sending it, and what it is about, and why you painted it, and thank me for reading your message and looking at your painting. It is not brave to send a random painting to a stranger on messenger, but if you are going to interrupt me then be brave and write about your painting and engage me, I may not reply, but I will read it.