Earlier this week I discussed how many artists and art salespeople make a fatal flaw by giving buyers an easy way out. In the discussion about last week’s post, an artist shared the following suggestion about her closing process:
When it becomes obvious that they are considering buying the piece, I ask if they would like to add it to their collection. They either say yes, no, or state why they are on the fence… Which, as you say Jason, helps the sales person work with the collector to resolve an issue.
The last couple of sales, I got to know the collector, and when it became obvious that they were thinking of buying, I pulled the work off the wall and set it on a separate easel in the light… Then didn’t say a word… Just let him or her speak, and it became a sold piece.
This a great example of moving boldly to the sale. We often use similar techniques in the gallery, asking for the sale and moving the artwork to a more prominent wall or isolating it. I particularly want to focus on Lori’s last suggestion though – not saying a word after placing the artwork on an easel. This suggestion points to one of the most powerful, and yet most underused tools we have in our sales kit: silence.
As your client finds an interesting piece and you move toward the close, silence can be far more powerful than talk.
Many salespeople mistakenly think that selling is a process of talking potential customers into buying something. While establishing rapport and creating narrative are important, we often make the mistake of saying too much. I’ve listened to salespeople fill every moment of an encounter with talk, never giving the buyer a chance to commit. As your client finds an interesting piece and you move toward the close, silence can be far more powerful than talk.
We are Afraid of Silence
Let’s face it, silence feels awkward. A sales encounter can be, at times, a slightly tense, if not nerve-wracking experience. When we’re nervous and encounter silence we feel an almost irresistible urge to fill it.
When a client raises a question or objection, or doesn’t respond right away, we may feel it’s our job to say something more, to further explain the art or respond to anticipated objections. Our job, however, is to make the sale, and sometimes saying nothing can be far more effective than anything we might have said.
Silence is Powerful
I heard an interview on the radio several years ago where a police detective was talking about interrogation techniques. The detective mentioned that after a suspect answers a question, the detectives will often simply maintain silence. The detective said that the suspect will often provide vital information after the silence. In the pause, the nervous suspect keeps talking to avoid the silence.
Obviously, the sales process has a different end in mind than an interrogation, but the power of silence is just as palpable in selling.
There’s an old adage in sales that “the first person to speak, loses.” I don’t like the implication that the buyer is losing if you let them speak first (in the art sales process, everyone wins!), but experience has shown me that the point is correct. There are moments in sales where letting your client speak first will result in a sale.
When to use Silence
When a client raises an objection or question
Don’t feel like you have to instantly jump in and answer questions or offer immediate solutions to objections. Frequently you will get valuable information from your potential buyer by saying nothing at all. If you remain silent and expectant, as if you are waiting to hear more, the buyer will sometimes answer the question, or further elaborate on the concern. There’s no law that says you have to jump right in with a response. Try and keep the ball in the buyer’s court.
When negotiating
Silence can be particularly useful in the negotiation process. Allow a pause after a client makes an offer to see if they will soften their request for a concession. Allow for silence after you make a counter-offer.
After asking for the close
As Lori suggested in her comment, silence is particularly effective after asking for the close. If you keep talking, you’re preventing your buyer from having the opportunity to say “yes.” After you ask for the close, you should never be the next one to speak. Wait for your client to respond, even if the pause is long and uncomfortable for you.
Use Silence – Close More Sales
As with all sales tools, silence should be used judiciously. Experience will teach you when to say something and when to keep your mouth shut. The only way to get that experience, however, is to begin putting silence into practice. I would encourage you to consciously use silence at least one time during your next sales encounter. It may be awkward, you may use it at the wrong time, and it might simply not work, but you will feel the power of silence and begin building the resolve it takes to sustain silence.
Have You Used Silence as a Sales Tool?
Do you have experience using silence to close sales? Do you find silence particularly difficult to endure? Do you have questions about how to use silence? Leave a comment below!
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Very good advice Jason. You can think about the opposite. When you are thinking about something to buy do you like being talk to while contemplating the decision? I like the moments before saying no – or yes.
A painting should sell itself. If it doesn’t then, even if you make the sale, the buyer will never be happy because the emotion of purchasing happily gives way to buyer’s remorse and a poor placement of the art. If it’s a collector, they may be thinking about how to sell again and not be involved otherwise. Nothing adds value like the story behind the piece and the artist, which is what makes people grow attached. IMO!
Thanks for your input Brian. While I agree that stories can be great tools for helping sell art (see my post https://reddotblog.com/creating-experiences-and-telling-stories-to-sell-more-art-21d/), I’ve sold many millions of dollars worth of art since I began in the business in 1992, and my experience has taught me that art does not sell itself, or at least only rarely does. My job is to help art buyers overcome their doubts and concerns about buying so that they can enjoy an artwork for years to come. Only rarely have I ever had a client regret a purchase (we happily accept returns). If you aren’t doing everything you can to help buyers acquire your art, both you and they are frequently missing out on the joy that comes when an artwork finds a new home.
This sounds like a great life lesson!
Silence is so uncomfortable for us extroverts in the room – but I like what Jean points out – even extroverts, when contemplating something big, crave silence in order to pull our mind around it.
Silence is only uncomfortable for the one who doesn’t have to do the thinking!
As an introvert, I treasure silence, and have yet to find that right balance when engaging potential buyers at open studio events. I’m fairly certain I give people too much space! It has resulted in sales, tho not nearly as consistently as I would like. There have been a few remarkable times that a sale has left ME speechless— “we’d like everything on this wall, please”. I could hardly write up the sale, I was shaking so much!
I will try it! Thanks very much for the inspiration. The big mistake I often make is to fill the silence with “If price is an issue, I can certainly offer you a discount”. I know, too desperate. I will remove that tactic immediately from my repertoire. Thanks again.
This advice is golden! You have mentioned this technique of silence before. I was always giving people a way out, always helping them out of the sale.
This year, I was bold and talked about the art but didn’t give them an easy way out, as I’ve done in the past.
Even though we are in a pandemic and a resulting recession, I have sold so many paintings this year! And lots of potential clients that might return at a later date.
So, in my humble opinion, this is a technique that will work for you. Car salespeople operate like this all the time, even more pushy. I couldn’t push my art on someone that hard.
But just standing back and letting a client look at the piece in silence, will work most of the time. Thanks for your always sage advice.
I personally am very comfortable with silence. I like to let my work speak for itself, and I try to provide a very low-pressure sales environment. I’m there if the buyer has a question or a comment, but mostly I trust my customers to know their own minds. If anything I probably err too much on the side of silence, but it’s surprising how often it works.
Where do you look when you are waiting? At the piece of art? At your fingernails? At the person buying?
I will remove the art from the studio wall, show them the back and how it is professionally framed, then hang it in a new spot where they can study it. I then walk over to my desk behind a short wall and act like I am going through a stack of papers. I have also has people say, “don’t hang it back up…I will take it”…
This is a good question; I, too would like to hear experiences with this moment in the experience
Where a person focuses their eyes is a form of communication. Sweeping my eyes slowly and gracefully from eye contact with the interested customer to the piece in question and back again usually sparks the customer to speak.
Thank you for this, Jason. A valuable sales tip especially for a sales novice like me, the photographer selling my own work!
I hate it in a store, when I’m looking at something, and the sales person distracts me with “and we have that in a different color over here” (but I like this color that’s why I’m looking at it!) so I try never to do that.
While the client is looking or discussing I find some brushes to wash or a call to take.
I have been using the “silence’, ‘The six second rule” for years and it works!
People usually don’t like silence, so how they respond tells you which direction you need to go in to close the sale! … I also use it when I am trying to buy something in a negotiation situation. buying a car, an antique or at the garage sales!
When I am selling to someone in my gallery, I am always conscious of a host of factors such as body language, any other people associated with the person interested in a particular work of art, their tone, and also the cadence of the conversation. You can’t simply keep talking, hoping that the person will eventually say “yes…I’ll buy it”. Your job as the seller is in large to give them the insight and information into the work , help them imagine it in their environment, and how it will enhance their life. As the seller you have to help them relax and talk themselves into the purchase. Keep your conversation natural and allow for pauses. You have to understand where they are mentally during the process, and that requires you “the seller” to remain quiet at times. Give the client some information, and allow them to process it. If you are rattling on too much they cant process the key parts. Find out what reservations they might have without asking them directly. When it comes to the close, ask for it and remain silent. If you say too much at this part, you have usually shot yourself in the foot. Even if they say “no” at this point, I will leave them with my card, and allow them to think it over further. At times they will contact me back and end up purchasing it.
As an artist (fine art photography) I do small art festivals throughout the year. When engaging with potential clients I often use silence as a technique. This rarely becomes uncomfortable because I’ll send that time straightening up some hanging pieces or act as though I’m checking my inventory. This gives them the opportunity to discuss the piece with friends or family
I like the concept of silence as a sales tool. It makes a lot of sense because when you don’t give them an out by responding to objections, they have to mentally work through it and people will often talk themselves into a purchase. I also like what that artist does with the easel. While it’s on the wall it can be seen as unobtainable, on the easel it’s suddenly right there, tantalizing close. It’s been moved specifically for them, creating more of a connection. At least that’s how I see it.
I’ve had a number of businesses and have used this technique often. In one we had paper contracts and after presenting it and reviewing the terms along with questions when it came time for the potential customer to make a decision I would sign the contract, put an “x” where they should sign and then drop the pen on the paper and wait silently.
50% of the time they would just sign!
What are examples of “ask for the close?”
What are examples of finding out a client’s reservations without asking directly?