The Art of Selling The Invisible
Video Produced by Maring Visuals
Tips and Ideas on Selling Art and Service
Charles and Jennifer casually and candidly talk business sharing thoughts, and ideas, that have helped slowly evolve and grow as artists and entrepreneurs.
With 20+ years chasing and living the dream as professional artists we've learned many things about business the hard way. In this post we share some tips and advice of our own, as well as highlighting one of our favorite business books, which has offered us some great perspectives to consider. There are so many great business books on marketing, sales, creativity, and leadership. Over the years I've spent a great deal of time with my head buried in such books hoping to gain an ounce of inspiration or just a fresh perspective to focus on.
Sometimes an author just knows how to convey something in a way that it brings you clarity, and allows you to see your business from the clients perspective. Occasionally, we would like to highlight some of the books that have helped us grow our business mindset. In this post we share a couple of books that have stuck around for us titled "The Invisible Touch" by Harry Beckwith along with another book he wrote called Selling The Invisible.
We found these books to contain several great perspectives that we unconsciously carry around in our minds at all times. We won't highlight them here, as you should really pickup the books and dive in, but we do want to point out what the title so beautifully states... As photographers and filmmakers we are selling the invisible. Clients can't know what the outcome will be, and therefore when hiring a photography or video company they have to place a large portion of their decision on trust.
This simple idea helped us to fundamentally shift our focus and come to the realization that we must focus our efforts not only on creating a quality product, but also place equal emphasis on our client experiences in order to build a brand that people trust. We have learned that when you have synergy between all aspects of your business from quality of product, to experience, right through to packaging and delivery clients can't help but rave about the good work you do. However, this concept doesn't just relate to our field of business, it relates to any service driven business.
Along the way, having applied this notion, we've learned a lot, and gained our own personal perspective as well. So, in this post, and coinciding video we bring to you a few key points that aren't necessarily related to the books mentioned, but from our own personal experiences as creative entrepreneurs as well.
A Few Key Points to Take Away from this post...
1. Think about your business from your clients perspective...
_Do you offer a product, a service, or both? Make sure to place emphasis and effort on each of these key areas in order to maximize your client experience. If one suffers, the others can't make up the difference.
2. Ideas are as valuable as products...
_In our experience being the idea driven company is more exciting to clients than just offering products. Ideas spark passion in your voice, and clients will pay more for creative ideas than competing products.
3. Build Trust...
_There are a multitude of ways to build client trust such as; client reviews, awards and credentials, and of course a referral from a past client. But the best way is to do right by each and every client. By doing so, you will not only gain their referral, but clients will come back to you for more things than that which they initially sought you out.
4. Custom Tailor to your clients needs...
_Most businesses create a printed price list and hand it out like a menu at a diner. As service professionals, we have found that it is best to ask questions and try and determine each individuals tastes, and needs. Knowing more about the demands of an assignment, and each clients expectations, allows you to build a custom quote that offers each individual the best value based on their needs and wants.
5. Never Sell... Rather be genuine in your desire to help...
_Nobody likes a sales person, but everyone loves an expert. Be genuine, and honest, in your desire to help clients find the right balance between price and value. If you know your product and service well, and are being genuine, then the advice and help you are providing is never considered selling. Rather you are guiding them towards making smart decisions that fit within their taste and budget, while making sure you are able to meet or exceed their expectations.
Interested in picking up the books shared here? For convenience, we've made a link available from Amazon below.
