Exhibitions serve as the foundation of many art gallery programs. While we may aspire to achieve strong sales or even a sell-out show, it doesn’t always happen that way. That’s where an art exhibition sales strategy comes into play. In this article, we will explore how to prepare for maximizing sales revenue through a sales strategy specifically for your shows.
It’s important to note that a sales plan and a marketing plan are two distinct entities. Marketing plans identify the target market for your gallery and outline specific marketing activities to reach those potential customers.
On the other hand, a sales plan delves into the strategies employed to actually make a sale. It is a comprehensive plan that involves initiating conversations and taking a series of actions to bring prospective buyers closer to making a purchase. The focus lies on understanding the collector’s needs, your gallery’s resources and highlighting the value that the artwork showcased in the exhibition can bring to their collection and life.
Exhibition Sales Preparation
Before selling the pieces in the exhibition, it’s important to prepare. This preparation complements your marketing efforts.
Identify the sales tools you need for the exhibition and create sales messaging that appeals to your buyers and the typical collector of the artist. One idea is to develop six to eight interesting talking points that address potential buyer questions about the show’s curatorial theme and each artist or piece in the exhibition.
Why do this? There are different types of collectors with various motivations to acquire art. When developing your talking points, consider the following to appeal to different collectors:
- Emotionally driven aspects of the work
- Technical accomplishments in the creation
- Inspire curiosity and anticipation.
- Market appreciation of the artist
- Gallery’s perspective on uniqueness and value
- Investment potential
All client-facing individuals in the gallery should be familiar with these talking points and use them effortlessly in presale communications, at the show, online, and in follow-up sales conversations with leads. The goal is to engage prospects, help them connect with the work or artist, and make confident buying decisions.
Being organized with pre-formulated talking points makes sales conversations easier for both gallery consultants and prospects. It’s also crucial to have at least one talking point that highlights the gallery’s perspective on why the show is significant and the work is collectible. This aspect is often overlooked but essential to an art exhibition sales strategy.
Another sales tool to prepare in advance is a digital presentation of the show that can be shared with identified leads. This could be a PDF, private viewing room, or a sneak peek into a virtual reality exhibition. Use the talking points you created and include pricing.
This is a sales tool, and pricing is necessary for selling. Communicating pricing early on helps qualify leads and allows you to focus on those genuinely willing and able to purchase.
You can use this tool to pre-sell pieces from the show. I recommend creating and having these tools ready two to three months before opening to give gallery sales associates enough time for presale conversations with your best prospects.
The Presale Element of Your Art Exhibition Sales Strategy
Having red dots on the wall at an art opening is always helpful in creating validation and urgency. Pre-selling artworks should be the first step in your art exhibition sales strategy.
Let’s discuss the activities for pre-selling a few months and weeks before the opening night of the gallery show.
Two to Three Months Before Gallery Show Opening
Depending on your exhibition schedule, send a save the date to your entire mailing list two to three months before the show opening. The purpose of this communication is to:
- Create awareness of the show
- Allow recipients to mark it on their calendar
- Help you identify potential sales leads from your mailing list
Include a call to action that will help you identify these potential leads. Your email marketing provider should have a feature to track recipients who click on the call to action.
* Hello leads! *
This could be an “Add to Calendar” button or link. Alternatively, you can include a button that allows them to RSVP for a VIP preview or any other supporting event related to the gallery exhibition. You can also provide the same options on your exhibition page on the gallery’s website. It may be best to avoid offering this opportunity on social media, as it may generate too many false leads. Experiment and see what works best for you.
Make sure to tag these leads in your contact management database so that you can segment them for more personalized sales communications leading up to the opening night.
Segmenting your gallery contact list
You want to find those who are predisposed to buying the works from this specific show. This is where a comprehensive contact database is crucial, and you can put all those tags to good use. Pull two lists—one for hot leads and one for warm.
- Hot leads – Collectors who have already purchased works by artists in the exhibition. [Obviously] and people who respond to a Save the Date call to action.
- Warm Leads – Prospects that acquired similar pieces or expressed an interest in art that meets the criteria of what is being shown.
A preview could be in the form of the digital catalogue you created or an invitation to a preview event at the gallery. Those that respond have just qualified themselves as being warm leads to buy. Managing warm leads can be streamlined through automated emails. See more about that below.
Two to Four Weeks Before Opening
Hot exhibition leads – 4 weeks: When images are ready to be shared four weeks before opening, reach out to your hot leads personally with a phone call and follow-up email to introduce the exhibition. You could hand-pick a few pieces you thought they would like the most and send them an invite to a closed viewing room or catalogue.
Here is where the talking points you created get put into action. Talk about why the work in the show is relevant to their taste and collection.
Warm exhibition leads – 2 weeks: Send your warm leads an invitation to a closed viewing room or catalogue. You want to track clicks or viewing room registrations again to continue to qualify leads further.
Following up with these leads, once they take action, can be made easier with the use of an automated email. Once the lead opens the email or clicks a link, you can schedule a follow-up email to be sent a few days later, asking their thoughts and which pieces they might want to have put on hold until they can view in person.
If the warm lead list is typically too extensive for follow-up with each personally, I recommend creating a template follow-up email that can be quickly updated to fit the show. This can be automated via your email service provider or gallery contact database. The tone of such a message should be sales-oriented with a soft close. To help it stand out visually, you could make a text email vs your branded newsletter template.
This is also a great art exhibition sales strategy to use with out-of-town collectors on your list. You might consider customizing your communications to talk about shipping and return policies since they will not likely see the work in person before purchasing.
Opening Night Sales Strategy
Opening night is a significant event that caters to both serious collectors and the general public. While it’s important to engage with serious collectors before and after the event, it’s equally crucial to ensure that everyone has a fun and enjoyable experience with the art.
For the general public, opening night serves as an opportunity for the gallery to make a lasting impression. It should be seen as both a celebration and a sales event. Educating attendees about the exhibition and how they can further engage with the gallery and artists is essential.
Make sure to provide clear next steps in the sales journey. This can be done through a brief speech, signage, or conversations with attendees. Encourage participating artists to do the same.
When conversing with the general public, focus on the key talking points you have already prepared and highlight the services offered to clients who purchase artwork from the gallery. These services may include payment plans, shipping assistance, hanging and lighting consultations, and more. Once genuine interest is established, incorporate these services into the sales conversation. Remember, attendees of opening night could potentially become serious collectors in the future.
It’s important to find a way to capture attendees’ contact information for follow-up and relationship nurturing after the opening. If a gallery associate engages with an attendee who shows genuine interest, offer something of value via email, such as an artist interview, details about upcoming artist talks or supporting events, a live or virtual studio tour, or a video showcasing the creation of the artworks.
This approach not only allows you to ask for contact information but also provides attendees with something interesting and motivating in return. It also helps qualify new sales leads.
Selling Throughout the Exhibition
To maximize sales, prioritize consistent follow-up with presale leads and any new leads generated during the exhibition. Additionally, now is the opportune moment to intensify your online sales and marketing endeavors. Showcase sold artworks on social media and in gallery newsletters to create a sense of urgency and showcase the show’s collectability through peer acceptance.
Make sure that the inventory and information about the exhibition are comprehensive on all art platforms and social media stores you utilize. You can also incorporate your talking points into these platforms to further enhance their impact.
Dealing with objections
Anticipate objections in advance to address them confidently.
- Explain the value if price is a concern.
- Offer to visit their house or office to provide advice on where to display a piece.
- Handle installation challenges or provide clear instructions.
- Clarify the refund policy if they change their mind.
- Provide recommendations for situations involving multiple decision-makers.
Proactively handle potential objections in your follow-up communications, whenever possible. If a deal doesn’t work out, promptly update your contact database for future reference.
To the Point
Creating a well-defined sales strategy and equipping yourself with effective sales tools in advance can greatly enhance your organization during busy periods. Additionally, it has the potential to significantly boost your confidence in making sales.
Utilizing your contact database to categorize your most promising leads for sales is a valuable approach. By developing talking points that establish a connection between the exhibited art and the motivations of collectors, you can cultivate stronger relationships. Building solid relationships invariably facilitates the process of closing art sales.
Are there any other sales strategies you employ for gallery exhibitions?
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