How To Find Art Collectors And Sell To Them

So, who buys your works? Who, among all the potential buyers, is your customer? Artists rarely know. If I ask them to whom they want to sell their works, they usually take a scattergun approach and list the names of the first big collectors or museums that come to mind. 

Artists are entrepreneurs. Like every other entrepreneur, you need to know who your buyer is. That’s why I propose the following three step approach.

First, you need to think about who your buyer is: The natural buyer for you is someone who can connect with the work you do and loves it, maybe shares your personal values, lifestyle, or passion, and can pay your prices. Visualize the life of your preferred buyer. What interests do they have? What car do they drive? Where do they live? What clothes do they wear? Where do they vacation? What magazines and papers do they read? Through what channels could you reach that person? 

Second, when you find someone that you feel fits your preferred buyer profile, you should be able to speak eloquently about your work, what inspires you, and why you are an artist. Don’t think that your gallerist will do this job for you. Often collectors will want to speak to the artist before purchasing a work. There is no “standard” way. How you do it is completely up to you. However, five things are important to keep in mind for every conversation:

1. Be passionate about your work! Don’t be quiet or shy when showing people what you have created. Be proud!
2. Always have your images or Instagram ready. Keep a folder of your work on your phone so that you don’t have to waste time scrolling through your camera roll to find the right pictures. And don’t say: “Oh, my website / Instagram is outdated. It doesn’t include my latest works”. 
3. Never say you don’t like something you made. Only show the artworks that you are genuinely proud of. The more you doubt yourself, the more a buyer will doubt you.
4. Know your prices. Establish your prices in advance and know what they are off the top of your head. Don’t say: “It’s in the range of $5,000 - $10,000.”
5. Convey confidence and trust. The more you exude these traits, the more people will feel comfortable working with you. Lack of self-confidence is very common, but learn to keep it under wraps. 

Third, closing the deal is the most difficult part: With the (fairly rare) exception of a clearly decisive individual collector, you should not leave the buyer adrift in a wide sea of choice. Most of the time, they don’t know what they want. That’s why I describe in this video a few steps you should follow to close a deal. 

First, and I cannot emphasize this enough as you will see in this video, you will need to

Artists often think that their art will speak for itself and will organically attract collectors. This is not the case. You will need to find your collectors. In my online class I discuss strategies on how to do this most efficiently without coming across as a sleazy salesperson. If you like to learn more, sign up via the link below. And if you don’t like it, you will get your money back. 

Best, Magnus

P.s. My online class helps artists to sell more artworks. It’s based on my teaching at Ivy League Universities and 20 years of experience in the art market. And the best art market experts contributed to the class. The class has helped thousands of artists around the world, in every medium and age group. Find out more and sign up to my free masterclass by clickling on the link below.