Ironing Board Loves Computer

Back to the studio with you. You’re already friends with your ironing board. I hope you like your computer, too. It’s going to have to make you some stuff now so that when you approach retail buyers to sell your work wholesale, you’ve made it easy for them to say yes.

In reading back through my previous post on this topic, I must first direct you to the comments attached to that post, several of which are from other buyers relating their own experiences of being approached by artists. I sincerely thank them for commenting, and adding their invaluable perspectives to this conversation! If you came early and are looking for more information, I urge you to go back and read comments that came in since you might have been there.

But if you’ve done your research and you feel like you’re ready to target the right places, it’s time to make your move. This is no science. There are many ways to do it. I can’t tell you what’s going to be the best way for you, or how all other buyers prefer to be approached. I can only explain my own preferences, and those of other buyers I’ve heard from.

I prefer a short, personal email from someone who indicates that they’ve done some research and picked my store to approach. (We often get emails that are obviously sent en masse to many different stores that we recognize as being in our neighborhood — this is not an approach I’d recommend. . . . Stores want to feel that they, and their relationship with you, is special and worth a bit of personal attention.) Most stores have web sites with their contact information available; I think you can send things to the attention of “Buyer” if you don’t have a personal name. Briefly introduce yourself, briefly explain what you do, attach sample photos or a web site, and most importantly, attach an easy-to-decipher pricelist with minimums and policies (terms, turnaround times, contact information). You don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining to us why your product would be perfect for our store — we know what we have, what sells, and what we need. (And, by the way, as far as minimums go — that’s up to you, but most people starting out have low minimums between $100-150, because it makes it easier for a buyer to take a chance on someone new if they don’t have to invest too much to do it.)

Alternatively, you could approach stores via snail mail, enclosing a line sheet (a sheet that shows thumbnail photos of your products with prices) along with an introductory letter and policies. It’s a bit more expensive to produce paper marketing pieces, but it’s nice for us to have your things on file if we decide to have another look at a later time.

I still don’t really recommend going to a store in person unless you’ve been invited, but that’s just me. I always feel very pressured and “put-on-the-spot” and I don’t like feeling uncomfortable, or making people feel uncomfortable, if things just aren’t right. I need time to think about stuff, and when I’m at my shop I’m thinking more about selling things than buying them. Some days we have more people come in to try and sell us stuff than we have come in to buy, and believe me, you don’t want to stop in on one of those days. . . .

Sometimes people call me out of the blue and want to have lengthy conversations about what they do and what they make. I don’t like this because 1) it feels like the cold calls I get all day long from mortgage brokers/windshield repairers/other telemarketers and 2) I can’t say whether I am interested in what you do until I see it! Let me see it. A picture is worth a thousand words. If you’ve sent us a query and want to follow up in a week with a phonecall to test our interest and perhaps set up an appointment to show us your work in real life, I think that’s not a bad idea — just start that phonecall with the words, “I’m Alicia Paulson from Posie, and I sent you some information on my product line last week. Might you have a minute to talk?”

That said, however, as a buyer, when I need product and I’m interested in something, I’ll call the person or email them right away. I don’t need a lot of hand-holding, and neither do most buyers, I should think. If you don’t hear back from a store you’ve approached, don’t dwell on it — just move on. There are so many factors that may not have anything to do with you that it’s not worth getting hung up on someone who’s blowing you off. Just take the stuff elsewhere and don’t get discouraged. You may get a call from them two months from now when they have the money/have customer requests/have time to think.

However you decide to approach your potential buyers, it’s good to make friends with your computer. You don’t need to be a graphic designer — but you do need to know how to get a good picture and find a way to deliver it. You want your marketing collateral (your web site/line sheets/pricelists/business cards/letters — all that stuff) to look professional and organized. We, as potential customers, don’t know anything about you or your work — think about how to catch our interest, and then make it easy for us to say yes.