Collectors are free to buy art wherever they wish, but many choose to shop exclusively at galleries. When asked why they prefer shopping at art galleries to buying directly from artists, their most common answer is artists tend to present problems that galleries don't. This does not have to happen, however. Artists with no gallery representation can increase in-studio sales by adopting techniques of the galleries.

The one huge advantage that you have over dealers and galleries is YOU. You are the number one expert on your art and the most qualified person on the planet to represent and sell it. You have the ability to make every studio visit a joy, an experience, an education, and an adventure for your collectors.

The following suggestions may or may not be suitable to your way of doing business, but if your goal is to increase sales and sell more art, the greater the number of these tips and techniques you should think seriously about implementing. If none are for you, at least you'll come away with a deeper understanding of what functions galleries perform and why they exist.

* Keep regular business hours. Whether for one hour a week or forty, have standard times when you're open for business. This saves potential buyers the trouble of having to make appointments. This doesn't mean you have to stay open 40 hours a week. Five hours is fine, but make sure they're the same five hours every week.

* Make collectors feel welcome and comfortable. Answer their questions, show them what they want to see, explain how you work. Have your bio, exhibition history, and other relevant printed materials available for them to read.

* Educate collectors about what you do and why you do it. Keep explanations simple and avoid lecturing or becoming argumentative unless people express interest in having detailed conversations.

* Set aside a part of your studio to show finished work. The more you can approximate gallery viewing conditions, the better. Collectors have an easier time understanding the impact of finished works when they see them in clean, well-lighted, uncluttered settings. A painting hanging on a clean wall and nicely lit is far more compelling than that same painting sitting on the floor of your studio against a stack of other paintings.

* Allow collectors to see the full range of your work if that's what they want to do-- no matter what you personally think of what they're looking at. If they like something that you don't, fine. Not everyone's tastes are identical. If they're more interested in your early work than your current work, that's O.K. too.

* When collectors state preferences, offer to show additional examples of those types of work. If you try to push them in other directions, you decrease your chances of making sales. Remember that every person's tastes are unique. Let them control the showing.

* Collectors may mention names of other artists in their collections. No matter what you may think of these artists or their work, respond positively. Avoid making comparisons or value judgments about other artists or their art. Going negative on anything decreases your chances of making sales.

* Be sensitive to buyers with modest budgets. Make every effort to sell to every single person who likes your art enough to ask about buying it. Your goal is to get your art out there. Always remember-- your art is your billboard, your business card; the more of it you have out there, the greater the numbers of people who see it, and the greater your chances of selling more art.

* Let collectors to take works home on approval for a week or maybe two. Deciding what art to buy is not easy for many people and they appreciate having time to live with your art decide in private whether it's really right for them.

* Offer to show selections of your work in collectors' homes or offices. The easier you make it for people to see your art, the greater your chances of making sales. Collectors feel more indebted to you when you extend these sorts of courtesies.

* Deliver art at no charge when buyers can't move it themselves.

* Set all selling prices ahead of time and make them visible either on the art itself or on price lists. If you go back and forth about how much you want for your art, expect collectors to go back and forth about whether or not to buy it. Wait. Expect them not to buy. Hesitancy or uncertainty in pricing gives collectors the idea that prices vary according to your whims or that different people get quoted different prices for reasons known only to you. Can you imagine going into a store and seeing no prices on anything they have for sale? You wouldn't feel very comfortable, would you?

* Clearly mark all pieces that are not for sale "NFS". Better yet, hide them.

* Price comparably or somewhat less than what other artists with your level of experience and qualifications charge for their art. Like it or not, you're in competition with other artists, or put another way, collectors have options and often consider the works of multiple artists before they go ahead and buy.

* Don't base selling prices on your current financial situation, whatever that may be. If, for example, your studio rent is due, don't decide that that's the minimum amount of money someone has to pay for whatever they're interested in. Prices must remain constant in order to instill confidence in collectors about you and your work.

* Don't confuse selling prices with self-esteem, like thinking that the more money you sell for, the better that makes you as an artist. You'll run into problems if you get too involved or emotional when the time comes to hammer out money issues. No matter how much you end up selling something for, it's still exactly the same piece of art and you're still exactly the same artist.

* Be flexible. If a collector wants to negotiate a price and is capable of doing so in an inoffensive and appropriate manner, seriously consider lowering it perhaps ten to twenty percent. You're under no obligation, however, to work with anyone who is rude, insulting, or wants to buy your work for nothing.

* Avoid overemphasizing the personal significance of the work of art that a collector wants to buy. Don't act like he's ripping your heart out or absconding with your first born. He's not buying your mind, your soul, or your essence. He's buying your art. You can always make more.

* Allow collectors to pay over time or make cash/trade arrangements (assuming you have a use for what they have to barter).

* Don't be shy about collecting money that's past due. If this is something that you might have trouble with, plan ahead as to what your policy will be should the situation arise. Consider keeping the art until it's paid for or having buyers sign payment contracts.

* Provide buyers with written statements, documentation, and explanations that give them insight into who you are and what the art that's being purchased is all about. Galleries can only give receipts and secondary documentation; you can make it personal.

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