Of Humans and Puppies - a Closing Strategy (Sales 101 for Artists)

"Jackson on Concrete 4" by Kate Hoyer

I understood the concept and why it’s often effective, but I had never heard anyone refer to it as “the puppy dog close” until a meeting earlier this afternoon. I was meeting with an insurance specialist who might become a referral partner, and I explained to him that I had begun allowing clients to have a free one month trial of leased artwork for their office. I called it a “freemium” – the same idea behind your cable provider giving you 3 months of HBO free, knowing that once you have it you’re likely to keep it.

“Ahhh yes,” he smiled, “the puppy dog close.”

Seeing the bewilderment on my face and the vaguely canine manner in which I tilted my head, he went on to explain.

“Pet stores used to use this tactic. They would see a child already falling in love with a puppy dog and the child’s father trying to guide them both to the exit without setting off a tantrum. The store owner would say to the father, ‘I see your son has made a new friend there… why not take him home for a just a day or two?’ The child, having heard this, would be inconsolable and the father, not wanting to become his kid’s childhood villain, was in a bind. Once he agreed, that was it. Closed.”

I have to admit, it seems like pure genius to me. It’s hard for me to imagine a single puppy ever returning to the store. Having recently puppy-sat for a friend with my wife, I can understand the pressure that the fictional father was feeling. After just a few hours she was almost in tears that we had to return them to their owner. Once a puppy has spent even one night with you, it inevitably becomes part of the family and once it’s part of the family, all that remains are the details (meaning the sales contract and payment).

It works (like many of the best sales tactics) because it leverages our own nature. If you haven’t already noticed, we’re not exactly rational creatures. We tend to buy what we want rather what we really need. And once we have something we love, logic goes out the window. With artwork, it doesn’t exactly become the cutest new family member the way a puppy does, but it can evoke a similar response… because it’s a taste of affluence or luxury. And we do love luxury. Once a client’s office has a conversation-starting piece in the reception area or the conference room, even the smallest taste of it, they’re unlikely to go back to having bare walls ever again. And as long as I make it easier for them to continue to have the artwork than to change it out, I can be fairly sure that at the end of the free trial there will either be a purchase or a lease. Getting the artwork onto the wall is the challenge – once it’s been installed, keeping it there is the easy part. Human nature helps again, because shipping the artwork back and then staring at the dismally barren space it used to occupy is frankly a depressing alternative. Having to look for other sources or providers of artwork involves more work than simply selecting a new piece online and making a call to us.

Human nature is one of the most powerful sales tools you have, whether you’re leasing artwork, providing life and health insurance or selling puppies. Understanding and playing to what motivates a buyer is often all that stands between you and your objective. I look forward to hearing some of your own experiences with “the puppy dog close.”

If you’re an artist and you want to learn more hands-on sales skills, please check out my next “Sales 101 for Artists” course in September: http://sales101forartistsv3.eventbrite.com

QR Codes 101 (Sales and Marketing 101 for Artists)

This is a rehash of a much older piece I wrote, but I recently revised it for a Ravenswood Artwalk RAWednsday meeting and it seemed pretty popular, so I thought I'd share it here as part of my ongoing sales and marketing 101.

I love QR Codes - in fact I'm probably wearing one somewhere on my clothing right now. If I was even 90% certain that they would become the dominant barcode technology of the next 10 years, I would give serious consideration to getting one tattooed on me. Really, I love them that much. Why, you might ask, am I so enamored by them? It's a smartphone scan-able code that's essentially a website address turned into a pattern of black and white cubes (a binary grid, 30 x 30 squares). What I find amazingly cool about it is that it's the missing link between connecting with people in person (at networking events or on the train, for example) and driving them to the website of your choice. Now, rather than have to give someone your site and hope that they'll remember it the next time they sit in front of a computer and type it in, they can simply scan it with the right technology and they're taken where you want them to be.

How do you create one?

First, there are a couple things you need including a computer with a printer (loaded with ink and paper), a website and a smartphone or device capable of scanning a code (including iPads and other tablet computers). Assuming you have all of these things, here is how you can create one for yourself:

1) Download any of the QR Code scanner applications for your phone - they should be free. You can download more than one scanning application if you like to test things in multiple ways, like me (it's an old habit from testing websites on different platforms). You can technically create a QR Code without this step, but I don't advise it. You don't want to send people to the wrong site, so testing it out is important in my humble opinion.
2) Go to Google and type in "QR code generator" - this will bring up several options for you (the one I use most is http://qrcode.kaywa.com/).
3) Follow the instructions which usually entail putting the desired website address into a field and then pressing a button.
4) Save the code and/or image that is generated to your desktop or somewhere that you won't forget it.
5) Print it out and test it with your smartphone.
6) Viola! You've just created a QR Code!

Are there limits to this marvelous technology?

Yes, the limiting factor is the necessity of having a smartphone or tablet computer capable of reading the code. If your market is technology company executives, than you are in luck - they will all probably have the right technology to scan the code. If your market is Amish farm owners, then a QR code probably isn't going to do you any good at all ("Ezekiel hath not such sinister sorcery").

Also...

I see a lot of people using QR codes online, say in social media website profile pictures. If the intention is to have people print these out and share or post them, that's one thing. Otherwise, since people will already be at their computers when they see your code, it's probably just redundant, possibly even counterproductive, since clicking on a link would be just as easy. Keep in mind that QR codes are ideal for when people are not right there at their desks or computers, but when you are sitting next to them on a train or at a crowded event.