Blackbird Gallery + Framing & Chicago Art Leasing Partner to Open a Co-op Style Gallery in Lincoln Park

Chicago Illinois, August 16, 2012 --- Blackbird Gallery + Framing LLC owner Fernando Mastroianni and Chicago Art Leasing LLC Founder Joshua Ginsberg have announced a strategic partnership to open and manage the space at 911 West Montana Street in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood as a co-op style gallery and framing location. Chicago Art Leasing will manage the relationship with the artists and staff the location during weekdays, and Blackbird will manage the framing business and provide weekend coverage.

                                                                                                            

“Chicago Art Leasing has worked with us as a vendor on numerous projects over the past few years, and their relationship with local as well as national artists makes them an ideal collaborator,” says Mastroianni. “Having a dedicated and experienced individual like Ginsberg on site provides significant benefits to Blackbird and to the artists who will be participating.”

According to Ginsberg, “We’re looking forward to taking this next step in our relationship with Blackbird, who has been an important and effective vendor for us. This relationship also provides Chicago Art Leasing with an office/retail location where we can better serve our artists as well as our local patrons. The opportunity represents a phenomenal mutual opportunity for Blackbird and Chicago Art Leasing.”

Artists will contribute a small monthly fee to support the overhead while keeping 75% of the sales, a model that both Ginsberg and Mastroianni believe is more efficient than the traditional scenario.

“Our organizations are aligned in all the aspects I consider most important, including our mutual respect, our commitment to the art community and dedication to upholding best practices,” Ginsberg noted.

The space is now accepting applications from artists who are encouraged to Contact Chicago Art Leasing through their website at www.chicagoartleasing.com.

Blackbird Gallery + Framing (http://www.bbirdgallery.com) has a long history as a highly-regarded local provider of quality custom framing and installation services.

ChicagoArt Leasing (http://www.chicagoartleasing.com) is a leading provider of artwork to a wide range of corporate and private clients. With more than 60 artists and photographers, available inventory of artworks exceeds 50,000 pieces.

Source: Chicago Art Leasing LLC and Blackbird Gallery + Framing

Press Contacts: Joshua Ginsberg (312) 242-1716

or Fernando Mastroianni (773) 290-8617

www.chicagoartleasing.com  & www.bbirdgallery.com

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.

If I Knew Then What I Know Now…

Not too long ago I was having coffee with a fellow entrepreneur. As we talked over what was working and what wasn’t with his business model, he asked me a question that really made me pause:

“If you could press the reset button on my company and start from scratch today, how would you do it?”

If I only remember one sentence that this guy ever says to me, it will be that one. Not because I went back to his fundamental assumptions with the data we had and either accepted or threw them out one by one, but because I applied this same process to my own company the next day.

With 3+ years of experience, data and revenue, there are a lot of things I would have done differently. Before I could answer that question, I had to ask myself two others: what did I get right and what did I get wrong? Some of the answers were obvious to me and some were not. I think it’s the type of exercise that every entrepreneur can benefit from, so I’ve decided to share my analysis with you all here.

What I Got Right:

1) Long Term. I suspected that once a client selected Chicago Art Leasing for artwork in their offices, we would be there until the walls fall down. This part of my equation was spot on and, with just one exception, the only professional service firm clients we’ve lost have been those that closed. I’ve succeeded in making it easier to stay with me as a client than to seek out an alternative. This was a critical piece of my recurring-revenue model and it’s held up, which is encouraging.

2) The Visit is The Close. I had hoped that this would be the case and it turned out to be true. Once I have a client in front of artwork (at an artist’s studio) or artwork in front of a client (at their space), we’ve had something like an 80% closing rate, which is even higher than I anticipated.

3) Low Cost Maintenance. This is another aspect of my concept that has borne out. Generally clients haven’t wanted to change their artwork more than once or twice a year, which means that maintenance consists of more or less monthly contact to make sure that their needs are being met and that they’re happy with the service.

These three factors mean to me that I’m on to something. But getting it “kind of right” means that I also got it “kind of wrong,” so now it’s time to parade all of those false assumptions and missteps out into the light.

What I Got Wrong:

1) New Client Acquisition / Sales Cycle. This is the undisputed heavy-weight killer. I expected to be able to make a couple closes a week and while we’ve had a week like that here and there, they are far more the exception than the rule. Has the market a factor? Probably, but even in a boom time, I think one or two new clients a month is a much more likely result (assuming an advertising/marketing/PR budget of around nil). I think the cycle has been a lot longer than anticipated for a number of reasons, each of which warrants scrutiny:

a. First and foremost, I spent a lot of time and energy chasing the wrong prospects. Admittedly I can be a bit dense, so it took some blunt force trauma before I realized I should stop banging my head against certain walls. I went after a lot of interior designers, hospitals and hotels, which all constitute significant and logical buyers of art. But that’s just it, they are buyers and their procurement models are structured for purchases, not for leases. So I was trying to fit my model to the prospect, when what I should have been doing was looking for better prospects.

b. I let myself be bullied. Consignment is so prevalent at retail stores and restaurants that I agreed to provide work on consignment when I shouldn’t have. It was a lot of work and, predictably, little to no return. I did get some valuable marketing materials from it, but I probably should have walked away from certain projects.

c. I counted my eggs as chickens. I also call this “death by false positives.” On my hot list each week and each month there was a solid block of people who were quick to tell me how deeply they supported the idea. It turns out that “supporting” an innovative service translates to “using” an innovative service a lot less often than you’d think. Several of these did eventually convert, but it was over years rather than months or weeks.

d. I spent time on the wrong things, including trying to train contract sales people who were never going to be as motivated as I was and flirting with the idea of raising capital. If I had taken even half the hours I spent on just these two things and put it into prospecting, meeting with and closing clients, I would have been a lot closer to hitting my projections.

2) Financing. It’s a rookie mistake, but I started on the company on what scant savings I had. I tried to be realistic and double my estimates of what I needed to bring in top-line. Unfortunately realistic and entrepreneur are seldom on the same planet. I should have not just doubled my estimates, but then doubled them again. That would have been a lot closer to reality.

3) Urgency. During my first few years there was a very compelling sense of urgency to what I was providing. That urgency, however, was mostly just on my end of the phone. While I used a lot of the same tactics that I would if I was selling a phone system, there is a key difference with art: without a phone system your business stops functioning; without art on your walls your clients may snicker for a moment but then they still pay you and life goes on much as it did before. So it took me a while to realize that a cultural/lifestyle sale to a corporate client really is a bit unique in some ways. It requires not just a brute force approach but also a degree of finesse that has been difficult for me to learn.

4) Staying In My Comfort Zone. What I know is largely inside sales or “dialing and smiling” as it’s also called. This is a great skill and no one is typically going to fault a business owner for spending so much time making calls… unless they look at the numbers and realize that something is out of whack. I went through more than a year of making an average of 80+ calls a day, but when I looked at the resulting appointments and closes, the numbers fell off a sheer cliff. What was even more enlightening was that when I looked at my clients, less than 25% of them came through inside sales. Most sales came from unsolicited, inbound callers who found us online, referrals or connections through networking functions. So I should have wised up to what sales activities were working and which weren’t a lot sooner… but it’s hard to see the obvious when you’re busy putting dents in your head with a wall.

There are other things I got wrong as well, but those listed above constitute a four-headed hydra that could easily devour most novices like me. That I’m still going and growing has more to do with luck and persistence than anything else.

This is a long post, so I’m going to spare you from reading all about what I did with the information I uncovered. Your business is almost certainly different than mine, so I think it’s the process rather than my specific conclusions that will have value for you. If you do want to hear about my next steps or just want to share your own findings with me, I’m happy to hear from you.

As always, thank you for reading my mind,
Josh

Two Resources

Wisdom as an entrepreneur is hard won and while there are a lot of great resources, in my humble opinion few of them are as useful and straight forward as the writing of Jay Goltz. If you're an entrepreneur (or an artrepreneur), you should be reading this blog:

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/so-you-want-to-start-a-business-2/

Secondly, if you've been following my blog here you may have noticed that I'm a little bit crazy when it comes the importance of sales. So much so that I'm giving a short 2-part course called "Sales 101 for Artists." You can check it out here:

http://sales101forartists.eventbrite.com/

Thanks and have a happy and safe start to the holiday season.

Attacking the Axioms and Investing in Marketable Skills – How Cities Can Help Creative Communities Thrive

This October marked the 16th annual Chicago Artists Month – a true local institution now and a great way for the city to showcase its creative talent. I was very excited to be involved with it and hope to do so again next year. I attended a number of events including a panel discussion on what the city can do to further promote and enhance the art environment here in Chicago. This topic echoes recent articles I’ve read in the Huffington Post and discussion I’ve been having in LinkedIn Groups, so I’ve thrashed out just some of my initial thoughts on the topic.

The Skills to Pay the Bills

Chicago has and will, in my opinion, continue to produce fantastic artists. With Columbia College, The School of the Art Institute and countless, active galleries, exhibitions, advocacy groups and organizations as well as significant spending by city government on public art projects, there’s no doubt in my mind that you will see great art here for a long time to come. But it seems to me that a lot of this great art will end up on consignment until it deteriorates under cobwebs, or be tucked away in hidden pop-up galleries, some of which come and go as quickly as an email marketing blast. It seems to me that the fundamental need that many of these artists have is less about advocacy and more about revenue – learning the basic marketing and sales skills. While I am not advocating cutting funding from existing programs or any of the various groups that actively promote and support the local arts, what I am saying is that if even one dollar more is going to be invested in the art community I think the biggest returns would come from using it to teach artists how to provide more support for themselves. Historically, many of the most successful artists were not only the most talented in their medium, but also the most tireless and talented marketers of their work. With social media, point of sale technologies and the proliferation of mobile devices, it’s easier and more cost-efficient than ever for artists to reach their market directly… if only they know how. Yet when we talk about professional artists and the skills they need, the art side of the conversation seems to get about 90% of the attention and the professional skill side of the equation is disregarded. If cities want to build a truly exceptional and sustainable art community, I think they do well to help artists focus more on that other, yet no less creative aspect of their profession.

The Professional Side of the Professional Artist

As I have mentioned above and elsewhere, I think of artists as trained professionals who should be compensated for their skills. Like dentists, attorneys, investment bankers, programmers, etc… None of these other professionals would likely work without compensation and virtually all of these professionals will gravitate towards where their market is most accessible and efficiently served. As an example, I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia during a time when doctors (the parents of many of my friends) were facing increasing malpractice insurance of such an extent that it was driving some of them out of business. So some of them packed up and left. They headed to places where it was easier and more affordable for them to practice – where they could best serve their market and make a living a doing it. Later, in college, many of my friends studied economics and went on to get MBAs. Where do they now reside? Generally in or near major financial centers… because that’s where their clients are. My first career was technology, so it’s no surprise that in 1998 I moved to Seattle, where every major company seemed to end in a dot something. Professionals follow their markets. And artists are no different in this regard. It’s easy to assume that artists head to cities like New York, Miami and LA simply because all the ‘serious artists’ seem to be in those cities, but I think that this assumption misconstrues the data. If the ‘serious artists’ are in those places, it’s probably got more to do with having ‘serious collectors’ (both private and corporate) in those markets. So markets eventually become oversaturated, which I think we’ve been seeing happen, especially in the face of the current global economic climate. What cities then benefit and emerge as the new places to be for the next generation of professional artists? Those that are drawing new businesses and creating jobs (and thereby creating affluence). Those that are building more walls (urban renewal), which will house more art. Where these pockets appear, the savvy artists will follow. Because professionals follow their markets.

Attacking the Axioms

Any panel discussion or article has certain fundamental axioms, or assumptions. In the case above, the assumption is that more can and should be done for the art community. I don’t disagree, but I think the discussions I hear too often focus on areas where cities are already spending generously. It’s like putting better constructed floors atop a faulty foundation. If you want to do more for the art community, I think more attention needs to be devoted to the bigger picture. It may seem counterintuitive, but I think that the best investment in the local creative community would come not necessarily from promoting and cultivating more arts or artists, but rather from helping build and shape the next generation of collectors and patrons. Perhaps this takes the form of outreach to businesses; The Art Institute for example had a very popular leasing program for many years. Or maybe professional organizations explore offering art collecting or art appreciation mini-courses for busy professionals. Are there incentives that can be given to large businesses to include local artists in their corporate collections? Are there additional tax benefits that can be created even at a ward level for buildings or businesses utilizing more interior artworks from local artists? Considering these questions changes the scope of the discussion and I believe it ultimately provides a more complete discussion (even if it means that many of us creative types have to get over a deeply-rooted aversion to commerce).

I’ll close with a phrase I often hear from starry-eyed artists and entrepreneurs alike: “If you build it, they will come.” Maybe… if you’re talking about ghosts playing baseball in your backyard fields. And quite likely, if you’re talking about a market for your local creative professionals.

Thanks for reading this and as always, I look forward to hearing your comments.

Leasing vs Buying Artwork – Evaluating the Options

As the owner of an art leasing brokerage, I get asked a lot of questions by my clients. One of the questions I run into most frequently is whether it's better for a client to lease or to purchase artwork. I decided to put together this fairly simple guide to help answer that question. Leasing and purchasing artwork both have their own benefits, so to begin with I've provided a short overview of both options:

Why Lease Art?
There are a number of reasons and scenarios where leasing artwork makes sense. It allows you to create a unique environment without the large upfront cost and commitment. For many businesses, there is also a tax benefit – when artwork is purchased, it tends to be classified as a non-depreciable capital asses, whereas with a lease it's on the expense side of the balance sheet (note – I am certainly not as qualified to answer questions about this as a CPA or tax attorney and I always recommend consulting an experts when exploring potential tax ramifications). Lastly, and perhaps most appealing, it allows for change. If you are an individal or business that wants to be able to affordably rotate artwork, even once a year, without having the cost and time associated with long-term storage, maintenance, preservation and care that's typically required, than leasing might be your best bet.

Why Purchase Art?
There are also a number of reasons to acquire art. For some it can be an investment and a hedge against the viscisitudes of the market. In my own case, I find that the return on investment when I purchase artwork is much more immediate – that he artwork moves me in some important way and that it improves my quality of life by viewing it. If the artwork is something you wish to view and have access to for an indefinate period, or if you wish to develop a private or corporate collection to diversify your assets, than owning tends to make the most sense.

Evalutating the Options

1: Why are you seeking artwork? This is perhaps the most fundimental and most important question to ask. Based on the overviews provided above, in most cases I find that for individuals it makes more sense to purchase the artwork, while for businesses, almost without exception, leasing is a better fit. There are always exceptions though – if you are a business consultant or executive who has a rental apartment in another city for work, leasing artwork may make more sense. Likewise if you have a vacation or part-time home where you entertain guests for only part of the year, leasing can be a great option. On the business side, if you are a large bank or law firm with a privately currated collection and looking for art as a diversification of assest, than buying very well may be the more sensible option. If you are seeking art for pleasure or investment purposes, I would most oftewn suggest a purchase. If the nature of your need is more decorative, than I would lean towards leasing.

2: How long do plan to have the artwork? For many individuals and collectors, the answer may be forever, which supports a purchase decision. This may also be the case for a business, perhaps the owner is struck by a particular piece that he wants to have over his desk so that he can enjoy it forever. On the other hand, for temporary needs, such as seasonal business offices, home staging projects, etc... being able to have artwork only when needed presents a tremendous benefit. Likewise for hotel lobbys, medical reception areas and residential buildings, the people who come and go tend to change over time, so there is a value in being able to change the surroundings from time to time (seasonally, anually, etc...)

3: How much of a factor is cost? If I'm dealing with someone new to collecting who is looking for a piece or if I'm working with a property manager who has a fixed budget, than price can play a major role deciding to lease versus own work. For the individual, they may want to test the work out in their home before making a commitment to it. Even then, perhaps an installment plan makes the most sense. With the property manager, there may be a piece that fits their price range, but typically I'll recommend a lease as it will provide the most cost-efficient solution when you factor in the tax benefits and not needing to spend on long term maintainance and upkeep of the work.

4. Is maintainance and upkeep going to present a challenge? As mentioned in the section above, there is a cost to maintaining artwork. If the work is photo-sensitive (such as photography, prints and watercolors), it's important to gauge the amount of sunlight the artwork is exposed to over time to prevent fading and loss of color.

Other Considerations:

Installation. Whether the artwork is going to a private residence or to an office complex, there may be a need to involve a professional art installer. If the piece is small and the client wants to hang it themselves, I can often devise an arrangement where they pick up the artwork from the artist or from a local studio. While they avoid the installation costs by doing so, they are liable for any damage to the work the moment they take possession of the work. For larger or more delicate artworks, or situations that require a more complex installation, I always suggest using insured art installers. With a purchase scenario, typically there is a one time installation cost. With a lease it's important to consider that there may be an installation cost each time the work is rotated and/or removed. I have found that on average, expert installers charge around $75 per hour and there may be an additional cost if they need to rent a vehical for transport or if the job requires more than one person.

Framing, Matting and Other Preparations. Framing, mounting, printing, matting and other preperations are also worth considering when leasing versus owning work. For leases, cost is often more of a factor so I like to work with “gallery wrapped” pieces that don't require framing as this will reduce the cost. For scenarios where framing is required, I have some relationships which allow me to rent frames along with the work. For purchase scenarios, it's always the client's option and I can have the work framed and matted as required, but often the buyer will have their own resources they wish to use.

Shipping and Crating. If the artwork is fragile, unwieldy and traveling long distances or overseas, transporting the work can become a significant cost consideration. As with installation, it's important to keep in mind that if you're purchasing the work ideally you'll only need to transport it once. If the artwork is leased, it will need to be returned at some point.

Insurance. For lease scenarios, it is not typically a problem to list the work under an existing policy (general liability for a business or home owners for individuals). Occasionally it may require a rider, depending on the value of the work and the coverage provided by the existing policy. With a purchase and for more expensive leases, it may be worthwhile to investigate an art insurance policy. These policies can become expensive, so it's helpful to talk with an expert. I have worked with and can recommend the team at DeWitt Stern for art-related insurance needs.

I hope this has been helpful and I am always happy to answer any questions about the subject to the best of my ability, and to direct you to other resources or specialists if needed.