The Reasons People Negotiate and How to Handle It
When a collector asks you to negotiate…what’s really happening is this…
Your collector has a thought that they want to buy your work…
And then they have an objection.
Which might sound like…
“I can’t afford it”
“I’ve never spent this much on art before”
“I’ve never spent this much on myself before”
“The price seems high”
“I shouldn’t spend that much”
Sometimes the objection is a fact. They actually don’t have enough money in their accounts. They don’t have access to credit. They don’t have a way to borrow. They cannot pay you.
But most of the time, the objection is their brains response to the thought of spending their money.
When your collector thinks..”I want this…”
And then looks at how much it will cost, it can create a stress reaction.
Which is totally normal.
Just think about the last time you made a sizable investment. Bet there were a few moments of stress that you had to work through.
The brain registers the stress as danger and wants to protect you by creating space between you and the danger.
It does this by telling you that you can’t afford it, or that you don’t deserve it…or whatever it knows will stop you from taking action.
And usually, people will walk away at this point.
But sometimes, the collector will dig in and try to solve for their own objection.
They think, if I can pay less, this will feel better….I will feel better. So they ask if you will negotiate.
It’s why cosmetics companies offer Gift With Purchase. It helps people justify purchases they otherwise might walk away from.
Here’s the step by step strategy for the next time someone asks you if you are open to negotiating…
Make it a regular practice to remind yourself why your work is a no brainer at full price. (See part one for that exercise)
After they ask, get curious.
Watch out for:
defensiveness feelings “They don’t value me”
insufficiency feelings “I need this sale”
judgement feelings “They are rude for asking”
people pleasing “If I say no, they won’t like me”.
Find out why they are asking you to lower your price. Say: ”Why are you asking?”
Wait for them to respond. Be patient. It’s ok if they need time to think. They may not even know until they think about it. (Whatever it is that they say is their actual objection.)
Address their objection.
Example:
Collector: Are you open to negotiating?
You: Why are you asking?
Collector: I love the piece but it’s more than I want to spend.
You: What is your budget?
Collector: I was hoping to spend $1000.
You: The piece is $300 more. If you had to, could you make up the difference?
Collector: Not right now.
You: No problem. I can offer you a payment plan if that takes some of the stress off.
The key here is to stay CURIOUS….meaning, genuinely want to understand what the collector really needs to give themself permission to have the art that they want.
If you find yourself feeling defensive, judgmental, urgent, or people pleasey…
That’s normal…
And, it just means that you’re not in curiosity. Because you can’t be both curious and judgmental, defensive, urgent or people pleasey at the same time.
The solution is to focus more on what the collector wants (to buy or not to buy your work) than their limiting belief (their objection).
This takes practice.
And it takes courage.
And you can 100% do this.
It puts you back into the driver seat during the selling process…which will lead to more art sales.
