Learn marketing and sales from fine art
THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE, OKAY?
But it is sales advice =)
story time.
Two weeks ago, I invested in a new asset class.
Contemporary art.
Because I buy art NFTs (which aren’t dead, by the way), I kept getting online ads by MasterWorks.
Forbes describes them as an “alternative investing platform that sells shares in works of fine art.”
I’ve always loved the idea of investing in museum-caliber masterpieces - but there were so many hurdles.
I can’t afford millions of dollars to buy one piece myself (and even if I did, my wife would kill me).
I don’t want to store them.
I didn’t have access to deal flow.
The art buying process felt intimidating and tedious.
MasterWorks solved all of the above for me.
They made the onboarding process comfortable. A live person on the phone helped me buy my very first investment, and gave me a tour. This was much better than video or written tutorials.
I can now buy shares in an art piece - similar to buying a stock on the exchange (and these pieces are registered with the SEC) - without having to buy the entire thing.
They networked, researched, organized, and presented artwork in a very easy manner. They also managed the storage and resale of the piece. Full-service and curation are value.
They gave me access to artworks by Banksy, Picasso, and Basquiat. Some of the best artists of all time!
Their interface is easy-to-use, and had actionable data.
I ended up investing in two pieces, so far (and something tells me I’m going to keep collecting).
“Virgo” by Helen Frankenthaler
“Untitled (2020)” by Nicholas Party
what this all means.
As an entrepreneur or salesperson, this case study should recalibrate how you position yourself, and sell your services.
You need to touch on your customer at least 10-20 times.
There are no shortcuts here. You may get lucky with a viral piece of content, or saying the right thing at the right time to someone ready to go…but that’s not a strategy you can base your business on.
MasterWorks probably had to plant 100 seeds before I decided to cave in.
Sales isn’t a numbers game. It’s a targeted numbers game.
I was in the middle of buying digital art, so I’m already thinking about artwork, and know how to use the Internet to buy things.
Make sure your ad spend is going after the right person and context.
Make it easy to buy.
Think of all the objections and frustrations your customers have. Solve them and embed those solutions into your product, services to provide, and sales talking points.
Give customers a sense of choice.
Even if you sell only one product and aren’t a marketplace - find out different ways that customers can support your product.
They can choose from a lower-, mid, to higher-tier product. It can be self-service or full-service.
Give access. Level the playing field, and provide a source that buyers didn’t think was possible, or was too expensive or burdensome. Shock them with the price, the quality, and/or your sources.
Notice that I didn’t even mention the price - which isn’t cheap.
It’s almost like a mutual or hedge fund. They charge a 1.5% annual management fee, plus 20% of the profits of any art pieces that get sold.
When you’re providing so much value and differentiation, price no longer becomes a discussion point for the right customer.
Also notice that I wanted to buy. People hate being sold, but they love to buy. Create conditions for them to want to buy.
This is a great lesson, and I honestly thought at one point to invest with them