9 Tips to a Successful Wall Art Sale

I love wall art. I mean I LOVE it. In my home I have no less than 18 large-scale pieces of art that range in size from 30×70” to 24×24.” I have taken all the images myself and it makes me happy to walk through my home and see these pieces hanging on my walls. I’m not sure where this love of large art came from. I didn’t grow up in a family that had this kind of art on the walls, but as soon as I became a product-based photographer, I knew, I mean I KNEW this was what I wanted to provide for my clients.

Early in my career, when I started offering products I would promote wall art, but it was rare that a client would walk into a selection appointment and just decide on a whim that they wanted to purchase a large canvas for their home. So as a result, they didn’t. Sure, they purchased smaller prints, digital files and smaller canvases, but making the leap into purchasing some of the larger things that I knew they would love just wasn’t happening. I could get a client to spend $5k on their session but not include any wall art. I wasn’t unhappy with those sales, but I knew my clients weren’t going to love that album as much as they would love a gorgeous 40×60” of their family on the wall.

I remember my second or third IPS appointment when I just started offering products and I was going into clients’ homes. One evening, after parking my car in a dark, narrow alley behind a row of townhouses in Georgetown, armed with my husband’s MacBook, some small print samples, a yellow legal pad and a pen, I arrived at the appointment prepared to go in and sell some beautiful wall art to this young couple who just had their first baby. When I entered the home, I soon realized that dad had enjoyed a few too many drinks at dinner. He relaxed (i.e., slept) on the couch while his wife and I discussed the options for the images I took of their first child at the newborn session. At one point in the session I can clearly remember him yelling from the other room, “I am not buying a GIANT 11×14” picture of my daughter to hang on the wall. Who even does that?” To say my vision was crushed is an understatement.

My philosophy in business has always been: If something isn’t going the way that I want, it’s my fault and the only way it will change is if I change. When opening up my studio after the Covid pandemic and some personal trials, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to change my process and focus on revamping my business. I took the time to comb through my website, marketing materials, auto responses, and everything else in order to make sure I was communicating exactly what I wanted when it came to what I offered. I am a firm believer in selling what I love, so the new concentration of large wall art began.

I want my clients to have big canvases, giant framed images and large acrylics hanging in their homes. Based on my history, I knew I had to change the way I presented these items in my selling strategy.

Here are nine things I changed that have dramatically impacted how my clients feel about art in their homes. These steps can be applied to whatever you want to sell in your business.

1. I show wall art on my website and social media. I talk about it in the copy. I show examples of my own wall portrait displays so people can see that yes, real people do actually display their images this way.
2. On the inquiry form on my website, I ask prospects about how they are going to display their images in their home.
3. In the consultation phone call, we talk about their home, their color scheme, their decorating style and how they want to display their images on the wall.
4. I talk about wall art at their session. I might say something like this while taking a shot: “Oh wow, this looks great. I can’t wait to see how great this will look on the wall of your family room.”
5. Due to Covid, my selection appointments and consultations are over Zoom, so I bring my samples to the session and we take time to show them all their options.
6. I send them a product catalog after their session in preparation for their selection appointment that shows wall art with special recommendations from me about what think would work best. In this catalog I show images of the wall art I have in my own home so they can be assured that yes, people do put large pictures of their family up on the wall.
7. I gather images of their home and incorporate them into my selection appointment presentation so they can truly visualize what the art will look like on their walls.
8. At the selection appointment, we start by choosing images for wall art. This serves several purposes, but primarily the images chosen to go on the wall will be the best from the session. Once we narrow down their favorites, the rest of the selection appointment is easy.
9. Then at this step—this is the best one—they choose their wall art! And it is like magic. I planned for them to purchase wall art and look at that, they purchase wall art! (Cue confetti cannons!)

Now you might be thinking, “Dorie, come on, that is a lot of steps just to get them to purchase a canvas.” And maybe it is, but I have learned that the majority of people have the same block that my client had WAY back in that Georgetown townhouse. They aren’t going to put a “giant”

11×14” picture up on the wall without a little help and encouragement because they have never done it before. When I follow these steps, it makes it seem normal, like everyone is doing it. It truly becomes no big deal. After a client gets over that mind block, THEN they start to envision

themselves and their loved ones on those large canvases and framed images. Once they can “see” themselves there, I don’t have to sell it, they start to ask for it. That is when all of this goes from strategy to a little bit of business magic.

Refining this part of my workflow has dramatically changed my business. People are loving their wall art, they are paying me a good fee for the work I do for them, and they are referring me to others. That is a win-win for everyone!

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