Friday Funday: A Greek Goddess for a Perfect Client.

Today I want to tell you about one of my favorite clients, and one of my more successful person to person marketing and sales experiences. 
   At the start of this year, I started a Google Adwords campaign to bring traffic to my website and some cash to my accounts. The ads attracted a lot of visitors, but no purchasers. So I constantly tweaked my ads, trying to appeal to a shopping sort of searcher. 
  I created an Adwords Commissions ad group, a sort of sub-campaign focused on attracting commission seekers. Soon after I was contacted by Rich. Rich had seen my ad while looking for art on Ebay. He asked me if I was interested in taking on an art project for him.
  Of course I was!
  First of course, I found out what he wanted. He wanted a tasteful nude for his study. No problem! I love painting figures, but it's difficult to sell them. 
   I asked him where he was from. Washington State, near Seattle. I told him a bit about myself and my area. We discussed the weather. I was dealing with snow. He had rain. Sometimes he had fog with his rain.
  Then I asked him to please look closely at my work and make sure my style fit his needs. He replied that he already had, and that he was an avid art collector who would never rush into an art purchase. 
  He was qualified, we had built trust, and I was thrilled...and nervous!
  He even sent me a picture similar to what he had in mind. It was a nude woman in a forest setting. I sent him a picture I'd taken near Canyon Falls in Upper Michigan. We agreed that his nude should be in a similar setting.

 

  Next, I had to perform a simple, yet difficult and important selling task: I had to ask for the sale. We agreed on a price and I asked for my customary ten-percent down. He sent me fifty-percent! He asked for several sketches before I started painting. I wanted a happy customer, so I obliged. Now I've made this is my standard practice.

Rich liked something like the last drawing, so I developed this sketch. Rich took to calling the painting "Persephone", after the Greek Queen of the Underworld. I took pictures often of Persephone and emailed them to him. Always we had a short, friendly conversation. Our snow was melting, making way for new snow. He still had rain. Sometimes he had sun around noon.

   I added some much needed sunshine to Rich's painting.  I took one last picture, making sure my camera adjustments were right and the photos were accurate. Finally, it was ready to send. Rich sent me the other half of the price, and I shipped it. I even took care of shipping for him.
   After Rich got his painting, he let me know how pleased he was. He framed it and proudly displayed it on his library wall. He sent me a picture of it and allowed me to use it on my website.

    Rich in Seattle was my perfect client, and I think I was a good business man; Rich has asked me about doing another commission for him!