THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: Okay, this sounds like a joke. A collector walks into a bar. I’m just kidding. A collector walks into a booth for two seconds and points to something and says, oh my God, I love this. It’s $4,500. But before the collector says one more word, the artist says, oh, I can do 10% off. Nobody asked for a discount. Nobody. The collector was sold. And by the way, even if the collector did ask for the discount, I would probably just laugh at them. I mean, come on, the collector was already sold. She walked in, saw it, loved it, and the artist talked her out of full price. So today we’re fixing that and I’m going to show you exactly what to say when somebody walks up to your art. So you never have to over explain, apologize, pre-discount what to do if they ask for a discount and never talk a buyer out of buying your art again.
Speaker 2: It’s The Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Podcast, an art World Insider podcast for artists by an artist, where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman: Hey there, I’m Miriam Schulman. I am your curator of inspiration and host of The Inspiration Place podcast. I’m also the author of the book Artpreneur: The Step by Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity. I’ve been a professional artist for over 25 years, and I’ve helped many artists now do the same inside my artist coaching program. In fact, next week you’re going to want to make sure you hit subscribe. I’ll be sharing how those artists sold over $60,000 of art in the month of June of 2026. So let’s move on to today’s episode. Here’s the thing that almost every artist gets wrong about selling because they hear, oh, you need to tell stories about your art. Which is true, but that doesn’t mean that selling is convincing. Your job is not to talk someone into buying your art, to make the case, to prove it’s worth the money. Artists who think that the minute a collector shows interest, the artist goes into performance mode like overexplaining the process and justify the price or ramble about the materials. And then when they get nervous, they do. The worst thing of all. They drop the price that nobody asked them to drop. That’s not selling. That’s flinching. Real selling is much quieter than that. It’s about helping them hear themselves explain why they already want it. So say that back to yourself because it’s the whole episode.
Miriam Schulman: Really. You don’t even have to listen anymore. You’re not here to convince them. You’re here to help them talk themselves into the art they already love. And once you understand that, the whole thing stops feeling salesy because you stop selling at people and you start listening to them. Now, if you’re an artist who wants to make real money from your art without turning into a used car salesman, hit subscribe. This is the channel that teaches you the business your art school skipped. Now, I’ve been selling my own work for more than 25 years, and I’ve been coaching artists on how to sell theirs since 2018. And I’m telling you, the artists who sell the most art are not the slickest talkers. They’re the best listeners. In fact, many of them are even introverted. Let me show you what this actually sounds like. Manners first, before we get into a single clever question, let me talk about something that almost nobody teaches artists manners. Because here’s the truth a lot of salespeople have terrible manners. When I walk into a store that trains people really well, you can feel the difference instantly. So if you go into Victoria’s Secret or Athleta, what’s the first thing they do? They ask your name, and then they write it on that little chalkboard outside the dressing room.
Miriam Schulman: So every time they come back, they can talk to you by your name. Miriam. How’s that fitting? Miriam? Want me to grab another size? That’s not an accident. That’s training. Because people love hearing their own name. It’s the warmest, most disarming sound in any language. So here’s what I want you to do the second someone walks into your booth. Before the art, before the pitch, before anything. I want you to introduce yourself. It’s very easy. You say, hi, I’m Miriam, I’m the artist. What’s your name? And then when they tell you, write it down on the little clipboard that you keep right there at your booth. Why a clipboard? Because two minutes later, when you want to say so, Susan, where would you see this? In your home or office? You’ll actually remember that she’s. Susan. You’d be amazed how fast the name evaporates when you’re a little nervous. That’s one move name written down, used out loud that instantly makes you the artist with good manners, and it forms an instant connection. It’s professional, the one people trust their money with. And you haven’t said a single word about the art yet. Okay, so now let’s get into what to say. Stop performing and start listening. When a collector says, I love this. What do most artists say back? Thanks. And then the conversation dies.
Miriam Schulman: Right there. Because thanks is full stop. It closes the door that you wanted open. All right, so here’s your new reflex. When someone shows interest, you don’t need to explain anything. And don’t thank them into silence. What I want you to do instead is ask a question that makes them do the talking. So, for example, what drew you to that one? That’s it. That one question changes everything because now the collector has to slow down and actually look. They have to name what they’re feeling. They have to connect your artwork to their own life out loud in their own words. And here’s the magic. People believe what they say far more than anything you’ll ever say about your own art. You could stand there and tell them your art is calming for 20 minutes, but it will mean nothing. However, the second they say there’s something peaceful about this, well, now it’s true because they said it. Have you ever noticed that the more you talk about your own work, the less it seems to land. The more they talk, the more sold they get. That’s not a fluke. That’s the whole mechanism. So your job at the booth, in the studio, in the DM, wherever you are, is to talk less and ask better. But here’s the mistake I see from thoughtful, sensitive artists the deep ones. The second someone leans in, they want to explain what the piece means. Well, this piece is really about grief and transformation and the tension between memory and identity.
Miriam Schulman: Please stop. Just stop. Because when you explain the meaning too early, you’re going to accidentally step on the collector’s own connection. They were building something in their head. A memory, a feeling, a place. And you just painted over it with your version. So let them get there first. Ask something like this. Like if they say, where is this? Ask them where. Where does this take you? What are you noticing first? Let them walk into the artwork before you hand them the map. Your meaning is a gift, but you give it after they found their own. Not instead of it. Nine times out of ten, what they see is a better sales argument than anything you could have scripted anyway. Okay, let’s pause for one second, because I have something to say about everything I’ve been teaching you so far. Artists. I can hand you the perfect question. I can give you the exact words, but you and I both know there’s a gap between knowing what to say and actually saying it. When a real live collector is standing right in front of you and your heart is pounding, because in that moment, something takes over you overexplain you apologize, you fill in the silence and you drop the price. Nobody asks you to drop. And it’s not because you don’t know better. It’s because there’s a belief running quietly underneath a story about whether you’re even allowed to take up space, charge what you’re worth, and let someone want your work.
Miriam Schulman: That belief is your invisible feeling. And that’s why I’m hosting a live session with the Artist Incubator mindset coach, Sean Roney, to help you finally see your invisible ceiling so you can break through it. Yes, it’s called the Invisible Ceiling Session. And if you’re an Artist Incubator member, don’t worry, you’ve already got it. Everybody else, go grab your seat right now at Schulman Art dot com slash invisible. Yeah, that’s SchulmanArt.com/invisible. Okay, let’s get back to the show. Mirror it back. Okay, so they told you why they like it. This is the moment where most artists blow it because they get excited and they pile more words on top. Don’t do that when they hand you the reason, don’t add to it. Reflect it back. And remember I told you to write their name down. You have that little clipboard. You’re going to take some notes, say the collector says, oh, I don’t know. There’s just something peaceful about it. It reminds me of being up at the lake when I was a kid. The weak move is to jump in with your artist statement like, oh no, it’s not peaceful. It’s actually energy. Don’t do that. The strong move is to mirror, oh, that makes so much sense. A lot of people feel that same calm in this series. That’s it. That’s it.
Miriam Schulman: Now they feel seen, they feel understood. And this is the part that matters. They’ve just told you out loud the emotional reason they’re going to buy. You don’t need to manufacture desire. They just handed it to you on a silver platter. Your only job is not to fumble it. So mirroring feels like doing nothing, but it’s actually doing everything because being understood is the thing people are chasing when they buy art in the first place. Okay, now I gotta know something. When a collector walks up and compliments your work, what’s your honest, real go to thing you say back right now? Type the exact words in the comments. Don’t clean it up for me, even if it’s just. Thanks. I want the real one. I read all the comments and I can’t wait to hear from you. Move them from thank you to checkout. Here’s where a lot of sales quietly die. The collector loves it. They said all the right things and then everyone just stands there. Nobody moves it forward and a warm moment goes cold. So you help them picture it in their actual life. You need to move them from admiring it to owning it. And the way we do that is by asking more questions. So you might say something like this. Do you imagine this in your home or your office? Do you have a spot in mind for it? Is this for yourself or for a gift? By the way, the home or office question is one of my favorites, and I want to tell you why it works so well.
Miriam Schulman: It’s permission and a question at the same time. So it’s warm. It’s not pushy, but it gently asks them to tell you where they are. Are they in the middle of dreaming or deciding? And none of this is a trick. This is not about manipulating anybody. You’re just helping somebody who already likes your artwork. Take the next honest step towards owning it. All right, now let’s get into the real stuff, because what drew you to it is beautiful when somebody’s already, like, mesmerized in front of your artwork. But what about when they are throwing up objections? And before I tell you what, some of these common objections are. I want to hear from you what the number one objection you hear the most like, is it I don’t have wall space or I need to check with my husband or I’ll be back. Whatever it is, be specific because everybody loves reading about your experience and I’ll be reading it too. Okay, let’s do the big ones. And for each, I’m going to give you the trap first, the thing you’re tempted to say and then what to say instead. Objection number one. I love it, but I have no room on my walls. Oh, that’s a trap. You go. Oh, totally. No worries. And you basically help them leave. So here’s the reframe that I want you to have.
Miriam Schulman: First, no room on my walls is almost never a real no. It’s a person who wants the art but is talking themselves out of it in real time because wanting it might not feel safe to. Them. So your job is not to argue, but it’s to keep them in the desire. How do you do that? Okay, something like this. You know, the collectors who own the most art always say they have no room, right? Until they see the piece, and they can’t live without it. So where do you think it would go if you did make room? And then you stop talking. Let them decorate their own house in their head. The ones who start moving furniture around in their mind. Those are your real art collectors. Here’s another one of my favorites. Oh, that’s a little bit out of my budget. Right. That’s a trap. This is a big one. If you immediately discount, that’s a no no. If you hear budget, your hand flies to the price tag like it’s on fire. Don’t do that. Budget resistance almost never means drop your price. Instead, it means help me find a way to a yes. So instead of discounting, I want you to hold it warmly, but hold it. How do you do that? Let me show you. I hear you, this is an investment, and it should be. If it’s the right piece, I’d rather help you find a way to make it work.
Miriam Schulman: Do you want to talk about options? Options does not mean a discount. Options could mean a payment plan. Options could mean a smaller piece in the same body of work. Options does not mean 10% off because they raised an eyebrow. You can be flexible on structure, but you hold firm on your prices, on your worth. This is the third common objection. This is the I need to think about it. Here’s the trap. Okay, here’s my card. Let me know. Then they evaporate forever. Let me think about it. Is usually fear wearing a polite outfit. So you honor it and you keep the thread alive. And here’s how you do that. Of course, it’s a real decision and you should feel great about it. Can I do one thing? Let me set this aside for you so that you’re not deciding under pressure. If it’s yours, it’s yours. If it’s not, no hard feelings. Now you’ve given them space and urgency at the same time. You’ve removed the pressure and started a clock. That’s not manipulation. That’s professional. And galleries do this every single day. All right, here’s my last one that I’m sharing with you. Objection four. It’s gorgeous. But so sometimes I love it but really is a no. And here’s your power move. Let it be one gracefully. I totally get it. It’s not the right piece for you right now. And that’s exactly how it should be.
Miriam Schulman: You should only bring home the one that won’t leave you alone. And then. Can I add you to my list? So you’re the first one to see what’s next. Do you see what we just did there? We turned a no into a possible future. Yes. And protected your dignity on the way out. Nobody got convinced. Nobody got sold at. And you look like a pro because you are one. All right, so we just walked through the objections, and in a second, I’m going to show you how to hold your price without flinching. But here’s the truth. The reason Artists Cave isn’t a lack of scripts. It’s what’s happening underneath the script. Underpricing is fear disguised as generosity. Discounting is fear. Fear disguised as being accessible. And no clever line is going to fix that until you deal with the belief that’s driving it. And that’s exactly what the invisible ceiling session is for. So we’re going to meet live. My mindset coach Sean Roney will coach artists, live through the beliefs behind their pricing fears. And don’t worry if you don’t want to be coached live, you can just show up and listen. I’ll connect it straight to your bottom line. This is the same coaching one of my students used right before she sold a $5,000 painting at her show by refusing to haggle, refusing to convince and just being patient. And when you register, you also get these bonuses.
Miriam Schulman: My confident sales conversation scripts ready to use language for discount requests, collector hesitation and follow up, which ties right back into today’s episode. Plus a thought work, workbook, affirmations, and lifetime access if you’re an Artist Incubator member. No worries, it’s already included in your membership, but if not, grab your spot over at SchulmanArt.com/invisible. Okay, now let’s talk about holding your price. Hold your price like you mean it. Okay. We have to talk about the discount reflex head on because it’s quietly destroying artists’ incomes. Remember that artists from the very top of the episode, the one who blurted out 10% off on a $4,500 painting before the collector said another word. Yeah, that was a real artist. Real talented too. And that collector was already their wallet out, ready to buy. Dubai. And by the way, this happened as soon as her booth opened. She discounted it. So when she told me about it, you know what I said? Next time, just laugh. And I’m only half kidding because that’s how absurd it is to knock money off for someone who’s already sold themselves on the beast. You may as well hand them cash on their way out the door. Here’s what’s really happening when you pre discount. It’s not generosity, it’s fear. It’s your fear. It’s the need to be liked. It’s the fear that if you hold your price, they’ll think you’re greedy or that they’ll walk away or the moment will get awkward.
Miriam Schulman: So you shrink the price to shrink the discomfort. But watch what you actually teach them. You teach them the price was fake. You teach them that hesitation gets rewarded. You teach them your work is negotiable, which means it’s worth exactly whatever they’re willing to push you down to. Now confident artists. Let the number sit there. When you say your price, you say it. And then this is the whole skill. You say nothing. Don’t fill the silence. Don’t soften it. Don’t tack on. But I’m flexible. Just say the number and let it breathe. 4500. Full stop. Smile. Wait. The silence after a price feels like it lasts a year, I get it. It’s usually three seconds. And whoever speaks first and those three seconds loses. So let it be them. Because here’s the truth. The flinch forgets the price isn’t an apology. It’s information. You’re not asking permission to be worth it. You’re telling them what it costs to bring it home. The clean clothes. Okay, so now let’s talk about closing. This is where artists panic and start talking forever because they’re scared to just ask. But you do have to ask. Ask for what you have to ask for the sale. Ask is the simplest part. No wind up, no apology. No. Let me know if you have any questions. Nope. Which by the way, this is where sales go to die. You just say, would you like to take this one home today? Or want me to wrap this up for you? Or should I send you the payment link? Or if they’re standing in front of you, how would you like to pay? That’s it.
Miriam Schulman: That’s not cringey. It’s clear. And clarity is kindness. You’re giving a person who wants your art a clean, easy way to say yes. Now remember the whole arc. The collector should never feel like they got convinced. They don’t want to be convinced. They’re not going to be convinced they should feel like they got understood. Your job was never to push them into a sale. It was to help them follow the desire they already showed you. And honestly, if you’re doing all the talking, you’re working way too hard. Okay, so let’s bring this all home. Selling your art without feeling salesy comes down to this. Stop performing. Start listening. Ask what drew them in. Let them find the meaning before you hand them yours. Mirror it back. Move them from admiring to owning it. Hold your price like it’s a fact. Like you’re telling them the weather because it is a fact. And then ask the clean, simple question: would you like to take it home today? That’s the whole system of I do go through this in my book Artpreneur, and there is training inside the Artist Incubator classroom. But you’re welcome. That’s the whole game. And not one piece of it requires you to be pushy, fake, or somebody that you’re not.
Miriam Schulman: Now, everything I just gave you is what to say in the moment. But if the deeper problem is that the right collectors aren’t walking up to your booth or your inbox in the first place, that’s a different fix. And I’ll teach the whole system inside my free masterclass. It’s called How to Sell More Art without being Insta famous. You can grab it right now at SchulmanArt.com/sellmoreart. The links in the description to go watch it come back. And next time someone says, I love this one, you’ll know exactly what to say and it won’t be 10% off. Oh, and before you go, let me tell you once again what’s coming next week because it’s one of my most popular series. It’s what art are they selling now? And here’s what I did. I asked the artist inside my artist’s incubator program to send me the real pictures. Real prices of every single thing they sold in the month of June. And you guys in one month. In one month, we’re up to over $71,000. And that’s for June of 2026. You’re going to want to see what art sold and what it’s sold for, what the sizes were. I’m spilling all the tea, so make sure you hit subscribe and even the notification bell because you definitely don’t want to miss this one. All right, my friend. I’ll see you same time, same place next week. Until then, stay inspired. Bye for now.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on facebook, at facebook.com/SchulmanArt, on Instagram at @SchulmanArt, and of course on SchulmanArt.com.
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