THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Anna Tsui:
If you’re in a community, and especially if you’re in a Facebook community of teachers or you’re in a spiritual community, just you not holding back, don’t even have a thought in your mind of selling. But, really, just lead with what you’re inspired right now or what you’re working on. Everyone here, don’t hold back on sharing this inspiration, this creativity that you’re channeling all the time and especially if you belong to a community.
Have it be something that you know people would appreciate in the community because that’s how you create a wait list of people who want commissions from you.
Announcer:
It’s The Inspiration Place Podcast with artist, Miriam Schulman. Welcome to The Inspiration Place 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:
Well, hey there. It’s Miriam Schulman here, your curator of inspiration, and you’re listening to episode 218 of The Inspiration Place Podcast. I am so happy that you’re here. So what we’re doing today is a little different. It seems like we’ve been doing a lot of different special episodes lately. I have lots of my friends and colleagues come into the artist incubator as guest expert coaches for my artists.
So we’ve had Laura Belgray and Danielle Weil coach them on copywriting. We’ve had Patty Lennon coach them on aligned sales. Jennifer Lanier did a session on hiring a virtual assistant, and then Elise Darma came in and also talked about Instagram. We’ve had many, many other sessions. This one that I’m sharing with you today, it’s pulled from there, but I did cut it down a little bit. So not everyone who actually got coached is in today’s episode.
I only included the names of three of the artists that you’re going to hear from today. There’s a fourth one who you will also hear from, but we’ve included her anonymously since we haven’t been able to get in touch with her to find out if she was going to be okay with us sharing her name. So we’ve just shared her content anonymously. I chose also these four because I think they’re going to really provide a lot of insight to you about how to step into your natural genius to sell more art.
Nobody does that better than my friend Anna Tsui, and I’m even going to let you eavesdrop to our little conversation that happened right before I introduce everyone because I think it was super fun. So if you want to get coached by me, by Shawn, by all these experts so that you can really transform your sales, transform your business, and create the success that you’re looking for, I would love to help you with that.
We are taking applications for the mastermind level of the Artist Incubator Program and we will be opening up enrollment for the next cohort of the Artist Incubator Self Study soon. So we’ll be opening up enrollment again for the next cohort in the middle of October or you can apply for the mastermind. To find out about either of these tracks, go to schulmanart.com/biz, B as in boy, I as an ice cream, Z as in zebra. I would love to help you double your art sales and have the most amazing year ever. All right. Without further ado, let’s get on with today’s show.
This is Discover Your Genius Essence with business and leadership coach, Anna Tsui. Anna is a business and leadership coach and international writer, speaker, and serial entrepreneur. She’s the founder of the Intuitive Business School, a program that helps coaches, healers, and business owners build their signature programs, fearlessly scale their businesses, and use their genius as fuel for growth. Please welcome to The Inspiration Place, my good friend and very smart colleague, Anna Tsui.
Anna Tsui:
Hi. Thanks for having me, Miriam. Thanks for that wonderful introduction. Okay, folks. So I am here to open you to the world of your genius. How many people have heard of zone of genius? How many of us really know what the zone of genius actually is? There are not actual steps to get you there, except maybe do things that make me feel like you lose track of time. Do things that make you feel like you’re in flow.
So after many, many years of me trying to find myself, I think anyone who’s intellectually curious, creatively curious, we’re always trying to find this essence of ourselves. I was looking outside, and I was looking for other people to bring it to me, to teach it to me like, “Anna, this is who you are. This is what you’re meant to do. This is how you are brilliant.” I need to go within. In that process, what I discovered is you have a genius. Everyone has a genius.
Our genius is very different than what we are taught it is, and our zone of genius is actually very different than what we think it is. So a lot of people, we think that our genius is IQ-based. We think of people like Albert Einstein and he was a genius physicist or people who are really good at a skill. That becomes your genius. Here’s the thing. That’s only one really small fraction of how great, how big, how deep, how expansive your genius actually is.
What I’ve discovered is your genius, your innate genius, this natural essence, natural characteristic of you, your personality, of your soul, that is beyond IQ. It actually becomes almost like an energetic territory. It’s a mood. It’s the thing that people who know you really well, they’ll describe, “Oh, Miriam is such a dynamic person, and she understands systems so well, it’s mind blowing.”
I had someone who said that their mom’s genius was that their mom was a genius caretaker, so good at taking care of people, making them feel welcome, nurturing them to be their best selves. The interesting thing is, our innate genius is the thing that we discount the most. Being, let’s say, a genius caretaker, it takes a lot of different disciplines and sympathy of intellectual, emotional, energetic factors.
You have to be able to really understand someone. You have to be able to predict what they need to even see a few steps ahead. If I give them this, it will help nurture them to do this or to be this or to be whole. The funny thing is, our genius is the thing that we discount the most, but it’s also the thing that people will pay the most for and that makes us irreplaceable. It makes us truly unique.
So imagine, again, my friend’s mom who is a genius nurturer, whatever her profession is, say she’s a teacher or a lawyer, whatever it may be. Imagine if she embraced her genius and, being this lawyer, this teacher that is so connected to her genius of nurturing, that she becomes the lawyer or the teacher or the person. The reason why I’m telling you this is within all of you, there’s a genius.
Within your genius, there’s a natural creative flow. I call it genius flow, where synchronicities happen, where you just get ideas out of the blue. You get inspiration out of the blue. It’s almost as if you’re tapped into this other energy that’s completely different from your logical brain, that’s completely different from your ego. So, Einstein, a lot of people think that his genius was that he was a really good physicist.
On all accounts, he was an okay physicist even when it comes to academically. But his genius, his energetic genius, his essence was his ability to wield his imagination. If you ever read stories about Einstein, especially when he was younger, he just saw things. He would imagine himself walking next to rays of light. I love that, Cindy. He would imagine himself just walking next to rays of light and then see how they would refract.
He was fascinated by and how they show these electromagnetic fields that we couldn’t see. It was his ability to wield his imagination combined with his field as a physicist that really made him a true genius. So I really want to introduce that concept because so many of us have this genius and genius flow within us, but we might think that, “Well, I haven’t studied enough. I haven’t had enough years as an artist.” Or, “I haven’t had enough experience or I didn’t work with these teachers,” or whatever it is.
No, you have genius within you right now. Chances are you’re in it all the time without realizing it. Chances are you could probably ask someone in your life, “Hey, what do you think my genius is?” Husband, wife, kids, whatever, and they will probably tell you something that you will find absolutely fascinating. Chance are whatever it is, you probably discount it a lot.
So I wanted to just take a moment for you to just have this opening and realization that there is a genius within you that is an energetic territory, that is who you really are. I’m going to tie that into what we’re going to talk about today, which is how to use your own genius flow. Again, this notion of flow where there’s synchronicities happening, you get ideas out of the blue. You lose all track of time. You’re just in the moment.
Ideas, creativity, concepts are coming to you. People are coming to you. And the thing is, people are coming to you. Yes, you might go approach other people or you might be connected to other people, but there’s a natural flow, a natural synthesis that’s happening. I want to talk about genius flow as it relates to sales. It’s a totally different concept than how most people do sales, which is from their ego.
The problem with doing sales from your mind, from your ego, sometimes even based on how you’ve seen other people do it that’s really effective, but it might not be exactly your way, that feels aligned to you. When we do sales, when we conduct business in a place that’s of the mind of the ego, what happens is our own fears show up, our own doubts, all of the thoughts of the mind. Can I do this? How do I do this? Am I worthy? Am I not worthy?
So I would love for us to begin to experiment how we can do sales in a different way, more in our genius, more in flow, more in accordance with the natural way that we just exist and the natural way that we’re just turned on and excited about life. I do want to just start with an interesting question, but I would love for you to tell us about something that maybe you’re really excited about right now or something that you’re really in love with right now in a way that invites us to experience it with you.
So it could be your favorite restaurant or it could be this book that you’re in love with, but something that you’re just kind of crushing on right now like, “I love this,” and that you’re a little bit excited about. I want you to share with us in a way that invites us to experience it with you.
Lisi Wang:
I’m Lisi. So-
Anna Tsui:
Lisi?
Lisi Wang:
Lisi, yes. So recently, I moved to Utah from Los Angeles and, being the only Chinese person in my entire neighborhood it seems like, it really got me thinking about what it means to be Chinese in America. So I started getting obsessed with that idea and then start reading books. I discovered that I actually don’t know a whole lot of history, Chinese American [inaudible] in America.
So I’ve kind of gone down to that rabbit hole, learning about history and learning about what it actually means because I think there’s a lot of superficial or surface level things out there and even myself included, all the things I thought I knew turned out to not be true. So I’m getting to that rabbit hole and trying to find out [inaudible] heritage.
Anna Tsui:
Oh, interesting. So anything that you discovered so far that you found really interesting?
Lisi Wang:
I always thought a lot of Chinese American in America came to America during that time of the railroad building and gold rush era, and that is actually not true because the Chinese Exclusion Act had actually limited the number down to tens of thousands at one point. So most Chinese American in America today came from the ’50s and ’60s and beyond, which I did not know.
Anna Tsui:
That’s so interesting. Everyone, from what Lisi said, what cord does it strike in you? What stood out with what she said? What is interesting about what she said? Lisi, you’re exploring the history of Chinese people in the US, not just in Utah, right, just …
Lisi Wang:
In the US, right. It made me realize maybe I need to hone in on that idea. And then maybe I need to express more of that in my art to take a stance on what it means.
Anna Tsui:
Why is it important to you?
Lisi Wang:
Because that’s who I am. It’s my heritage. So why make art that speaks everybody else’s ideas, or not everybody else’s, but ideas and topics that have been already explored by the mainstream? This is something that has not been explored as much, so I should lean in [inaudible] customers.
Anna Tsui:
I love that. Yes. Okay, please keep us all updated. That’s so interesting. Thank you, Lisi. That’s so interesting. Maybe I never cared about stuff like this, but something about how you said it and how you delivered it made me really interested. It connected me. It created this own magnetic field. You brought me into your flow. So I do want you to practice seeing out loud and sharing something that you …
Maybe it’s a movie that you just watched and you’re like, “I need to share this with you. This movie was awesome and you have to go see it.” Because you know why? When you’re in that flow state of connecting and sharing from a place of excitement, guess what? That is the same natural genius energy of you in sales, energy, that excitement. There was no ulterior motive except maybe just to share, just to connect.
That is you in your optimal energetic space in sales. What happens is when we have sales conversations or when we try and get someone to buy something, we unconsciously have just been programmed to go in a completely different space. We go into sales space. While that might work for some people, what I found is, for a lot of creative people, it really turns off who we are. Creative people, who we are, is we’re naturally curious. We’re always nerding out about something, and so we’re always asking questions and naturally finding connections.
So the more that you can be in that energy, notice who you are when you are in that zone of interaction sharing your passion, excitement. The thing about innate genius is it’s everyone expresses your own genius in your own unique way. So how you naturally express your excitement in connection with other people, that is really your most magnetic self when you do sales. Tell me more. Let me share this with other people. It’s this really almost innocent energy of just people being curious in their connection, in your passion.
Cindy Mawle:
Okay if I say something?
Anna Tsui:
Cindy, yes. Go for it.
Cindy Mawle:
Hi. Well, I mentioned there about the emails, and I love to write. So when I’m putting in my email, there’s something there and I can’t quite put my finger on it. But I’m feeling something that’s really exciting when I’m writing them. I don’t know. I guess it’s just reaching out and having people read it, but there’s something more to it that I can’t put words to it. I can’t figure out what it is.
But I just did an outdoor show and people, one after the other, were coming into my booth and going, “I love your emails.” I was having a hard time standing there and actually selling to people face-to-face except for the ones that had read my emails. So I don’t know if that’s in around what we’re talking about, but it’s making me want to lay off more of the outdoor shows and that sort of thing and really, really focus on my writing as part of my sales.
Anna Tsui:
That’s brilliant.
Cindy Mawle:
I don’t know. Is that-
Anna Tsui:
First of all, how many people now want to get Cindy’s emails? Exactly. And Cindy-
Cindy Mawle:
Yeah, I’ve got 300 people.
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. But Cindy, it was just you sharing your excitement about it that everyone’s like, “Okay, now I want some emails from Cindy. I want to know what you write about. I want to know how you write.” So that in itself, you see that magnetism, you see that lighting up of curiosity and like, “Oh, I want to be part of Cindy’s email. I want to read her writing.” How do you feel when you’re writing your emails?
Cindy Mawle:
Oh, I love it. It just feels really good. What I’m trying to do is just be not salesy. I’m trying to be honest and unique, and I’m just being me when I’m writing them. So it feels good.
Anna Tsui:
Good, okay. It feels good. Why do people love your emails?
Cindy Mawle:
Well, they say they make them smile because I try to keep them positive. Every one of them that have come into my booth say, “I can hardly wait till Tuesday,” which I actually missed yesterday because I was so busy. But yeah. That makes me feel pretty good, too. So I don’t know.
Anna Tsui:
Have you tried-
Cindy Mawle:
I guess it makes them smile.
Anna Tsui:
Have you tried using your emails to sell a piece or to sell anything?
Cindy Mawle:
Oh yeah. When I finish any work, my email list, they’re the first ones to see the artwork, for sure. So yeah, I’ve sold work on my email, for sure.
Anna Tsui:
Wow. So have you found that your emails are just as effective as doing shows, or it sounds like even maybe more effective at selling than just in the shows?
Cindy Mawle:
Yeah. Also, it’s the long game, too. It’s kind of-
Anna Tsui:
Yeah, explain that.
Cindy Mawle:
Yeah. They may not purchase something right away, but you’re in their home every week. I don’t worry about it. I’m not in a hurry to make a sale. I would rather be patient. What goes around comes around. So if I’m good to people, then they will be good to me kind of thing.
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. So, Cindy, when you are doing your emails, I’m wondering, and this is just a question for you, if let’s say you had more time, more focus, more inspiration, whatever it may be to really be like, “People love my emails,” and to be able to put a little bit more attention on that, would that change anything for you in terms of how you do it, how often you do it?
Cindy Mawle:
I don’t think so. I think it’s a good recipe right now because it’s giving me time to do everything else. So it fits in really, really well.
Anna Tsui:
I love that it’s in flow. Miriam’s like, “Pay attention, everyone.” That’s so awesome.
Cindy Mawle:
Is she? I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but it was like, “No way. I can’t do this.” Now it’s my thing because I love to write. I can see a lot of artists maybe not liking to do it if they don’t like to write. When I was told to do them all ahead of time, I’m like, “No, no, no, no.” I have to do it a couple days before because there’s things that happen that week that are exciting and that happen in my life or in my art.
I like to put something fresh and new into my email right away. So I can’t do them ahead of time because I just go in and change them anyways. So that’s me. But other people maybe if they don’t-
Anna Tsui:
No, that’s so good because you’re inviting people. All artists, all creatives are so multidimensional. You’re inviting people into your world through writing, which really gets into their … I mean they really feel you. They really feel like they know you. I personally am much more likely to buy art when I feel connected to the artist or to the inspiration of the piece.
So you are basically cultivating your own universe, and people who vibe with it, they feel like they’re in your world. So the only natural thing is to either continue reading your emails. And then one day they’re going to be like, “Oh, yes. I want that piece that she’s talking about.” I buy stuff from people I’m on their email list all time, who just tell good stories.
So your email is such a brilliant invitation into your world, and I love that it’s so natural for you and that you love it. I think that’s absolutely you in your genius flow.
Cindy Mawle:
Also, when Miriam was talking about looking into … She said it was a little bit woo-woo or whatever. That’s how my brain works. So I use a lot of analogies in that with my paintings. This painting, the storm’s coming in. Have you ever met a person that’s done this and this? That’s like the storm. I do that kind of thing as well. So yeah, just creative thought.
Anna Tsui:
Obviously, I haven’t met any of you, and now I really feel more connected to Cindy because she shared her story. She’s more of a multidimensional being for me. I can connect to her more. And then she’s mentioning this painting. She’s describing the painting. I can connect to this painting on more different levels than I would if I just saw it and was left to my own devices. You’re highlighting the energy that’s around the piece.
You’re inviting people into your world. You’re also inviting people inside the thought process and the world of your painting. It just gives a fullness that just makes it more interesting, and so I really like that. You’re getting more subscribers now, as we speak. You need to email us, too, because I can’t wait to read this. I mean it’s just us sharing stuff that we’re excited about that we love. How easy is it for you to find a way to share what it is that you love with people?
It could just be random people. It doesn’t even need to be specific people who sign up for whatever. This is how I create clients all the time is just I show up and I’m just me. Naturally, I’m just asking a million questions, and I’m fascinated with people. And then, of course, they just ask me what I do. I just had a conversation with someone yesterday who I met a year ago, and she’s going to work with me after a year.
She’s like, “I’ve just always been in your world, and I’ve always been curious about what you’re posting. I’m always curious about the random things that you’re doing, what drinks you’re …” We will never understand why people like us or find us interesting. But the best thing that we can do is make ourselves open to expressing the things in our life that make us interested or curious, expressing why you created this piece and what’s behind it.
You will never know why someone connects with it, but just the fact that you’re able to open up to that will create its own magnetic energy. It will create its own flow. So look, yes, everyone’s subscribing. All right, folks. Anyone else? Anyone want to share how they feel like they’re in flow with sales and connecting to your customer? Or any questions about that? This is your time, folks.
Miriam Schulman:
Or if somebody feels like they’re struggling with sales and you want Anna to help you tap into what your flow should be.
Tiare Smith:
I have been on quite a journey since I started the course and I’ve moved into a studio. I have started emailing. It’s small. I only have 350 people that I’m emailing. There doesn’t seem to be a growth pattern. I’m trying to find a growth pattern, if that makes sense?
Anna Tsui:
I do think that there’s a difference between having customers and having a lot of email subscribers or growth. So I don’t think that you need growth to have ideal clients purchase from you. But I do think because there is a lot of pressure, especially now we’re so socially connected, for us to get more followers and more email subscribers and whatever because I guess statistically you will get more clients when you get a bigger email list. Sometimes that’s not always true.
So I’m just saying this because it might be that focusing on growth might actually be that you’re closing down your genius. So I want to ask you, how do you naturally like to connect with people? How do you naturally enjoy being in people’s presence?
Tiare Smith:
Well, I’m with people a lot because I have other things that I’m doing in the community. I really just like getting to know people and just personally getting connected with them. Honestly, those are the people who’ve become collectors who come in my studio and connect with a piece because they already knew me. So I totally recognize that happening. I am in a small community, and I’m starting to realize I need to find ways to have more people that see the work and connect with it. So my next thing is to have an open studio event and just invite a small group of people to come and just see-
Anna Tsui:
What communities are you in? What kind of community?
Tiare Smith:
I’m in Kentucky. I’m in a small town in Kentucky.
Anna Tsui:
Oh, okay. Yeah. But what communities do you naturally gravitate to? In real life or virtual, what kind of communities do you enjoy?
Tiare Smith:
You mean other than artists, or is that what you mean?
Anna Tsui:
Yeah, it could be people who knit, book clubs, female entrepreneurs.
Tiare Smith:
Oh, okay. I’m in quite a few different Christian communities throughout, really, internationally as well as nationally. That’s primarily who are my customers.
Anna Tsui:
I love that. I really think that people who have a belief system, that community is a really strong community. I would actually say that you don’t need any more communities or any more people. You say you love connecting with people. How can you just use your love of connecting with people to connect with people? What I feel for you, what I sense for you is there’s something about, my community is small.
There’s something that gets kind of stuck in your energy, but it’s like you really only need a few clients, clients who love your work and what you do. And guess what? They bring other people. So there’s something about connections and referrals, and there’s something about you going more deep with maybe even fewer people or maybe having a special … Miriam and I, we were talking. We love going to teas and luncheons and stuff like that.
That’s the way that I’ve really built my business when I look back at it. Yeah, I do all the social media stuff and whatever. But really, when I look at the people who pay me tens of thousands of dollars, they’re people that I’ve met in some random retreat or some luncheon. So, for you, you already have that going on.
Tiare Smith:
Yeah.
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. So can you energize that a little bit more-
Tiare Smith:
Yeah, I-
Anna Tsui:
… and have a little bit more trust in that?
Tiare Smith:
That makes sense. Yeah. I see that.
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. Yeah. Also, what can you offer these Christian communities in terms of do they know you as the artist? Is there something that you’re interested in, that you speak a lot about or that you’re excited about?
Tiare Smith:
I probably don’t do that enough. I mean that would be the answer. It’s a hard balance to not feel like you’re selling yourself or you’re always talking about what you’re doing. It’s a hard balance between that and-
Anna Tsui:
What inspired one of your pieces? Can you just think about a piece that you made and tell us a little bit about what inspired you?
Tiare Smith:
Well, right now I’m doing this series on butterflies. So all the paintings are butterflies of different … They’re collages or paintings. They’re all based on a scripture in Corinthians about transformation, and so I’ve been talking about transformation. It does connect with people. I mean I do realize that, but I’m not trying to just sell butterfly paintings. I’m talking about transformation. So there’s this balance there that I’m maybe overthinking or …
Anna Tsui:
The overthinking is just that mind. It’s the ego. If you don’t have that, if you’re just connected to this piece of transformation, what it means for you and you’re just being in the moment with it, that’s what I would love for you to have more intention around sharing.
Tiare Smith:
That’s good.
Anna Tsui:
Because people respond. You inspire them. You’re not just sharing your artwork. You’re actually allowing them to take a moment to come into this world of transformation with you. So forget about the growth and focus on this community that’s kind of … I feel like they’re really hungry for the inspiration that you naturally channel all the time into your work.
Tiare Smith:
That’s awesome.
Anna Tsui:
I think that’s for everyone is if you’re in a community, and especially if you’re in a Facebook community of teachers or you’re in a spiritual community, just you not holding back, don’t even have the thought in your mind of selling, but really just lead with what you’re inspired right now or what you’re working on. Everyone here, don’t hold back on sharing this inspiration, this creativity that you’re channeling all the time and especially if you belong to a community.
Have it be something that you know people would appreciate in the community because that’s how you create a wait list of people who want commissions from you is you never know though until you actually put your passion out there. Do it away from sales for now. Just do it for connection, for conversation, because people will be thinking of you because all of you inspire things in others, whether or not you believe you do or not.
Whenever you share something that you’re really interested in, there’s always people who are hungry for that. Whenever you have a desire to share something, it’s because there’s a need for it. There’s a hunger for it, especially [inaudible]. All right. Laura?
Laura Yelin:
Basically, what I feel when I sell is that, first of all, I love getting to know people. I love listening. But when it comes to the small talk first … When you’re in a show, you don’t have this time to get to know a person. People are just going around. There’s a ton of artists. They hear a lot of inspirational speeches from everybody. So I don’t have this time to really connect with a person.
So it’s a time when you have to be most … it’s frustrating, but you don’t have this time to create all this atmosphere. And then I always feel pushy, whatever I say. I don’t feel comfortable with … I don’t know how to start this deep connection in a very short time without sounding sales.
Anna Tsui:
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It’s difficult because you only see them for maybe a few seconds or a few minutes, right?
Laura Yelin:
Yeah.
Anna Tsui:
Let me ask you, Laura. If you think back on the art that you’ve sold, was it to people that you met at shows? Was it at a show? Was it through some other method? Was it through your website? So in your art sales, what has been a really successful method for you?
Laura Yelin:
Yeah. Actually, it’s been mostly to people I know more than just for three seconds in a booth.
Anna Tsui:
How do you know them?
Laura Yelin:
How do I know that?
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. So think about your previous buyers and maybe the ones that you enjoy the most, the ones who buy more and also refer you. How did you know them? How did you meet them?
Laura Yelin:
Yeah. Some of them I actually have met in shows or galleries, but I had some more time to connect. Sometimes the connection comes from talking about things that are not related to my art at all, sometimes very small things of, “Oh, I like your hair,” this type of conversation like that. But then you need some more time to connect. It’s not the first three seconds that a person is looking at your art. So how do you create this connection in a very short time?
Anna Tsui:
Do you need to create the connection in a very short time? It sounds to me like when you met those people, you were able to connect afterwards or you had more time to connect with them. Or how did you get to know each other?
Laura Yelin:
It depends on the person. Sometimes when you say something like, “Oh, I love your dress,” some people would stop and start talking to you. Some of them don’t. They just, “Thank you,” and they keep going. I don’t say it to everybody. I say it when I really feel that. But sometimes people are in the booth looking at the art, and they look for details. They stop to look at the art. They take the time. So how you create this connection without starting talk? I don’t know.
I don’t want to bother them. I don’t want to invade their space when they’re looking. So it’s kind of-
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. The reason why I ask you all these questions is because there’s a natural way that you connect with people just from your observation about what they’re wearing or just your curiosity about them that’s very authentic and that’s very genuine. But it might not feel like this is how I sell things or this is professional, whatever. But there’s a natural way that you do it.
What I’m hearing is you notice people and then before your ego comes in where it’s like, “I don’t want to bother them,” before that comes in, there’s always a curiosity like, “Oh, I wonder what they’re looking at?” Or, “What are you interested in?” It might just be a simple question, “What are you looking at? Are you looking at this little piece right here or have you seen this art before?”
I get that you’re actually a very observant and curious person. So if you allow that part of you to start the conversation without getting to build a deep connection with them, you naturally do build a connection, especially with the right people. So a lot of times, and I think this is a really good example for all of us, is you already know what you’re doing if you quiet the part of your mind that’s like, “I need to be more professional. I need to talk to more people.”
You know how to connect with people, especially people who are already there and are curious in your work. They’re not accidentally there. Not everyone’s going to be on your email list or whatever, but it doesn’t matter. It’s about your natural observation and curiosity. So, Laura, I want to ask you, when you are noticing people look at your artwork, do you notice maybe some questions or something that you’re kind of curious about or wondering about them? Who are they? Do you just notice questions in the back of your mind?
Laura Yelin:
Yes. Yes.
Anna Tsui:
Like what?
Laura Yelin:
I can’t always tell exactly why, but I kind of know how to recognize people that will connect with my paintings.
Anna Tsui:
Oh, so you know?
Laura Yelin:
It’s not math, but I don’t know. I can feel it-
Anna Tsui:
It’s better than math.
Laura Yelin:
Yeah. I can feel them.
Anna Tsui:
Why don’t you say that? Why don’t you say, “Hey, I have this feeling. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I have this feeling that you’re really connecting with this piece?”
Laura Yelin:
Okay.
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. Why not? What’s the worst they can say? No? But do you see your intuition? That’s what it is when this person’s connecting with this piece. If we can do it with the way where it’s not attached to the sale, but really you’re present with the person, people can tell that difference and it makes a big difference. So I give you all permission to forget about selling and just focus on the person. Because what happens is, remember we talked about that magnetic pull.
They’re going to be like, “She sees something that I feel,” or, “She’s saying something,” or, “There’s something here.” And then you just get pulled into your curiosity or the conversation. And then it could be that you don’t bring up the price or anything at all. They’ll bring it up or they’ll follow you or something will happen because they’re already in your universe. So, Laura, when you notice that someone is interested in a piece, why don’t you just go to them and be like, “I feel like you’re really interested in this piece.” If someone did that to you, how would you feel?
Laura Yelin:
That’s the thing. I usually don’t like when people approach me because I know when I want to buy something and I go and buy something. If I have a question, I go and ask the question. I don’t like when people approach me when I’m looking in a store.
Anna Tsui:
That’s great that you saw that because that is your own thing that affects how you connect with people. But if I’m like, “Hey, Laura, I have this book. I read it, and I thought of you.” Would that annoy you?
Laura Yelin:
No. I don’t know.
Anna Tsui:
Why?
Laura Yelin:
It depends.
Anna Tsui:
Why would it annoy you?
Laura Yelin:
Because it feels like you’re trying to sell.
Anna Tsui:
Oh, that I’m trying to sell. So there you go. That’s the answer to your question. If you don’t have the goal of selling in the back of your mind and it’s really about helping or just finding out about them more, what are you motivated by? Is it learning about them more? What’s interesting to you when you see people looking at your art?
Laura Yelin:
Yeah. First of all, I love hearing stories about what they see. I paint abstract. So sometimes people see things or feel things, “This is for me. Amazing.” When they get the message that I was trying to convey with the painting, it’s like, for me, I mean that’s it. That it.
Miriam Schulman:
Laura, if I can cut in, what I find very helpful, and when you’re in the show, if you come from the mindset that you are doing market research, which you are, that’s 80% of why you’re at the show is finding out why people like your piece so that you can write about it Later. So these are the questions, what drew you to this piece? What do you see in this piece? How does this piece make you feel?
You’re asking these questions, like Anna said, not because you’re trying to sell, but you really want to know, that your energy will feel more authentic and sharing.
Laura Yelin:
Yeah.
Anna Tsui:
Genius.
Miriam Schulman:
And then you’ll have the answers that you’re looking for because now you’ll know how to talk about your art in the way that your potential art collectors are thinking about your art.
Laura Yelin:
Okay. Yeah.
Anna Tsui:
Awesome. Miriam, that was genius. Okay. [inaudible]-
Miriam Schulman:
That’s why you guys pay me the big bucks?
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. Laura, can I give you a little bit of homework, too?
Laura Yelin:
Of course.
Anna Tsui:
You’re not going to like it though, but you said yes. I do want you, next time you go to a department store or shopping or whatever and someone’s going to approach you, I want you to take a breath and just instead of being like, “No, I don’t need your help,” just have a conversation with them. Because that part of you, we all have this, we all have these triggers where we’re like, “Oh, I don’t want to be sold to.” That affects how you show up.
So if we can soften that, create some flow in that space, maybe you just look at them and say, “Thank you so much for offering to help me. I don’t need any help right now.” Something where it takes two seconds, but it’ll help you really kind of get back into that engaging with strangers.
Miriam Schulman:
Also, Let’s face it. There are some really bad salespeople out there. When you walk into the department store and they start spraying you with perfume versus the people who really are helpful. You’re taking something out and then they’re like, “Oh wait, wait, did you see these things we have on sale? Or this just came in.” There’s people who are really actually being helpful versus being like circus barkers.
I think what Anna says is absolutely true that sometimes if we drop our own resistance to being sold to, we’re better about it. But at the same time, notice when you are in a sales situation that’s positive. What did you like about it?
Anna Tsui:
So true. And then in those situations, Miriam, you don’t know you’re being sold to. You’re just having a conversation. It’s like, “Okay, I’ll buy your artisanal $15 cheese or whatever.”
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. Like, “I always wanted a handmade brown scrub brush,” that I actually did buy that is sitting in my kitchen right now. I was like, “Oh my God. I don’t know what I paid for it.”
Laura Yelin:
That was great. Thank you so much. Very helpful. I have a lot of homework.
Anna Tsui:
Oh yeah, Laura. Okay. Yeah. If you want to-
Miriam Schulman:
Anna, can we wrap up by giving everybody some homework? Because there’s a lot of people who seem to want homework now.
Anna Tsui:
I know. Well, my thing to all of you is you know what homework you want, so do it. You know what homework you want me to be like, “Oh, Lisi, do this.” What is it? So Lisi, what is the homework that you want?
Lisi Wang:
I hate you for saying this, but I think you’re right. So for me, that I have a issue with even telling people that I’m an artist because I’m just starting and the whole confidence is not quite there, even though I don’t really have any issues with … I know that my art’s not terrible, but I just feel like, “Why would people like that?” But Miriam talked about all of that.
So I think listening to you, I just need to turn off that part of my brain and believe in myself and just start telling people that, “Hey, I’m an artist and I make art,” and I tell that to five people a day or something.
Anna Tsui:
Yeah. I think-
Lisi Wang:
I have to.
Anna Tsui:
… it’s clear that you’re already an artist. I mean you’re in this group. You’re creating art. So I would forget any question that you are an artist and just live your life like an artist.
Lisi Wang:
Okay, thank you.
Anna Tsui:
So it’s kind of like you’re saying, “Well, I don’t think I have pink hair and I’m not sure people …” But it’s like you have pink hair. You’re an artist. You’re here. You create. So don’t worry about it.
Miriam Schulman:
Awesome.
Anna Tsui:
Miriam, I’m telling everyone. [inaudible].
Miriam Schulman:
It’s in chapter one of my book, by the way. Tell everyone that you’re an artist. This is how you rewrite your story. You’re telling yourself. You’re telling the universe. You’ll also get better at your elevator pitch, the more you say it. You can condense down what you do.
Anna Tsui:
Oh, absolutely. Great coaching advice, Miriam.
Miriam Schulman:
Anna, can you come to all my coaching sessions? This is great.
Anna Tsui:
I know. I’m going to hype you up. Yeah. It really is like, “Oh my gosh, I need to take notes.”
Miriam Schulman:
All right, Anna. Thank you so much for being with us here today. How can people find you if they want to follow you, if they want to work with you? Give us all the places.
Anna Tsui:
If you go to annatsui.com/book, you can actually download half my book for free, Shadow Magic. It’s overcoming these internal fears. I love plugging that because I did it against the will of my publisher. I was like, “Forget it. I’m going to give half my book out for free.” It’s just a Google file that you download. But if you like it, you can also purchase it.
But also, you can find me on social media. I’m coming back. I took a bit of a hiatus, but now I’m back sharing fun things. So Facebook is where I’m most active. Connect with me there. I would love to see your projects come to fruition. And then me and Miriam hang out sometimes.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Your handle is Ms. Anna Tsui. Is there a period in that?
Anna Tsui:
Yes. Ms., M-S, dot Anna Tsui on Instagram.
Miriam Schulman:
M-S, dot Anna-
Anna Tsui:
I think there’s a dot.
Miriam Schulman:
… Tsui.
I’m pretty sure there is, on Instagram.com/-
Anna Tsui:
Yes. M-S, dot, A-N-N-A-T-S.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. So everyone go follow Anna and wave to her on social media. All you have to do is write under your most recent post, tag her, and then she can see your gorgeous art.
Anna Tsui:
Oh ,yeah. Great idea. I want to see everyone’s art. I really do.
Miriam Schulman:
All right, everyone. Thank you so much for being with me here today. Don’t forget if you want to be in a experience like this one where you really get help with the tactics of how to sell your art and also how to think about how to sell your art so you can have the right abundant mindset so that you don’t sabotage yourself and you have the success that you are looking for, I would love to help you inside the Artist Incubator.
We are opening applications for the mastermind track, and the next cohort for the self-study track will start soon. For more information, go to schulmanart.com/biz. All right, everyone. Until next time, stay inspired.
Announcer:
Thank you for listening to The Inspiration Place Podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/schulmanart, on Instagram @schulmanart and, of course, on schulmanart.com.
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