THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: When you are selling to someone a high end luxury good, you want to use rounded numbers. So instead of 1435 it’s 1400 rounded numbers. Activate the emotional side of the brain, whereas numbers like 497 activate the logical side of the brain. And when you’re selling a luxury good, something that you don’t need, you don’t want them using the logical side of the brain, the logical side of the brain is going to say, I don’t really need this. The emotional side of the brain is going to say, I want this. It makes me feel good. I’m going to buy it.
Speaker 2: 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. And welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast. This is episode number 345, and I’m so excited that you’re here. In case we haven’t met yet, I’m Miriam Schulman, author of the book Artpreneur and your curator of inspiration for today. So today we’re going to talk about why you should stop bartering and start selling. That’s going to be our overarching theme, but we’re going to dig deep into how rich art collectors think, so that you can attract more of them and make more art sales. Ready to get started? Let’s go. So we’re going to talk first about bartering. And by bartering, I’m not even talking about somebody asking you to take 10% off or 20% off. I’m talking about trading. So trading your artwork for exposure, trading your artwork for services or opportunities, trading your art for. I’ve done this getting your hair dyed. So this is going back quite a bit of time. I’m trying to think the last time I when I used that hairdresser. So it was before my son was 23 and now he’s 24. So this is going back at least 11 years. And at that time I was focused primarily on painting portraits. And my hairdresser wanted a portrait, but she didn’t believe that she could afford it. So she offered to swap. Getting my hair done For the portrait, and at first it seemed like a good idea, and I went along with it, and I wanted to help her and be generous and help her get what she wanted.
Miriam Schulman: But I really lost in that bargain because I couldn’t go to the salon in my town in order to get my hair done because she wasn’t charging me. I had to go to her apartment in New York City, and I didn’t live in New York City at the time. So now I’m commuting to get my hair dyed in the sink. So I want to talk to you about why doing these trades are a bad idea, beyond just the fact that usually somebody feels like they lost out in that transaction. So we’re going to talk about that right now. When you are willing to trade your art for something other than cash, you’re signaling to both the universe and yourself that you’re not open to receiving money, and you really need to be willing to receive money now. I learned this lesson, actually, from Denise Duffield Thomas. She is a money mindset person, and she has been on this podcast and on this YouTube channel. So we will link to those episodes in the show notes. Right after I learned this lesson, one of my friend’s splendid title wanted to swap paintings with me, and I had just learned this lesson and I thought, okay, this is the universe’s way of testing me if I’m going to be able to stick to this.
Miriam Schulman: So I said to Belinda, listen, why don’t I buy one of your paintings and you buy one of mine? Because we should be open to receiving money for our artwork. And it also then forced us to really value the art that we received much more than if we had swapped paintings previously. I had swapped paintings with an artist. I kind of regretted it because it was one of my peacocks and now I have lots of peacocks. But that one I really, really loved, and I swapped it for a painting of cats. And then I ended up giving the painting of the cats to my daughter. And recently, when she moved into New York City, I was even thinking about just giving that painting away. I did not value that artwork as much as if I had paid cold cash for it. So there’s definitely something that it tells yourself. It reminds yourself that you should be open to receiving money for your artwork, but in addition, a bartered painting can’t pay the rent. A bartered painting can’t pay for your vacation. It can’t pay for your kids tuition, and oftentimes one person is going to feel shortchanged, leading to to some resentment in that exchange. So try to avoid bartering. I wouldn’t even say try to avoid. Just make the commitment not to exchange your artwork for goods or services anymore. Be willing to give money and receive money for things.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, next I want to talk about shifting your money mindset. So this is kind of related to that. And it’s about not justifying lower prices and not thinking that cheaper is easier to sell. You’ve heard me talk about this before. It’s more than just people don’t value what they don’t pay for. But sometimes items are more attractive the more expensive they are. Now, this is true of something that’s known as a Veblen good. I talk about this inside my book, Artpreneur. It is one of the abundant artist lessons, and you can see this in play. So, for example, a Birkin bag is a bag that costs $35,000 and up. There’s usually a waitlist to get that bag. And part of the appeal of that bag to somebody who is wealthy is it signals to people that they can afford this type of bag, and they’re of a certain class. I don’t engage in that. I don’t have a Birkin bag. I don’t have a Chanel bag. I did cave recently and was influenced by an influencer, and I splurged on a designer bag that’s not as expensive as any of those other bags, but for me, it wasn’t about signaling anything. Saying men, though, do signal all the time with watches, expensive watches, and the more expensive the watches, the more desirable it is. Another way you see this at play is with the Teslas. Part of the appeal is that it is expensive.
Miriam Schulman: So when somebody is wealthy, when they’re looking at art and fashion, they’re seeking something out that other people can’t afford. That’s part of the appeal that they’re going to have something that nobody else has, and they’re definitely willing to pay more for it. We had this discussion inside my inner circle the other day. She had a painting that was a 12 by 12 painting, and it was a really nice painting, actually, and she was having trouble selling it for $350, and she thought she should reduce the price to 300 or even 250. This is really pretty. Now, Martha, who’s also in that same inner circle cohort. So I actually am running three different inner circle groups right now because I want to make sure that people in inner circle are getting that small group attention, rather than have one big group. So anyway, Martha is also in the same group as Vicky, and Vicky and Martha both live in Florida. So Vicky was saying, I don’t think people will pay for that. And Martha was quick and willing and able to tell her, no, no, no, no, they are willing to pay for it. I thought it should be at least 400. Once I saw the painting, I told Vicky, it’s definitely not a $400 painting. I said, Vicky, I’m so sorry. It’s not a $400 painting, it’s at least a $500 painting. And Martha jumped in and said, no, that’s that’s a $600 painting or a $650 painting.
Miriam Schulman: I said, let’s just keep the number clean and rounded and make it 650. People are going to want it more. When it’s 300. It makes it seem cheap. People who are wealthy, they don’t want things that seem cheap. They don’t want something that’s mass produced. They want something that nobody else has and nobody else can afford. And the higher price tag is the best way to signal prestige. Hey artists, if you’re looking for clarity on your art career, instead of consulting the Oracle for answers, why not sit down with me? Miriam Schulman I’m author of Artpreneur and I’m also host of the Inspiration Place podcast, and you can get a portfolio review. Because let’s be honest, when it comes to getting your art noticed by galleries, collectors or clients or interior designers, a little real world guidance goes a long way. Now here’s how it works. I’ll dive deep into your portfolio and give you professional, personalized feedback. Whether you need help curating the right selection of your work, knowing which art is marketable and which isn’t. Or if you’re working on several different things, you don’t know which direction to go, improving how you present your pieces, aligning your portfolio with your ideal audience. Whatever it is that you need help with, you’ll walk away with actionable insights and clarity and a clear sense of direction. Think of this as your artist crystal ball.
Miriam Schulman: Think of this as your art career crystal ball, but better because every artist I’ve ever worked with has left their portfolio review session with fresh clarity, renewed confidence, and excitement about the next steps. Your art deserves to be seen, so don’t leave your future up to chance. Book your portfolio review today at SchulmanArt.com/ProReview because sometimes the guidance you need isn’t in the cards. It’s in the conversation. And now let’s get back to the show. We’re going to shift gears just a little bit. I want to showcase something that Martha did recently that is super smart. So Martha Brain, another inner circle artist, and what she did is for all the paintings she sold in 2024, she made a brag video where it was really just a slideshow turned into a video, and I think she made it using iMovie. Not complicated at all. The first slide is a picture of her in front of a painting saying, thank you to all my collectors this year. And then the slideshow went through and showed all the paintings that she sold in 2024. And that really raised the idea of these paintings are valuable. People want them. Thumb. If you’re thinking about a painting, you better act now because it’s going to be gone. And she told us that when she sent this out to her list, that she immediately got interest from someone on her mailing list about collecting an artwork.
Miriam Schulman: So knowing that things are selling and they’re selling fast is always a great sales strategy for one of my jewelry clients, Christine Migeon. This strategy actually worked on me. So even though I teach this and you would think I’m hyper aware of all these strategies, they still work even when you’re aware of them. It’s like it’s not like the mat, you know, with how the magic trick is, so it doesn’t fool you anymore. So I get the email saying the last one went in minutes and I opened it up. Oh my gosh, these earrings look so cute. And because I knew it went in minutes, I clicked on it. I went to her website, I didn’t see the earrings that were available, and it actually took me to the ones that were sold out. So I looked through her website and I immediately bought another pair of earrings. So the idea that something is exclusive, that there’s only a few, that it’s going to go fast. All these things are highly desirable to people who have a lot of money, to rich art collectors, to people who want those high end sales. So you can use all of these things to your advantage. Another way that we use this strategy, or that I advise the client to use this strategy. So I’m going to give all my clients shout outs, because that is a great way for me to highlight them and their artwork.
Miriam Schulman: Danielle Trollenberg has some shows coming up and he was hesitating sending the email out because he didn’t have all the pictures with the close ups and everything all perfect. And my advice to him was to stop overthinking it, that what you really need to do is get a picture out there in the email of the work in progress because somebody, again, a high end art collector, it’s more desirable that it’s not even on the website yet that it’s brand new. So he was hesitating sending out the email because it wasn’t on the website yet. And I said, that’s the reason you should send out that email. And guess what? I’m so proud of you, Daniel. If you’re listening before the Inner Circle coaching call was even over, I think he turned off his camera. He went ahead. He took a selfie of himself in front of the painting, and he sent that email out. And I know that because I’m on his email list, and I got that email right away and making it easier and lighter for him, it really helped him. So how are you overthinking your marketing? How are you overthinking your pricing? We’re going to talk about overthinking the pricing right now. So inside the Artist Incubator, if you’re not familiar with these two things. I have an incubator program. There’s about 200 artists in that program, and then I have the Inner Circle.
Miriam Schulman: But right now I’m actually operating inner circles so that they get that private experience. So there’s 15, about 15 artists in the inner circle in three, three groups. So they get private private coaching with me, whereas the larger group doesn’t get that same experience, but they still get my help. So inside the incubator, all the clients get how to price their art 2D art. If you don’t have 2D art, the calculator I provide is not going to work for you. But in there we talk about doing linear pricing, and sometimes artists use that too literally, sometimes artists. And I was talking to a different client the other day about this, where he had picked his prices by going onto a website and seeing what other people are charging. That is copying somebody else’s money. Mindset problems. If they price it too low and you copy them, you’re going to price it too low. And I told them, hey, you know, somebody’s going to come along and look at your prices and copy your pricing for their prices. I also had that problem with somebody else. They were saying, oh, I got these prices by looking at so-and-so, but I think that so-and-so is further along than me. You know, the person is further along or more famous, but your client doesn’t care. So let’s go back to the jewelry. When I can go to Sundance and I can circle things in the Sundance catalog and ask my husband if he would buy it for me or whatever.
Miriam Schulman: Actually, this is this is what I do like before my birthday or before Valentine’s Day. I’ll take the catalog. I’ll circle a bunch of things, and then he picks something out. So when I get it, I’m very much surprised because I forgot what I circled Anyway, when I buy things from Sundance and people who get the catalog, they might recognize it. I would much prefer to spend a little bit more and get something that nobody else has. So the idea of having an artist that nobody else knows about, or a jeweler that nobody else has something that’s not mass produced that just lights me up. So I rather pay more money for that. Just like I said earlier, with Christine sending out the email saying these were gone in minutes. The other thing that always gets me to buy is when Chanel sends out, not Chanel bags, Chanel makeup when they send out email saying this is an exclusive limited edition eyeshadow for spring. I’m like, oh my gosh, I want it because I can only get it now. I can’t get it next year. This is what’s on trend. So those are the types of things that light me up. Now, getting back to the pricing. What I see if somebody is using a formula or they’re copying prices is they get too particular about their prices, so they price things to the dollar, even if something is over $1,000.
Miriam Schulman: So they might say $1,445. Somebody who is wealthy does not want to know that you are counting every penny or every dollar. That’s a Walmart strategy. Walmart wants to let its customers know that it’s looking at every penny and every dollar. When you are selling to someone a high end luxury good, you want to use rounded numbers. So instead of 1435, it’s 1400 instead of To $97. It’s $500. Rounded numbers. Activate the emotional side of the brain, whereas numbers like 497. Activate the logical side of the brain. And when you’re selling a luxury good, something that you don’t need, you don’t want them using the logical side of the brain, the logical side of the brain is going to say, I don’t really need this. The emotional side of the brain is going to say, I want this. It makes me feel good. I’m going to buy it. So you always want to activate the emotional side. Rounded numbers will do that for you. I talk about this in Artpreneur the difference between prestige pricing and charm pricing. They did studies of champagne where they priced champagne at $39, $40 and $41, and the champagne that was priced at $40 four zero. That’s it sold better than the champagne, priced at 39 or 41. Okay, another thing that you want to do when you are working with a high end art collector, and we’re talking about a painting that you might be selling for $4,000, is you want to remove any obstacles to the sale.
Miriam Schulman: So one of the things I was sharing with my clients is that I am out of cotton balls, and right now I’m recording this. It’s February 19th. It is freezing. I mean, we’re talking single digit numbers outside with the wind chill. And there is a CVS up my street, like literally two avenues away, two avenues, one, two, three avenues. Sorry. It’s three avenues. So I can go up the street and buy cotton balls. Have I done it? No I haven’t. So I in fact, yesterday I pulled the cotton balls out of my medication that came in the mail and I’m using that instead. So it’s not the price of the cotton balls that’s keeping me from buying it. It’s the inconvenience. So one of my clients. Okay. I think it was Martha again. So Martha has a painting that isn’t stretched and or actually, it is stretched, but she wants to ship it to somebody who where you’d have to remove the stretcher bars, and then it needs to go to the framer, and then it needs to be stretched, and then they need to pick it up and they need to go home. I said, listen, the easier you can make it for this person, the better it’ll be.
Miriam Schulman: It’s not about the cost of the painting. It’s not about whether or not they want the painting or not. It’s the hassle. Can you remove the hassle for them? So if you’re selling a painting for $4,000 and the gallery is not part of this, so there’s no 50% commission, what you can do is I would call up the framer for them that is in their local area, and find out how much they would charge you if you were to ship the Unstretched painting to the framer. Have the framer stretch it and have the framer deliver it to the customer. And then, because you are not paying a $2,000 commission on this, I actually don’t know how much Martha’s painting is. I’m assuming it’s around that. But because you’re not paying a commission for it, you pay for the shipping and you pay for the stretching and you pay for the delivery. How much could it possibly be, a couple hundred dollars, $500? And if this was through a gallery, by the way, this is the type of thing that a gallery would do. A smart gallery. A smart gallery would eat the cost for that. They wouldn’t make the artist pay for it. They would take it out of their share. Because this is how you can close a sale. You make it as easy as possible for the customer. Another example Daniel is looking to sell a painting to a customer who has not gone by the studio, but he happens to know that that customer takes an art class down the hall.
Miriam Schulman: I said, you show up at that art class ten minutes early with your painting in hand, and make it easy for this customer to buy from you. All he has to do is whip out his credit card, his Apple Pay, his Venmo, whatever. If he says, I don’t have room in my car, Daniel, if you’re listening, you say, no problem, I will drop it off for you. Okay? Sometimes we come up with these stories about why we can’t do things. You can do things. Don’t step over dollars to pick up nickels. Don’t worry about charging your customer every little thing when you’re doing high end stuff, you don’t want to be nickel and diming them. Hey, artists, if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and finally see results in your art business. Let me tell you. Success starts with action. Not just hoping or waiting for the perfect moment. And that’s exactly what I want to help you with right now. You can sign up for a portfolio review with me Miriam Schulman, author of Artpreneur and host of The Inspiration Place Podcast. This is your opportunity to get personalized, actionable feedback on your artwork, pricing, and overall strategy. You’ll walk away with clear next steps to take your art career to the next level.
Miriam Schulman: And here’s the best part if you decide to upgrade and join my Artist Incubator program, the investment you make in the portfolio review will be applied as a credit towards your membership. That means that you can get started now without hesitation, and feel confident that you’re making the right choice for your future. So head on over to SchulmanArt.com/ProReview to book your portfolio review today. Take the first step toward building your art business. Again, that’s SchulmanArt.com slash pro review. And now let’s get back to the show. Okay. We are going to sum up everything that we talked about today. So you have a clear list of what I talked about. I know I used a lot of storytelling today. And I just want to make sure that you understand what the takeaways are. So let’s talk about what we’ve learned today because I really want you to shift your money mindset in order to attract high end buyers. So first of all, we talk about why bartering is keeping you stuck. When you barter, it creates an energy blockage. It signals to the universe that you’re not open to receiving real money. We also talked about how pricing higher can actually increase demand. So remember the example was Vicky’s painting. Not to price it for 300 or less, but actually to double the price to 600. She’ll probably have an easier time selling that.
Miriam Schulman: We also talked about Martha’s brag video showcasing her sold paintings led to a high ticket inquiry. That’s the power of social proof. Selling is an energy game. Believing in your worth, pricing it accordingly. It’s going to shift who’s attracted to your work and the way you present yourself. Always showing how you are an artist who already sells is so magnetic. We also talked about using urgency and scarcity. So Martha’s brag video putting in an overlay with red dots that said, this art is sold for every single painting. Instead of it seeming like this is a portfolio of what is available, but letting them know, no, no, no, this is what’s gone. Or the example of Christine’s jewelry. This is what’s sold. We also talked about removing obstacles to the sale. You want to make it as easy as possible for collectors to say yes to you. If there is a shipping logistic, if there’s a stretching logistic, what they’re thinking is, oh my gosh, now there’s this errand that I have to do. They just want it to be easy. It’s not about the money. Remember, cotton balls are pretty cheap, but it’s about the inconvenience that I’m going to have of getting bundled up, going out in the cold, and having to take care of an errand instead of instant gratification. We’re so used to instant gratification. So here’s your action steps I want you to commit to never bartering again.
Miriam Schulman: Decide. Today you’re only going to accept money for your art. Take a hard look at your prices. Can you increase it by 10%? 20%? Maybe more? Can you round the prices? Use social proof. Share sold work. Use red dots. Create marketing around this demand. Show that you’re an in-demand artist, and also stop marketing to artists when you talk about your art. Remember, you are not talking to people whose price is the most deciding factor. You’re talking to somebody who really values art. Remove buying obstacles. Offer white glove service when needed, whether that’s covering the framing or covering the shipping, and position yourself as a luxury purchase. All right, my friend, I would love to know what you thought about today’s show. Don’t forget that we do have podcast study guides. You can get them absolutely free. Go to SchulmanArt.com/Worksheet to download your podcast study guide. I also would love to hear from you so DM me on Instagram. I’m at Schulman Art. Skull man let me know what your biggest struggle is. Pricing or selling struggle. Or you can just tell me what your greatest takeaway was today. And I just want to end with an inspirational reminder. Your art is valuable when you believe in it. Others will too. When you believe in your buyer, they will feel more confident about investing in your work. All right, my friend, that’s it for today. Until next time, 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 @schulmanart and of course, on SchulmanArt.com.
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