Are you an artist?

Years ago, when we started doing what is today known as the Walden Relationship black and white portrait, we decided we needed to implement the idea that this was more than a photograph-they were pieces of ART! And we were ARTISTS.

We made many decisions that we look back on today and are thankful we did. 

Let's look at three pivotal ones.

ONE: Our facility. 

Before we made the decision that our work was "art,' our studio was decorated much like a home with comfortable (mauve) wing back chairs, soft couches, and lots of portraits on the wall with out any thought out plan. I remember Tim coming in one day and saying to get rid of all the furniture and that was the beginning of the change! 

We replaced the furniture we had with new furniture that you might find in a museum or art gallery. Minimal, clean lines, no fuss. 

We removed the clutter and all smaller images from the walls and featured larger pieces in beautiful frames and just a few at a time with beautiful lighting that made them stand out. 

And for the first time, we realized we needed to separate our work (black and white, color and paintings) into their own galleries which were simply different walls in our new space. 

This one idea helped us clarify what we offered to the clients who were new.

Now, we looked like artists! 

Perception became our reality as we continued to raise the standards (and prices) for our work!

TWO: Our pricing philosophy. 

We changed our pricing to reflect our new "art attitude." 

On all wall portraits, the sale was restricted to the first showing and then, that negative was "retired." 

We had a practical reason for this as Tim was hand printing all wall portraits in the darkroom at this time and knew that he could never exactly match another one if ordered down the road PLUS it was very disruptive to our workflow to pull a negative in a year and print another wall portrait. 

This helped us with the question, "Can I order later?" as they really couldn't on wall portraits. 

What does your pricing schedule say you are selling? Are your prices too low? Do you offer too many products? Do you sell in packages? Do you devalue your work with your pricing?

Check out our "Jump Start Your Sales" e-book here.

THREE: Our delivery of the order. 

We uphold the art perspective through the entire experience. We are producing one-of-a-kind pieces of art and the messaging must be consistent from beginning to end.

When we started the Relationship portrait concept, we visited and purchased several pieces of art from galleries and paid close attention to how they were delivered (and how we were treated too.)

The first change we made concerning the delivery of our work was to include a Certificate of Authenticity (see above) that was signed by the artist (either myself or Tim) and we included a registration number that consisted of the date the image was created, the client number and the pose number.

And notice we use the word "artist" where it says hand-signed as we again state this is both an original and a Limited Edition print. 

We deliver the wall images either shrink-wrapped with a wide ribbon added if they are the Relationship black and white portraits or in beautiful black bags with hang tags imprinted with our logo if they are a color portrait or painting.

We became an appointment-only business during this time in order to control every experience, including the delivery experience. 

Why should the delivery be less grand than anything else?

We have a special delivery area with lighting on our delivery shelf so that our clients are wowed as they see their portraits for the first time. We don't rush them at this appointment; we let our clients soak it all in and then, we always carry their wall images to their car. This alleviates their fear of dropping or damaging the portrait they just paid for:-)

And they really appreciate it!

This week, think about how your facility, your pricing and your delivery are perceived. It is that important!