It was on the second day of the LFCC con in July last year that I started doing caricatures of passers by, in order to attract them to my table which they were otherwise ignoring. At that time I had to nip out to a nearby shop to get some paper at short notice. This time round I turn up with 100 pre-printed sheets with my website address on. By stoppeth-ing one of three and drawing their faces, I do a very good job of ensuring they don't pass me by, and that turns into book sales, a good percentage of the time.
But I was giving the caricatures away for free. I have felt bad about this a few times, especially when I realise my fellow artists on neighbouring tables are trying to make money by charging for doing drawings of people. And it was a conversation with fellow artist Grant Perkins on this very subject, while setting up for Saturday's one day UK Comics & Gaming Convention at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, that made me realise quite what I was doing and how I really ought to change my practice.
So, as you can see above, some nifty last minute modifications of a cardboard box turned it into a donations box. Then all that was needed was a change to my spiel when approaching punters - from "let me draw you, it's free" to "you don't need to keep this, it's free if you buy a book, or a small donation in the box and it's yours, or I can keep it" (or permutations thereof, which I experimented with through the day) and suddenly I had changed what I do at comic and bookselling events.
Now I'm no longer giving my art away free, I'm not drastically undermining my fellow artists' businesses, and - revelation of revelations - I'm taking in more money. Quite a lot more money, when you do the simple maths. I arrive with 100 pre-printed pages and I use all of those and more during the course of the day. Which means, charging two quid for each drawing, I'm suddenly taking a minimum of £200 from the drawings alone, with a good few of those then turning into book sales. Re - as they say - sult.
My takings for the day are recorded and itemised here in my March Live Book Sales blog, and I can say I'm happy with them.
Oh and, for the record, only two people out over over a hundred left me their caricatures without paying for them, and they were a couple of Spanish students, so possibly hadn't quite understood the nature of my garbled proposition (or thought their drawings were crap, who knows?). The next test of my convention practices will be at Swansea in April.
In a nutshell, it was your selling technique that caused the issues.
The two complaints were from people who felt uncomfortable that you'd accosted them in the middle of the area, walking from your table, and hijacking them for a sketch they didn't want, and both felt uncomfortable and obligated to walk over and look at your table.
Now having been with you for most of the weekend, sitting next to you, I know you were just doing selling techniques, and you weren't that forceful. But obviously, some people out of the day had issues with you doing this.
In addition to this, one of the artist alley exhibitors had complained that at least two people who were considering whether to approach their stand, were stolen by you, walking out over to their side of the area, and bringing the people across to your table.
Now I've known you for years, Kevin, and I know you're very enthusiastic, and sometimes your enthusiasm does overspill, and I shot this one down - they can’t prove their low sales were down do you, for example :)
But I've been told by showmasters that if you are returning, you have to tone this level of sales down. Yes, you can of course go to the other side of the table and talk to people, but you cannot stalk the walkways, bringing people to your table...."
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