vince pitelka on wed 13 jun 01
Perhaps I need to clarify my stand here. Of course I never even implied
that young potters should not be trained in marketing, because that would be
absurd. To me, the term "salesmanship" implies a level of persuasion and
even deception which does not belong in the fine art/craft world. But I am
the idealist here, I know. The fine art/craft world is filled with
"salesmen" selling crappy work because they are good at sales. But as a
teacher, I try to teach people to make the best possible work, and give them
a broad command of the medium, so that they will be confident in the studio
and the marketplace. To me this is just plain common sense. Television,
magazines, and stores are filled with "salesmen" selling crappy stuff to
gullible people who don't need it. I want to make sure that my students
sell their work to people who really want it. I do not want them making a
hard sell, talking the customer into buying something they really do not
want. That's sleazy salesmanship.
Anyone interested in how I teach marketing need only look at the extensive
coverage in my book.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Matthew Blumenthal on thu 14 jun 01
I think that Vince is making a very important point here. And I don't think
that the essence of what he is saying is really removed from what Ivor was
proposing.
We are caught up in what I see as a matter of semantics and the percieved
definition of the word salesmanship. I'm going to take a crack at my
definition of how the word and the process can work.
The first thing to realize is that there are really (at least) two
different types of salesmanship. In one, the seller helps the buyer to
clarify what they want and help them to make a reasoned decision on the
purchase of that item. The salesperson is really an enabeler, helping the
buyer to make a more satisfactory decision on the object of their desire.
The other type of salesperson, and the one that I believe Vince is
objecting too, is someone who persuades the buyer to purchase something
that they might not really want by adroite manipulation of the buyers
emotions. This often leaves the buyer feeling abused in some way, although
they often can't really put their finger on why. People rarely are willing
to repeat this experience, and thus it is counter-productive for those
hoping for repeat sales.
I personally have no use for the the "hard sell". As a matter of fact, I
rather delight in confounding people who are trying to use it on me, but
that is a whole different matter!
The point that I believe Ivor was trying to make is that it is important
for any person marketing their work to be able to speak well of and have
confidence in that work. That is easy for some. It is very difficult for
others. For those who have trouble presenting their wares and themselves to
strangers in a confident manner, using the tools of theatre and sales to
gain that confidence can be a good, constructive thing.
This can be and often is perfectly honest. No trickery involved. Just
exercising the tools that will allow the work to get into the venue where
it can be judged by that most important critic, the buying public. There,
the work will stand or fall on it's own merits.
The whole deal here is honesty. Of course we all want people to buy our
wares. Clears the way so that we can make new and hopefully better stuff.
So we present our wares and ourselves in a favorable light. Reach out to
the buyer through our work and our attitudes so that they not only want to
buy our product, but will find their life enhanced by it for years to come.
At 10:27 PM 6/13/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Perhaps I need to clarify my stand here. Of course I never even implied
>that young potters should not be trained in marketing, because that would be
>absurd. To me, the term "salesmanship" implies a level of persuasion and
>even deception which does not belong in the fine art/craft world. But I am
>the idealist here, I know. The fine art/craft world is filled with
>"salesmen" selling crappy work because they are good at sales. But as a
>teacher, I try to teach people to make the best possible work, and give them
>a broad command of the medium, so that they will be confident in the studio
>and the marketplace. To me this is just plain common sense. Television,
>magazines, and stores are filled with "salesmen" selling crappy stuff to
>gullible people who don't need it. I want to make sure that my students
>sell their work to people who really want it. I do not want them making a
>hard sell, talking the customer into buying something they really do not
>want. That's sleazy salesmanship.
>
>Anyone interested in how I teach marketing need only look at the extensive
>coverage in my book.
>Best wishes -
>- Vince
>
>Vince Pitelka
>Appalachian Center for Crafts
>Tennessee Technological University
>1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
>Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
>615/597-5376
>Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
>615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
>http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
>
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***********************************************
Matthew Blumenthal
Fremont CA
Potter, Guitar Player, Kayaker, and
General Computer Nut
mattblum@pacbell.net
http://www.mattegrafix.com
ICQ 12691259
***********************************************
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