Fear is not the only way
True story. I walked into an Art Gallery on the Lower East Side in NYC in September and spent some time talking to the dealer about a piece that I took a liking to. It was a single piece and likely to gain in value. In that conversation, away from the crowd, he encouraged me to make an offer and ensure it covered delivery to Europe, giving me a “ball park” of what would be acceptable, creating INTIMACY. I was interested and asked for a single follow-up email. Let’s call this day “Day 0”.
What happened next, in his bid to persuade me, became very… interesting. Take a look.
Day 1 via email - Details of the piece I was interested in
Later on Day 1 via text - A message confirming within the email was a ‘private offer’ direct to me from the gallery owner
Day 3 via email - A time sensitive offer as the Gallery Owner was flying out of town, telling me an offer had just been received for the piece I was interested it, but they would be willing to entertain a counteroffer
Day 3 via text - A reminder of the email and that a counteroffer would be better before the Gallery Owner leaves as the Dealer can discuss it in person
Day 3 later via text - Reassurance that an offer is not offensive and “part of the job”
Day 3 later via text - A reminder what time the Gallery closes (I thanked him for the opportunity).
Day 6 via text - An invitation to an event at the Gallery that I could pass onto friends as I was not in NYC (I thanked him).
Day 7 via text - An update that there had been interest in the piece from Oslo that seemed serious
Day 11 via text - An offer from the Dealer on the piece if I was to multi-buy it with another piece
Day 13 via text - An update from the Dealer that he will be seeing his family for a few days, and he was not sure if the piece was still available, but he would check if I made a counter offer
Day 17 via text - An invitation to a new exhibition from the Gallery and an update the piece was still available but would be flown to a new show in New Orleans soon, and was I ready to make an offer?
Day 19 via text - A special price on the piece (25% off) if I was still interested with free shipping, with encouragement to ‘name my final price’
Day 20 via text - An apology for sending so many text messages, however the shippers need an update on the piece… am I still interested?
Day 24 via email - A reminder the piece would be shipped tomorrow, and that the Dealer could stop it going if I was still interested
Day 27 via text - The piece was now on its way to Louisiana, however the artist wanted to let me know if I was still interested something could be ‘worked out’
Day 34 via email - An offer on a different piece of art directly from the artist I might be interested in
Day 52 via email - An update that someone was interested in a different piece of art that I had seen (but expressed no interest in).
And then… silence. Blissful silence.
Over a month and a half I had received 17 messages, across 2 channels. During that time I had ‘engaged’ only twice to thank the dealer, and the tactic predominantly used was FEAR. Fear of missing out to someone else, Fear of the piece being shipped away from where I had seen it, Fear of paying for shipping, Fear driven by scarcity.
Questions.
Why did he focus so much on fear?
Why did he not read my disengagement and employ another tactic?
Why did he not adjust his frequency of communication?
Why did he not read my disengagement and stop messaging sooner?
There are other ways. It’s true that fear can be attractive, and heightens a sense of danger which removed creates fulfilment. Some fight (spend), many fly (disengage). But, where was the reassurance of value, explanation of opportunity/growth, storytelling of the piece’s history, understanding of/ access to the artist, social proof from other pieces of the artist, reward from exclusivity and confidence from quality.
We can learn from this. When I look at Black Friday, too many of us have become ‘Dealers’ using Fear and Incentivisation as our emotional means of persuasion. We never see the opportunity not created, because it works with some. But there are so many more routes open to us - fear is not the only way.
People are moved to action by how something makes them feel. Let’s make them feel safe instead.
All views my own.
