How to "Close" online?

mercphoto

One of the things that top sales-people will tell you is that the process is nothing if you are not willing to, or know how, to close the sale. My question is, how do you best do that when your sales are online?

I've got pictures up on a gallery from a motocross shoot. I'm getting plenty of traffic. Sales are trickling in (granted, the shots went up Tuesday). But I'm not face-to-face with the people viewing the shots. I have no direct and obvious way to close the sale. About the best I can think to do is to put in the gallery description a sentence saying "When you are ready to purchase, blah blah blah."

Anything better to do? http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/434741

rt88

Get the Order
You could say/write:

"This photograph will look great displayed in your collection"
"Here's how to place an order for this great picture"

If you are offering a limited edition series, tell them it is a limited edition of 10, 20, 50 whatever and place the order before the edition sells out. All could be signed w/ edition number...

Just a couple of thoughts

RT88

Nikolai

Essentially..
.. you need to give them a very good incentive to purchase your pictures while they are still at your gallery for the next few seconds..

IMHO, the only leverage you (as any online seller) have is the actual availability.
Time and optional lack of competition are your only friends. Make them work for you!

Here are few things:

• Limited time sale: all prints are 25 (30, 50, etc)% off. Offer expires (3 days from now)!
  In fact, they are regularly priced now, but 3 days later you do crank prices up with the said percentage.
• Limited time offer - images go offline (3 days from now)!
  In three days you make gallery private for a week nad then turn it back on for those who missed the rush.
• Exclusive photo coverage of Acme Event available for purchase for a limited time.
  People just LOVE exlusiveness - and they would be afraid to miss it - you did notice there is no explicit time limit, right;-)?
• First 10 buyers get Free Acme Feature Print (not available separately).
  As always, it's you who decides who gets this print and how big it can be. Again, exclusiveness and uncertainty: "buy now, or forever hold your peace"..

Something like that.

I know I sound like a used cars salesman, but - hey, they DO sell them used cars:-) In fact, AFAIK if they had a chance, they would only sell used cars, since that's where their main source of income is..

HTH

Cheers!