Dial Up Sales by Marketing Over the Phone

Art Business News, June, 2001 by Murray Raphel

Meet Jerry Gladstone. He recently sold his multi-million-dollar animation art business, American Royal Arts, to Getty Images, a company specializing in providing images to businesses and consumers.

Gladstone traces his success with American Royal Arts, which he started in 1986 with $2,000, to effective telemarketing, a little-used tool by galleries.

I interviewed him to find out why, in his words, "telemarketing has been our greatest revenue generator and remains so today."

Art Business News: Where did you find your inventory of animation art?

Gladstone: When I started, there were very few established wholesale outlets at the animation studios. Most of our inventory came from the personal archives of animators who worked on these films or from individual collectors willing to sell their pieces. Once we were established, I was fortunate to negotiate a number of exclusive publishing and distribution licenses from some larger studios.

ABN: And this was all retail selling?

JG: At first we had a small walk-in gallery, but telemarketing expanded our business. I saw an opportunity for wholesale as well as retail sales and set up a special division which sells our exclusive licensed products to galleries nationally and internationally.

ABN: And your most successful marketing tool is ...

JG: Telemarketing.

ABN: Why?

JG: Because you develop a personal relationship with a prospect. When an opportunity comes along for a product you think a customer wants because of what they've shown an interest in or bought in the past, you call them. They're glad to hear from you. You make the sale. The client is happy. It's a win-win situation. A gallery generally reaches prospects within 10 to 15 miles. With telemarketing, you can speak to people throughout the world.

ABN: Tell us how telemarketing worked to build your business.

JG: A short time after we started our business, a man walked in with some original cels from Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." His wife was ill, and he needed money. I agreed to the price but was anxious to recover my investment, so I decided to try telemarketing for quick results. We called just a few of our clients and within 24 hours sold these rare, original cels for more than $60,000. That reinforced the power of telemarketing to me.

ABN: And so one major advantage of telemarketing is speed?

JG: Absolutely. Here's why: It's not unusual when a limited edition is published for us to sell out the quantity available simply by calling existing clients before there is time to develop a tear sheet or put the image in a catalog. A good animation art telemarketing promotion can easily sell a 125-piece edition at an average price of $2,500 per piece in less than a week. This, power of one-on-one communication coupled with integrity of product and service is unbeatable.

ABN: Where do you find your telephone numbers and names?

JG: Our lists are developed through direct-mail marketing, the Internet, list rentals and national display ads.

ABN: Do you make "told calls?" Or do you restrict yourself to existing customers?

JG: We do not make cold calls. We develop qualified leads based on previous purchasing patterns and requests for catalogs from people responding to our display ads and direct mail. We then follow up these leads with telemarketing.

ABN: A recent survey asked retail consultants what was more important: the customer or the employees. The majority said "the staff." What's your reaction?

JG: I'd say they're equally important. Unless the customer and staff are both happy you can never truly grow a successful, flourishing company.

ABN: Do you have any guidelines for hiring?

JG: We're very, very careful in our hiring. We run ads in papers, but our best source is referrals from other staff members.

When I'm sitting across the desk from a candidate, I'll often pick up a pencil or some other similar object and ask the prospective sales rep to sell it to me. I'll also ask about a significant obstacle they've overcome in the past. I'll ask them to read part of our sales presentation to get a "feeling" for their potential.

ABN: Once hired, how do you train them?

JG: I find role playing is a tremendous help. Many sales managers make the mistake of lecturing on how telemarketing should be done. It is much more effective to have trainees actually say the words themselves. This helps them understand what they're saying and why. Role playing also works well in a class of trainees--they learn from each other as well from a sales manager or facilitator. Another excellent technique is listening to senior sales staff speak to prospects and clients. This is up-close-and-personal training in how to open a conversation, give reasons to buy, answer objections and close a sale.

ABN: What's the proportion of sales made over the phone verses in-store?

JG: About 90 percent of total sales both wholesale and retail are made over the phone. Even in our walk-in location about half our sales are made over the phone.

ABN: What are the best times to call?

JG: Most days are good to call with the exception of Friday and Saturday night and all day Sunday. Which means it's important to have customers' day and evening phone numbers.