7 strategies sell your pitch!

Marion, Lizbeth, Jean, Pauline and I had a very interesting day yesterday at the Creative Arts symposium at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. One of the speakers, Dianne Buckner, host of CBC's Dragon's Den, gave us 7 strategies to get people to buy into your creative vision and I thought it would be interesting to share these with you all.

1. Sell yourself, be confident in yourself and your vision. Be honest, reputable, gain credibility (credentials) name drop:)

2.Target your market... do your research... who is your buyer, what do they need/want Why does this person want to help you?

3.Tell a story...make yourself human, give a glimpse into who you really are, your personality.

4. Don't let your emotions get the better of you. Emotion is a good thing. Its great to be passionate about your work but don't get carried away.

5. Lead with your strengths but also understand your weaknesses. Be prepared to answer questions creatively, show you have thought about your vision.

6. Watch for trends and shifts in human behaviour. Use social netwroking sites like blogs, Twitter and facebook not only to get your message accross but also to keep up to date with others in your field.

7. Keep it simple and clear... think carefully about what the most compelling detail is and focus on this. Don't get bogged down by all the details.

so why do we need to remember these things?

as artists there are many times that we have to sell ourselves, our work, our vision...... to the customer/client.... to galleries.... to the Arts council when applying for grants/funding.... to the press when we want publicity....the list goes on.

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Ona