Jo O'Brien

Help Me Sell Your Work by Telephone

A couple of weeks back the redbubble gods put a new phone on my desk and from that moment on, I became the telephone sales person for Australian customers who want to talk to a real human being. (I came fully equipped with my Australian accent and friendly banter) Over that time I have taken a few notes and created a list of tips that I thought I would share…

Offer t-shirt designs in as many colours as the design suits. A few times now I’ve contacted the artist asking if they would make it available in another colour in order to close a sale. And by offering a range of colours, I’ve had customers decide to pick up an extra one in a different hue while they are at it.

Offer the full range of wall art products where you feel it is suitable for the work. And if you have a suggestive sell – put it in the description. I’ve fielded a couple of “I guess I should get them a card too” comments by hunting down an appropriate design to compliment the print they are buying. If you already have a good “pair” or “set” make it obvious and use links

Spell check your artwork titles, no really, the search engine will love you more. Ok, I will love you more too. It makes it easier to find your work and that means faster customer service for the person on the phone.

Tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag…
and do it properly please
Not every customer who calls up is tech savy and understands the ins and outs of using a search engine, but when they say to me, “do you have any images of xyz” I want to be able to plug ‘xyz’ into the search box and find your work.

Thank you, love from your telephone sales girl

Melinda Kerr, 3 months ago

Sounds good-I’ll title all my works xyz now…
bchrisdesigns, 3 months ago

This is good stuff to know…
Cathie Tranent, 3 months ago

Thanks Jo. Most useful tips!!
Dana DiPasquale, 3 months ago

ooo, i smell crank calls in your future :)
JimFilmer, 3 months ago

must be worth ringing “the hot line” just to talk to the ever popular Jo. I like the idea of linking a complementing card to a print
Juilee Pryor, 3 months ago

geez your going to need strepsils by the box load in no time flat….... good luck with it…:)
Jessica Tremp, 3 months ago

TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGS!!!!!!!!!!
Midori Furze, 3 months ago

Thank you very much, Jo!
Usufull tips!!
: )))))
Charlene Aycock, 3 months ago

Thanks for the tips, maybe it will help me sell something soon, I hope. Use to be a retail manager, your doing a great job.
Paul McClintock, 3 months ago

I suck at tags. What do people type into the search thing? Ugh, I don’t know.

It’s blue, I’ll put blue in the tags. Okay, there’s a person in it… um, I’ll tag it with ‘person’. It’s a man, okay… ‘man person’.

I swear… every time. Exactly like that.
Jo O'Brien in reply to Paul McClintock’s comment, 3 months ago

tag with the stupidly obvious words that come into your head when looking at your design – those words are usually the winners
Nathan Johnson, 3 months ago

So do you dress like the picture when answering the phone?????
If so…have you got Skype?
Nicole Ryan, 3 months ago

lol nathan

thanx Jo :)
piplu, 3 months ago

Thank you very much
Faizan Qureshi, 3 months ago

LOL. That photo cracked me up!!!
Faizan Qureshi, 3 months ago

“have you got Skype?”

^{She does! :-P Shh… you didn’t hear that from me.}
Helen McLean, 3 months ago

teehee, thanks for the laugh with your closing image!
Scott Ruhs, 3 months ago

Great tips, Jo!
Joshepherdripley, 3 months ago

Great idea Jo,
Jo S. Ripley
Ian Tilly, 3 months ago

Bother, Melinda stole my joke! Good advice Jo, thanks. Haven’t posted any T-Shirts yet but it is on my list of things to try.
Meach, 3 months ago

That’s interesting – who’s fielding the UK calls? Hope it’s an Australian because our cricketers are crap at fielding – and batting now I come to think of it
Bevsimages, 3 months ago

Great tips & very helpful, I’m in sales myself & know how easy it is to sell something you believe in & are proud of…So Agree that small things such as spellings, titles, best work are our priority to also represent Red Bubble also…If you get stuck for an image just have a look at bevsimages lol ;D nature, animals, pets, sensual lol ;P x
Karin Taylor, 3 months ago

fabulous advice Jo