I have to say I never thought I’d be writing a post with that title! With a marketing and sales background, asking “What are you looking for?” is like asking a preschooler if they need to use the bathroom before heading out on a long car ride. It becomes a habit – something you do without thinking.
So 5 days after participating on a panel discussion at SURTEX (The Licensee / Licensor Relationship: an Intimate Dialog between Artists & Manufacturers) I am still shaking my head in amazement. But I get it and want you to understand this very fine nuance as well.
I can’t remember exactly how it started – I think an artist asked a question about the best and worst things manufacturers have seen and heard from artists. The main point was to figure out how best to present themselves to new prospective licensees. That is when I heard the following words come out of Linda O’Donnell’s mouth, Product Development Manager for Certified International Corp. –
“Don’t ask me what I need.” she began… (HUH? This didn’t seem right, I must have heard wrong, I thought.)
She continued… “If you are an artist I have never worked with before and you want me to consider your work, it is your job to know what I need and show me why I should consider working with you. Research my company, the style of art our customers look for, and give me something fresh that will work.” (I’m paraphrasing in these quotes since I didn’t record the class but this is the jist of what I remember.)
Linda finished by saying that if she was going to make suggestions about what she needed, she’d be doing that to artists she has worked with in the past and has an established relationship with. (OK, now I’m getting it.)
Cyndi Hershey, who works in the fabric / home textile product categories agreed.
So the skinny is this:
If you are submitting to someone you never worked with before:
- Do your homework about the company and the industry.
- Submit appropriate artwork.
- Don’t ask “What are you looking for?”
Times when “What are you looking for?” is appropriate:
- When you already have a working relationship with a manufacturer.
- If the manufacturer contacts you or if you are at a trade show – then it would be appropriate to ask the question so you can better direct them within your portfolio. If you didn’t know they were coming, you can’t be expected to have done the homework.
That is one of my big “take aways” from the class, although there was a lot more great information shared as well. If you ever have the chance to take classes or hear speakers and really listen, you will gain a lot of insights!
– Tara
P.S. Amy Cerny Vasterling did an amazing blog post / recap about the show and the classes she attended on licensing. Click here to read it.
Tara, great information!! Also, it was nice to meet you at SURTEX, hope it was successful for you!
Between your Ebooks and consulting, you’ve helped me a great deal in the past few months, I truly appreciate it and will put it to good use at Licensing 2009 in Vegas!
Happy Creating!
Sally Hushak
Sorry Tara but I just have to chime in on this one, never in all my years as an artist who licenses her work have I ever encountered a company that would assume I should know what they want. I know full well the company in which Miss O’ Donnell works for and deal with the VP there directly and never once did he ever say to me ” you should know what I want!” that is absurd and actually quite rude. I often send out mailers and images for companies to look at so they can see my style and what new programs I am working on but how in god’s earth would any artist be able to read the manufacturers mind in knowing what they are looking for at the moment when in any given day I could be asked to show, Christmas, Halloween, Everyday and Spring.
I think the advice Miss O’ Donnell gave was not worth its weight in gold and if I had been there I would have loved to set her straight, since her company very rarely goes outside their normal artists and therefore should not assume any other artist would be even given the chance to work with them never mind assume to know what their needs are for the moment.
I know it sounds like I am venting but let’s be real in this business the needs change on a daily basis and to ever assume what one client needs is ridiculous, yes you can look at their product and see if your work is a fit, but until you know what their actual needs are then there is no way you can design for them.
Most artists just send in materials to show their style and new patterns and prints they are working on so that the possible client can see if they would be a nice addition to their line.
I also have to say that without the artists work these companies like Certified would basically have a product that is just like any other. Its not the product that makes it sell its what is on it!
If companies had a little more respect for that then maybe then half of them would not go bankrupt.
No need to be sorry… your experience is well worth the read and hopefully artists will read it and see there is no one way to go about things.
It threw me for a loop but all three agreed! I don’t think they were talking about when you work with them, but if you don’t show anything and simply ask… I think… I suppose it just shows that every person has a different way they want to see things and communicate!
Tara