First time

Supporting sentences

 

l  The last day

In total, there were eight paintings in the booth I was assigned. And, I’m not proud to say, I only sold one.

The exhibition lasted for five days, from Wednesday to Sunday. Normally, the weekends are the days that most deals are made. Therefore, I when I sold my first painting on the second day, my confidence hit the roof. I believed that the effort I was putting in the sales business was beginning to pay back. After that i began working even harder and thought that everything was within my handle.
But Friday and Saturday came and went. 
Nothing.
That wavered my ego a little bit but i was still positive that the last day, would be the day that most people would come and purchase paintings.
Sunday arrived.
The morning passed without anyone's inquiry about the painting. I started feeling a little unsettled, and fidgeted with my own hands. 
"It'll be fine," i told myself. "Nobody wakes up that early on weekends, give it a little time. And stop scaring yourself you idiot."
I didn't even had lunch for fear that i might miss any customers. But still, evening approached quietly and still, the paintings remain, unsold. Now panic was surging wildly in my veins, fear clutched my heart and i started screaming violently inside my head. I started desperately pushing the customers even more and almost forced a conversation with whoever was passing by. 
Until the very last minute, a spark of hope lingered in me. But it was cruelly taken when the doors of the exhibition closed.
I broke down and wept.
I couldn't even believe that this was happening. I felt as if i was trapped in a nightmare, helplessly clawing my way out. I was so confident that everything would be alright!
And for the first time of my life, I realized that I was wrong.

Topic 

The art of selling art

Main body 

Main idea

To share the experiences of selling paintings, the mistakes i made, and the knowledge i learned, and how i improved myself to become a better salesperson by observing the customers and the way others sell paintings.

Topic sentence 1

    I used to think that as long as i work hard, everything would go as i planned. But the first year of my selling experience totally proved it to be a huge mistake.

Supporting ideas

   * I am not a really hard working person. So when i tend to put effort into something, i expect to have incredible results.

   * It was my first time selling art pieces so i wanted to do a good job. I poured all of my energy and effort non-stop into persuading people and customers.

   * I was really exhausted and spent but i was happy cause i did my best.I was absolutely positive that i would sell a lot of paintings.

   * But then i was shocked and devastated about the horrifying results. I was so dumbstruck and upset that i cried, blaming everything for the unacceptable results. I was totally helpless.

Topic sentence 2

     I knew there must be some severe mistakes in my selling technique last year; therefore i observed others and changed my way of selling.

Supporting ideas

  * I learned that a salesperson is very much different from a guide, our goal is to make the deal, instead of telling everyone how amazing and important the painting is.

  * I began to select my customers: I only talk to the ones that i think are likely to purchase the artwork. 

  * By doing so, i began to check out people's clothing and their handbags and so on.

  * I improved a lot this year but i was still too hasty about talking people into buying art pieces.

  * The results were much better, but it still didn't meet my expectations.

Topic sentence 3

      Due to my experience of the last two years, i was more familiar with the way how business sales work.

Supporting ideas

  * I got even better at selecting customers. I not only looked at their clothing, but also at their accessories like their watches, jewelry or their glasses.

  * Most of all, i learned the art of talking. I used to be too hasty and talked too much to customers, hoping that the more information they get, the higher the chance of them buying the painting is. But now i learned to talk them into buying art at a slower pace, so that they could admire and think. When the time is right, i'd say a few words to enhance their determination of purchasing.

  * I even contacted outwardly towards customers, reminding them about the art works that they liked.

Topic 

The art of selling art

Main body 

Main idea

       To share the experience of selling paintings, the mistakes i made, and the knowledge i learned, and how i improved myself into becoming a better salesperson by observing the customers and the way others sell paintings.

Topic sentence 1

    Since it was my first year of selling art, i was really excited and wanted to do a good job.

Supporting ideas

   * Inexperienced as i was, i had high hopes about the results.
   * So i poured all of my effort into talking and persuading every single person that passed by, even the          teenagers and the one's who brought cameras with them.
   *  I was really exhausted but felt good at myself for doing such a "good job" and looked forward to the results.
   * Due to my lack of experience and technique, the results were far from my expectations.

Topic sentence 2

     I knew there must be some severe mistake in my selling technique last year, therefore i observed others and changed my way of selling.

Supporting ideas

  * I learned that a salesperson is very much different from a guide, our goal is to make the deal, not telling everyone how amazing and important the painting is.

  * I began to select my customers, only talking to the ones i think that are likely to purchase the artwork. 

  * By doing so, i began to check out people's clothing and their handbags and so on.

  * I improved a lot this year but i was still too hasty about talking people into buying art pieces.

  * The results were much better but it still didn't meet my expectations.

Topic sentence 3

      Due to my experience of the last two years, i was more familiar with the way how sales business works.

Supporting ideas

  * I got even better at selecting customers. Not only looking at their dressing, but also at their accessories like their watches, jewelry or their glasses.
  * Most of all, i learned the art of talking. I used to be too hasty and talked too much to customers, hoping that the more information they get, the higher the chance of them buying the painting is. But now i learned to talk them into buying art at a slower pace, to let them admire, to let them think, and when the time is right, i'd say a few words to enhance their determination of purchasing.
  * I even contacted outwardly towards customers, reminding them about the art works that they liked.

Topic

The art of selling art

Main idea

    To share the experience of selling paintings, the mistakes i made, and the knowledge i learned, and how i improved myself into becoming a better salesperson by observing the customers and the way others sell paintings.

Outline

    First year

*inexperienced
*did not know the techniques of selling
*tried very hard and worked myself out
*results weren't good as expected

   Second year

*observe others
*learned how to select customers
*marketing
*but was still too hasty
*results were pretty good but not satisfying enough

   Third year

*did a better job at selecting customers
*learned the art of talking techniques
*kept myself at a calm pace, improved the "hasty me"
*remembered customers names and looks and contacted them outwardly

   Teacher Hazel thought that i could add my own feelings into the project to make it more personal. She also advised me to talk about the customers and analyze the marketing. It would be more interesting for the customers to know about these.

Customers

My first year

    I worked non-stop, talking to everybody that passed , whether they were students, children or people with cameras, and at that time i felt very proud of myself for working myself out. I'm not a hard working person, so when i really put my effort into something, i expect to have something big in return.
   Yet i sold few paintings that year.
   Never had i felt this frustrated and helpless. I worked harder than all the grown ups around me , but the results i get were heart achingly horrible.

Attitude

beginning
*angry, sad, upset,shocked
*blamed the paintings i sold are not as attractive as others

afterwards
*calmed down
*think
*observe others
*asked others for advice

Outline

My first year

My experience and my mistakes
*I poured all of my effort in selling and persuading, hoping that i could make the people see the good parts of the painting.
*I didn't select the customers and talked to whoever passed by.
*I ended up exhausted and I missed the real customers that i should've aimed for.
*I felt really depressed and down until i realized what mistake i've done.

The interesting customers i've met and talked to

The artist

My second year

My experience and my mistakes

The things that i did well

New things i learned

My third year

How i select my customers

The things i improved

Interesting customers

Afterthought