“salesmanship is not about talking; it is about listening. If you wish to become a great salesperson, be you artist or gallerist, start asking great questions, and start listening. I recently heard someone say (and I’m sorry, I don’t remember who it was or where I heard it) that if you are talking more than 35% of the time in a sales encounter, you are never going to make the sale. While this may have the ring of an unscientific, pulled-out-of-thin-air statistic, I know the underlying principle is true – listen more than you talk. Respond to what you hear. Get out of your own way.”