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Steve Booton | Episode 714
Since returning to ceramics after a long absence, it has been a journey of rediscovery for Steve Booton. Rediscovering lost skills. Rediscovering lost enthusiasm, and rediscovering an aesthetic approach to working with clay that feels natural and unforced. Steve’s latest work, with a strong Japanese influence, is where he feels most comfortable. Steve continues to explore wood firing with simple shino glazes on uncomplicated direct forms
allowing the nature of the clay to develop honest pots with what he likes to call beautiful imperfections.
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Let’s talk about customer interaction and how to talk to your customers. One of the things I thought I understood you to say, it has to do with the tone of approaching a customer that you are not anxious but open. Is that accurate?
Yes, definitely. You’ve just got to be willing to talk. It’s difficult to say. I don’t start the conversation, Hi, how are you! The English way of doing it is very reserved, you know, it’s just that way, standing back a little bit. If they show any interest, if they look, and you say, It’s okay to pick them up. It’s alright, it’s okay. They are made by the hand, you should feel them. Pick them up if you want to , you are looking a bit hesitant. The thing that I noticed is a good thing to have when you are starting is to have little descriptions. If you are doing a specific ceramics event where collectors and people come you don’t need to do this because they understand but I think it is important as potters to educate people. If they ask you about a glaze, How did you do that? You need to be able to explain it to them very simply how it is done. Don’t bore them with the glaze content and specific gravity of your glaze and all this sort of thing. Which is important when you are doing it yourself but they don’t want to hear it.
So does that mean one of the tips would be to be more of a listener than a talker?
Yes. It’s all about listening to the question because the question they ask might not be what you want to tell them. You might want to tell them about a glaze but they don’t want to know about that, they want to know whether or not it pours.
Or can it go in the dishwasher?
Or can it go in the dishwasher, yes. I have gold luster on some of mine and you can’t put that in the dishwasher. It tarnishes it so you have to be careful. But also, I keep a bottle of water and when people ask, Does this tea pot pour? So you have to be able to pour water in and pour it for them.
Do you have templates or canned responses? Like this is what I say, when they ask this?
I think subconsciously you do. Being an ex-teacher you do tend to have stuck answers for things because that’s what happens when you are in a teaching situation. You are almost repeating the same thing and when you do have customers coming time after time to the various shows they do tend to ask the same sort of questions. So you are almost ready and primed with an answer.
Do you also tend to talk more about the customer initially than you do more than the pottery or yourself?
Yeah, I never talk about the pot itself unless they ask a specific question about What is that glaze? Or How do you do that? What I do is engage with them on a personal level and tell them a little bit about myself. They ask, Have you been here often? I’ve been doing it for a long time but I had break away from it, but I am back at it now and it’s all new and it’s great. And you engage with them on a personal level and then they will buy your pottery if they like it. They have to like it in the first place to walk up to it. If they walk up to your store and start looking they are already interested.
Do you tend toward a positive attitude and using positive language? So when a question comes up, How are you doing today? Excellent! ? Are you more positive?
Yes, my stuck answer to that is when someone says, Hi, How are you? I say, I am alright. I am always alright. Because what’s the alternative to not be alright? There’s no point in that is there. I am always alright. I am always okay.
At you shows do you do any information gathering like sign ups for an email list or anything like that?
No, I don’t actually. I have my business cards there all the time. I don’t take their email address. Some people are a little bit reluctant. It’s this whole British reserved thing of not wanting to give things, you know, out. So I just say if you have got any questions there’s a card there, there’s an email on it, just email me and I will answer your question. Or I have a lot of new potters who just started and they have a lot of questions and I tell them to take card and if you think of something, send me an email and if I know the answer I will give it to you and if I don’t know the answer I know someone who I can ask for you.
My last question for you is: Do you ever push for a sale?
Never. Never, ever push for a sale. You can talk someone into buying something but they will never buy from you again. I want them to come back. So what I do is, I sell myself and they buy your pots. They buy a little piece of you to take home with them and they will come back.
Book
The Unknown Craftsman by Soetsu Yanagi
Contact
Instagram: @stevebooton