What history’s greatest art dealer can teach us about sales

Published: Wed, 09/10/25

Updated: Fri, 09/12/25

September 10, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning. We missed you, and not just in a commercial way. We’re back with another issue of the sales newsletter too clever to be written by an LLM. Today, we’ll look at the sales skills of history’s greatest art dealer. Then, we’ll share a Sales Fail about fake watches, and give some advice to a rep whose manager wants to be close friends. Enjoy!

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

9 out of 10 companies plan to stick with hybrid sales models

Source: McKinsey

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

Salesforce has laid off up to 4,000 employees, confirmed CEO Marc Benioff. Benioff revealed the cuts during an interview published Friday. “I’ve reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000, because I need less heads," Benioff said while discussing the impact of AI on Salesforce operations. The cuts have come primarily in customer support roles, with Benioff saying AI can handle many of the tasks. You can read more about it here.
A Jacksonville, Florida dealership owner and his salesman have been arrested in an alleged $1 million fraud scheme. Vladimir Anguelov Rangelov, 48, owner of Bul Auto Sales, and Igor David Westerman, 28, were arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Police say the men took payments for luxury vehicles without transferring proper titles or registration. One victim reported paying $235,000 for a Corvette. Another wired nearly $92,000 for a Range Rover. A third said he sent $211,000 for a McLaren 720S. In total, investigators say victims lost almost $1 million. You can read more about it here.

FEATURE

Million-Dollar Handshakes: What History’s Greatest Art Dealer Taught Us About Selling the Impossible

There’s a lot salespeople can learn from art dealers. After all, they have one of the toughest sales jobs imaginable. They must sell something that has zero intrinsic value for eye-watering sums of money.

Joseph Duveen may be the most legendary art dealer in history. Between 1900 and 1940, Duveen sold paintings and sculptures with no practical value for millions of dollars to America’s wealthiest titans. He was an art dealer to John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Mellon, Henry Clay Frick, and William Randolph Hearst, and was responsible for assembling the three collections—Widener, Mellon, and Kress—that comprise the bulk of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. His secret was mastering the psychology of selling the impossible. Here’s what made Duveen a master, and how his techniques are still relevant in sales today.

The Scarcity Manufacturing Playbook

Most salespeople wait for scarcity to happen naturally. Duveen created it. He boosted the value of paintings by making them scarce — he bought entire collections and stored them to get them off the market and increase prices. He understood that when something becomes harder to get, its perceived value skyrockets. He sometimes bought works that he believed were beneath his collectors (including then-contemporary pieces by the likes of Monet) for the express purpose of burying them in his gallery’s basement.

The Intelligence Network Strategy

While his competitors were making cold calls, Duveen was building an intelligence operation that would make the CIA jealous. He was more than happy to pay off the butlers and chauffeurs who worked for those in possession of paintings he wanted to acquire, as well as the ones who worked for potential buyers. He did this in order to find out which owners would consider selling, and which collectors were in the market to buy.

His masterstroke came with Andrew Mellon, the steel magnate whose collection would later become the National Gallery. Duveen secretly began paying several of Mellon’s staff for information on Mellon’s tastes, ambitions, and habits, as well as his travel plans, then set up accidental meetings, showing up where he knew Mellon would be. The plan worked, as Mellon was impressed by Duveen’s taste, and soon became his most lucrative client.

Attachment Psychology

During the Great Depression when he was trying to sell to John D. Rockefeller Jr., instead of pushing for an immediate decision, Duveen applied a psychological tactic. He let Rockefeller Jr. temporarily house the pieces (for free), giving him the chance to grow attached to the art over a year before deciding to purchase.

After living with the pieces for months, Duveen set a firm deadline for the purchase option, using it as a psychological tool to compel Rockefeller to make a decision. The pain of potentially losing access to the artwork was greater than the pain of parting with his money, allowing Duveen to close the deal.

The Value Reframing Revolution

When they started talking about prices, Duveen always started by talking about values. Values that, as it happened, he himself had created. He taught his clients that art was priceless, and when you pay for the infinite with the finite, you are indeed getting a bargain. Remarkably, his clients felt better when they paid a lot. It gave them the assurance of acquiring rarity. Duveen understood that for the ultra-wealthy, high price was actually a feature.

Another built in feature of Duveen’s business was that his purchases and sales were newsworthy, providing free advertising and reinforcing the exclusivity and desirability of his art pieces. Every major transaction became a marketing event that attracted more high-end buyers.

The Duveen Legacy Lives On

The lesson extends far beyond art—human psychology operates the same way at every level. All of the greatest dealers make you feel, whatever the price, that you are getting a bargain. Their gift is for understanding the art—but no less so the customer.

Duveen’s most famous observation remains as relevant today as it was a century ago: “Europe has a great deal of art, and America has a great deal of money.” He spotted the market inefficiency and built an empire around connecting supply with demand.

Duveen proved that the highest levels of sales success come from understanding psychology, not just product features. Whether you’re selling software, consulting services, or industrial equipment, the principles remain the same: create scarcity, understand your buyer completely, let them experience ownership before purchase, reframe price as value, and make every sale a statement.

Why Prospects Ghost You

You know the feeling: you run a great call, the prospect is nodding along, they even sound excited… then silence.

Ghosting is not about your offer. It is about how the conversation unfolds. If a prospect does not connect emotionally to the cost of staying stuck, they drift away.

NEPQ helps you ask questions that uncover real motivators. Prospects stop ghosting and start moving forward because they see the need in their own words.

Want to fix the ghosting problem once and for all?

Join the free live training, September 16–20 at 6PM ET / 3PM PT / 11PM UK.

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MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

What was the worst-selling car of 2024?

A. Fiat 500
B. Genesis G90
C. Toyota Camry
D. Hyundai Nexo

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

This happened to me earlier in my career, when I was young and dumb. I was selling enterprise software and had been working on my biggest deal of the year with the CEO of a logistics company. I was relatively new to sales and wanted to "look the part," so I bought a fake Rolex from some website for $200. It looked pretty convincing to me, and I figured it would help me fit in with high-level executives.

I met with the prospect in-person for the first time after a few calls. The meeting was going incredibly well, and he seemed ready to move forward. As we were wrapping up, he glanced at my wrist and his eyes lit up. “Is that a Submariner? Beautiful piece,” he said enthusiastically. “I’m actually a bit of a collector myself. Mind if I take a look?”

My stomach dropped, but I couldn’t refuse without seeming weird. I reluctantly slipped off the fake Rolex and handed it over, hoping he wouldn’t look too closely. He flipped it over to examine the back, and his expression changed instantly. He frowned, handed it back to me, and dryly said "very nice." I could tell he realized it was fake but was too nice to say anything.

We finished the meeting on a good note, he gave me a verbal commitment and I ended up closing the deal a few weeks later. I eventually bought a real Submariner.

Anonymous Location Withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- September 2025

WORTH A PEEK

Have you ever sent a hand-written note to close a deal? One desperate rep who was ghosted for over ninety days by a deal in progress did just that, FedEx-ing a handwritten note to the CFO who was ignoring his calls and emails. You can read more about it here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

I sell insurance for a small company (22 employees total). This is my first job out of college and I've been here for 6 months. My sales manager has been incredibly helpful. He took me under his wing and taught me the CRM, introduced me to key clients, and genuinely helped me succeed in my first sales role. The problem is, he seems to think we're best friends now.

He constantly asks me to hang out after work. He invites me to the bar to 'watch the game' and texts me about random stuff on weekends. The guy is in his late 30s, single, and lives alone. He knows everything about my girlfriend, my weekend plans, and even asked to join us at a concert last month (I got out of it when I told him he wouldn't be able to get a ticket next to us).

I feel bad because he's been so supportive, and in a company this small, I can't really avoid him. I just don't want to be his social outlet. When I make excuses, he seems hurt and has started making comments like 'I guess you're too cool to hang out with your old manager now.'

I'm worried that rejecting his friendship will hurt my career, but I also don't want to fake a friendship I don't feel. How do I handle this without damaging our professional relationship or making things weird in such a small office?"

Reluctant in Location Withheld

Dear Reluctant,

Don't make excuses about being busy, since that implies you might hang out if your schedule clears up. Set gentle but firm boundaries now before this gets worse. You can be honest and just tell him you like to keep your work and personal life separate. If he pushes back or gets hurt, remember that managing his feelings isn't your job. A good manager should respect professional boundaries, and your career shouldn't depend on his social life. Good luck!

Quiz Answer: D. The Hyundai Nexo was the worst-selling car of 2024, with only 89 units sold (You can read the source article here).

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Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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