How To Become An Auctioneer

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As an auctioneer, you are paid in direct proportion to your ability to communicate with people. The lack of this ability can destroy you as an auctioneer. Here are some steps to professionalism I'd like to share with you. Follow them and you will be able to go as far and as fast in the auction business as
you want to.

1. Professional auctioneers keep their attitude positive when all the world crumbles around them. A little bit of the world crumbles around all of us at times, so we must learn to anticipate it. It's something that can't be avoided, so be ready to handle the crises when they occur, If you allow them to get you down, you won't be ready for the next positive thing that happens to you and you just might miss a fantastic auction opportunity.

2. Professional auctioneers have a look about them. They don't act like a clown. Draw a picture in your mind of what a professional auctioneer looks like, envision every detail from the hair style down to the shoes. Hopefully, your vision of a professional entails someone who stands out as being sharp and conscientious about the impression they leave with others. This same professional should portray a feeling of trust and knowledge of the auction profession just through his or her actions and the way they carry themselves. Look at yourself in a mirror. Do any of the details in your picture fit you? If not, maybe it's time to make some changes. Start with minor changes and watch yourself grow into that professional image you have in mind.

3. Customers and clients relate business success with competence. Professional auctioneers surround themselves with images of success. Does your car, truck, briefcase, desk and office communicate a successful auctioneer career? We all want the best for ourselves. People love to do business with people who are the best at what they do.

4. Organization is an important image to clients. This means being on time, having ready answers, handling details, calling back when you say you will, and diligent follow up. Do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to. All these things tell people that you are a person worthy of their confidence. (It would go like this if someone were asked to describe your general characteristics) Mr/Ms. is a person of great integrity, scrupulous in discharge of commitments, and a high sense of ethical responsibility. He/she is a credit to the profession in both attributes of character and knowledgability.

5. Talk like a professional auctioneer. Avoid nonsense talk at all costs. Ask questions about your clients and how you can help. You must show an interest in them and in their needs to get them to open up to you. Choose your words carefully so as not to offend. Plan your auction presentation from your prospects point of view.

6. Stay in tune. The auction profession is constantly changing. You'll see the less competent people leaving the business every week, Devote some time to learning of new developments in the field. (ATTEND YOUR STATE AUCTIONEER CONVENTION EVERY YEAR. IF YOU HAVE AUCTIONS, THE CONVENTION NEEDS YOU, IF YOU ARE NOT HAVING ANY AUCTIONS, YOU NEED THE CONVENTION) the world is moving too fast and it is a lot of fun to move with it. Everyone wins when the team gets stronger.

7. Respect your fellow auctioneers. Others in the auction business have the same challenges you have. They deserve the same credit and recognition when they succeed and the same help and encouragement when they fail.

8. Remember family and friends. They want and need a high quality relationship. Be sure to plan time for family and social needs. Someday I'll spend time with my family. Someday never comes. It will help you gain their understanding when business takes you away evenings and weekends.

9. Get out and see the people. There are literally thousands of people in your area who need and deserve professional assistance with their auction needs. If you don't get out and bang on some doors and take it to them, they might be short changed. The more you get out and meet the people, the more people you can serve.

10. Keep your integrity intact. Almost every day an opportunity to take unfair advantage of someone arises. A professional knows that a dissatisfied customer today will cost him or her several possible auctions in the future, A professional auctioneer knows how important selling with the facts is. Stretching the truth, omitting information and avoiding present problems by stalling or blaming someone else is for amateurs. Sell with the facts and you only have to sell them once to be a winner.

If you use these ten steps as a guideline, when someone asks what do you do for a living, YOU CAN STAND TALL AND SAY; I AM A PROFESSIONAL AUCTIONEER.
Success to you and have a great bunch of auctions.

Adrian has many years as a real estate educator, investor, and personal financial consultant. He has personally purchased over 50 single family houses in the past 5 years using various methods of creative real estate investing.. He shares his invaluable experience and techniques to those looking for guidance in their real estate and personal financial activities. He is currently a Certified Real Estate Auctioneer selling properties in the Tacoma/Seattle area of Washington State. For more information visit his website at http://www.auctionsnorthwest.com

Rich Haas, of Mankato, Minnesota is president of Continental Real Estate & Auctioneers. The company does primarily real estate auctions on a regional level, but because of the nature of the auction business, Haas said the company "gets involved with all types of auctions." He is also president of Continental Auctioneers School in Mankato. http://www.auctioneerschool.com/

Timing: You must stay consistent in the sale order of your auctions. Do not change your pattern.

Identity: If your competition sell less desirable items first and good items later, has all his/her auctions at the same time Saturday, wears cowboy boots and drives a truck, you don't have to do the same thing to compete. Don't mimic your competition. They are a lot more worried about what you are doing than you are about what they are doing. Create your own image. Each auctioneer brings something different to an auction.

Advertising: Give your seller a true idea of how much advertising will cost and what you are going to do to advertise and promote the auction. Put together a simple auction budget. Use the example you were given in school. Charge advertising costs on top of commission. If you know it'll cost $1,000 to advertise and market an auction, tell your seller up front. If you know the true marketing cost, it's unethical to give the client one estimate before the auction and present him or her with a higher figure when it comes time to settle. You can always estimate.

Don't Skimp: There are two reasons why an auction is not successful. Either you are trying to auction something you really shouldn't, or you didn't spend enough advertising and marketing the auction. Never let your clients convince you to spend less than what it will take to attract a high buyer to product ratio.

Be a Politician: As an auctioneer you have a great deal of influence. If you have someone famous at your auction, always say something nice about them. It will bring you more auction business.

Image: If you want to be a professional, then act and look like a professional.

Strike a Bargain: If you think you should get 15 percent commission, ask for 20 percent. If you think you should get 20 percent, then ask for 25 percent. Auctioneers don't get enough money for what they do. They don't ask or get paid enough. If you are going to be a professional, and provide professional service, then you're fees should also be professional.

Double Rings: Many auctions have two auctioneers selling at the same time. It works as long as people know there will be two rings. Never use two auctioneers just because the auction is going slower than you like. People can make arrangements to team up with someone if you let them know in advance there will be two rings.

Bidder Numbers: Start with high numbers and work backward. Because there are usually many on lookers who aren't registered to bid, this prevents bidders from knowing how many people have registered for your auction.

Labor: Do not include heavy labor costs in your budget. The seller can make arrangements to have help, whom he pays at the auction. The laborer charges the seller a flat fee on a per day basis. If the seller wants your help to carry out and get ready for the auction, you need to charge for that in addition to your commission.

Names: Always write first names on bidder cards, It makes a difference if the auctioneer can call a bidder by his or her first name. Those bidders are more likely to come back to your auctions.

Mailing Lists: Don't put everyone on your list. Do include everyone who has paid more than $50 at one of your auctions or has driven more than 50 miles.

Credit Cards: Accept them. You can rake arrangements with your bank to accept them. You are losing a lot of business if you don't, If you don't want to absorb the credit card fee, charge a buyer's premium for credit card users.

Parting Thought: Work smarter, you'll be glad you did.

Adrian has many years as a real estate educator, investor, and personal financial consultant. He has personally purchased over 50 single family houses in the past 5 years using various methods of creative real estate investing.. He shares his invaluable experience and techniques to those looking for guidance in their real estate and personal financial activities. He is currently a Certified Real Estate Auctioneer selling properties in the Tacoma/Seattle area of Washington State. For more information visit his website at http://www.auctionsnorthwest.com

Rich Haas, of Mankato, Minnesota is president of Continental Real Estate & Auctioneers. The company does primarily real estate auctions on a regional level, but because of the nature of the auction business, Haas said the company "gets involved with all types of auctions." He is also president of Continental Auctioneers School in Mankato. http://www.auctioneerschool.com/

The voice is essential to your profession. To take care of your voice properly is essential to your longevity and often to your success as an auctioneer. The following are do's for a good strong selling voice:
1. Do get an annual check-up from a throat specialist - Prevention is always better than a cure.

2. Do consider professional voice training. A voice teacher, professional choir director or singer can make a world of difference in techniques and your sound.

3. Do exercise - 3-4 times a week for 1/2 hour to an hour. It builds lung strength and overall health - do breathing exercises and chant work.

4. Do drink six to eight glasses of water daily - this helps to moisten throat tissue and cuts down on dryness which leads to irritation.

5. Do drink only tap water, lemonade or warm liquids when using your voice for long periods of time. Ice cold liquids have a tendency to shock or paralyze the throat and causes strain.

6. Do use warm salt water solution or warm lemonade to gargle with after long hours of selling especially if your throat feels tired.

7. Do use a substitute auctioneer on long sales. Alternate every hour or half-hour - come back stronger and refreshed.

8, Do use a quality sound system. Don't buy because of price - buy because of sound. Get a system with tone control reverb and use good speakers. Sound is our business - GET THE BEST. Do carry a good back-up system.

9. Stay away from the sound system when selling - don't get used to loud sound close by. It is tough on the hearing and you'll start to judge your chant by the sound being close. Then when you have to sell with sound away from you it won't sound as loud and you'll strain to increase projection.

10. Do keep a clear head when selling - as a stuffed-up nose with sinus drainage causes strain and infection. Spray your nose with "Ocean" or a solution of tap water and sea salt with a pinch of baking soda. Blow your nose after using and continue until head is clear and you can breathe through your nose.

11. Do let the sound system do the work for you - that's why you have it. Do control crowd with sound system. Turn it up if they're too noisy - silence will quite them also. Keep them attentive but not by yelling.

12. Do relax your body and voice. You can feel tightness and tension - relax, breathe deeply, relax, breathe deeply.

13. Do keep throat moist at all times when selling. Gum, small pieces of candy, meloids, etc. held in corner of mouth help produce saliva - the natural throat moistener. Avoid menthol candies, cough drops, etc. They tend to cause dryness.

14, Do project voice naturally. Talk naturally but project upward and outward through diaphragm. Sell to furthest person from you to help projection.

15. Do practice and try to cultivate the habit of 'diaphragmatic breathing" whenever you have to sell, Your voice will hold up much better, sound stronger, and be more pleasant for others to hear.

VOICE PROTECTION - DON'TS

Here are a few of the "Don'ts" that can affect your voice quality and lead to throat problems
.
1. Don't strain - learn proper breathing techniques and protection techniques. Prolonged straining of your voice causes the vocal chords to rub violently together causing blisters or nodules often requiring surgery and then voice therapy to correct.

2. Don't scream or shout excessively - especially true for ringmen. Auctioneers don't sell without a good sound system and don't forget a backup system.

3. Don't run a long series of numbers if possible- know values and try to suggest a starting bid close to value. Don't run out of air while running numbers - stop, relax, breathe through nose and continue.

4. Don't gasp air through mouth excessively when chanting. This causes the throat to dry out more quickly and causes irritation.

5. Don't use a cotton handkerchief over mike - dust and cotton particles from the handkerchief cause dryness and strain.

6. Don't rely on throat lozenges, sprays, gargles, pills, steam to ease throat. This is a dead give-away to problems. Don't spray antihistamines to clear nose - Sinex, Four-way, Dristan, etc. sprays are especially irritating to throat tissue. They dry out throat tissue excessively and often cause drainage into throat.

7. Don't sell out of pitch - too high or too low a pitch causes voice strain, How do you find your pitch? Talk or hum to determine pitch.

8. Don't cough, sneeze or clear throat excessively - causes tremendous stress on vocal chords and irritation from rubbing together that may lead to nodules.

9. Don't sell louder or change your pitch when you have head congestion. You may feel you can't be understood unless you adjust your voice but remember, other people's ears are not congested and they can hear you well enough. Slower, more careful enunciation will help your clarity and chant.

10. Don't smoke! If others around you are smoking, drink water. This greatly reduces the likelihood of throat irritation.

11. Don't ignore warning signs - hoarseness, laryngitis, sore throat (especially after selling), swelling, lumps or continued irritation. Don't wait - get it checked by a specialist.

Indicate True or False:
CHECK YOURSELF

______ 1. After speaking for several hours it is natural to lose your voice.

______ 2. If you pause, the audience will think that you don't know what to say.

______ 3. An audience may not even notice evidence of nervousness which bothers you.

______ 4. Fear should be conquered before you ever appear as a speaker.

______ 5. Non-verbal communication is vitally important.

______ 6. The whole body is involved in an effectual gesture.

______ 7. A good speaker will not move and speak at the same time.

______ 8. Even with a microphone, it takes effort to project the voice.

______ 9. Relaxation is important in approaching an audience.

______ 10. Most audiences will never know whether the speaker is knowledgeable.

______ 11. Each person in your audience should be viable to the speaker.

______ 12. A few grammar mistakes usually pass unnoticed unless teachers are present

______ 13. Self-esteem is reflected in the poise of the speaker.

______ 14. Voice production is the same in men and women.

______ 15. Speaking to a group demands more energy than does conversation.

Adrian has many years as a real estate educator, investor, and personal financial consultant. He has personally purchased over 50 single family houses in the past 5 years using various methods of creative real estate investing.. He shares his invaluable experience and techniques to those looking for guidance in their real estate and personal financial activities. He is currently a Certified Real Estate Auctioneer selling properties in the Tacoma/Seattle area of Washington State. For more information visit his website at http://www.auctionsnorthwest.com

Rich Haas, of Mankato, Minnesota is president of Continental Real Estate & Auctioneers. The company does primarily real estate auctions on a regional level, but because of the nature of the auction business, Haas said the company "gets involved with all types of auctions." He is also president of Continental Auctioneers School in Mankato. http://www.auctioneerschool.com/

1. Your voice: With it you are "in," without it you are "out!" This is kind of a harsh statement, to say the least, but it is the truth. As auctioneers, we have a tendency to overlook our most valued possession - our voice.

2. Time is spent making sure all details of the auction are addressed. But what about our voice? What do you suppose would happen if, when you stepped up to the microphone to begin your sale, your voice didn't respond?

3. As auctioneers, we need to spend more time thinking about how we use our voices and how we care and maintain them. When I entered the auction profession years ago, I was amazed at how little, if any, attention was given to the voice mechanism, how it works and its application to the auction chant.

4. The auction chant is as much an art form as singing. You should be able to generate as much emotion through your chant as a singer generates through song.

5. Emotion generates excitement, trust and confidence. It will ultimately have a direct bearing on the success or failure of your auctions.

6. So, what about this thing called your voice? It is located in a cartilage cylinder or "larynx" in our trachea (windpipe). Rather than go into a detailed description with all the medical technology, let's just say the vocal folds, or "cords" as they are called, stretch across the larynx from front to rear. As we exhale, the vocal cords set the air into vibration, causing sound.

7. The thing that is important to realize here is that the vocal cords produce only 1/10 of 1 percent of the sound we make!

8. That means that 99.9 percent of the sound is made elsewhere in our bodies. Our rib cage, chest cavity, nasal and sinus passages and the bone structure of our head and neck all contribute to the total sound we call our "voice." This is why good posture is very, very important to good vocal production.

9. The 99.9 percent sound that is produced in our bodies, not by the vocal cords, are called "partials." These partials add color, fullness and depth to the sound. In a sense, they act as "resonators." This is why many times when we have a cold or sinus problem, the sound of our voice changes. These resonators cannot function as they normally do and thereby alter the sound.

10. Warm up is also very important for your voice to perform properly while auctioning, just as it is important for a singer to warm up. Warm up limbers up the vocal cords as well as activates the resonators in your body.

11. The best time I have found to do this is when I'm in the shower or driving in my car to the sale. The best method I have found is simply humming. Start with the lower range of your voice. Go up three notes and then back down. Do the same three notes again. Repeat this for a minute or so. Next, raise the bottom note to the next note. Repeat the same process of up three notes and back down. You can either continue to raise the bottom note one step at a time and repeat this process or hum to a song on the radio. Just be sure to stay in your lower range for a while and also to use good support. Good support means to pull inward on your stomach as you exhale, supporting the sound,

12. Why do we speak or "chant" on the pitch that we do? The human voice is divided into three separate groups or areas. Generally, the note or "pitch" on which we go from the bottom range into the middle range is the one that we speak on, It is a comfortable pitch and an easy one to convey whatever emotion or feeling we wish to. From the bottom to the top of our voice range is approximately 3 1/2 octaves of 44 notes.

13. Never attempt to chant with your legs crossed at the knees. There are five sets of muscles going from the abdomen to the upper legs. We need all of them to pull in on our stomachs and force the diaphragmatic muscle inside our abdomen to force the air upward out of our lungs.

14. Standing with both feet flat on the floor and your weight evenly distributed between them is best. Your back should be straight and rib cage in its proper place. To put your rib cage in its proper place, raise your hands above your head, and then lower your arms and not your shoulders. This will raise your rib cage to its correct position.

15. Put excitement in your voice, speak clearly and chant in phrases I can guarantee you'll be more successful with your audiences and your auctions.

Adrian has many years as a real estate educator, investor, and personal financial consultant. He has personally purchased over 50 single family houses in the past 5 years using various methods of creative real estate investing.. He shares his invaluable experience and techniques to those looking for guidance in their real estate and personal financial activities. He is currently a Certified Real Estate Auctioneer selling properties in the Tacoma/Seattle area of Washington State. For more information visit his website at http://www.auctionsnorthwest.com

Rich Haas, of Mankato, Minnesota is president of Continental Real Estate & Auctioneers. The company does primarily real estate auctions on a regional level, but because of the nature of the auction business, Haas said the company "gets involved with all types of auctions." He is also president of Continental Auctioneers School in Mankato. http://www.auctioneerschool.com/