In a twist, this year, I thought it’d be interesting to post those talking posts here. When possible, I’ve tried to match the point to the speaker, and these are not necessarily direct quotes by more of a paraphrase of their thoughts as transcribed into my notes. Many are applicable to business and general, and many are targeted to the auction industry. Feel free to review them, and make comments about points you like or maybe don’t like, and why. My apologies, ahead of time, if I’ve mixed and matched speakers, or mis-characterized their thoughts.

Aaron McKee
Keys to growth: Capital and Resources; Do good work; Don’t allow technology to make it non-personal; Company serving two industries is never a growth company.

Are we trying hard like our business is on fire?

When we stop prospecting, in 60 to 90 days there will be a significant drop in revenues. If we do not run non-stop, we’ll stop the revenue stream.

If a properly marketed asset takes a maximum pool of buyers, why do we self-select buyers out of the market by providing price ranges?

That last point really got me thinking about how we conduct business. We often inform inquisitive buyers, if they ask, of the expected price range of an asset. But when you consider Aaron’s point, it really is counter-productive to give any type of range. By not providing a range, we are ensuring that our marketing has reached all interested parties, and that they’ll participate. Why market to a specific group, and then “self-select” buyers out of the group and not allow the auction method to work (which coincidentally is dependent on parties at all price levels participating)?

Judd Grafe
We are professional exit strategists.

Companies are setup to be in business not to go out of business.

Judd primarily works in the business liquidation/industrial asset category of auctions. Yet, his comments about being professional exit strategists hit home for me. We primarily sell specialty collections (coins, firearms, stoneware, sporting goods, et cetera) and real estate. Within this realm many of our sellers are first time and only time auction sellers. They’ve spent years amassing their collections, and need us to provide an exit strategy from the collection. So often, we jump to offer them one option: auction. By repositioning as professional exit strategists, or perhaps “asset disposition specialists” we better serve our clients.

Will McLemore
Provide consistency across auction asset classes. Bring uniformity to the asset class by always selling it the same way.

Check website traffic for peak moments to our site. That is the recommended close time for an online only auction. Use the stats and the traffic to our advantage.

Will had much more to say, and I caught up with him during one of the banquets and exchanged thoughts on the industry (and put faces to the Twitter accounts). He is one sharp individual, and his ideas and comments are spot on. Because of his comments, we’re already exploring ways to provide more consistency within asset classes, and I’ve already explored the busiest times on our website (Monday nights at 9pm), and those of other companies to whom I provide tech consultations.

Ross Dove
We will have one mass integration of items for sale with results. Consumers will become dependent on auctioneers for advice, comparable sales, et cetera.

Use of a search engine levels the playing field. Search engines are bigger than the biggest companies.

Auction industry is becoming less transaction and more relational and interconnected.

If an asset has “one right buyer”, an auction is not the best method of sale. In an auction, the price is set by the backup bidder.

Creation of three to five global asset exchanges exclusive to auctioneers, and run by auctioneers.

Mr. Dove had a lot of forward looking, insightful comments – some of which I agree with, and some which I don’t. Yet, overall I left his seminar rejuvenated, and excited about the future. As I say that, I also realize his look into the future paints a picture that is drastically different from the current industry. His picture is of an interconnected commerce platform of all auctioneers providing services to all consumers similar to the MLS approach used in the real estate industry. There are others that champion this future, and those that embrace this “exchange” view of the industry are growing.

I currently straddle the fence a bit on the idea (not a good position to be in) only because there are many assets that we sell that it wouldn’t “pay” to list individually on an exchange (i.e. smaller household goods, certain hand tools, et cetera). The exchange will work for globally traded assets. But assets that can be consumed and traded in a local market, would not be served by the exchange. Yet, I see the immense power in leveraging the consumer to a primary exchange where all assets would be located. As an industry, each auctioneer would loose some of his/her uniqueness, but their clients would be better served.

The above is just a smaller teaser of my notes, and the amount of information and ideas that I packed into my head. I trust you’ll find some of it insightful and helpful. Above and beyond the seminars, the conference was a great opportunity to connect with friends and colleagues and make new connections with colleagues, and now friends. A case can be made that the educational offerings are not always at the level that an individual person desires. However, one cannot argue with unbelievable opportunities to network and get direct insight from industry leaders. We often joke that more is learned in the hallways than in the classrooms. Yet, the more and more I plugin to those individuals floating in the hallways, the more I get out of conference. I’m already looking forward to Greensboro, NC in 2010.

1. My customers are your customers. The exclusive list of customers we maintain on file is not nearly as exclusive as I’d like to think. In fact, auction customers are auction customers. They are not my customers or your customers. In my travels, I have often visited with individuals who I thought were my exclusive customers. These customers are not loyal to a particular auction company; they are loyal to the auction method of marketing. They are in search of a particular product. Whether that product is sold by me or you, it is of no consequence to the consumer.
2. The work is done before auction day. There are differences between each auction company within Minnesota. However, the truth of the matter is on auction day very little separates each company. The major differences I see between auction companies occur prior to the auction. It is the communication, the procedures, the advertising and other intangibles. On auction day, the process is the same: we register bidders, we sell items, we collect payment, and we settle the auction. It’s the same everywhere. The best companies are outperforming the competition on non-auction days.
3. The communication with others drives change. How often are you talking to others within the auction industry about the business of auctions? I spend nearly an hour every week (sometimes two or three hours) talking to our marketing guru (plus others within the industry from other auctioneers, to marketing directors, to online auction companies). These conversations revolve around how others are marketing auctions, what technology others are using, what is working, what is not, and where technology is going in the business, just to name a few. These conversations are invaluable. They have led to many changes in how we do business. Are you spending time investing in those experts around you and gleaming knowledge from them for use in your business? If you’re not, you’re missing out on valuable knowledge.
4. Technology is changing the way we do business. I regularly travel across Minnesota providing technology solutions to auction companies. In these travels, I am increasingly aware internet technology is changing the way we do business. A recent auction realized $80,000 in gross sales. There were 31 bidders in the room and 92 bidders online. The online bidders had placed pre-bids totaling close to $55,000.00. Where would the auction have been without the online bidders?
5. Face to face contact with customers is becoming less common. With the advent of internet everywhere (computers, laptops, phones, and kiosks in airports), I am increasingly dealing with customers whose only contact with our company is via our website and emails. They have never been to an onsite auction and never talked to us on the phone. Are you capturing this market and retaining these customers? Do you have a method in place to regularly communicate with these customers?