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The
Qualities of a Good Auctioneer
Entertaining
or Dull
Auctioneers
need to be entertainers. If they aren’t entertaining then that
means they’re dull. Imagine sitting in an auditorium and
listening to someone give a speech for four hours or longer just
to realize that you forgot to bring a cyanide capsule with you.
If you were an auctioneer you would not actually be giving a
speech but the audience would be listening to your voice saying
a lot of the same things over and over and over again.
It’s
important to realize that if two hundred people are at an
auction and five people bid on an item, there are one hundred
and ninety-five other people sitting there who could care less
about that item. The same might apply to the next item and the
next. With every item auctioned, there is roughly ninety-percent
or more of the audience who are just not interested in it.
It’s not always the same ninety plus percent, but it’s
ninety plus percent nonetheless.
Sitting
there through all of this is especially difficult for antique
dealers. Antique dealers probably get over 50% if not more of
the merchandise they sell at auction. This means they go to
quite a few auctions. It is arduous to sit at an auction night
after night to bid on what is ultimately just a handful of items
in a three hundred or four hundred lot auction.
If
an auction house is going to keep its audience interested then
the auctioneer better be entertaining or at least interesting.
If you are the auctioneer you have to inject some energy into
the room. If there is any hope of getting the buyers excited,
then you have to be excited. There has probably never been a
complaint issued about an auctioneer being too enthusiastic.
Some
auctioneers have pet expressions that they use as part of their
chant. A good example of this would be, “Last chance to
dance,” just before they drop the hammer. That’s just fine
as long as they don’t repeat the same lines again and again.
It’s easy for an auctioneer to get into a rut and use the same
sayings time after time. Such phrases are cute but not if they
are overused.
Stamina and Voice
An
auctioneer needs stamina and a strong voice. Most auctions last
between four to six hours but there are some that run even
longer than that. If you are the auctioneer you need to be able
to pace yourself so you can make it through the entire sale.
Whether you will get any help depends on your location and the
auction house. If the auction houses within your area are a
close knit community then there will usually be at least one
other auctioneer in the audience. Most auctioneers are willing
to help out their fellow auctioneers by filling in for a few
minutes should you need a quick break.
Auction
Chant
There
is much to be learned in this business but one of the most
important for an auctioneer is the auction chant. If you are
unfamiliar with this term, bid calling is also known as an
“auction chant”. This is a particular voice rhythm and speed
used by auctioneers when calling a sale. It is almost always
done on a microphone and sometimes the microphone can be pretty
loud. Most auctioneers have certain phrases they use in their
chants that are mixed with the two numbers they continually
repeat when auctioning an item – the bid amount they currently
have and the bid amount they want next.
For
example, “Fifty dollars looking for sixty, I have fifty will
you be sixty, I have sixty, who’ll be seventy, I have sixty,
now I have seventy, anyone want to be eighty,” and so forth.
There are some auctioneers who speak in their regular voices
without using the chant that everyone has come to associate with
auctioneers. The auction chant makes things a lot more exciting
though and once you develop your own chant, it makes you unique
among other auctioneers.
Sales
Ability
In
addition to being entertaining, an auctioneer needs to be a good
salesperson by understanding what it takes to motivate buyers.
When you are the auctioneer on the podium, it is your face,
voice and stage presence that is representing the auction house.
This is particularly important if it’s not your house. You
need a tremendous amount of energy and you need to be focused.
Capturing
the crowd’s attention and holding it for a number of hours is
very difficult. Like it or not, you are a performer because when
you are the one on the block -- you are the one on center stage.
If the auction doesn’t seem to be doing well, you can’t let
it show. You must be confident and positive at all times.
Whining is not allowed.
Develop
Your Own Following
Most
auction houses have an established following. People keep coming
back for any number of reasons - the house seems to always have
the kind of merchandise they are looking for, they like the way
the auction is set-up, they like how it is managed, they know
they are being treated fairly, the food is good, etc. Well, an
auctioneer can develop his own following just like an auction
house. People will go to an auction they have never been to
before because their favorite auctioneer is calling the sale.
An
auctioneer is as good as his or her last performance so you must
always try to be on the top of your game. You need to develop a
sense of humor, a friendly manner, be knowledgeable about the
merchandise you are selling and exude confidence. If you develop
your own following, it can help you to make more money. If an
auction house is looking to hire an auctioneer and they know you
can bring a bus full of auction goers with you, you are probably
going to get the job.
Integrity
and Honesty
The
need to be entertaining cannot be overstated but integrity is
just as important. Misleading people about merchandise might get
you more money in that one auction but in the long run it will
be the kiss of death for you and the auction house you work for.
Never forget that word of mouth in this business is not only
free advertising but it is the most important advertising. Your
customers can make or break you. If your customers speak poorly
of you to others or refuse to recommend your services, you are
pretty much all done. The only thing left to do is have someone
say a few words over you.
You
should stay away from, “Looks like” or “Don’t hold me to
it but I believe that’s a real one.” For example, if you are
selling a non-descript piece of pottery and not getting any bids
on it, you might be tempted to say, “I’m not sure but it
looks like Weller to me.” Weller is an old pottery company
that made quality pottery that commands pretty good prices
today. As the auctioneer you should not say such a thing unless
you know for a fact that the item is a piece of Weller,
especially if you are auctioning from a catalog.
The
auction house had at least a week to verify that piece of
pottery. If the catalog doesn’t say it’s Weller then guess
what? Only if you know for a fact that the auction house made a
mistake should you stray from the catalog.
It’s
Not Always about the Money
If
you are honest and up front with people, people will find you to
be credible and will therefore trust you. If you tell your
customers the truth and help them to not make silly mistakes,
they will come to rely on your integrity. You will even find
that good customers who have faith in you because you always do
right by them will allow you to bid for them if they are unable
to attend a sale. You then have the ability to do something that
most other auctioneers can’t do. You can actually sell
merchandise to empty seats.
Responsibility
If
you are a freelance or an independent auctioneer, you have to
remember that you are the one in charge of what is happening on
the block. You are auctioning under your license, assuming you
are in a state that requires one. If you are working for an
auction house, you can not auction unless the auction house has
a business license. Everyone in that building is able to do
business because of the house’s license. However, it is your
license in play when it comes to your actions as the auctioneer.
The auction house is not only hiring you they are hiring your
license. You, not the house, are responsible for what you say or
do.
Bag
of Tricks
Being
friendly toward the customers and your fellow auction workers is
important. It can go a long way toward putting an audience at
ease. As an auctioneer you should always have a small “bag of
tricks with you” such as a few jokes committed to memory
and/or a few cute stories.
At
every auction, there will be one or two small delays or at least
you hope they are small. As an example, the person in charge of
bringing up the next item can’t find it or the computer is in
the middle of having some sort of nightmarish glitch. The
auction is now on hold until the computer comes up or the
auction runner finds the item he or she is looking for. Since
you are the only one with a microphone, it’s up to you to keep
the audience interested or laughing or whatever it takes until
the auction resumes.
Know
Your Audience
Pay
attention to your audience before the sale. If there are people
there who have never been to an auction before, they could be
easy to spot. They also might ask certain questions that will
let you know that they are first timers. Try to keep an eye out
for them. Without being unfair to the regulars, you want to
assist new people if possible so they don’t make common
mistakes that you could help prevent.
An
auction house spends a lot of money advertising and building up
a clientele. New customers can easily become regulars. They just
need to get past the initial uncertainty that comes with
attending an auction for the first time. However, they will not
become regulars if they make silly mistakes that cost them money
and ultimately scare them off.
The
main mistake brand new people make, when they finally bid on
something, is they bid against themselves. No offense to all the
auctioneers out there, most are very reputable, but there are
some who would look upon this as a missed opportunity if they
did not capitalize on the customer’s obvious inexperience. If
you are a good auctioneer you will let that person know that you
already have him or her at the previous bid.
How’s
Your Memory?
An
auctioneer needs to have a good memory. If your memory is not as
good as it should be but you have developed ways to counter this
problem then it should not be an issue, as long as you recognize
that this is one of your shortcomings. If you think you have
good recall and don’t, that’s when you get into trouble.
Some
auctioneers try to impress their audience with remembering the
bidder numbers of all their buyers. Some buyers will always hold
up their cards when bidding but there are many others who
gesture with their hands or wave their catalogs or their
hamburgers in the air. Some auctioneers just hate to say,
“What’s your number, sir?” or “What’s your number,
ma’am?” It is imperative that an auctioneer asks for the
bidder number if he is not sure about it. No guessing allowed.
It can be a nightmare for the auction clerk if the auctioneer
does not announce all bid numbers accurately.
Aptitude
for Math
Having
a good head for math is invaluable to an auctioneer. As an
auctioneer you are always talking in incremental amounts of
money and you need to keep those increments straight. If a
bidder leaves an absentee bid with a maximum of say $250.00, you
have to quickly know at what amount you need to start the
bidding and you need to try to be back to the absentee bid at
that bid’s high amount. You don’t want to be with the
audience at $250.00, especially if that ends up being the final
bid. If the absentee bidder left $250.00, you do not want to
sell it to someone in the audience for that exact same
amount.
Written
by Anne Benedetto, Auction House Talk
All Rights Reserved
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