Numbers Only you say?

Download NumbersOnly.mp3

I've been in the auction business as an auctioneer for the last 17 years and involved in the industry for 26 years and teaching at an auction college for the last 5 years.

As a trained teacher (I have a BA in Secondary Ed, and a coaching lic.) I look at the skills necessary to become an auctioneer a little differently than a typical bid calling instructor. Over the years I've worked with a number of the very best auctioneers in the country. What I've learned from my experiences and my mentors is, if we get rid of all the minutia and cut right down to the quick, bid callings is all about communication. As bid callers or auctioneers (although there is a difference) we must gain rapport with a potential bidder, win their trust and convince them to bid on the item offered in a matter of seconds. If we are not communicating with that potential bidder in an effective and powerful way our efforts are lost and the potential bidder refuses to participate in the auction process.

Therefore, the old way of teaching bid calling (just call numbers, 1,1,1 2,2,2 etc.) has become out dated. Almost all the instructors I know teach bid calling students the same method they were taught. They usually state something like this, "you never need to use filler words or phrases, just pound on those numbers, that's all you need."  So the chant becomes, 1,1,1,1,1,2,2,2,2,3,3,3,4,4,4,4. Doesn't really sound like a very good way to effectively communicate with a potential bidder, especially if that potential bidder is new to buying at auction. Potential auction buyers need to have a few bits of very vital information conveyed to them very clearly and succinctly. What is the current bid and what is the next asking  bid or bid  increment?  Thus, what  does the auctioneer have bid and what is the next bid she will accept.

Which brings us to the first two parts of a three part chant.
One: The statement - I'm bid one dollar
two: The suggestion - Now two

At this point most auctioneers or bid calling instructors will stop and say leave out the "I'm bid" and just say " 1 $, now 2, 1$, now 2, etc. or possibly 2$,2$,2$,2$,2$,2$,2$,2$,2$ never mentioning whether two dollars was bid or they are asking for two dollars. You as the potential bidder are simply supposed to follow along and figure it out for yourself, now that's effective communication, huh.

My point is, effective communication requires a third part to the chant, especially when the bidding slows down.
One: The statement - I'm bid one dollar
two: The suggestion - Now two
Three: The Question - Would you give two

There's nothing more motivating than a question. "Would you like a drink, mama? Could I help you find a table sir?" Everyday questions that always elicit a response. Therefore, my question becomes why would we want to leave it out of our chants? Certainly, we don't need to ask any questions of our bidders IF the bids are coming fast and furious. But that does not always happen, and there are many, many times when a question would motivate that next bid. ie. I'm bid one dollar, now two, would you give two or I'm bid one dollar, now two, do you want to bid two sir?  The last question I used will almost always get some sort of response.

Learn a good three part chant, use only two parts when bids are coming fast, but be prepared to ask a question when things slow down and you'll become a much more affective communicator with your bidders.

Comments

[Jason Smith]

Great post Marty and an excellent point. Keep the good information coming- I'm looking forward to more.

[Alex Lloyd]

Marty

Good page, how about a couple of audio examples that we can download onto our MP3 players.

[Joe Stogrin]

Used it on Monday at an auction. Nobody had to ask " how much do you have?" or " how much do you want? ". It works great. Thanks Marty

[linna]

The art of communication is a real fine art, especially in this profession. There are some good teaching templates which explain how we should learn this art - http://file.sh/The+Art+And+Skill+Of+Conversation+torrent.html