Top Auction Floor Tips for High Performing Agents
Sound advice from leading auctioneer, David Holmes…
The auction process is known for achieving premium prices on properties in all markets. In a competitive market, auctions pin buyer against buyer and drive the price upwards as interested parties battle against each other in the auction arena until the moment the hammer drops. In a cooling market, auctions extract qualified buyers that are serious about securing the property and gives them a platform to compete to win the title of highest bidder at the end of the day.
As an auctioneer, I have called auctions in hot markets, cold markets and everything in between and the most important factor in auction success is the agent. Calling the auction takes skill, charisma and showmanship, however without the support of an active and confident agent, the process cannot reach its full potential. The role of the agent is to obtain as much information about the market, the property, the buyers and the seller, culminating in careful and crafty management of expectations and the overall guiding the direction of the auction. A skilled auction agent can successfully navigate and communicate their way through a range of scenarios that otherwise inexperienced agents could not and it is demonstrated in results, the old saying ‘success leaves clues’.
My top tips for high performing agents are as follows.
1. Be equipped to incite an opening bid: as an auctioneer, we arrive to the subject property on the day with a glossy view of your campaign and a quick summary of the parties that are potentially going to be involved. We of course will kick off the auction with a powerful introduction that will get those paddles rising however if that is not the case, a top agent knows it is time to fly into action. A high performing auction agent has likely had pre-auction conversations with interested parties preparing for their expectations and quite often will have already done the work to have one or more of the qualified buyers in a position to get the auction started with an opening bid. This moment takes mere seconds on the day, but can have dramatic impacts on the overall auction result.
2. Do not be afraid to work the floor: there is nothing worse for an auctioneer than when the agent doesn’t get involved and isn’t willing to do any of the heavy lifting. A high performing agent knows when and how to work the floor, letting it run its course if there is natural bidding momentum and approaching the right bidders with words of encouragement if the auction appears to have stalled. Again, the pre-auction conversations will have the agent in a position of authority and respect to work with buyers to ensure they reach their bidding potential in the auction arena. A good auction agent will also know how to keep the momentum going even when the reserve has been reached, working the process to produce the highest outcome possible on the day.
3. Do not call ALL the shots: quite often I see nervous agents rushing to pause the auction to seek instructions from the sellers or to call the property on the market the moment it reaches reserve, which can often interrupt the flow of the auction and stall bidding. The auctioneer should be the one to manage the flow of the auction and will have a strong grasp on the timing for seeking instruction or calling on the market. A high performing agent will instead work the process and will have done the pre-auction work with the buyers, educating them to wait for the auctioneer to call the property three times, rather than have them standing back and listening out for the on the market cue. An intense auction is a good auction, so the more intensity that has been built prior to the day and the more buyers rely on the auctioneer to call the shots the more the agent can focus on working the floor, supporting buyers and getting the best possible result for their sellers.
These tips are certainly going to be helpful to any agent that is looking to get more from the auction process, but there is more where that came from. Did you know Holmes Auctions provides ongoing auction training for those keen to expand their auction skill set and to experience insights into how they can create a winning partnership with their auctioneer. If you want to work with the best team of auctioneers that will challenge you, support your development and partner with you for success then BOOK NOW