Leading Your Auction Company to Good Leads

Finding goods to sell on behalf of others is the job of a good Auctioneer. Having goods find you is a sign you are doing well as an Auctioneer, but getting to that point is not easy. It takes hundreds of quality service interactions before that trust is built up (and just one slip-up can erase all of the trust you built). 

Leads are prospects that may have goods to sell on auction.  There are many good sources for new auctions:

• Surplus Goods
• Business Liquidations
• Surplus Inventory
• Unexpected Events
• Growth/Decline
• Equipment Replacement
• Niche Markets
• Rental Facilities
• Financial Institutions
• Property Managers
• Government Agencies
• Nonprofit Fundraising

Finding these leads and letting them know about your services is crucial to your success. Driving by a business with a new “Going out of Business” sign? This is a great opportunity to let them know about your services. Are you a part of a Chamber of Commerce? Use mixers or community events to let local businesses know how you can help them.

Developing relationships with business decision-makers before they need you is the optimal way to find goods. Relationships with ongoing potential put your business in the best position to succeed. Many businesses fall into this category.

• Many construction companies use the slow winter months to upgrade equipment. For tax purposes it is beneficial for them to sell assets as certain times of the year. Maintain a relationship in which they know you can help them with this and an annual relationship is easy to maintain. (This also helps you during your slower winter months.)
• Government Agencies also have ends to their fiscal years in which they need to liquidate assets in order to appropriate funds for upgrade purchases. Make sure your local municipality, county or other government agency is aware of what you can do for them. Having pre-determined commission rates makes it easier for them to get approval and eases the process for them.
• Chamber of Commerce events are filled with property managers, bankers, and investors that routinely come into assets they need to have liquidated. These are wonderful relationships to maintain, as many busy financial professionals don’t have time to deal with selling these assets. Establishing yourself as the go-to expert in this field is a great way to expose yourself to future leads.
• Warehouses – Almost every warehouse in the world has a section of pallet racking containing miscellaneous goods that nobody is real sure what to do with. Be the solution to their problem and show them how easy freeing that space up can be for them.

As always, let us know if we can ever help with something – even if it’s just to chat about an idea or two you might have. That is what we are here for.