Catchup, Café’s and COVID -All Things Global

Your monthly message from Globals managing director, Marcel Duffy. Get caught up on all things Global.

The auctioneer.

An individual that strikes the balance between convincing salesman and Backstreet Boy. He puts on his one man show. A spectacle not just verbally but also visually, with hands flying around mimicking the excitable child on Christmas day.

But how did auctioneers become auctioneers? And what does it take to achieve this job role?

For some people, pure passion drives the will to become an auctioneer. From shows such as Antiques Roadshow, Homes Under The Hammer and Auctioneer Champion competitions, it instills a sense of belonging for a few of the world’s auctioneers.

For instance, the Guinness World Records awarded the then 9 year-old Megan Davies the youngest auctioneer in the world, 2014. In an interview with her and her family, her passion and desire to become an auctioneer stemmed from spending a lot of time at her Grandfather’s car auction, where she was drew in by the encapsulating chant which hypnotises so many wannabe auctioneers.

But not everyone dreams of being an auctioneer. Many fall into it and work their way up. That is certainly the case for our auctioneers down at Global. Watch the video below to see how Curtis got into auctioneering!

What does it take to be an auctioneer?

In the video above, Curtis explains what exactly it takes to be an auctioneer.
He highlights four different points that any auctioneer needs to be able to do/be in order to fulfill the Backstreet Boy salesman role.

1) Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is an integral part of auctioneering. In Curtis’s interview, he explains that there are multiple different things happening all at once. An auctioneer needs to be able to watch the room for the inhouse bidders and keep an eye online. As 90 per cent of our customers bid online, our auctioneers must be able to carefully watch the online and offline bids in order to keep the pace of the auction fast and exciting.

Curtis highlights, “it’s not just sat in front of a screen or in front of a room and just shouting numbers…a lot goes on behind the scenes.”

2) Being In The Know

By ‘in the know’, we mean an auctioneer needs to be exceptionally well-versed on the retail price of each item and what the reserve is. Especially for commercial goods auctions, like ours, knowing the RRP is important because this dictates the sale and how much the item needs to meet before the hammer can fall.

3) Confidence!

In Curtis’ interview, he says confidence is the most important quality of an auctioneer. Curtis said “you need confidence when you are talking to a room full of people and with 400 to 500 people online…You need to be able to have a bit of a joke with the customers…confidence is the main thing”.

4) Chant Chant Chant!

The chanting is probably the most recognisable and distinctive thing people think of when the topic of auctioneering crops up. To many, this string of unrecognisable words is, well, exactly that. But the chant itself is split into three distinct sections.

– The first being the current or opening bid.

– The second being the next possible bid.

– The third being filler words. Now, filler words can be randomised and serve the purpose of maintaining the pace of the auction.

The chant actually serves an important psychological effect on the consumer, creating a tense and excitable environment which pushes people to raise their bids. To find out more about the auction chant, watch this video!

Did you know what it takes to be an auctioneer?

Sadly, we will not be able to conduct a live auction until the in the New Year due to COVID restrictions, but at least this gives you all a chance to practice your auctioneer chants before the first live auction back!

We’ll look forward to seeing you all at the live auctions, but until then, we will see you guys virtually!

The Global Auctioneers Team x

Catchup, Café’s and COVID -All Things Global

But how did auctioneers become auctioneers? And what does it take to achieve this job role?

But not everyone dreams of being an auctioneer. Many fall into it and work their way up. That is certainly the case for our auctioneers down at Global. Watch the video below to see how Curtis got into auctioneering!

What does it take to be an auctioneer?

1) Multi-tasking

2) Being In The Know

3) Confidence!

4) Chant Chant Chant!

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