The growth of our auction business has been an evolving and organic journey. From the early ‘live’ auctions to the start of the online auction model, we have adapted to demand, location and challenges as they came along.
We knew from the onset that advertising in the correct way would be important; our audience needed to be reached through the more old- fashioned methods of marketing; word of mouth, leaflets through doors and local parish magazines, all re-inforced with honest, friendly, customer care. Many times Nigel would visit a customer who wished to sell items through our auctions, only to find a leaflet on the fridge which had been delivered years before.
We deliberately took things slowly; a balance had to be found between the number of sellers and the number of buyers we had; having more of one than the other could create problematic selling conditions; for example too many buyers bidding on a low amount of lots means less choice and interest in the auction. Alternatively too many sellers and not enough buyers will decrease the selling price.
Using this format of steady growth and balance, all backed up with an efficient website has allowed us to develop and understand the routines and organisation needed to build and deliver our auctions. This approach has enabled us to take our business from twelve auctions a year to approx one hundred and twenty a year; still with just Nigel and myself running the business and only occasional help from other staff as and when needed.
We knew the value of having solicitors and estate agents onboard; they were in ideal positions to recommend us to their clients who were downsizing or those dealing with deceased estates. These relationships took time to build due to the sensitive and trusting nature of their business reputation. We found that one of each business was enough for us to manage, any more would have created an overload meaning the level of service we liked to offer would have been below the high standard we set ourselves.
Growing our business steadily has allowed us to have success from all the lessons learnt along the way and we are excited to see how the business can evolve and expand going forwards.
Growing in this way gave us clarity, not just about auctions, but about how we wanted to work.
It showed us that with the right structure, balance and support, it’s possible to build an auction business that grows steadily without losing its human side.
That experience now shapes how we support others who are curious about building something similar for themselves.