M o n t h ly E - N e w s
SEPTEMBER 2010
Message From The President
Tim Mast
A
s we approach the end of the third quarter
of 2010, I would be interested in hearing
from our members how your business has
done in this tough economy. Especially if
you would be interested in sharing what has
helped you to stay successful with an article
in our next newsletter.
I know that in our real estate auction company we have been
incredibly busy with no lack of people wanting to sell.
However, we have also found that we have to be more
innovative than ever to get the properties sold and we are
finding that being open minded and flexible to buyer’s and
seller’s needs and wishes, rather than using a “cookie cutter” approach pays off by helping us get to
the closing table more consistently. This is true in any market conditions but never as crucial as
when corners are being cut and pennies are being pinched.
Please let me know if you are willing to share your experience as to what has worked in your area
and with your particular market niche.
Our December convention is just a few of months away, and I hope you are planning to attend.
We always try to provide six hours of continuing education (formal). Often times, though, it is the
discussion outside the meeting room that also provides education. The agenda has not been
finalized, but information should be coming to you in a couple of weeks.
TAA MONTHLY e-news PAGE 2
With the economy as it is, now is a great time to be in the Auction profession. There are
opportunities to be had, whether it is real estate, bankruptcy sales, estate sales, online auctions or
just someone trying to downsize. Be professional, and stay alert.
The market is there, so take advantage.
I hope to see you in December.
The Smart Way To Use Email Marketing
By Carl Carter
Email marketing has become a favorite way of promoting upcoming auctions, and with good
reason. It can reach a large number of people at a very low cost. And unlike a tiny newspaper ad, it
can convey a great deal of information.
Better still, it enables you to target prospective bidders who’ve expressed an interest in a certain
type of property. For example, let’s say you have a big upcoming auction of Shaker-style antique
furniture in Knoxville. You can send an email “blast” to a group of prospects based on a variety of
factors, such as:
• Bidders who attended past antique auctions in the area.
• Individuals who have requested information on Shaker furniture (or similar styles) in the
past.
• Past bidders in the Knoxville area.
Naturally, this assumes you have a database of prospects who’ve given you permission to send
them email. For this reason, it’s a good practice to collect the email address of anybody who
attends an auction or contacts your firm for information. Then, you should keep it in a database
that you can sort. This is extremely important, because it’s a bad idea to blanket everyone who’s
ever contacted your firm with an announcement about every upcoming sale. There are numerous
software platforms you can use for building your database, including Microsoft Access (included in
most Microsoft Office suites), Outlook, spreadsheets and even online utilities such as Google
contacts.
Indiscriminate emailing can backfire. A bidder who was shopping for a piece of real estate may
become annoyed if you keep sending him email messages about antique watches and machinery,
leading him to ask to be removed from your email list altogether. (By law, you MUST honor his
request or find yourself in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act.)
Anytime you get someone’s email address, ask for permission to send him or her information about
future auctions. One good way to do this is to include a box on any form to check if the individual
does NOT want future email. (This is one form of an opt-out approach to building your database.)
TAA MONTHLY e-news PAGE 3
Also place a form on your web site that allows individuals to place themselves on your email list.
You’ll be surprised at how many will do so.
Over time, you’ll build a useful database of prime prospects. Indeed, these are some of the best
potential buyers anywhere, because you already know what has interested them in the past.
So let's assume you have a good database of prospects and are ready to send out an email blast on
an upcoming sale. Here are some guidelines for actually making that happen.
1. Use a third-party service. If you just load up an email in Outlook and shoot it out to a few
hundred (or a few thousand) people, you may soon find that people quit getting your day-to-
day business email. Why? Because many email users now subscribe to spam filtering services
that rely on tagging by end users. If somebody objects to your email, he or she can click a
single button and turn you in to the spam filtering company, which may then block your
email to other clients it serves. One way the filtering companies identify you is by the IP
address from which you sent the email. A third-party service goes out under a different IP
address, protecting yours. These services, which are very inexpensive, also keep you in
compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act by providing a link that recipients can use to
unsubscribe.
2. Keep the graphics to a minimum. The commercial email services typically offer lots of
templates. Before you use, think about the growing number of people who now read their
email without graphics (either by disabling images in their email clients or by accessing their
email on iPhones and other handsets). Your graphic masterpiece may be nothing but
gobbledygook to as many as half your recipients.
3. Obtain and use data on who opens your email and clicks through to links included.
While some experts now argue that email should be text-only (no HTML or graphics at all),
I disagree, because you can only track who opens your email by using HTML. (I’ll spare you
the details, but your third-party distribution utility tracks this by using an invisible HTML
image included in your email..) When you’re calling on a prospective bidder, few things are
more powerful than the knowledge that he or she has actually read your email about the
property. Just don’t bring that up in the conversation, because people don’t really like
knowing that you’re tracking them to that degree.
4. Don’t overdo it. You can quickly wear out your welcome if you send out an email blast
every couple of days. If you have an established audience of people who have asked to
receive your mailings, you can get away with one a week, but that’s about the limit. In most
cases, anything over a couple per month will start annoying readers.
5. Study the provisions of the CAN-SPAM act and make sure you’re in compliance. For
example, it requires that you include your address in each email – a requirement a lot of
senders overlook.
TAA MONTHLY e-news PAGE 4
The Certified Auctioneer Institute
By Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, The Ohio Auction School
Every March, since 1976, auctioneers have joined together in Bloomington, Ind., at Indiana
University campus for classes, culminating in earning the Certified Auctioneer Institute designation.
The Indiana Auctioneers Association started this program, and it quickly grew to the point that
their state association was overly burdened with interest.
The Auction Marketing Institute was created and administered the Certified Auctioneer Institute
on a nationwide basis until around 2002 when the National Auctioneers Association and the
Auction Marketing Institute started to discuss merger plans. Shortly after, a merger was completed,
and the National Auctioneers Association now manages the Certified Auctioneer Institute via the
National Auctioneers Association Education Institute and Trustees.
Auctioneers wishing to be confirmed with the Certified Auctioneer Institute designation take one-
week classes for three years, and prepare a final auction summary report. After successfully
completing all the classes, and obtaining a sufficient grade on the auction summary report, that
auctioneer is awarded the Certified Auctioneer Institute (CAI) designation.
CAI designees must maintain their designation by completing 24 hours of continuing education
every three years, and paying the annual dues which entitle that auctioneer to audit courses in the
future.
Some designees who have not paid their annual dues and/or not submitted their continuing
education are able to say, on their website or otherwise, that they are “graduates of the CAI
program,” or “have completed the CAI program,” but not able to put the CAI letters after their
name.
Another topic that has been discussed is if a person wishing to take the CAI classes must be a
member of the National Auctioneers Association. At this time, membership in the National
Auctioneers Association is not required to take these classes, nor earn the CAI designation.
Current eligibility to enter the CAI program includes:
• Two or more years of full-time experience in the auction profession
• At least 21 years of age
• Hold a high school diploma or the equivalent
Courses cover such topics as business structure and planning, ethics, technology, marketing,
communication and listening skills, legal issues, financial and accounting principles, advertising,
public relations, and various ways to effectively market real and personal property.
TAA MONTHLY e-news PAGE 5
Most who attend report that the friendships and relationships developed during CAI are as valuable
as the course material. Many CAI graduates note that they still work with fellow classmates, and/or
have referred business to those met at CAI.
As with any classes, there is much discussion during breaks, lunch, dinner, and after class. With
these auctioneers being physically away from their businesses for a week at a time, focus is put on
getting to know each other, and learning from each other.
The National Auctioneers Association notes that:
Designation holders have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide high-quality services to all
types of clients. In addition, their designation indicates to attorneys, trust officers, government
officials, financial planners, accountants, real estate professionals, and others who seek the services
of well-qualified auctioneers, that the CAI designation holder is an astute business person who
upholds the highest professional standards.
Any auctioneer wishing to enhance their business skills, and further their knowledge of the
auctioneering industry, is well advised to attend the Certified Auctioneer Institute.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for more than 30 years.
His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Keller Williams Auctions and Goodwill
Columbus Car Auction. His Facebook page is: www.facebook.com/mbauctioneer. He is Executive Director of The
Ohio Auction School.
SAVE THE DATES!
Mark your calendar for dec. 5-6, 2010
so you can be at the annual WINTER CONVENTION!
Holiday inn select Opryland/airport
in Nashville.
More information and details COMING SOON!
TAA | PO BOX 41368 | RALEIGH | NC | 27629 | 919-876-0687 | 919-878-7413 (FAX)
BEN@EXECMAN.NET