How to Hire an Auctioneer: Preparing for your Search

Ever wanted to hire an auctioneer? Auction professionals work all around the country selling anything from real estate to cars, farm, construction and recreational equipment, household items, antiques, livestock, commercial property, and even raise money for nonprofits. So, if you have something to sell, there’s an auction professional ready to help you sell it.

If you want to hire an auctioneer, you might find yourself at a bit of a loss on where to start. Here are five steps to make the selection of an auction professional fast, fun and transparent. 

Inventory

Create an inventory. One of the first questions an auction professional will ask is: What do you have to sell? Creating some sort of inventory will allow you to quickly identify the right professional. This list can be very general or very specific. If you sell real estate or other high-value assets, your inventory might include specific details about the asset. As you create the inventory, be sure to take photos that may assist to the auction professional. 

Timeline

Think about your time frame for selling. Do you need to sell this week, this month or this year? Thinking about how quickly you want to sell something will help answer many questions from the auctioneer and result in a much smoother process. 

Involvement

How involved do you plan to be in the sales process? Some sellers want regular updates on every step of the auction, and others want to sign a contract and forget it. Knowing your own tendencies and desires for communication will help your peace of mind. There are 100s of actions and decisions in successfully conducting an auction, and auctioneers are happy to share as many or as few with sellers as they request. 

Decision makers

Who else is needed to make the selling decisions? Does your spouse, relative or business partner need to be involved in the decisions making process? Having these people identified and present at the beginning of the auction process will save you from repeating meetings. 

Questions

What are your major questions about the auction and the process? A trained and professional auctioneer will seek to answer all your questions and bring up things you have not considered. Write your questions down because during conversations it can be easy to forget something. You want to get all your questions answered before you sign a contract.

*From the NAA Website