Auctions are very simple devices that have been used to sell assets for all of recorded history. However like so many human endeavors that simplicity has evolved over time into a variety of auctions, auctioneers, and markets. From a simple cash sale of a pie to raise money for a missions trip to a million dollar multiple parcel real estate auction that takes months to market and hours to conduct the auction industry of today presents  itself with great diversity.

In my thirteen years as an auctioneer I have observed that often we in the auction community spend a great deal of time talking about what makes each of us  different and unique, what separates us from each other. As the 2015 International Auctioneer Champion one theme I have returned to often is the need for a great auction revival; a increased focus on that those auction truths we all share and a revival of spirit of selling the auction way.

From acreage to bulldozers to cars to a Da Vinci it is useful remember that #AuctionWork and regardless of what we are selling or which auction tool we are using it all comes down to the last 30 seconds. The auction forces a decision on the part of the seller and the buyer. It takes all the intellectual data, primal emotion and pressure of the market and boils it down to a simple yes or no question: will you bid one more time?

Those final 30 seconds are what binds us all to together. Those final 30 seconds can sometimes be a year in the making and might take six months afterwards to close but those final 30 seconds are a truly magical moment. Time stands still and a room of bidders all focuses on one asset, one voice as we await the crack of the gavel and our favorite word in the English language: SOLD.

This blog post accompanies “Episode 1 of the How to Win an Auctioneer Contest: Part 1 – Why Bid Calling is Important” and is offered in partnership with the Fast Talking Podcast and IACInsider.com.